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Financial Planning

Decisions, checklists, concentrated stock, and what money is actually for

Most money mistakes are not math mistakes. They are decisions made in a hurry, with the wrong question in front of you, at a moment when the stakes felt too big to slow down. This shelf is about the decisions themselves, the ones that shape a household's finances for decades, and how to think about them before you have to make them.

Here you will find guides on equity compensation and concentrated stock, checklists for the end of the year, plain warnings about fraud aimed at people over 60, and Anton's essays on what money is actually for. Everything is educational and general. When a decision is yours to make, the goal is that you walk into it knowing which questions matter.

Featured guide

Financial Planning

Equity Compensation Planning: A Guide to ISOs, RSUs, and Concentrated Stock

ISOs, RSUs, and concentrated stock each carry different tax rules and risks. This guide covers exercise timing, AMT planning, RSU vesting strategies, 10b5-1 plans, and diversification approaches with current 2026 figures.

  • Incentive stock options (ISOs), non-qualified stock options (NSOs), and restricted stock units (RSUs) are taxed differently, so equity compensation planning starts with knowing exactly which type of award you hold.
  • Exercising an ISO and holding the shares can trigger the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) on the bargain element. The 2026 AMT phaseout thresholds are lower and the phaseout rate is higher than in 2025, which can make a large exercise more costly to model.

Nyle Bayer · Published · 11 min read

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Financial Planning

The Limitations of Wealth

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Financial Planning

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Financial Planning

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Financial Planning

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Markets and Economy

Case for Staying Invested

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Financial Planning

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Markets and Economy

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Financial Planning

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This weekend, Matt Marmorstein and I attended the Annual Urology Association conference. We attend medical conferences to meet doctors who represent a large percentage of our clients and assets under management.

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Financial Planning

Future of Financial Services

I am at a conference in Denver this week with the focus on the future of the financial services industry, economy, and investors. It has been very cold this week and as I write this it is 16 degrees outside. The event is

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For general education only, not individualized tax or investment advice. Up Capital Management is a Registered Investment Adviser.