Over 1,000 SpaceX Employees Band Together to Negotiate Lower Fees, Seeking Discount Wealth Management Services Ahead of IPO
N.R. Finch
More than a thousand SpaceX employees are collectively bargaining with over 20 wealth managers, representing an estimated $20 billion in assets, to push advisory fees below half the industry standard — a playbook that could reshape how tech employees prepare for IPOs.
What are these employees actually doing?
Over 1,000 current and former SpaceX employees organized through a private Slack channel, led by former engineer Aisha Ayoub.
They are negotiating with more than 20 wealth managers and private banks to push asset-management fees below 0.5% — well under the industry-standard 1%.
This means → it is not a few individuals shopping for advisors. It is an organized group buy, using collective volume to force financial firms to cut prices.
Targets include major banks like Morgan Stanley and registered investment advisors such as Creative Planning and Corient.
How much leverage do they have?
Earlier this year the group numbered roughly 200, representing at least $2 billion in wealth. It has since grown significantly; the assets it represents are now valued at up to $20 billion.
In plain terms = a single Slack channel has assembled the asset base of a mid-sized wealth manager — too large for any firm to ignore.
SpaceX plans to go public as early as this month, targeting a raise of up to $75 billion at a valuation of at least $1.8 trillion — potentially the largest IPO in history.
Why do they want complex tax tools, not just low fees?
The employees are focused on equity-collateral financing and direct indexing, not just cheaper rates.
A key tool: the variable prepaid forward contract (VPFC) — in plain terms = borrow cash against your shares without selling them, so you get liquidity now and defer the tax bill.
They are also evaluating collar and box-spread options strategies, which together can replicate a VPFC while capping downside risk.
This reflects a common problem among SpaceX staff: holdings are heavily concentrated in a single company, and most options and restricted stock units vest on a staggered schedule after the IPO — creating urgent needs for diversification and tax planning.
Who did they screen out, and why?
They explicitly excluded broker-affiliated advisors, citing "complex cost structures."
They also ruled out robo-advisor platforms, deeming them "unsuitable for the complexity of liquidity, tax, and concentration planning."
This means → the group wants bespoke, IPO-grade tax and concentration expertise — but at wholesale pricing.
Why does this matter beyond SpaceX?
Winthrop Partners CIO Brian Werner: "The truly interesting part isn't employees seeking financial advice — it's that they recognized their collective buying power and used it to access institutional-grade services."
Wedmont Private Capital co-founder Dominic Corabi: "Banding together and negotiating from a position of strength will undoubtedly become mainstream."
This reflects a broader trend: with OpenAI and Anthropic also preparing to go public, SpaceX's collective-bargaining model is highly replicable.
The employee-level fee push mirrors SpaceX executives reportedly pressing to cut IPO underwriting bank fees at the same time — a consistent hard-bargaining culture from top to bottom.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.