In this session, industry experts will unpack the critical art of budgeting and forecasting for employee stock plans. As equity-based compensation remains a cornerstone of talent retention and motivation, companies must balance employee incentives with financial sustainability.

From stock options and RSUs to performance shares and other awards, the discussion will center on how organizations can effectively forecast, budget, and track the costs of their plans. Special focus will be given to incorporating performance conditions such as total shareholder return (TSR), aligning forecasts with internal metrics, and improving long-term financial planning. Attendees will walk away with practical strategies, examples, and tools to strengthen both budgeting accuracy and strategic decision-making.

KEY LEARNING POINTS:

• Learn practical strategies to forecast, budget, and manage the true costs of stock plans.
• Understand the financial impact of performance conditions like TSR on equity compensation.
• Discover how to integrate equity plans into corporate financial planning using technology and data for greater accuracy and transparency.

Tax implications of awards and share plan compliance may not seem like the most exciting topics—but they have a direct impact on employees’ financial futures. This session will explore how global equity leaders can turn complex, technical issues into engaging conversations that drive understanding and action. Through a case study on dividend withholding tax, we’ll highlight behavioural insights, communication tactics, and education strategies that bring clarity and relevance to employees across borders. Attendees will leave with practical tools to close the “engagement gap” and connect financial compliance with overall wellbeing.

KEY LEARNINGS:

• How to simplify and humanize complex topics like tax and compliance through storytelling, personalization, and creative communication. 
• Practical tactics—such as gamification, micro-learning, and timely nudges—that effectively engage employees in their financial education. 
• A framework for linking tax education and share plan compliance to broader financial wellbeing strategies.

Designing a share plan that is accessible to all employees presents unique challenges. This session will explore how collaboration between administrators, advisors, and client issuers can overcome these obstacles to create practical, inclusive solutions. Attendees will gain insights into the complexities of accessibility in plan design, learn from real-world examples, and understand how cross-functional teamwork can drive successful implementation while meeting diverse employee needs.

KEY LEARNINGS:

• Common accessibility challenges in share plan design and how to address them. 
• How collaboration between administrators, advisors, and issuers leads to effective, inclusive solutions. 
• Practical strategies for implementing share plans that work for all employees, regardless of location or circumstance.

Delivering equity compensation across multiple countries is more than a compliance challenge—it’s a cultural balancing act. This session brings global equity complexities to life, examining how tax rules, statutory requirements, and employee expectations vary across markets. Focusing on five unique countries, we’ll uncover key compliance considerations, surprising statutory quirks, and cultural nuances that can influence participation. Through real-world examples of common pitfalls and recovery strategies, attendees will gain practical insights on how to localize equity programs effectively, ensuring they resonate with employees worldwide while remaining compliant locally.

KEY LEARNINGS:

• How tax, statutory, and cultural differences across countries impact equity plan design and participation. 
• Practical strategies for avoiding common compliance and communication pitfalls in global programs. 
• Actionable approaches to localizing equity plans for maximum engagement and adherence.

Operating a global share plan comes with significant costs, and recharge policies are a key tool for allocating these expenses to employing subsidiaries. An effective recharge policy requires careful consideration of commercial, accounting, and tax factors, including transfer pricing rules. This session will unpack how these elements interact, why transfer pricing is critical, and the practical steps needed to design and manage a compliant and effective recharge policy that supports sustainable global share plan operations.

KEY LEARNINGS:

• How commercial, accounting, and tax considerations shape an effective recharge policy. 
• Why transfer pricing rules are central to the design and operation of global share plan recharge arrangements. 
• Practical insights for managing recharge policies to balance compliance with operational efficiency.

In an increasingly interconnected world, global events continue to shape the UK’s economic landscape. Since the recent US presidential election, market fluctuations have highlighted the ripple effects of policy decisions and macroeconomic changes. In this engaging session, Nataliia Lipikhina, Head of EMEA Strategy at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, will provide an update on the macroeconomic environment, examine sector dynamics and emerging themes, and explore how these factors are influencing equity markets and other asset classes. Attendees will leave with practical guidance for navigating uncertainty, protecting share plans from market impacts, and addressing employee concerns in volatile times.

KEY LEARNINGS:

• Insights into current macroeconomic trends and sector-specific dynamics affecting equity markets. 
• Strategies to insulate share plans from adverse market and economic impacts. 
• Techniques for effectively communicating with employees about uncertainty and financial volatility.

Monzo’s recent secondary transaction gave employees the opportunity to cash in a portion of their share options without waiting for a traditional liquidity event such as an IPO or sale. This session will unpack the strategic motivations behind the initiative—boosting morale, retention, and the perceived value of equity—while also exploring the significant execution challenges. 

From navigating complex tax implications across jurisdictions to addressing legal requirements, managing accounting standards, and designing transparent employee communications, the project required extensive collaboration. Attendees will hear how Monzo’s reward, tax, finance, and HR teams partnered with external advisors to deliver innovative solutions, offering a powerful case study in both employee incentive strategy and cross-functional teamwork.

KEY LEARNINGS:

• Why secondary transactions can enhance employee morale, retention, and engagement with equity. 
• Practical lessons from managing tax, legal, accounting, and communication challenges in a complex transaction. 
• How cross-functional collaboration is essential to the success of innovative incentive strategies.

Since the first share plan launched by the Illinois Central Railroad in 1857, employee ownership has evolved into a global practice shaping millions of lives and organizations. While legislation and tax rules have long influenced plan design, today’s greatest challenge lies in adapting share plans to a workforce that now spans five generations. Each generation brings distinct expectations, values, and relationships with work—yet plan design has often lagged behind this reality. 

This interactive session will revisit the fundamentals of share plans and explore how organizations can redesign them for maximum performance, engagement, and relevance. Together, we’ll examine generational traits, competing priorities between tax efficiency and employee expectations, and the evolving principles that investors seek in modern plan design.

KEY LEARNINGS:

• How generational differences shape employee engagement with share plans and what this means for effective plan design. 
• Balancing legislative/tax efficiency with employee expectations to achieve both compliance and impact. 
• Practical strategies for rethinking share plans to meet today’s diverse workforce and anticipate future trends.

In today’s uncertain markets—shaped by economic volatility, regulatory shifts, and geopolitical risk—running a successful share plan is more challenging than ever. Yet the most resilient plans don’t just survive; they thrive thanks to seamless coordination among key stakeholders. This session will explore the critical roles that keep equity plans functioning smoothly: the issuer, legal advisor, offshore trustee, administrator, and broker. 

We’ll examine how these roles collaborate to navigate risk, maintain compliance, build participant trust, and avoid disruption—even in volatile markets or changing governance environments. Attendees will also learn what happens when one part of the chain fails and how strong collaboration mitigates that risk, providing practical insights for issuers, advisors, and service providers aiming to build operational resilience.

KEY LEARNINGS:

• How issuers, legal advisors, trustees, administrators, and brokers collaborate to ensure smooth equity plan operations. 
• Strategies for managing risk, avoiding disruption, and maintaining participant trust in volatile or uncertain conditions. 
• Lessons from failures and breakdowns in the process, and how strong cross-functional coordination can mitigate these risks.