SpaceX IPO Means ‘Prime Time’ for Advisers Ahead of Wealth Surge

If SpaceX’s IPO goes off as planned, it’ll be a pivotal moment for many of the company’s thousands of employees, who’ll finally be able to sell shares into the public market.

That prospect has created a groundswell of business for wealth advisers who specialize in dealing with the sort of complex equity compensation favored by tech startups, as well as the massive tax bills that are likely to follow.

“We’ve been working 10-, 12-hour days, even on weekends,” said Frank Alvarez, a consultant with San Diego-based Tidemark Financial Partners, who has about two-dozen SpaceX employees as clients. “The ...