One of the most prevalent and popular fringe benefits, the stock option, can be of great value to the executive. It is another way of giving him a personal stake in the corporation, geared to the market value of its securities. It allows him to make investments using a minimum amount of capital, or in some cases none at all, and to take advantage of rising markets with small risk to himself. However, it should be said that after what we all experienced in the spring 2000 stock market downturn, an executive would do well to temper his expectations about how much his stock options will contribute to his retirement nest egg and overall estate building.

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