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Commitments, Contingencies, and Other
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments, Contingencies, and Other

19. Commitments, Contingencies, and Other

Legal and Regulatory Matters

The Company is party to certain claims, suits and complaints arising in the ordinary course of business. The below legal matter is related to operations of StockCross Financial Services, Inc. (“StockCross”), prior to the Company’s acquisition of StockCross on January 1, 2020.

For activity related to operations of StockCross prior to the Company’s acquisition of StockCross, FINRA’s Division of Enforcement is currently investigating UIT transactions that were executed by StockCross that the enforcement staff believes were terminated early. Management cannot at this time assess either the duration or the likely outcome or consequences of this matter. Nevertheless, FINRA has the authority to impose sanctions on the Company or require that it make offers of restitution to other customers who FINRA believes incurred sales charges in early liquidations of UITs. No assurances can be given that a mutual settlement with FINRA regarding this matter can be reached or that any amount paid in settlement will not be material.

As of both March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, all other legal matters are without merit or involve amounts which would not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations or financial position.

Overnight Financing

As of both March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, MSCO had an available line of credit for short term overnight demand borrowing of up to $15 million with BMO Harris Bank (“BMO Harris”); however, as of those dates, MSCO had no outstanding loan balance and there were no commitment fees or other restrictions on this line of credit.

The interest expense for this line of credit was $0 and $14,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. There were no fees related to this line of credit for both the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021.

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NFS Contract

Effective August 1, 2021, MSCO entered into an amendment to its clearing agreement with NFS that, among other things, extends the term of their arrangement for an additional four-year period commencing on August 1, 2021 and ending July 31, 2025. If the Company chooses to exit this agreement before the end of the contract term, the Company is under the obligation to pay an early termination fee upon occurrence pursuant to the table below:

Date of Termination

Early Termination Fee

Prior to August 1, 2022

$

8,000,000

Prior to August 1, 2023

$

7,250,000

Prior to August 1, 2024

$

4,500,000

Prior to August 1, 2025

$

3,250,000

For the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, there has been no expense recognized for any early termination fees. The Company believes that it is unlikely it will have to make material payments related to this early termination arrangement and has not recorded any contingent liability in the financial statements related to this arrangement.

General Contingencies

In the normal course of its business, the Company indemnifies and guarantees certain service providers against specified potential losses in connection with their acting as an agent of, or providing services to, the Company. The maximum potential amount of future payments that the Company could be required to make under these indemnifications cannot be estimated. However, the Company believes that it is unlikely it will have to make material payments under these arrangements and has not recorded any contingent liability in the financial statements for these indemnifications.

The Company provides representations and warranties to counterparties in connection with a variety of commercial transactions and occasionally indemnifies them against potential losses caused by the breach of those representations and warranties. The Company may also provide standard indemnifications to some counterparties to protect them in the event additional taxes are owed or payments are withheld, due either to a change in or adverse application of certain tax laws. These indemnifications generally are standard contractual terms and are entered into in the normal course of business. The maximum potential amount of future payments that the Company could be required to make under these indemnifications cannot be estimated. However, the Company believes that it is unlikely it will have to make material payments under these arrangements and has not recorded any contingent liability in the financial statements for these indemnifications.

The Company, through its affiliate, Kennedy Cabot Acquisition, LLC (“KCA”), is self-insured with respect to employee health claims. KCA maintains stop-loss insurance for certain risks and has a health claim reinsurance limit capped at approximately $65,000 per employee as of March 31, 2022. The estimated liability for self-insurance claims is initially recorded in the year in which the event of loss occurs and may be subsequently adjusted based upon new information and cost estimates. Reserves for losses represent estimates of reported losses and estimates of incurred but not reported losses based on past and current experience. Actual claims paid and settled may differ, perhaps significantly, from the provision for losses. This adds uncertainty to the estimated reserves for losses. Accordingly, it is at least possible that the ultimate settlement of losses may vary significantly from the amounts included in the financial statements.

As part of this plan, the Company recognized expenses of $496,000 and $291,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

The Company had an accrual of $65,000 as of March 31, 2022, which represents the historical estimate of future claims to be recognized for claims incurred during the period.

The Company believes that its present insurance coverage and reserves are sufficient to cover currently estimated exposures, but there can be no assurance that the Company will not incur liabilities in excess of recorded reserves or in excess of its insurance limits.

Employee Benefit Plans

The Company, through KCA, sponsors a defined-contribution retirement plan under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code that covers substantially all employees. Participant contributions to the plan are voluntary and are subject to certain limitations. The Company may also make discretionary contributions to the plan. No contributions were made by the Company or KCA for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021. On August 6, 2021, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a 401(k) matching program for employees of the Company.

The Company has an equity incentive plan that provides for the grant of stock options, restricted stock, and other equity awards of the Company’s common stock to employees, officers, consultants, directors, affiliates and other service providers of the Company. There are 3 million shares reserved under the plan, and the Company issued no securities under the plan for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021.