Have you seen a phantom stock scheme operating in Mexico?

Uno de los elementos más críticos para las empresas familiares y las start-up es la retención y captación de talento clave. En un mercado laboral competitivo, retener a las personas indicadas es definitivamente una apuesta estratégica.

Entre un número de posibles soluciones, una interesante alternativa cuya popularidad aún no alcanza arraigo en México, pero que resulta bastante común en países como Estados Unidos o España, es el otorgamiento de “acciones fantasma” a ejecutivos clave.
For a start-up, it can represent the opportunity to attract key employees at times when the flow of salaries may not be as attractive. For a family business, it can be a way to retain key family members who for some reason cannot yet access the ownership structure.

Phantom shares, also referred to in English as “phantom shares” or “phantom stock” are a form of financial compensation offered to key employees and which are linked to the increase in the value of the company's shares.

This is a way of granting a benefit equivalent to that of a share, without the need to share the corporate and decision-making rights associated with the ownership of the share capital. Therefore, as they are not supported by a capital contribution, they are really fictitious shares that only grant economic rights, but do not modify the ownership structure of the company.

The way of agreeing on it is free and flexible to the extent that they are subscribed directly between the company and the executive, and from a labor perspective it must be understood as an incentive freely granted in the individual work relationship, as would be done with an ordinary bonus or other benefits of this kind.

It is true that there are a significant number of schemes for retaining talent in Mexican companies, but the alternatives based on capital are attractive options that are worth taking a look at.