Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Reclassification

Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the presentation of the current period. The Company reclassified $137,000 related to a certain revenue stream from the line item “Commissions and fees” to “Other income” on the consolidated statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 to conform to the presentation of the current period. The reclassification has not materially impacted the Company’s financial statements, and did not result in a change in total revenue, net income or cash flows from operations for the periods presented.

Variable Interest Entities

Variable Interest Entities

The Company evaluates whether an entity is a VIE and determines if the primary beneficiary status is appropriate on a quarterly basis. The Company consolidates a VIE for which it is the primary beneficiary. When assessing the determination of the primary beneficiary, the Company considers all relevant facts and circumstances, including factors such as the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact its economic performance, the obligation to absorb the losses and/or the right to receive the expected returns of the VIE. If the Company determines that it is the primary beneficiary, the Company will consolidate the entity under the VIE model.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

These estimates relate primarily to expenses in the normal course of business as to which the Company receives no confirmations, invoices, or other documentation at the time the books are closed. The Company uses its best judgment, based on knowledge of these expenses incurred, to estimate the amount of such expenses. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The Company is not aware of any material differences between the estimates used in closing the Company’s books for the periods presented and the actual amounts of expenses incurred when the Company subsequently receives the actual confirmations, invoices, or other documentation.

Estimates are used in the allowance for credit losses, valuation of certain investments, depreciation, income taxes, and the contingent liabilities related to legal and healthcare expenses. The Company also estimates the valuation allowance for its deferred tax assets based on the more likely than not criteria. The Company believes that its estimates are reasonable.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents are all cash balances that are unrestricted. The Company has defined cash equivalents as highly liquid investments with original maturities of less than 90 days that are not held for sale in the ordinary course of business. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company did not hold any cash equivalents.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company maintained its cash balances at various financial institutions. These balances are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) up to $250,000 per institution. The Company is subject to credit risk to the extent that the financial institution with which it conducts business is unable to fulfill its contractual obligations and deposits exceed FDIC limits. At certain times, cash balances may exceed FDIC insured limits.

Receivables From and Payables To Customers

Receivables From and Payables To Customers

Receivables from and payables to customers include amounts due and owed on cash and margin transactions. Receivables from customers include margin loans to securities brokerage clients and other trading receivables. Margin loans are collateralized by customer securities and are carried at the amount receivable, net of an allowance for credit losses. Collateral is required to be maintained at specified minimum levels at all times. The Company monitors margin levels and requires customers to provide additional collateral, or reduce margin positions, to meet minimum collateral requirements if the fair value of the collateral changes. The Company expects the borrowers will continually replenish the collateral as necessary because the Company subjects the borrowers to an internal qualification process to align investing objectives and risk tolerance in addition to monitoring customer activity. Receivables from and payables to customers amounts include any amounts received from interest on credit balances or paid on margin debit balances.

The Company elected the practical expedient for FASB ASC Topic 326 – “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses” (“Topic 326”) which permits it to compare the amortized cost basis of the loaned amount with the fair value of collateral received at the reporting date to measure the estimate of expected credit losses. The Company had no expectation of credit losses for its receivables from customers as of December 31, 2023 and 2022. Securities beneficially owned by customers, including those that collateralize margin or other similar transactions, are not reflected on the consolidated statements of financial condition.

Receivables From, Payables To, and Deposits With Broker-Dealers and Clearing Organizations

Receivables From, Payables To, and Deposits With Broker-Dealers and Clearing Organizations

Receivables from and payables to broker-dealers and clearing organizations includes amounts receivables from or payables to MSCO and RISE clearing broker-dealers, fail-to-deliver and fail-to-receive items, and amounts receivable for unsettled regular-way transactions. Deposits with broker-dealers and clearing organizations include amounts held on deposit with broker-dealers and clearing organizations.

Amounts payables to broker-dealers and clearing organizations are offset against corresponding amounts receivables from broker-dealers and clearing organizations. Receivables from these broker-dealers and clearing organizations are subject to clearing agreements and include the net receivable from net monthly revenues as well as cash on deposit.

MSCO customer transactions for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were both self-cleared and cleared on a fully disclosed basis through NFS. RISE customer transactions for the year ended December 31, 2023 were cleared on fully disclosed basis through MSCO. For the year ended December 31, 2022 were cleared on fully disclosed basis through GSCO and Pershing. RISE did not have any customer transactions through MSCO for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

The Company signed a four-year renewal with NFS commencing August 1, 2021 and ending on July 31, 2025, and NFS’s fees are offset against the Company’s revenues on a monthly basis. In June 2023, the Company entered into an amendment to its service agreement with Broadridge Securities Processing Solutions, LLC that, among other things, extends the term of their arrangement for a five-year period ending June 2028. All other broker-dealer and clearing organization relationships operate on a month-to-month basis.

Receivables from and deposits with broker-dealers and clearing organizations are in scope of the amended guidance for Topic 326. The Company continually reviews the credit quality of its counterparties and historically has not experienced a default. Further, management reassessed the risk characteristics of its receivables and applied the collateral maintenance practical expedient for the secured receivables in line with the CECL guidance. As a result, the Company had no expectation of credit losses for these arrangements as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Securities Borrowed and Securities Loaned

Securities Borrowed and Securities Loaned

Securities borrowed transactions are recorded at the amount of cash collateral delivered to the counterparty. Securities loaned transactions are recorded at the amount of cash collateral received. For securities borrowed and loaned, the Company monitors the market value of the securities and obtains or refunds collateral as necessary.

The Company can elect to use an approach to measure the allowance for credit losses using the fair value of collateral where the borrower is required to, and reasonably expected to, continually adjust and replenish the amount of collateral securing the instrument to reflect changes in the fair value of such collateral. The Company has elected to use this approach for its allowance for credit losses on securities borrowed. As a result of this election, and the fully collateralized nature of these arrangements, the Company had no expectation of credit losses on its securities borrowed balances as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Securities Owned and Securities Sold, Not Yet Purchased at Fair Value

Securities Owned and Securities Sold, Not Yet Purchased at Fair Value

Securities owned, at fair value represent marketable securities owned by the Company at trade-date valuation. Securities sold, not yet purchased, at fair value represent marketable securities sold by the Company prior to purchase at trade-date valuation. These securities are classified as trading securities and in accordance with ASC 940, these securities are measured initially at fair value and any realized or unrealized gains or losses to fair value are included in profit or loss. Below is a table with further detail on the Company’s securities.

Type of Security	Classification	Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition	Recording of Realized and Unrealized Gain or Loss
Certificates of deposit, Corporate bonds, municipal securities, options	Trading	Securities owned, at fair value	Principal transactions and proprietary trading
Equities	Trading	Securities owned, at fair value; Securities sold, not yet purchased at fair value	Market making, Principal transactions and proprietary trading
U.S. government securities	Trading	Securities owned, at fair value	Principal transactions and proprietary trading
U.S. government securities	Trading	Cash and securities segregated for regulatory purposes	Principal transactions and proprietary trading

Software, Net

Software, Net

The Company capitalizes certain costs for certain software and amortizes them over their useful life, generally not exceeding three years. Depending on the terms of the contract, the Company either records costs from software hosting arrangements as prepaid assets and amortizes them over the contract term, or the costs are expensed as incurred.

The Company enters into certain software hosting arrangements where the associated professional development services work is capitalized and then amortized over the term of the contract.

Other software costs such as routine maintenance and various data services are expensed as incurred.

Equity Method Investments

Equity Method Investments

Investments in which the Company has the ability to exercise significant influence, but does not control, are accounted for under the equity method of accounting and are included in the line item “Equity method investment in related party” on the consolidated statements of financial condition. Under this method of accounting, the Company’s share of the net income or loss of the investee is presented before the income before provision for income taxes on the consolidated statements of operations.

The Company evaluates its equity method investments whenever events or changes in circumstance indicate that the carrying amounts of such investments may be impaired. If the impairment is determined to be other-than-temporary, the Company will recognize an impairment loss equal to the difference between the expected realizable value and the carrying value of the investment.

Goodwill

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess purchase price of businesses acquired over the fair value of the identifiable net assets acquired. Goodwill is not subject to amortization but rather is evaluated for impairment annually, or more frequently if events occur or circumstances change indicating it would more likely than not result in a reduction of the fair value of the reporting unit below its carrying value, including goodwill. Goodwill may be evaluated for impairment by performing a qualitative assessment. This qualitative assessment considers various financial, macroeconomic, industry, and reporting unit specific qualitative factors. If the qualitative assessment indicates that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, including goodwill, or, if for any other reason the Company determines to it be appropriate, then a quantitative assessment will be performed. The quantitative assessment process utilizes an income and market approach to arrive at an indicated fair value range for the reporting unit. The fair value calculated for the reporting unit is compared to its carrying amount, including goodwill, to ascertain if goodwill impairment exists. If the fair value exceeds the carrying amount, including goodwill for the reporting unit, it is not considered impaired. If the fair value is below the carrying amount, including goodwill for the reporting unit, then an impairment charge is recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the calculated fair value, up to but not exceeding the amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit.

The Company’s annual impairment test date is December 31. The Company completed a qualitative assessment for its reporting unit during its most recent annual impairment review. The Company concluded that it has one reportable segment and tests goodwill on a consolidated basis. Based on this qualitative assessment, the Company determined that there was no evidence of impairment to the balance of its goodwill as of both December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Deferred Contract Incentive

Deferred Contract Incentive

The Company entered into an amendment with its agreement with NFS whereby the Company received a one-time business development credit of $3 million, and NFS will pay the Company four annual credits of $100,000, which are both recorded in the line item “Deferred contract incentive” on the consolidated statements of financial condition. Annual credits shall be paid on the anniversary of the date on which the first credit was paid. The business development credit and annual credits will be recognized as contra expense over four years and one year, respectively, in the line item “Clearing fees, including execution costs” on the consolidated statements of operations.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition

The primary sources of revenue for the Company are as follows:

Principal Transactions and Proprietary Trading

Principal Transactions and Proprietary Trading

Principal transactions and proprietary trading primarily represent two revenue streams. The first revenue stream is riskless transactions in which the Company, after executing a solicited order, buys or sells securities as principal and at the same time buys or sells the securities with a markup or markdown to satisfy the order. The second revenue stream is entering into transactions where U.S. government securities and other securities are traded by the Company.

Principal transactions and proprietary trading are recognized at a point in time on the trade date when the performance obligation is satisfied. The performance obligation is satisfied on the trade date because that is when the underlying financial instrument or purchaser is identified, the pricing is agreed upon, and the risks and rewards of ownership have been transferred to / from the customer or trading counterparty.

Stock Borrow / Stock Loan

Stock Borrow / Stock Loan

The Company borrows securities on behalf of retail clients to facilitate short trading, loans excess margin and fully-paid securities from client accounts, facilitates borrow and loan contracts for broker-dealer counterparties, and provides stock locate services to broker-dealer counterparties. The Company recognizes self-clearing revenues net of operating expenses related to stock borrow / stock loan. Stock borrow / stock loan also includes any revenues generated from the Company’s fully paid lending programs on a self-clearing or introducing basis. The Company does not utilize stock borrow / stock loan activities for the purpose of financing transactions.

Securities borrowed and securities loaned transactions are recorded at the amount of cash collateral advanced or received, respectively, with all related securities, collateral, and cash both held at and moving through DTC or OCC as appropriate for each counterparty. Securities borrowed transactions require the Company to deposit cash or other collateral with the lender. Securities loaned transactions require the receipt of collateral by the Company in the form of cash in an amount generally in excess of the fair value of securities loaned. The Company monitors the fair value of securities borrowed and loaned daily, with additional collateral obtained or returned as necessary. Securities borrow and loan fees represent interest or (rebate) on the cash received or paid as collateral on the securities borrowed or loaned.

The Company applies a practical expedient to ASC 326 regarding its securities borrowed and loaned balances and their underlying collateral. Inherent in this activity, the Company and its counterparties to securities borrowed and loaned transactions, mark to market the collateral, securing these transactions on a daily basis through DTC or OCC. The counterparty continually replenishes the collateral securing the asset in accordance with standard industry practice. Based on the above factors, there is no material current expected credit loss under ASC 326 for securities borrowed and loaned transactions is not needed as of December 31, 2023.

The performance obligation is satisfied on the contract date because that is when the underlying financial instrument or purchaser is identified, the pricing is agreed upon, and the risks and rewards of ownership have been transferred to / from the counterparty.

Interest, Marketing and Distribution Fees

Interest, Marketing and Distribution Fees

The Company earns interest from clients’ accounts, net of payments to clients’ accounts, and on the Company’s bank balances and securities. Interest income also includes interest payouts from introducing relationships related to short interest, net of charges.

The Company also earns margin interest which is the net interest charged to customers for holding financed margin positions. Marketing and distribution fees consist of 12b-1 fees which are trailing payments from money market funds. Interest, marketing and distribution fees are recorded as earned.

The Company enters into arrangements with managed accounts of other pooled investment vehicles (funds) to distribute shares to investors. The Company may receive distribution fees paid by the fund up front, over time, upon the investor’s exit from the fund (that is, a contingent deferred sales charge), or as a combination thereof. The Company believes that its performance obligation is the sale of securities to investors and as such this is fulfilled on the trade date. Any fixed amounts are recognized on the trade date and variable amounts are recognized to the extent it is probable that a significant revenue reversal will not occur until the uncertainty is resolved. For variable amounts, as the uncertainty is dependent on the value of the shares at future points in time as well as the length of time the investor remains in the fund, both of which are highly susceptible to factors outside the Company’s influence, the Company does not believe that it can overcome this constraint until the market value of the fund and the investor activities are known, which are usually monthly or quarterly. Distribution fees recognized in the current period are primarily related to performance obligations that have been satisfied in prior periods.

Costs to Obtain or Fulfill a Contract; Other

Costs to Obtain or Fulfill a Contract; Other

For the periods presented, there were no costs capitalized related to obtaining or fulfilling a contract with a customer, and thus the Company has no balances for contract assets or contract liabilities. The Company concludes that its revenue streams have the same underlying economic factors, and as such, no disaggregation of revenue is required.

Share-Based Compensation

Share-Based Compensation

The Company grants share-based compensation and accounts for share-based compensation in accordance with ASC Topic 718, “Compensation-Stock Compensation,” which establishes accounting for share-based compensation to employees for services. Under the provisions of ASC 718-10-35, share-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date, based on the fair value of the award on that date and is expensed at the grant date (for the portion that vests immediately) or ratably over the related vesting periods. Refer to Note 22 – Employee Benefit Plans for further detail.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the consolidated financial statements. Under this method, the Company determines deferred tax assets and liabilities on the basis of the differences between the consolidated financial statements and tax bases of assets and liabilities by using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The effect of a change in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.

The Company recognizes deferred tax assets to the extent that the Company believes that these assets are more likely than not to be realized. In making such a determination, the Company considers all available positive and negative evidence, including future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, projected future taxable income, tax-planning strategies, and results of recent operations. If the Company determines that it would be able to realize deferred taxes in the future in excess of their net recorded amount, the Company would make an adjustment to the deferred tax asset valuation allowance, which would reduce the provision for income taxes.

The Company records uncertain tax positions in accordance with ASC 740 on the basis of a two-step process in which (1) the Company determines whether it is more likely than not that the tax positions will be sustained on the basis of the technical merits of the position and (2) for those tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold, the Company recognizes the largest amount of tax benefit that is more than 50 percent likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement with the related tax authority.

The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits on the provision for income taxes line on the consolidated statements of operations. Accrued interest and penalties would be included on the related tax liability line on the consolidated statements of financial condition.

Per Share Data

Per Share Data

Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing net income available to the Company’s common stockholders by the weighted average number of outstanding common shares during the year. Diluted earnings per share is calculated by dividing net income available to the Company’s common stockholders by the number of shares outstanding under the basic calculation and adding all dilutive securities, which consist of options. The Company has no dilutive securities as of both December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Accounting Standards Adopted in Fiscal 2023

Accounting Standards Adopted in Fiscal 2023

The Company did not adopt any new accounting standards during the year ended December 31, 2023. The Company has evaluated other recently issued accounting standards and does not believe that any of these standards will have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures as of December 31, 2023.