9. Investment Securities

The Company follows the authoritative guidance on fair value measurements and disclosures with respect to assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on both a recurring and non-recurring basis. Under this guidance, fair value is defined as the exit price, or the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants as of the measurement date. The authoritative guidance also establishes a hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value that maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs by requiring that the most observable inputs be used when available. Observable inputs are inputs market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability, developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect the Company’s assumptions about the factors market participants would use in valuing the asset or liability developed based upon the best information available in the circumstances. The categorization of financial assets and financial liabilities within the valuation hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

The hierarchy is broken down into three levels defined as follows:

Level 1 - Inputs are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 - Inputs include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, and inputs (other than quoted prices) that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly.

Level 3 - Inputs are unobservable for the asset or liability.

Assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis primarily relate to marketable equity securities. These items are marked-to-market at each reporting period. The following tables provide information by level for assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis:


		Fair Value as of	Fair Value Measurements Using Inputs Considered as
		September 30,
		2018		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Available for sale securities	$	45,042	$	45,042	$	-	$	-


		Fair Value as of	Fair Value Measurements Using Inputs Considered as
		September 30,
		2017		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Available for sale securities	$	-	$	-	$	-	$	-

Financial assets that are classified as Level 1 securities include cash equivalents and available for sale securities. These are valued using quoted market prices in an active market. All of the available for sale securities are invested in a money market account as of September 30, 2018.

The Company reviews the fair value hierarchy classification on a quarterly basis. Changes in the ability to observe valuation inputs may result in a reclassification of levels for certain securities within the fair value hierarchy. The Company’s policy is to recognize transfers into and out of levels within the fair value hierarchy at the end of the fiscal quarter in which the actual event or change in circumstances that caused the transfer occurs. There were no transfers between Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3 during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 and September 30, 2017. When a determination is made to classify an asset or liability within Level 3, the determination is based upon the significance of the unobservable inputs to the overall fair value measurement.