SHARE AWARDS Whereas with a share option scheme, employees are offered options to buy shares at a set price at a predetermined point in the future, with shares awards the company gives employees free or discounted shares, usually based upon hitting key performance targets and/or at a predetermined point in the future. Share awards are regarded as a ‘safer’ choice than share options, in that the ceiling for growth tends to be lower, but there is also far less risk attached. Holding options may yield a windfall down the line, but alternatively those shares may end up close to worthless, at which point an option to buy will not be attractive. With share awards, those concerns do not exist.
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