The NCEO conducted a first-of-its-kind study to examine whether and how employee ownership affected firms and workers in the U.S. food system during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on an industry-focused survey of food businesses with employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and a comparison group of non-ESOP food businesses, along with retirement plan filing data and … Read More
There are now over 25 million employees who own stock in their companies through employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), broadly granted stock options, or 401(k) plans with heavy concentrations of employer stock.
The “A Visual Guide to Employee Ownership” website is an initiative of the National Center for Employee Ownership. It includes infographics, videos, a map of ESOPs in the United States, and other accessible but impactful visual guides.
The National Center for Employee Ownership YouTube Channel includes webinars and videos on a variety of topics related to employee ownership. NCEO is a nonprofit organization that has been supporting the employee ownership community since 1981. Its mission is to help employee ownership thrive.
This booklet helps business owners evaluate employee ownership. Thousands of business owners have decided that employee ownership is the best way to preserve the job security of their workforces and protect the character of their companies while providing them and their families fair value. In “Who Should Own Your Business After You?,” several of them … Read More
Many companies we encounter have a pretty good idea of what kind of employee ownership plan they want to use, usually based on specific needs and goals. However, sometimes they might be better served by another kind of stock plan. Others say they’d like to have an employee ownership plan, but they’re not sure what … Read More
This short web article introduces how an ESOP works, rules, and tax advantages.
This is a self-help manual for enhancing the culture and results at your ESOP company.
The most successful ESOP companies have one thing in common. Their employees are not just motivated and engaged, they are actively engaged in structured opportunities to identify problems and generate new ideas. Open doors are not enough; you need a system that not only makes this possible but makes it part of people’s jobs. This … Read More
The CEPI provides unbiased guidance and resources for issuers, service providers and auditors. This combined 4-in-1 volume covers Employee Stock Purchase Plans, Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units, Performance Awards, and Global Equity Plans. This volume is designed to help prepare people for examinations necessary to achieve the Certified Equity Professional designation from the Certified … Read More
The first comprehensive analysis of Department of Labor ESOP investigations ever conducted, plus practical advice from experts.
Estimated Number of Plans and Employees; Value of Plan Assets.
American workers at nearly every level of the income spectrum fail to save properly to be secure in retirement. Addressing this challenge will require a comprehensive policy discussion by both federal and state policymakers. Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) are the primary form of employee ownership, and for reasons explored in this report, companies organized … Read More
This book from the National Center for Employee Ownership shows ESOP companies how to communicate the plan to employees as well as customers.
Over the years, the NCEO has reported on new research on employee ownership and corporate performance. Now that a substantial body of work exists on the subject, they thought it would make sense to summarize it in one place.
This short book from the National Center for Employee Ownership explains how ESOPs work in a clear and concise manner.
Congress designed ESOPs to be the most cost-effective means for both owners and companies to provide for business transition. One of the most difficult problems for owners of closely-held businesses is finding a way to turn their equity in a business into cash for retirement or other purposes. The decision to sell is more than … Read More
The National Center for Employee Ownership has released results from the first phase of an ongoing research project that compares the economic well-being of employee-owners early in their careers with that of other young workers.
This easy-to-read guide to employee ownership introduces what employee ownership means and how it works, interspersing information with company profiles. Also see the companion website at www.esopinfo.org.
We the Owners: Employees Expanding the American Dream is a documentary from the Foundation for Enterprise Development that follows three companies of different sizes in different industries and regions (New Belgium Brewing, Namaste Solar, and DPR Construction) that use employee ownership in diverse ways (an ESOP, a worker cooperative, and a phantom stock plan respectively). … Read More
This book describes the full spectrum of equity compensation plans (such as stock options, stock purchase plans, stock grants, restricted stock, phantom stock, and stock appreciation rights) available to private and public companies as well as LLCs. Unlike most books on equity compensation, it focuses on helping decision-makers decide what kinds of equity to choose, and who should get how much and when.
The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) is a private, nonprofit membership and research organization that serves as the leading source of information on employee stock ownership plans, equity compensation plans such as stock options, and ownership culture.
I have had dozens of conversations with business owners who want to share equity with some or all employees over the past several years.
The large majority of ESOPs are funded by the company with no individual choices or directions, so losses to one participant’s account are likely to be mirrored in accounts of other participants.
Our experience and research over the 30 years that employee ownership has shown two distinctive realities: first, overall, employee ownership gives companies a performance advantage—”the ownership edge.” Second, there is no ready-to-use process to guarantee that a company will achieve the ownership edge. There are, however, six clusters of practices that appear again and again in successful ownership companies. This article describes these six components of ownership management and illustrates the myriad ways in which companies implement them.