Brian Dress, CFADirector of Research, Investment Advisor, Left Brain Wealth Management, LLC · Wealth Strategy for Corporate Executives & High-Net-Worth Investors | Concentrated Stock & Equity Compensation Planning | Director of Research | CFA | Left Brain Wealth Management

Why High Earners Feel Trapped (Golden Handcuffs Explained)

5 May 2026 · 1 min

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0:42

In this interview, speaker A asks Nolan to explain the concept of "golden handcuffs"—stock-based retention tools such as stock options, restricted stock units (RSUs) with vesting schedules, and deferred compensation plans that companies use to keep executives and professionals tied to the firm. Nolan describes how these rewards are intended to incentivize staying, but also outlines the downsides: loss of freedom of movement and thought, mental distortion when evaluating new opportunities, and the classic "bird in the hand vs. two in the bush" dilemma. The segment concludes with a prompt to watch a longer video on managing risk associated with company stock.

Nolan, we hear the term golden handcuffs a lot when people talk about stock compensation. What does that actually mean for executives and professionals?
That means that my company must really want me, and they're really going to try to keep me, and they're going to throw things at me to tie me to that company, handcuff me for a while. We say they're golden because they're laced with rewards. So things like stock options, restricted stock units that has vesting schedules, deferred compensation plans. They want me to stick around and they're going to pay me to do it.
So what are the downsides of these golden handcuffs, Nolan? They're golden, but they're handcuffs.
Yes. And when we're handcuffed, what we don't have is freedom. Not only freedom of movement, but a lot of cases, freedom of thought. So if I'm in opportunity number one, it's tying me to it. Opportunity two comes along. I might not be thinking as clearly because I'm thinking I'm strapped in here. And if I leave all this behind to go to opportunity number 2, it's back to that bird in the hand versus 2 in the bush thing. That's right. So we can be in a mental distortion field.
So if you have the golden handcuffs on, make sure you watch our long-form video where we discuss ways to manage your risk with company stock.