Consolidated Statements of Operations (Parent Company, USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Parent Company
Revenues:
Commissions and fees	$ 14,314,000	$ 17,144,000	$ 18,244,000
Investment banking	3,801,000	2,238,000	5,387,000
Trading profits	2,005,000	1,237,000	1,636,000
Interest and dividends	79,000	151,000	123,000
Total Revenues	20,199,000	20,770,000	25,390,000
Expenses:
Employee compensation and benefits	9,993,000	9,189,000	12,219,000
Clearing fees, including floor brokerage	2,842,000	3,139,000	5,545,000
Professional fees	5,057,000	6,517,000	6,726,000
Advertising and promotion	402,000	400,000	813,000
Communications	2,144,000	2,359,000	2,606,000
Occupancy	1,095,000	1,274,000	1,279,000
Impairment of intangibles		150,000
Other general and administrative	3,051,000	2,851,000	2,926,000
Provision for loss related to settlement of litigation	1,000,000
Total Expenses	25,584,000	25,879,000	32,114,000
Iincome from equity investees	29,000	4,078,000	4,224,000
Loss before income taxes	(5,356,000)	(1,031,000)	(2,500,000)
Income tax expense (benefit)	23,000	1,609,000	(1,317,000)
Net loss	$ (5,379,000)	$ (2,640,000)	$ (1,183,000)
Net loss per share of common stock - Basic and Diluted	$ (0.24)	$ (0.12)	$ (0.05)
Weighted average shares outstanding - Basic and diluted	22,114,121	22,167,218	22,193,845