Personal Finance and Investing

a big publicly traded company. I've never owned stock in a smaller employer's company.

I agree, it COULD be a good opportunity--IF the company does well.

If the company does poorly, though...

We all hope we're getting in on the ground floor of the next Apple or Google or whatever. The reality is that most small businesses either fail or they just don't do that well in the marketplace.

I wouldn't put much of your savings into company stock--no matter what size company it is--because it's too risky to have a huge chunk of your net worth tied up in the fortunes of any one company.

The employees of Enron come to mind--thought they worked for a great company that would be around for ever and grow to the moon, so they put ALL of their 401(k) contributions into Enron stock and...KABOOM.

5% to 10% TOPS of your investments should be in company stock. I'd lean more toward 5% myself, but I'm very pessimistic.

As far as the IPO goes, I don't know. If you have a little cash, buy a few shares, but do NOT borrow money to buy shares.

I like the idea of being able to own a piece of the company I work for. It makes me more involved with the company, gives me a desire to help the company do well.

But I already depend on that company for my paycheck, for my cash flow. Do I ALSO want to depend on them for a significant chunk of me retirement well-being?