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Benefits & Compensation International
November 2003

Taking Stock of Stock

Peter Newhouse

Share options have already been identified as the great culprit in the fat-cat culture of greed and they are now under pressure from all sides:

• Stock markets have been down for three consecutive years in a row. With little respite in view, many executive share options now look worthless.
• The move to charge share options to the company’s profit-and-loss account is gathering pace, with the promise of new accounting standards to bring this about.
• A succession of corporate governance and institutional shareholder guidance initiatives has left a number of problems in its wake. This has led to more and more complex share schemes that seek to serve too many masters.
• Under the tax regimes of most countries, share options now offer few, if any, advantages.

It is therefore timely to consider why we use share options and to explore alternatives...

Read the whole article (PDF, 481K)

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owners from Benefits & Compensation International magazine, Volume 33, Number 4, November 2003. © Pension Publications Limited, London, England.
Tel: + 44 20 7222 0288
Fax: + 44 20 7799 2163
Website: www.benecompintl.com

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