Empowering financial growth
Cerebras Employees
We work with Cerebras employees who are holding meaningful equity after the company’s May 2026 IPO. Across those relationships, the same set of challenges tends to surface. Most of the people we talk to are already weighing some version of these questions:
- With the lock-up window approaching its end, how much of my position should I sell, and over what timeline?
- What does diversification look like when most of my net worth is concentrated in a single stock?
- How do I plan for the taxes on my RSUs and options, and can I spread that impact across tax years?
- Am I thinking about estate and gifting strategies for my shares in the right way, and at the right time?
- How can a wealth advisor help coordinate tax planning with my CPA and my investments?
There’s no single right answer to any of these. It depends on your equity mix, your cost basis, and what you’re planning for. That’s the work we do with our clients navigating a concentrated position after a liquidity event.
Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC is an independent registered investment adviser and is not affiliated with Cerebras Systems. We maintain personal financial planning relationships with clients who work at Cerebras.
What We See With Cerebras Employees
These are the areas that come up most often in our work with clients holding equity after an IPO. Where you focus depends on your position and your timeline.
Your Equity Position
A large share of your net worth now sits in a single, public stock.
We build your Cerebras position into your long-term plan so it is accounted for without being relied on, and we update the picture as the stock and your vesting schedule move.
Lock-Up & Selling Strategy
Deciding how much to sell once the lock-up lifts, and over what timeline.
We help you weigh selling against holding and set a disciplined schedule, including a 10b5-1 plan where trading windows apply, so decisions are not driven by a single day's price.
Concentration & Diversification
Building a diversified base to balance how much rides on one stock.
We manage the rest of your portfolio with your CBRS exposure in full view, so the concentrated and diversified sides are considered together.
Tax Planning
RSUs taxed as income at vesting, option exercises, and large gains landing across tax years.
We work alongside your accountant to time sales and exercises, plan for withholding shortfalls, and keep the picture aligned across tax years and states.
Estate & Gift Planning
The planning window that can exist for gifting or transferring shares.
We review whether an early transfer fits your situation and coordinate with your estate attorney to put it in place while the window is open.
Time
Handling the coordination so it does not fall to your off-hours.
We take on the scheduling, follow-up, and coordination across your accountant and attorney, so the work moves without living on your calendar.
Cerebras IPO Guide
A planning guide for Cerebras employees navigating equity, taxes, and the months around the public listing.
Four short pages covering the decisions that tend to arrive together in an IPO year.
- Lockup mechanics, IPO sales, and 10b5-1 planning
- ISO, AMT, and tax-year considerations
- Reducing single-stock concentration
- Estate planning at a new net worth
For informational and educational purposes only. Not tax, legal, accounting, or investment advice. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors is a registered investment adviser.
Our Services
Starting at $15,000-$40,000
We deliver on this engagement
in 180 days or less
Goals & Cash Flow Planning
- Outline short, intermediate, and long-term financial objectives
- 5 year cash flow and savings projection (click the link to see a video of an example)
- Assistance with major purchases (i.e. home buying help)
- Planning for capital calls and carried interest
Investment Planning
- Build diversification frameworks for PE professionals
- Build a go-forward investment plan for your future earnings and fund distributions
- Investment portfolio analysis and recommendations to asset allocation and/or target date funds
- Fidelity Brokeragelink
- Alternative investment strategy (private equity, non-traded real estate, private credit, venture capital, hedge funds)
Retirement
- Review retirement account contributions (IRA and Roth)
- Evaluate Fidelity 401(k) plan
- Retirement income forecasting and planning
Insurance & Family Planning
- Insurance planning (Life, Disability, Long-term care)
- Elect employee benefits & evaluate supplemental coverage needs
- Education and college funding
- Review custodial account contributions & trump accounts
- Estate planning review including updating documents and beneficiaries as needed
Tax Planning
- Tax coordination meeting with your accountant
- Tax-return software analysis (Holistiplan report)
- Fidelity Mega Back Door Roth Contribution
- Traditional versus ROTH contribution analysis
- Roth IRA Conversion analysis
- Annual gifting & charitable giving
Our most comprehensive offering with a 360 management of your finances.
- Financial Planning
- Ongoing Investment Management
- All other unique financial needs i.e. estate planning, special tax coordination, etc.
$2,000,000 minimum with TPWA
What The First 3 Months Look Like
Please note that the below meeting structure is just an example. Meeting topics and frequency will be adjusted based on your specific situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the Cerebras lock-up period expire?
Cerebras began trading on Nasdaq on May 14, 2026. IPO lock-up periods commonly last around 180 days, but the length and terms vary by company, and some agreements include early-release provisions or more than one window. Your specific expiration date is the one that governs your shares, and it is stated in the IPO prospectus and your individual grant and lock-up agreements. Confirming that date is the natural starting point for thinking through how and when you might sell.
Can I sell my Cerebras shares before the lock-up expires?
During a lock-up period, employees and insiders are typically restricted from selling shares under the terms of their agreements, though specific terms and any exceptions vary and are defined in your own documents. Because of that restriction, the period before a lock-up ends is often when people focus on planning: reviewing selling strategies, understanding the potential tax effects of different approaches, and, where applicable, considering whether a 10b5-1 trading plan fits their situation. What’s appropriate depends on your role, your holdings, and your circumstances.
How are RSUs taxed after an IPO?
RSUs are taxed as ordinary income when they vest, based on the share price at vesting, and then any change in value after that is taxed as a capital gain or loss when you eventually sell. After an IPO, this often means a large amount of income lands in a single year, and standard tax withholding on RSUs frequently falls short of what’s actually owed. Planning ahead for that gap, and for how the sales stack against your other income, is where a lot of post-IPO tax surprises get avoided.
Does an IPO create a large tax bill?
A liquidity event can concentrate a significant amount of equity-related income into one or two tax years, and the applicable tax treatment depends on the type of equity, your cost basis, when shares vest or are sold, and your overall tax situation. In some cases, standard withholding on equity compensation may not cover the full amount owed. Because these factors vary widely from person to person, individual circumstances differ, and a qualified tax professional can help you understand how they apply to you.
What is a 10b5-1 plan, and do I need one?
A 10b5-1 plan is a prearranged, written schedule for buying or selling company stock that you set up in advance, while you don’t have material non-public information. It lets sales execute automatically on a set timeline, which can help employees subject to trading windows or insider status sell in a disciplined way rather than trying to time the market. Whether you need one depends on your role and how you plan to unwind a concentrated position; it’s a common tool for exactly the situation many Cerebras employees are in.
How are ISOs, NSOs, and RSUs taxed differently?
They’re taxed on different triggers and timelines. RSUs and non-qualified stock options (NSOs) are generally taxed as ordinary income, while incentive stock options (ISOs) can trigger the alternative minimum tax (AMT) when you exercise, which is a common and costly surprise for people who’ve held options for years. If you hold a mix, as many long-tenured Cerebras employees do, the order and timing of exercises and sales significantly affects your total tax. Mapping that sequence in advance, with your accountant, is the core of the planning.
How much of my company stock should I sell after an IPO?
There is no single right answer, and the amount that makes sense depends on factors such as your cost basis, your other assets, your tax situation, your goals, and your comfort with the risk of holding a large position in one stock. A concentrated position carries company-specific risk that a more diversified mix does not, which is why many people think through a deliberate approach rather than deciding all at once. The right approach is specific to each person’s situation and is worth discussing with a qualified professional.
Do I need a financial advisor after my company goes public?
Not necessarily, but an IPO tends to create several decisions that arrive at once and interact: lock-up timing, large equity income in a single tax year, a heavily concentrated position, and estate considerations at a new net worth. Many people understand each piece individually; the value of an advisor at this stage is sequencing them together and coordinating the tax, selling, and portfolio decisions so they aren’t made in isolation. If your situation is straightforward, you may not need one; if these are landing together, it’s worth a conversation.
I already understand investing. What would working with an advisor actually add?
For people who already know the fundamentals, the value isn’t education, it’s coordination and sequencing at a moment when the decisions are unusually interconnected. Deciding when to sell into the lock-up expiration, how those sales interact with your tax year, how much CBRS to keep versus diversify, and how gifting fits in are choices that affect each other, and we work through them alongside your CPA rather than treating each in isolation. Plenty of our clients understand every piece; the work is fitting them together at the moment they all come due.
Do you work with my CPA, and what does getting started look like?
Yes. We work alongside your existing accountant and estate attorney rather than replacing them, and a large part of the value is making sure those pieces stay coordinated. Getting started is usually a short, no-obligation conversation about your equity mix, your timeline, and what you’re planning for, after which you’ll have a clearer picture of the decisions ahead and which ones are time-sensitive.
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