The planning window is narrow. The most important tax and investment decisions around a liquidity event happen before the event — not after. Once shares are liquid and income is recognized, most of your options close. If you're a SpaceX employee with vested equity, now is the time to plan.
What most employees miss
Four costly mistakes
we help you avoid
01
No tax plan before the IPO
ISO exercises, AMT exposure, and withholding decisions need to happen before the event. Waiting until after means your options are already gone.
02
Selling too fast — or too slow
Lock-up periods, California tax timing, and capital gains treatment all affect whether selling on day one costs you far more than waiting 31 days.
03
No plan for the proceeds
After a liquidity event, most employees have more money than they've ever managed at once. Without a plan, concentrated wealth stays concentrated — and exposed.
04
Working with a CPA and advisor who don't talk
The most expensive planning gaps happen between your tax preparer and your financial advisor. We eliminate that gap — because we're both.
What we cover
Everything you need,
before and after
01
Pre-IPO tax modeling & scenario planning
We model your complete tax picture across multiple IPO scenarios — price, timing, withholding — so you know exactly what you'll owe before it happens.
02
ISO exercise strategy & AMT planning
Incentive Stock Options have a narrow window for tax-advantaged treatment. We map your optimal exercise strategy before the lockup opens.
03
Lock-up period sell schedule
When to sell, how much, and in what order — modeled around your California tax exposure, long-term capital gains timing, and concentration risk.
04
Post-liquidity investment & diversification plan
We build and implement a diversified investment strategy around your proceeds — including account setup, allocations, and tax-efficient rebalancing.
05
Charitable giving strategy
Donor-Advised Funds and direct stock gifts can dramatically reduce your tax bill in the event year. We model the optimal giving strategy for your situation.
06
Ongoing financial planning & tax preparation
After the event, your financial life is more complex. We provide year-round planning, annual tax returns, and investment management as an integrated service.
Pricing
Transparent fees.
No hidden costs.
Two ways to work with us — a standalone liquidity event engagement, or our all-inclusive ongoing advisory covering taxes, planning, and investments under one roof.
Recommended for Wealth Management
All-inclusive · Most popular
Ongoing Advising
Personal tax prep + planning, financial planning, and investment management — all integrated.
$2,250/ quarter
+ 0.35% AUM (0–$5M) & 0.25% ($5M+)
Tax
- Individual tax preparation (1040)
- Ongoing tax planning, annual tax projection & withholding strategy
Financial Planning
- Financial plan development and ongoing planning
- Equity compensation planning
- Retirement, education & cash flow strategy
- Concentrated stock & diversification planning
- Major life-event planning (home purchase, job changes, family)
Investments
- Tax-efficient portfolio management
- Strategic rebalancing, tax-loss harvesting & reporting
- Behavioral coaching & investment discipline
Access
- Ongoing meetings 3x/yr with unlimited access year-round
*Business tax prep available for an additional fee.
Recommended for Liquidity Planning
Liquidity event planning
IPO & Liquidity
Advisory
Advisory
Purpose-built for employees at pre-IPO companies preparing for a major liquidity event.
Custom
Flat-fee engagement · scoped to your situation
Typically $3,500–$8,500 depending on complexity
Typically $3,500–$8,500 depending on complexity
What's covered
- Pre-IPO tax modeling & scenario analysis
- ISO exercise strategy & AMT planning
- Lock-up period strategy & sell schedule
- Post-liquidity investment plan
- Withholding & estimated tax review
- Charitable giving strategy (DAF, gifting)
- Rolls into Ongoing Advising at close
Free 20-minute intro · No commitment required
Who we are
A CPA and a CFP®.
The same person.
The same person.
Greg Meyer holds both a CPA license and the CFP® designation — credentials that are almost never combined in one person. He started his career at Deloitte Tax before founding New Wave Financial Services to serve clients whose financial lives had outgrown generic advice.
Most financial advisors don't understand equity compensation. Most CPAs don't do financial planning. Greg does both — which means your tax strategy and your investment strategy are built together, not in separate offices that never talk.
Founder & Advisor
Greg Meyer
CPA + CFP®. Started at Deloitte Tax, NYC & LA. Specializes in equity compensation, tax strategy, and financial planning for tech professionals.
CPA · CFP®
Partner
Caitlin Meyer
14 years at Google/YouTube working with some of the world's largest creators and media businesses. Deep expertise in creator-economy financial complexity.
14 yrs Google/YouTube
Fee structure
Fee-only fiduciary
We are legally required to act in your interest at all times. We do not earn commissions, referral fees, or kickbacks of any kind. You pay us directly — nothing else influences our advice.
Common questions
What SpaceX employees
usually ask us
When should I start planning — before or after the IPO announcement?
Before. Most of the decisions that matter — ISO exercise timing, AMT planning, withholding, and charitable giving strategy — need to happen before shares become liquid. Once the lockup opens and income is recognized, you're recording history, not making decisions. The optimal time to start is 90–180 days before an anticipated event.
I have ISOs. What do I need to know?
Incentive Stock Options have a specific tax structure that makes them more valuable than NSOs — but only if managed correctly. The key decision is whether to exercise before IPO (potential long-term capital gains treatment) or after (ordinary income). This decision depends on your AMT exposure, California tax situation, and financial position. There is no universal right answer — it requires modeling your specific numbers.
What is the lock-up period and why does it matter for taxes?
Most IPOs include a 180-day lock-up period during which employees cannot sell shares. The timing of when you sell after the lock-up has significant tax implications: selling within one year of vest is ordinary income. Selling after one year from vest (and two years from grant for ISOs) qualifies for long-term capital gains rates — potentially 20 percentage points lower in California. The difference on a $2M position can exceed $300,000.
Do you work with clients outside of California?
Yes. All meetings are virtual and we work with clients nationwide. Our client base is concentrated in California but the planning principles — and many of the clients — extend beyond state lines.
How much does a liquidity event engagement typically cost?
Our IPO & Liquidity Advisory is a flat-fee engagement scoped to your situation, typically ranging from $3,500 to $8,500. Complexity factors include the number of grant types, size of the position, California AMT exposure, and whether charitable giving structures are involved. We scope the engagement before you commit to anything.
What happens after the liquidity event engagement is done?
The IPO package is designed to roll directly into Ongoing Advising — our comprehensive service that includes investment management, annual tax preparation, and year-round financial planning. Most clients who work with us through a liquidity event continue as ongoing clients because their financial lives have genuinely become more complex.
Get started
The window to plan is open.
It won't be for long.
A free 20-minute call. No sales pitch — just a direct conversation about your situation and whether we're the right fit.
newwavefs.com · info@newwavefs.com · 213-263-4937