Russell Doup - Maxwell Financial Management

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Russell Doup - Maxwell Financial Management Financial planning for directors, VPs, and founders navigating equity comp, RSUs, and liquidity events. CFP, 2014 Ohio State National Champion.

There’s a price tag on your company’s stock. It’s called a 409A valuation.Private companies don’t have a stock price you...
10/06/2026

There’s a price tag on your company’s stock. It’s called a 409A valuation.

Private companies don’t have a stock price you can look up, so an outside firm estimates it, at least once a year and again after big events like a funding round.

If you have options, it sets your strike price. If you have RSUs, it can set how much income you’re taxed on when they settle. Same shares, higher valuation, bigger bill.

Worth knowing when your company’s last one was.

I took this photo the other day while I was walking the trail at Char-Mar Ridge Park in Westerville.I usually just compl...
09/29/2026

I took this photo the other day while I was walking the trail at Char-Mar Ridge Park in Westerville.

I usually just complete the loop a few times when I come here, but this time I decided I’d go up and sit in the wildlife viewing blind.

This photo is from me standing in the blind and looking out through one of the slits.

To me, this is a perfect picture of what I think about when it comes to financial planning... We are in a box, which I’d call our current life, and my goal when creating financial plans is to look through the blind to view our future life with our goals and aspirations included. Life can be wild, so I’d also say it’s a “wild life,” too.

If you’ve never been to Char-Mar, I highly suggest walking the loop on a nice fall day here soon.

Another fun Saturday with the Buckeyes!
09/26/2026

Another fun Saturday with the Buckeyes!

Took Simon to his first Ohio State game this weekend and I’m still smiling about it.I overpacked like crazy. Snacks, ext...
09/21/2026

Took Simon to his first Ohio State game this weekend and I’m still smiling about it.

I overpacked like crazy. Snacks, extra clothes, a towel because there was a chance of rain, and I even threw swim trunks in the bag in case it all went sideways and we bailed to a splash pad. Two-year-olds, you plan for everything.

Walking through the tailgates was his first time seeing that whole scene. He looked around at all the b**r cans and red Solo cups on the ground and just said “dirty.” Couldn’t argue with him.

My goal was to make it to halftime. We made it through the first quarter. Honestly that was plenty, he was happy, I was happy, and we got out just in time for him to fall asleep in the car.

I’ve had a lot of great days in that stadium. This one’s up there.

Go Bucks.

A lot of ESPPs have a feature almost nobody knows about.Every offering period, the plan checks the stock price on day on...
09/18/2026

A lot of ESPPs have a feature almost nobody knows about.

Every offering period, the plan checks the stock price on day one and the price on the last day, then gives you the discount off whichever number is lower.

Say the stock starts at $50 and climbs to $65. Without this feature, your discount applies to $65. With it, your discount applies to $50, the lower price. You end up paying around $42 for stock now worth $65. That is a gain of more than 30 percent, before you have held the shares a single extra day.

If the stock drops instead, you are still protected. You just do not get the bonus round.

It is called a lookback provision. If your ESPP has one, you are probably getting a better deal than the enrollment page ever told you.

09/17/2026

Hold 2 years from the start of the offering period plus 1 year from purchase and you get a qualified disposition. Discount taxed as ordinary income, the rest as long term capital gains.

Sell right away and it is a disqualifying disposition. Discount taxed as ordinary income, but you lock in the benefit without riding the stock up or down.

Neither is wrong. Know your trade.

Questions about your company’s plan? Send me a message.

Wealth Espresso | Episode 52
Cold brew from Espresso 22, Powell, Ohio

09/10/2026

Wealth Espresso | Episode 51

We checked out the Travelin’ Toms Coffee Truck that was out during the Sunbury Labor Day, flea market.

I ordered a nitro cold brew, and it was top-notch! They had a bunch of other drinks that all looked very good, but speaking from experience, I highly suggest ordering their nitro cold brew.

Wealth Espresso Tip:
When was the last time that you reviewed your companies benefits to make sure you’re taking advantage of everything that your place of work offers?
If if you’re unsure, I suggest that whether today, or tomorrow reach out to get the most up-to-date benefits package and read through it to make sure you are using what the company offers you. If you are unsure, feel free to reach out to me as I’d be more than happy to help look as well.

Cheers,
RD

Most people with a big position in one company’s stock think they have two choices. Sell everything and eat the tax bill...
09/07/2026

Most people with a big position in one company’s stock think they have two choices. Sell everything and eat the tax bill, or hold everything and hope.

There are actually about seven tools between those extremes. Selling on a schedule across tax years instead of all at once. Trading plans that work even during blackout windows. Ways to diversify without triggering the gain. Giving shares instead of cash so the tax disappears entirely.

The goal was never to sell everything. The goal is a plan instead of a default, because a default is just a decision you let the market make for you.

A plan beats hoping.

Imagine a store that sells $100 bills for $85.Millions of people work at a company with a store exactly like that. It is...
09/06/2026

Imagine a store that sells $100 bills for $85.

Millions of people work at a company with a store exactly like that. It is called an employee stock purchase plan. You put in a percentage of your paycheck, and on set dates the plan buys company stock for you, often at up to a 15 percent discount.

Here is the math most people never run. Paying $85 for something worth $100 is not a 15 percent gain. It is a 17.6 percent return on the day you bought it, before the stock moves at all.

Most people skip enrollment because nobody ever explained it. Now you know the store exists.

Hilton head is always a blast for family vacations, but it always feels good returning back to good ole Ohio!Ohio, The H...
08/31/2026

Hilton head is always a blast for family vacations, but it always feels good returning back to good ole Ohio!

Ohio, The Heart of it All

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6530 West Campus Oval, Suite 320
New Albany, OH
43054

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