dig,
standing on my head allows me another view. edit
The AMT does throw a nasty tax consideration that can bankrupt people under extreme adverse conditions.
But consider the management person who has a bunch of expiring options and the individual investor.
An individual investor likely has a diverse portfolio of shares and the option holdings are but a smallish amount of his portfolio and net worth. Further, his job is not tied to the company and its shares. For that person to buy and hold does not change his risk profile by much nor is it likely that the AMT can cause him significant financial hardship or professional embarrassment.
For the management person, the options are likely a significant portion of their compensation as well as a significant part of their net worth. Their potential for financial hardship due to adverse AMT effects is significant. The professional embarrassment risk of AMT bankrupty is immense.
So I can understand why the market standard in the US is for management of all companies, not just Wave, to sell off exercised shares.
