US executive stock options decline in 2008

The median value of stock options held by chief executives of Fortune 250 companies declined by 2.3 per cent in 2008.

That is according to the remuneration research specialist Equilar's Executive Stock Ownership Guidelines Report, which disclosed that director-level employees of the US's largest corporations had stock options worth an average of $6.1 million last year.

In addition, the executive compensation data provider discovered that 83.5 per cent of FTSE 250 companies use a multiple of base salary as a requirement for stock ownership – with chief executives required to have an average of five times their foundation pay.

Despite the financial crisis heightening awareness about the remuneration of executives, the research also revealed that the number of organisations publicly disclosing share policies declined by 1.4 per cent to 81.2 per cent.

However, Equilar did discover that more FTSE 250 companies are beginning to detail guideline compliance and retirement clauses in their executive stock ownership policies.

Earlier this week, the US pay czar Kenneth Feinberg explained that director-level remuneration, beyond those in seven bailed out corporations, would not be micro-managed by the government.