Cogent Compensation Partners ~ Services ~ Equity Compensation Program Design

How does a company motivate executives with substantial wealth accumulation?

	Compensation committee advisory
	Compensation strategy development
	Annual incentive plan design
	Long-term incentive plan design
	Equity compensation program design
	Executive employment and severance agreement assistance
	SEC disclosure assistance
	Compensation program risk assessment
	Executive compensation accounting, tax and regulatory considerations
	Competitive compensation analysis of executive and employee jobs
	Board of director compensation analysis
	Executive and director stock ownership guidelines program development

Equity Compensation Program Design

A meaningful equity compensation program for key employees is often an important element in the total rewards package.

We assist in the design of equity compensation arrangements through
various means:

Award vehicles. We assist in determining appropriate equity award vehicles, such as stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, or stock appreciation rights (SARs) settled in cash or stock.
Participation. We help clients determine which key employees should participate in the equity compensation program given the culture, compensation strategy, and retention goals of the company.
Target Award Levels. Our consultants recommend the appropriate target award levels for participants. This assistance assures consistency with the compensation strategy and shareholder expectations for appropriate compensation.
Run Rate and Overhang Management. Shareholders are increasingly aware of the number of shares granted in equity compensation programs. We assist with determining the appropriate share usage to optimize the effectiveness of the program, while managing the expectations of the shareholders.
Institutional Shareholder Analyst Expectations. Institutional shareholders often rely on third party analysts to recommend a "for" or "against" vote on equity plan proposals. We understand the analysts' systems and work within their analytical tools to help our clients understand how equity plan proposals may be interpreted by institutional shareholder analysts.
Awards Timing and Pricing. We work with our clients to recommend the appropriate timing and pricing of equity awards.
Vesting. Our plan design process provides input for an
appropriate vesting schedule for our clients.