Table of Contents

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

☒ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2020

or

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from                      to                     

Commission File Number: 001-32026 

COHEN & COMPANY INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (215) 701-9555 

Not applicable 

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report) 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    ☒    Yes    ☐  No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted  pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    ☒  Yes    ☐  No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    ☐  Yes    ☒  No

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

As of November 2, 2020, there were 1,375,907, shares of common stock ($0.01 par value per share) of Cohen & Company Inc. (“Common Stock”) outstanding.

Cohen & Company Inc. 

FORM 10-Q

INDEX TO QUARTERLY REPORT ON FORM 10-Q

September 30, 2020

1. ORGANIZATION AND NATURE OF OPERATIONS

Organizational History 

Cohen Brothers, LLC (“Cohen Brothers”) was formed on October 7, 2004 by Cohen Bros. Financial, LLC (“CBF”). Cohen Brothers was established to acquire the net assets of CBF’s subsidiaries (the “Formation Transaction”): Cohen Bros. & Company, Inc.; Cohen Frères SAS; Dekania Investors, LLC; Emporia Capital Management, LLC; and the majority interest in Cohen Bros. & Toroian Investment Management, Inc. The Formation Transaction was accomplished through a series of transactions occurring between March 4, 2005 and May 31, 2005.

From its formation until December 16, 2009, Cohen Brothers operated as a privately-owned limited liability company. On December 16, 2009, Cohen Brothers completed its merger (the “AFN Merger”) with a subsidiary of Alesco Financial Inc. (“AFN”), a publicly traded real estate investment trust.

As a result of the AFN Merger, AFN contributed substantially all of its assets into Cohen Brothers in exchange for newly issued units of membership interests directly from Cohen Brothers. In addition, AFN received additional Cohen Brothers membership interests directly from its members in exchange for AFN common stock. In accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”), the AFN Merger was accounted for as a reverse acquisition, and Cohen Brothers was deemed to be the accounting acquirer. As a result, all of AFN’s assets and liabilities were required to be revalued at fair value as of the acquisition date. The remaining units of membership interests of Cohen Brothers that were not held by AFN were included as a component of non-controlling interest in the consolidated balance sheets.

Subsequent to the AFN Merger, AFN was renamed Cohen & Company Inc. In January 2011, it was renamed again as Institutional Financial Markets, Inc. (“IFMI”) and on September 1, 2017 it was renamed again as Cohen & Company Inc.  Effective January 1, 2010, the Company ceased to qualify as a REIT.

The Company 

The Company is a financial services company specializing in fixed income markets. As of September 30, 2020, the Company had $2.65 billion in assets under management (“AUM”) of which 77.4%, or $2.05 billion, was in collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”). The remaining portion of AUM is from a diversified mix of Investment Vehicles (as defined herein).

In these financial statements, the “Company” refers to Cohen & Company Inc. and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis. Cohen & Company, LLC or the “Operating LLC” refers to the main operating subsidiary of the Company.  “Cohen Brothers” refers to the pre-AFN Merger Cohen Brothers, LLC and its subsidiaries. “AFN” refers to the pre-merger Alesco Financial Inc. and its subsidiaries. When the term “Cohen & Company Inc.” is used, it is referring to the parent company itself. “JVB Holdings” refers to J.V.B. Financial Holdings, LLC; “JVB” refers to J.V.B. Financial Group LLC, a broker-dealer subsidiary; “CCFL” refers to Cohen & Company Financial Limited (formerly known as EuroDekania Management LTD), a subsidiary regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (formerly known as Financial Services Authority) in the United Kingdom; “CCFEL” refers to Cohen & Company Financial (Europe) Limited, a subsidiary regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland in Ireland; and “EuroDekania” refers to EuroDekania (Cayman) Ltd., a Cayman Islands exempted company that was externally managed by CCFL.

The Company’s business is organized into the following three business segments.

Capital Markets: The Company’s Capital Markets business segment consists primarily of fixed income sales, trading, matched book repurchase agreement (“repo”) financing, new issue placements in corporate and securitized products, and advisory services. The Company’s fixed income sales and trading group provides trade execution to corporate investors, institutional investors, mortgage originators, and other smaller broker-dealers. The Company specializes in a variety of products, including but not limited to: corporate bonds, asset backed securities (“ABS”), mortgage backed securities (“MBS”), residential mortgage backed securities (“RMBS”), CDOs, collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), collateralized bond obligations (“CBOs”), collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”), municipal securities, to-be-announced securities (“TBAs”) and other forward agency MBS contracts, Small Business Administration (“SBA”) loans, U.S. government bonds, U.S. government agency securities, brokered deposits and certificates of deposit (“CDs”) for small banks, and hybrid capital of financial institutions including trust preferred securities (“TruPS”), whole loans, residential transition loans, (“RTLs”), and other structured financial instruments. The Company also offers execution and brokerage services for equity products. The Company operates its capital markets activities primarily through its subsidiaries: JVB in the United States, and CCFL and CCFEL in Europe.

Asset Management: The Company’s Asset Management business segment manages assets within CDOs, managed accounts, joint ventures, and investment funds (collectively referred to as “Investment Vehicles”). A CDO is a form of secured borrowing. The borrowing is secured by different types of fixed income assets such as corporate or mortgage loans or bonds. The borrowing is in the form of a securitization, which means that the lenders are actually investing in notes backed by the assets. In the event of default, the lenders will have recourse only to the assets securing the loan. The Company’s Asset Management business segment includes its fee-based asset management operations, which include ongoing base and incentive management fees.

Principal Investing: The Company’s Principal Investing business segment is comprised of investments that the Company holds related to its SPAC franchise and other investments the Company has made for the purpose of earning an investment return rather than investments made to support the Company’s trading, matched book repo, or other Capital Markets business segment activities.  These investments are included in the Company’s other investments, at fair value and investments in equity method affiliates in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.

The Company generates its revenue by business segment primarily through the following activities.

Capital Markets

Asset Management

Principal Investing

2. BASIS OF PRESENTATION

The financial statements of the Company included herein were prepared in conformity with U.S. GAAP for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. The information furnished includes all adjustments and accruals of a normal recurring nature, which, in the opinion of management, are necessary for a fair presentation of results for the interim month periods. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The results for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results for the entire year or any subsequent interim period. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Capitalized terms used herein without definition have the meanings ascribed to them in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.  

3. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

A. Adoption of New Accounting Standards

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). Under the new guidance (subsequently updated with ASU 2018-01, ASU 2018-10, ASU 2018-11, ASU 2018-20, and ASU 2019-01), lessees will be required to recognize the following for all leases with the exception of short-term leases:  (i) a lease liability, which is a lessee’s obligation to make lease payments arising from a lease, measured on a discounted basis, and (ii) a right-of-use asset, which is an asset that represents the lessee’s right to use, or control the use of, a specified asset for the lease term.  Lessor accounting is largely unchanged.  The Company adopted the provisions of the new guidance effective January 1, 2019.  The Company recorded the following:  (a) a right of use asset of $8,416, (b) a lease commitment liability of $8,860, (c) a reduction in retained earnings from cumulative effect of adoption of $20, (d) an increase in other receivables of $18, and (e) a reduction in other liabilities of $406.  See note 13.  

 

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments.  Under this guidance (subsequently updated with ASU 2018-19, ASU 2019-05, ASU 2019-11 and ASU 2020-02), the measurement of all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date is to be based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. Financial institutions and other organizations will now use forward-looking information to better inform their credit loss estimates. Many of the loss estimation techniques applied today will still be permitted, although the inputs to those techniques will change to reflect the full amount of expected credit losses. In addition, the ASU amends the accounting for credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities and purchased financial assets with credit deterioration. The Company’s adoption of the provisions of ASU 2016-13, effective January 1, 2020 did not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

 

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350):  Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. The amendments in this ASU eliminate Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. The annual or interim goodwill impairment test is performed by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount.  An impairment charge should be recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value; however, the loss recognized should not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit.  The Company adopted the provisions of ASU 2017-04, effective January 1, 2020.  The Company recorded an impairment of goodwill for the nine months ended September 30, 2020.  See note 12.  This impairment charge was not the result of the adoption of ASU 2017-04. 

 

In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-08, Receivables – Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs, Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities (Sub-Topic 310-20).  The amendments in this ASU shorten the amortization period for certain callable debt securities held at a premium.  Specifically, the amendments require the premium to be amortized to the earliest call date.  The amendments do not require an accounting change for securities held at a discount; the discount continues to be amortized to maturity.  The Company’s adoption of the provisions of ASU 2017-08, effective January 1, 2019 did not have an effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

 

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-12, Derivative and Hedging – Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities (Topic 815).  The amendments in this ASU refine and expand hedge accounting for both financial and commodity risks and contain provisions to create more transparency and clarify how economic results are presented. The Company’s adoption of the provisions of ASU 2017-12, effective January 1, 2019 did not have an effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

 

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-02, Income Statement – Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income.  The amendments in this ASU provide the option to reclassify stranded tax effects within accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) to retained earnings in each period in which the effect of the change in the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate in the Tax Act (or portion thereof) is recorded. The Company’s adoption of the provisions of ASU 2018-02, effective January 1, 2019 did not have an effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

 In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718):  Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting.  The amendments in this ASU expand the scope of Topic 718, which previously only included share-based payments to employees, to include share-based payments issued to nonemployees for goods or services.  Consequently, the accounting for share-based payments to nonemployees and employees will be substantially aligned. The Company’s adoption of the provisions of ASU 2018-07, effective January 1, 2019 did not have an effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework – Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement.  The ASU modifies the disclosure requirements in Topic 820, by removing certain disclosure requirements related to the valuation hierarchy, modifying existing disclosure requirements related to measurement uncertainty and adding new disclosure requirements such as disclosing the changes in unrealized gains and losses for the period included in other comprehensive income for recurring level 3 fair value measurements held at the end of the reporting period and disclosing the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs used to develop level 3 fair value measurements. This ASU is effective for public companies for annual reporting periods and interim periods within those annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019. The Company’s adoption of the provisions of ASU 2018-13, effective January 1, 2020 did not have an effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In October 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-17, Consolidation (Topic 810):  Target Improvements to Related Party Guidance for Variable Interest Entities.  The ASU made targeted changes to the related party consolidation guidance. The new guidance changes how entities evaluate decision-making fees under the variable interest entity guidance. To determine whether decision-making fees represent a variable interest, an entity will need to consider indirect interests held through related parties under common control on a proportionate basis under the new guidance, rather than in their entirety, as has been the case under current guidance. The guidance is effective in annual periods beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company’s adoption of the provisions of ASU 2018-17, effective January 1, 2020 did not have an effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

 

In November 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-18, Collaborative Arrangements (Topic 808): Clarifying the Interaction Between Topic 808 and Topic 606.  The ASU provides more comparability in the presentation of revenue for certain transactions between collaborative arrangement participants. It accomplishes this by allowing organizations to only present units of account in collaborative arrangements that are within the scope of the revenue recognition standard together with revenue accounted for under the revenue recognition standard.  The parts of the collaborative arrangement that are not in the scope of the revenue recognition standard should be presented separately from revenue accounted for under the revenue recognition.  The Company’s adoption of the provisions of ASU 2018-18, effective January 1, 2020 did not have an effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

 

In November 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-08, Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic (718) and Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Codification Improvements– Share-Based Consideration Payable to a Customer.  This ASU requires companies to measure and classify (on the balance sheet) share-based payments to customers by applying the guidance in Topic 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation.  As a result, the amount recorded as a reduction in revenue would be measured based on the grant-date fair value of the share-based payment. The Company’s adoption of the provisions of ASU 2019-08, effective January 1, 2020 did not have an effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

 

In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting. This ASU provides temporary optional guidance to ease the burden in accounting for reference rate reform by providing optional expedients and exceptions for applying generally accepted accounting principles to contract modifications and hedging relationships, subject to meeting certain criteria, that reference LIBOR or another reference rate expected to be discontinued.  The ASU is intended to help stakeholders during the global market-wide reference rate transition period and will be in effect for a limited time through December 31, 2022. The Company’s adoption of the provisions of ASU 2020-04, effective March 12, 2020 did not have an effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

 

B. Recent Accounting Developments 

 

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740):  Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes. This ASU is intended to simplify accounting for income taxes. It removes specific exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740 and amends existing guidance to improve consistent application.  This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020 and interim period with those fiscal years The Company is currently evaluating the new guidance to determine the impact it may have on its consolidated financial statements.

 

In January 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-01, Investments—Equity Securities (Topic 321), Investments—Equity Method and Joint Ventures (Topic 323), and Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815)—Clarifying the Interactions between Topic 321, Topic 323, and Topic 815.  This ASU clarifies certain accounting certain topics impacted by Topic 321 Investments-Equity Securities. These topics include measuring equity securities using the measurement alternative, how the measurement alternative should be applied to equity method accounting, and certain forward contracts and purchased options which would be accounted for under the equity method of accounting upon settlement or exercise. This ASU is effective for public business entities for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2020. The Company is currently evaluating the new guidance to determine the impact it may have on its consolidated financial statements. 

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity's Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40):  Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity's Own Equity.  This ASU simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models currently required.  The ASU removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception.  The ASU also simplifies the diluted earnings per share (EPS) calculation in certain areas. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, including interim periods within those fiscal years.  The Company is currently evaluating the new guidance to determine the impact it may have on its consolidated financial statements. 

C. Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The following methods and assumptions were used by the Company in estimating the fair value of its financial instruments. These determinations were based on available market information and appropriate valuation methodologies. Considerable judgment is required to interpret market data to develop the estimates and, therefore, these estimates may not necessarily be indicative of the amount the Company could realize in a current market exchange. The use of different market assumptions and/or estimation methodologies may have a material effect on the estimated fair value amounts. Refer to note 8 for a discussion of the valuation hierarchy with respect to investments-trading; other investments, at fair value; and derivatives held by the Company. 

 

Cash equivalents: Cash equivalents are carried at historical cost, which is assumed to approximate fair value. The estimated fair value measurement of cash equivalents is classified within level 1 of the valuation hierarchy.

Investments-trading: These amounts are carried at fair value. The fair value is based on either quoted market prices of an active exchange, independent broker market quotations, market price quotations from third- party pricing services, or valuation models when quotations are not available.

Other investments, at fair value: These amounts are carried at fair value. The fair value is based on quoted market prices of an active exchange, independent broker market quotations, or valuation models when quotations are not available.  In the case of investments in alternative investment funds, fair value is generally based on the reported net asset value of the underlying fund.

Receivables under resale agreements: Receivables under resale agreements are carried at their contracted resale price, have short-term maturities, and are repriced frequently or bear market interest rates and, accordingly, these contracts are at amounts that approximate fair value. The estimated fair value measurements of receivables under resale agreements are based on observations of actual market activity and are generally classified within level 2 of the valuation hierarchy.

Trading securities sold, not yet purchased: These amounts are carried at fair value. The fair value is based on quoted market prices of an active exchange, independent market quotations, market price quotations from third party pricing services, or valuation models when quotations are not available.

Securities sold under agreements to repurchase: The liabilities for securities sold under agreements to repurchase are carried at their contracted repurchase price, have short-term maturities, and are repriced frequently or bear market interest rates and accordingly, these contracts are carried at amounts that approximate fair value. The estimated fair value measurements of securities sold under agreements to repurchase are based on observations of actual market activity and are generally classified within level 2 of the valuation hierarchy.

Redeemable financial instruments: The liabilities for redeemable financial instruments are carried at their redemption value, which approximates fair value. The estimated fair value measurement of the redeemable financial instruments is classified within level 3 of the valuation hierarchy. 

Debt: These amounts are carried at outstanding principal less unamortized discount and deferred financing costs. However, a substantial portion of the debt was assumed in the AFN Merger and recorded at fair value as of that date. As of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the fair value of the Company’s debt was estimated to be $81,638 and $58,635, respectively. The estimated fair value measurements of the debt are generally based on discounted cash flow models prepared by the Company’s management primarily using discount rates for similar instruments issued to companies with similar credit risks to the Company and are generally classified within level 3 of the value hierarchy.

Derivatives: These amounts are carried at fair value. Derivatives may be included as a component of investments-trading; trading securities sold, not yet purchased; and other investments, at fair value. The fair value is generally based on quoted market prices on an exchange that is deemed to be active for derivative instruments such as foreign currency forward contracts and Eurodollar futures.  For derivative instruments, such as TBAs and other extended settlement trades, the fair value is generally based on market price quotations from third party pricing services.

 

 

4. OTHER RECENT BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS OR EVENTS 

Insurance Acquisition Corporation ("Insurance SPAC")

The Operating LLC is the manager of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor, LLC (“IAS”) and Dioptra Advisors, LLC (“Dioptra,” and, together with IAS, the “Sponsor Entities”). The Sponsor Entities were sponsors of Insurance Acquisition Corp. ("Insurance SPAC"), a special purpose acquisition company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses.

On June 29, 2020, Insurance SPAC entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Insurance SPAC Merger Agreement”) with IAC Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and direct wholly owned subsidiary of Insurance SPAC (“Insurance SPAC Merger Sub”), and Shift Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Shift”).  On October 13, 2020, Insurance SPAC Merger Sub was merged (the "Insurance SPAC Merger") with and into Shift.  In connection with the Insurance SPAC Merger, the Insurance SPAC changed its name from "Insurance Acquisition Corp." to "Shift Technologies, Inc." and, on October 15, 2020, the Insurance SPAC's Nasdaq trading symbol changed from "INSU" to "SFT."  The Insurance SPAC Merger was approved by the Insurance SPAC's stockholders at a special meeting of stockholders on October 13, 2020.

Upon the Closing, the Sponsor Entities held 375,000 shares of SFT’s Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“SFT Class A Common Stock”), and 187,500 warrants (“SFT Warrants”) to purchase an equal number of shares of SFT Class A Common Stock for $11.50 per share (such SFT Class A Common Stock and SFT Warrants, collectively, the “Placement Securities”) as a result of the 375,000 placement units which the Sponsor Entities had purchased in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the Insurance SPAC’s initial public offering on March 22, 2019.  Further, upon the Closing, the Sponsor Entities collectively held an additional 4,497,525 shares of SFT Class A Common Stock as a result of its previous purchase of founder shares of the Insurance SPAC (collectively, the “Founder Shares,” and, together with the Placement Securities, the “Sponsor Shares”). 

The Company currently consolidates the Sponsor Entities and previously treated its investment in the Insurance SPAC as an equity method investment.  Effective upon the Closing, the Company has reclassified its equity method investment in the Insurance SPAC to other investments, at fair value and has adopted fair value accounting for the investment in SFT, resulting in an amount of principal transaction revenue derived from the (i) the final amount of Sponsor Shares retained by the Sponsor Entities; (ii) the trading share price of the SFT Class A Common Stock and the SFT Warrants; and (iii) fair value discounts related to the share sale restrictions on the Sponsor Shares outlined below.  Upon recognition of the principal transaction revenue described above, the Company will record a non-controlling interest expense or compensation expense related to the amount of Sponsor Shares distributable to the non-controlling interest holders in the Sponsor Entities.  If the non-controlling interest holder is an employee of the Company, the expense will be recorded as compensation.  Otherwise, the expense will be non-controlling interest expense.  The Company currently expects that, upon the registration of the Sponsor Shares in accordance with the Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement described below, (a) of the Placement Securities, 252,335 shares of SFT Class A Common Stock and 126,500 SFT Warrants will be distributed to the non-controlling interest holders of the Sponsor Entities, and (b) of the Founder Shares, 2,477,803 shares of SFT Class A Common Stock will be distributed to the non-controlling interest holders of the Sponsor Entities. Immediately following these distributions, the Company expects to retain (i) of the Placement Securities, 122,665 shares of SFT Class A Common Stock and 61,332 SFT Warrants, and (ii) of the Founder Shares, 2,019,721 shares of SFT Class A Common Stock.

Subject to certain limited exceptions, Placement Securities held by IAS will not be transferable or salable until 30 days following the Closing. Of the Founder Shares held by the Sponsor Entities, (a) 20% are freely transferable and salable, and (b) subject to certain limited exception, the remaining shares will not be transferable or salable until the closing price of the SFT Class A Common Stock, for a period of 20 out of any 30 consecutive trading days following the Closing, (a) exceeds $12.00 with respect to 20% of such shares, (b) exceeds $13.50 with respect to an additional 20% of such shares, (c) exceeds $15.00 with respect to an additional 20% of such shares, and (d) exceeds $17.00 with respect to an additional 20% of such shares.

Concurrently with the Closing, a subsidiary of the Company purchased 600,000 shares of SFT Class A Common Stock at a purchase price per share of $10.00 pursuant to a subscription agreement that such subsidiary executed at the time of the execution of the Merger Agreement. The Company’s subsidiary currently expects that, upon the registration of these 600,000 shares of SFT Class A Common Stock, the Company’s subsidiary will distribute 350,000 of such shares of SFT Class A Common Stock to its minority interest holders and distribute the remaining 250,000 of such shares of SFT Class A Common Stock to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. 

At the Closing, the Sponsor Entities and SFT entered into a letter agreement (the “Sponsor Letter Agreement”), pursuant to which the Sponsor Entities will receive certain SFT board of directors observer rights. Pursuant to the Sponsor Letter Agreement, for so long as the Sponsor Entities, the Operating LLC, or any of their respective affiliates (as such term is defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) continue to hold shares representing at least two percent of the total voting power of shares entitled to vote in the election of directors of SFT issued and outstanding, the Sponsor Entities will have the right to designate an individual to attend and observe SFT’s board meetings.

In addition, at the Closing, the Sponsor Entities entered into an amended and restated registration rights agreement (the “Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement”) with SFT, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., and certain other initial stockholders of SFT, requiring SFT to, among other things, file a resale shelf registration statement on behalf of the stockholders promptly after the Closing. The Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement will also provide certain demand rights and piggyback rights to the stockholders, subject to underwriter cutbacks and issuer blackout periods.

INSU Acquisition Corporation II ("Insurance SPAC II")

The Operating LLC, is the manager of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor II, LLC (“IAS II”) and Dioptra Advisors II, LLC (“Dioptra II” and, together with IAS II, the “Insurance SPAC II Sponsor Entities”). The Insurance SPAC II Sponsor Entities are sponsors of INSU Acquisition Corp. II (“Insurance SPAC II”), a blank check company that will seek to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (each a “Insurance SPAC II Business Combination”).  On September 8, 2020, Insurance SPAC II completed the sale of 23,000,000 units ("Insurance SPAC II Units") in its initial public offering ("IPO"), which includes 3,000,000 Insurance SPAC II Units issued pursuant to the underwriters’ over-allotment option. 

Each Insurance SPAC II Unit consists of one share of Insurance SPAC II Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“ Insurance SPAC II Common Stock”), and one-third of one warrant (each, an “Insurance SPAC II Warrant”), where each whole Insurance SPAC II Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Insurance SPAC II Common Stock for $11.50 per share. The Insurance SPAC II Units were sold in the IPO at an offering price of $10.00 per Unit, for gross proceeds of $230,000 (before underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses). Pursuant to the underwriting agreement in the IPO, Insurance SPAC II granted the underwriters in the IPO (the “Underwriters”) a 45-day option to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional Insurance SPAC II Units solely to cover over-allotments, if any; and on September 4, 2020, the Underwriters notified Insurance SPAC II that they were exercising the over-allotment option in full. Immediately following the completion of the IPO, there were an aggregate of 31,386,667 shares of Insurance SPAC II Common Stock issued and outstanding.

If Insurance SPAC II fails to consummate a Business Combination within the first 18 months following the IPO and is unable to obtain an extension, its corporate existence will cease except for the purposes of winding up its affairs and liquidating its assets.  The Company currently consolidates the Insurance SPAC II Sponsor Entities and treats the Insurance SPAC II Sponsor Entities' investment in the Insurance SPAC II as an equity method investment. 

The Insurance SPAC II Sponsor Entities purchased 452,500 of the Insurance SPAC II placement units in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the IPO for an aggregate of $4,525 or $10.00 per placement unit. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., the underwriter of the IPO, also purchased 87,500 of the Insurance SPAC II's placement units in the private placement for an aggregate of $875. Each placement unit consists of one share of Insurance SPAC II Common Stock and one-third of one warrant (the “Insurance SPAC II Placement Warrant”).  The placement units are identical to the Insurance SPAC II Units sold in the IPO except (i) the shares of Insurance SPAC II Common Stock issued as part of the placement units and the Insurance SPAC II Placement Warrants will not be redeemable by Insurance SPAC II, (ii) the Insurance SPAC II Placement Warrants may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis, (iii) the shares of Insurance SPAC II Common Stock issued as part of the placement units, together with the Insurance SPAC II Placement Warrants, are entitled to certain registration rights, and (iv) for so long as they are held by the IPO underwriter, the Insurance SPAC II placement units will not be exercisable more than five years following the effective date of the registration statement filed by Insurance SPAC II in connection with the IPO. Subject to certain limited exceptions, the placement units (including the underlying Insurance SPAC II Placement Warrants and Insurance SPAC II Common Stock and the shares of Insurance SPAC II Common Stock issuable upon exercise of Insurance SPAC II Placement Warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of the Insurance SPAC II Business Combination.

In addition, the Insurance SPAC II Sponsor Entities collectively hold 7,846,667 founder shares of the Insurance SPAC II. Subject to certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferable or salable except (a) with respect to 20% of such shares, until consummation of a Business Combination, and (b) with respect to additional 20% tranches of such shares, when the closing price of the Common Stock exceeds $12.00, $13.50, $15.00 and $17.00, respectively, for 20 out of any 30 consecutive trading days following the consummation of the Insurance SPAC II Business Combination.  Certain executive and key employees of the Operating LLC purchased membership interests in Dioptra Advisors II, LLC and have an interest in the Insurance SPAC II’s founder shares through such membership interests.

The number of founders shares eventually retained by the Insurance SPAC II Sponsor Entities and in which such executives and key employees have an interest through the Insurance SPAC II Sponsor Entities will not be determined until the Insurance SPAC II Business Combination is complete. 

A total of $230,000 of the net proceeds from the private placement and the IPO (including approximately $9,800 of the deferred underwriting commission from the IPO) were placed in a trust account. Except for the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes (or dissolution expenses if the Insurance SPAC II Business Combination is not consummated), none of the funds held in the trust account will be released until the earlier of (i) the completion of the Insurance SPAC II's Business Combination, (ii) the redemption of Insurance SPAC II's public shares if it is unable to consummate an Insurance SPAC II's Business Combination within 18 months following the IPO, or (iii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend the Insurance SPAC II's amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of Insurance SPAC II's obligation to redeem 100% of its public shares if it does not complete an Insurance SPAC II Business Combination within 18 months following the IPO and is unable to obtain an extension. If Insurance SPAC II does not complete a Business Combination within the first 18 months following the IPO, the placement units and founders shares will become worthless.

In connection with the IPO, IAS II has agreed to indemnify Insurance SPAC II for all claims by third parties for services rendered or products sold to Insurance SPAC II, or claims by any prospective target business with which Insurance SPAC II discusses entering into a transaction agreement, to the extent the claims reduce the amount of funds in the Insurance SPAC II trust account to less than $10.00 per share of Insurance SPAC II Common Stock, and in each case only if Insurance SPAC II fails to obtain waivers from such third parties or prospective target businesses of claims against the Insurance SPAC II trust account.

The Operating LLC loaned Insurance SPAC II approximately $75 to cover IPO expenses, which was repaid in full at the closing of the IPO. IAS II and its affiliates, including the Operating LLC, have also committed to loan Insurance SPAC II up to an additional $750 to cover operating and acquisition related expenses following the IPO. This loan will bear no interest and, if the Insurance SPAC II consummates a Business Combination in the required time frame, the loan is to be repaid from the funds held in the Insurance SPAC II trust account. If Insurance SPAC II does not consummate a Business Combination in the required time frame, no funds from the Insurance SPAC II  trust account can be used to repay the loan.

In connection with the closing of the IPO, the Operating LLC and the Insurance SPAC II entered into an Administrative Services Agreement, dated September 2, 2020, a copy of which was filed as Exhibit 10.6 to Insurance SPAC II’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 9, 2020, pursuant to which the Operating LLC and Insurance SPAC II agreed that, commencing on the date that Insurance SPAC II's securities are first listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market through the earlier of Insurance SPAC II’s consummation of a Business Combination and its liquidation, Insurance SPAC II will pay the Operating LLC $20 per month for certain office space, utilities, secretarial support and administrative services.

ViaNova Capital Group LLC 

In 2018, the Company formed a wholly-owned subsidiary, ViaNova Capital Group LLC (“ViaNova”), for the purpose of building a residential transition loan (“RTL”) business.  RTLs are small balance commercial loans that are secured by first lien mortgages used by professional investors and real estate developers to finance the purchase and rehabilitation of residential properties. 

On November 20, 2018, ViaNova entered into a Warehousing Credit and Security Agreement with LegacyTexas Bank (the “LegacyTexas Credit Facility”) with an effective date of November 16, 2018.  The LegacyTexas Credit Facility was amended on May 4, 2019 and again on September 25, 2019 and October 28, 2019.  The LegacyTexas Credit Facility supported the buying, aggregating, and distributing of RTLs performed by the business of ViaNova.

 

On March 19, 2020, ViaNova received a notice of default from LegacyTexas Bank regarding the LegacyTexas Credit Facility, stating that ViaNova’s unrestricted cash balance was less than the amount required.  Also, on March 19, 2020, ViaNova received notice from LegacyTexas Bank that it had suspended funding all “alternative” loans for all of their clients, including the RTL loans that are the subject of the LegacyTexas Credit Facility.  Since March 19, 2020, ViaNova has repaid all outstanding indebtedness under the LegacyTexas Credit Facility and stopped acquiring new RTLs.  On August 22, 2020, the Company sold its investment in ViaNova to the former managing director of ViaNova in exchange for the managing director's assumption of  all of ViaNova's liabilities and a potential earn out of up to $500.  In conjunction with the sale, the Company transferred one RTL representing a par value of $2,300 and a fair value of $2,243 from ViaNova to JVB with a maturity date of January 1, 2021. The RTL is included in other investments, at fair value in the consolidated balance sheets.

COVID 19 / Impairment of Goodwill 

 

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic, which continues to spread throughout the United States. The spread of COVID-19 has caused significant volatility in domestic and international markets. There is on-going uncertainty around the breadth and duration of business disruptions related to COVID-19, as well as its impact on the U.S. and international economies.  While the Company cannot fully assess the impact COVID-19 will have on all of its operations at this time, there are certain impacts that the Company has identified:

 

 

The Company will likely be impacted by the pandemic in other ways which the Company cannot yet determine.  The Company will continue to monitor market conditions and respond accordingly. 

The Company applied for and received a $2,166 loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security ("CARES") Act.  The Company carefully considered the eligibility requirements for PPP loans as well as supplemental guidance regarding the PPP beyond the applicable statute issued from time to time by government agencies and certain government officials. The Company was eligible for a PPP loan because it has fewer than 500 employees. Further, although the Company is public and listed on the NYSE American stock exchange, the Company’s market capitalization is small, and the Company believes that it does not have access to the public capital markets at this time. In part due to the PPP loan, the Company does not anticipate any significant workforce reduction or reductions in compensation levels in the near future. However, the Company will continue to carefully monitor revenue levels to assess whether compensatory or other cost-cutting measures might be necessary. On September 23, 2020, the Company applied for forgiveness of the PPP loan.  See note 17.

The 2020 Senior Notes 

On January 31, 2020, the Operating LLC entered into a note purchase agreement with JKD Capital Partners I LTD, a New York corporation (“JKD Investor”), and RN Capital Solutions LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“RNCS”).  The JKD Investor is owned by Jack DiMaio, the vice chairman of the Company’s board of directors and his spouse.

 

Pursuant to the note purchase agreement, JKD Investor and RNCS each purchased a senior promissory note in the principal amount of $2,250 (for an aggregate investment of $4,500).  The senior promissory notes bear interest at a fixed rate of 12% per annum and mature on January 31, 2022.  On February 3, 2020, pursuant to the note purchase agreement, the Operating LLC used the proceeds received from the issuance of the senior promissory notes to repay in full all amounts outstanding under the senior promissory note, dated September 25, 2019, issued by the Company to Pensco Trust Company, Custodian fbo Edward E. Cohen IRA in the principal amount of $4,386 (the “Cohen IRA Note”).  The Cohen IRA Note was included as a portion of the 2019 Senior Notes outstanding as of December 31, 2019.  The Cohen IRA Note was fully paid and extinguished on February 3, 2020.  Subsequent to this repayment, $2,400 of the 2019 Senior Notes remain outstanding.  On September 25, 2020, the Company amended and restated the 2019 Senior Notes to extend the maturity date of the remaining $2,400 to September 25, 2021. See note 17. 

DGC Trust/CBF Redeemable Financial Instrument

On September 29, 2017, the Operating LLC entered into an investment agreement with CBF (the “CBF Investment Agreement”) and an investment agreement with the DGC Family Fintech Trust (the “DGC Trust”), a trust established by Daniel G. Cohen (the “DGC Trust Investment Agreement”), pursuant to which CBF and the DGC Trust agreed to invest $8,000 and $2,000, respectively, into the Operating LLC.

As of September 25, 2020, the Company had outstanding investment balances of $6,500 and $2,000 related to the CBF Investment Agreement and the DGC Trust Investment Agreement, respectively. 

On September 25, 2020, the Operating LLC and CBF entered into Amendment No. 3 to Investment Agreement, which amended the CBF Investment Agreement (i) to extend the date thereunder pursuant to which the Company or CBF could cause a redemption of the Investment Balance from September 27, 2020 to January 1, 2021, and (ii) to state that no such redemption by the Company could be in violation of any loan agreement to which the Company was then a party.

On September 30, 2020, the Company redeemed the DGC Trust Investment Agreement in full by making payment of $2,000 to the DGC Trust.  

On October 9, 2020 and effective October 15, 2020, the Operating LLC entered into Amendment No. 4 to Investment Agreement, which further amended the CBF Investment Agreement to, among other things, (A) decrease the “Investment Amount” under the CBF Investment Agreement from $6,500 to $4,000 in exchange for a one-time payment of $2,500 from the Operating Company to CBF; and (B) provide that the term “Investment Return” (as defined in the CBF Investment Agreement) will mean an annual return equal to, (i) for any twelve-month period following September 29, 2020 (each, an “Annual Period”) in which the revenue of the business of JVB (“Revenue of the Business”), is greater than zero, the greater of 20% of the Investment Amount or 9.4% of the Revenue of the Business, or (ii) for any Annual Period in which the Revenue of the Business is zero or less than zero, 3.75% of the Investment Amount. Prior to the Investment Agreement Amendment, the term “Investment Return” under the CBF Investment Agreement was defined as (A) with respect to any Annual in which the Revenue of the Business was greater than zero, the greater of 20% of the Investment Amount or 15.2% of the Revenue of the Business, or (ii) for any Annual Period in which the Revenue of the Business was zero or less than zero, 3.75% of the Investment Amount.  The Company made the $2,500 payment to CBF on October 15, 2020.  See note 16.

5. NET TRADING 

 

Net trading consisted of the following in the periods presented.



 

Trading inventory includes investments classified as investments-trading as well as trading securities sold, not yet purchased.  See note 7. 

 

During 2019, RTLs were accounted for at lower of cost or market and included as a component of other assets and the interest income related to those loans was shown separately in the table above.  Effective January 1, 2020, in connection with the adoption of ASC 326, the Company began accounting for RTLs at fair value and included them as a component of investments-trading. Income earned on RTLs in included in interest income-trading inventory in the table above.  In conjunction with the sale of ViaNova , the Company retained one loan and transferred it to JVB.  This loan is now included in other investments, at fair value on the consolidated balance sheets; subsequent income earned on this RTL is included in principal transactions and other income in the consolidated statement of operations.

Also, see note 10 for discussion of receivables under resale agreements and securities sold under agreements to repurchase.  See note 6 for discussion of margin payable.  See note 17 for discussion of LegacyTexas Credit Facility. 

  

6. RECEIVABLES FROM AND PAYABLES TO BROKERS, DEALERS, AND CLEARING AGENCIES

Amounts receivable from brokers, dealers, and clearing agencies consisted of the following.

Amounts payable to brokers, dealers, and clearing agencies consisted of the following.



   

Deposits with clearing agencies represent contractual amounts the Company is required to deposit with its clearing agents.

 

Securities transactions that settle in the regular way are recorded on the trade date, as if they had settled. The related amounts receivable and payable for unsettled securities transactions are recorded net in receivables from or payables to brokers, dealers, and clearing agencies on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.

 

Receivables from clearing agencies are primarily comprised of (i) cash received by the Company upon execution of short trades that is restricted from withdrawal by the clearing agent and (ii) cash deposited with the FICC to support the Company’s General Collateral Funding (“GCF”) matched book repo business.

 

Margin payable represents amounts borrowed from Pershing, LLC to finance the Company’s trading portfolio.  Substantially all of the Company’s investments-trading and deposits with clearing agencies serve as collateral for the margin payable.  See note 5 for interest expense incurred on margin payable.

 

Due to clearing agent represents amounts due to Bank of New York under the Company’s intra-day and overnight lending facility supporting the GCF matched repo business. See note 10.

7. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Investments—Trading

Investments-trading consisted of the following.

 

Trading Securities Sold, Not Yet Purchased

Trading securities sold, not yet purchased consisted of the following.

 

The Company manages its exposure to changes in interest rates for the interest rate sensitive securities it holds by entering into offsetting short positions for similar fixed rate securities. See note 5 for realized and unrealized gains recognized on investments-trading.

Other Investments, at fair value

Other investments, at fair value consisted of the following.

 

 

8. FAIR VALUE DISCLOSURES

Fair Value Option

The Company has elected to account for certain of its other financial assets at fair value under the fair value option provisions of FASB ASC 825. The primary reason for electing the fair value option was to reduce the burden of monitoring the differences between the cost and the fair value of the Company’s investments, previously classified as available for sale securities, including the assessment as to whether the declines are temporary in nature and to further remove an element of management judgment.

Such financial assets accounted for at fair value include:

The changes in fair value (realized and unrealized gains and losses) of these instruments for which the Company has elected the fair value option are recorded in principal transactions and other income in the consolidated statements of operations. All of the investments for which the Company has elected the fair value option are included as a component of other investments, at fair value in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company recognized net gains (losses) related to changes in fair value of investments that are included as a component of other investments, at fair value during the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 of $1,763 and $140, respectively. The Company recognized net gains (losses) related to changes in fair value of investments that are included as a component of other investments, at fair value during the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 of $1,308 and $879, respectively.

Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with FASB ASC 820, the Company has categorized its financial instruments, based on the priority of the inputs to the valuation technique, into a three level valuation hierarchy. The valuation hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (level 1 measurement) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (level 3 measurement). The three levels of the valuation hierarchy under FASB ASC 820 are described below.

Level 1            Financial assets and liabilities with values that are based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities.

Level  2           Financial assets and liabilities with values that are based on one or more of the following:

Level 3            Financial assets and liabilities with values that are based on prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable. These inputs reflect management’s own assumptions about the assumptions a market participant would use in pricing the asset or liability.

In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the valuation hierarchy. In such cases, the level in the valuation hierarchy within which the fair value measurement in its entirety falls has been determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The Company’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment and considers factors specific to the asset or liability.

Both observable and unobservable inputs may be used to determine the fair value of positions that the Company has classified within the level 3 category. As a result, the unrealized gains and losses for assets and liabilities within the level 3 category presented in the tables below may include changes in fair value that were attributable to both observable (e.g., changes in market interest rates) and unobservable (e.g., changes in unobservable long-dated volatilities) inputs.

The following tables present information about the Company’s assets and liabilities measured at fair value as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 and indicates the valuation hierarchy of the valuation techniques utilized by the Company to determine such fair value.

 

 

 

 (1)  As a practical expedient, the Company uses NAV per share (or its equivalent) to measure the fair value of its investments in the U.S. Insurance JV and the SPAC Fund.  The U.S. Insurance JV invests in USD denominated debt issued by small and medium size insurance and reinsurance companies.  The SPAC Fund invests in equity securities of SPACs.  According to ASC 820, these investments are not categorized within the valuation hierarchy.

The following provides a brief description of the types of financial instruments the Company holds, the methodology for estimating fair value, and the level within the valuation hierarchy of the estimate. The discussion that follows applies regardless of whether the instrument is included in investments-trading; other investments, at fair value; or trading securities sold, not yet purchased.

U.S. Government Agency MBS and CMOs: These are securities that are generally traded over-the-counter. The Company generally values these securities using third party quotations such as unadjusted broker-dealer quoted prices or market price quotations from third party pricing services. These valuations are based on a market approach. The Company classifies the fair value of these securities within level 2 of the valuation hierarchy.

U.S. Government Agency Debt Securities: Callable and non-callable U.S. government agency debt securities are measured primarily based on quoted market prices obtained from third party pricing services. Non-callable U.S. government agency debt securities are generally classified within level 1 and callable U.S. government agency debt securities are classified within level 2 of the valuation hierarchy.

RMBS: The Company generally values these securities using third party quotations such as unadjusted broker-dealer quoted prices or market price quotations from third party pricing services. These valuations are based on a market approach. The Company generally classifies the fair value of these securities based on third party quotations within level 2 of the valuation hierarchy.

U.S. Treasury Securities: U.S. Treasury securities include U.S. Treasury bonds and notes and the fair values of the U.S. Treasury securities are based on quoted prices or market activity in active markets. Valuation adjustments are not applied. The Company classifies the fair value of these securities within level 1 of the valuation hierarchy.

CLOs, CDOs, and ABS: CLOs, CDOs, and ABS are interests in securitizations. ABS may include, but are not limited to, securities backed by auto loans, credit card receivables, or student loans. When the Company is able to obtain independent market quotations from at least two broker-dealers and where a price within the range of at least two broker-dealers is used or market price quotations from third party pricing services is used, these interests in securitizations will generally be classified within level 2 of the valuation hierarchy. These valuations are based on a market approach. The independent market quotations from broker-dealers are generally nonbinding. The Company seeks quotations from broker-dealers that historically have actively traded, monitored, issued, and been knowledgeable about the interests in securitizations. The Company generally believes to the extent that it (i)  receives two quotations in a similar range from broker-dealers knowledgeable about these interests in securitizations and (ii)  considers the broker-dealers gather and utilize observable market information such as new issue activity in the primary market, trading activity in the secondary market, credit spreads versus historical levels, bid-ask spreads, and price consensus among market participants and sources, then classification within level 2 of the valuation hierarchy is appropriate. In the absence of two broker-dealer market quotations, a single broker-dealer market quotation may be used without corroboration of the quote in which case the Company generally classifies the fair value within level 3 of the valuation hierarchy.

If quotations are unavailable, prices observed by the Company for recently executed market transactions or valuation models prepared by the Company’s management may be used, which are based on an income approach. These models prepared by the Company’s management include estimates, and the valuations derived from them could differ materially from amounts realizable in an open market exchange. Each CLO and CDO position is evaluated independently taking into consideration available comparable market levels, underlying collateral performance and pricing, deal structures, and liquidity.  Fair values based on internal valuation models prepared by the Company’s management are generally classified within level 3 of the valuation hierarchy. 

Establishing fair value is inherently subjective (given the volatile and sometimes illiquid markets for certain interests in securitizations) and requires management to make a number of assumptions, including assumptions about the future of interest rates, discount rates, and the timing of cash flows. The assumptions the Company applies are specific to each security. Although the Company may rely on internal calculations to compute the fair value of certain interest in securitizations, the Company requests and considers indications of fair value from third party pricing services to assist in the valuation process.

SBA Loans: SBA loans include loans and SBA interest only strips.  In the case of loans, the Company generally values these securities using third party quotations such as unadjusted broker-dealer quoted prices, internal valuation models using observable inputs, or market price quotations from third party pricing services. The Company generally classifies these investments within level 2 of the valuation hierarchy. These valuations are based on a market approach. SBA interest only strips do not trade in an active market with readily available prices. Accordingly, the Company generally uses valuation models to determine fair value and classifies the fair value of the SBA interest only strips within level 2 or level 3 of the valuation hierarchy depending on whether the model inputs are observable or not. 

Corporate Bonds and Redeemable Preferred Stock: The Company uses recently executed transactions or third party quotations from independent pricing services to arrive at the fair value of its investments in corporate bonds and redeemable preferred stock. These valuations are based on a market approach. The Company generally classifies the fair value of these bonds within level 2 of the valuation hierarchy. In instances where the fair values of securities are based on quoted prices in active markets (for example with redeemable preferred stock), the Company classifies the fair value of these securities within level 1 of the valuation hierarchy.

Foreign Government Bonds: The fair value of foreign government bonds is estimated using valuations provided by third party pricing services and classifies the fair value within level 2 of the valuation hierarchy.

Municipal Bonds: Municipal bonds, which include obligations of U.S. states, municipalities, and political subdivisions, primarily include bonds or notes issued by U.S. municipalities. The Company generally values these securities using third party quotations such as market price quotations from third party pricing services. The Company generally classifies the fair value of these bonds within level 2 of the valuation hierarchy. The valuations are based on a market approach. In instances where the Company is unable to obtain reliable market price quotations from third party pricing services, the Company will use its own internal valuation models. In these cases, the Company will classify such securities as level 3 within the valuation hierarchy until it is able to obtain third party pricing.

Certificates of Deposit: The fair value of certificates of deposit is estimated using valuations provided by third party pricing services. The Company classifies the fair value of certificates of deposit within level 2 of the valuation hierarchy.

Residential Loans: Management utilizes home price indices or market indications to value the residential loans.  The Company classifies the fair value of these loans within level 2 in the valuation hierarchy.

 

Residential transition loans: The Company uses valuation models prepared by management which are based on an income approach. These models include estimates, and the valuations derived from them could differ materially from amounts realizable in an open market exchange. Fair values based on internal valuation models prepared by the Company’s management are generally classified within level 3 of the valuation hierarchy. 

Equity Securities: The fair value of equity securities that represent unrestricted investments in publicly traded companies (common or preferred shares, options, warrants, and other equity investments) are determined using the closing price of the security as of the reporting date. These are securities that are traded on a recognized liquid exchange and the Company classifies their fair value within level 1 of the valuation hierarchy.

The Company may own an option or warrant where the underlying security is publicly traded but the option or warrant is not.  In those cases, the Company may determine fair value using a Black-Scholes model and will generally classify their fair value within level 2 within the valuation hierarchy.

The Company may own an equity investment in a publicly traded company that is restricted as to resale. In those cases, the Company may determine fair value by preparing a model. The fair value will be classified within level 2 of the valuation hierarchy if the inputs to the model are observable.  Otherwise, it will be classified within level 3 of the valuation hierarchy.  

The Company may own an equity interest in a private company.  In those cases, the Company may determine fair value by preparing a model.  The model may be either a market-based or income-based model, whichever is considered the most appropriate in each case.  The fair value will be classified within level 2 if the inputs to the model are observable.  Otherwise, it will be classified within level 3 of the valuation hierarchy.

Derivatives 

Foreign Currency Forward Contracts 

Foreign currency forward contracts are exchange-traded derivatives, which transact on an exchange that is deemed to be active.  The fair value of the foreign currency forward contracts is based on current quoted market prices.  Valuation adjustments are not applied.  These are classified within level 1 of the valuation hierarchy. See note 9.

TBAs and Other Forward Agency MBS Contracts 

The Company generally values these securities using third party quotations such as unadjusted broker-dealer quoted prices or market price quotations from third party pricing services. TBAs and other forward agency MBS contracts are generally classified within level 2 of the valuation hierarchy. If there is limited transaction activity or less transparency to observe market based inputs to valuation models, TBAs and other forward agency MBS contracts are classified within level 3 of the valuation hierarchy.  U.S. government agency MBS and CMOs include TBAs and other forward agency MBS contracts.  Unrealized gains on TBAs and other forward agency MBS contracts are included in investments-trading on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets and unrealized losses on TBAs and other forward agency MBS contracts are included in trading securities sold, not yet purchased on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. See note 9.

Other Extended Settlement Trades 

When the Company buys or sells a financial instrument that will not settle in the regular time frame, the Company will account for that purchase or sale on the settlement date rather than the trade date.  In those cases, the Company accounts for the transaction between trade date and settlement date as a derivative (as either a purchase commitment or sale commitment). The Company will record an unrealized gain or unrealized loss on the derivative for the difference between the fair value of the underlying financial instrument as of the reporting date and the agreed upon transaction price.  The Company will determine the fair value of the financial instrument using the methodologies described above.

Level 3 Financial Assets and Liabilities

Financial Instruments Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis

The following table presents additional information about assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis and for which the Company has utilized level 3 inputs to determine fair value.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The following tables provide the quantitative information about level 3 fair value measurements as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019.