Item 1. Business

Business Description

Och-Ziff is a leading global institutional alternative asset manager, with approximately $33.6 billion in assets under management as of February 1, 2017 . We provide asset management services through our funds, which pursue a broad range of global investment opportunities, and by developing new, carefully considered investment products. We also offer customized solutions within and across our product platforms to help our fund investors meet their investment objectives. Our funds invest across numerous asset classes and geographies, with a breadth we believe is offered by few alternative asset management firms.

Our approach to asset management is based on the same fundamental elements that we have employed since Och-Ziff was founded in 1994. Our objectives are to create long-term value for our fund investors through a disciplined investment philosophy that focuses on delivering consistent, positive, risk-adjusted returns across market cycles. Our extensive experience, combined with the consistency of our approach to investing and managing risk, have been integral to the growth of our assets under management. We currently manage multi-strategy, dedicated credit and real estate funds and other alternative investment vehicles.

Multi-Strategy - Our multi-strategy funds combine global investment strategies, including long/short equity special situations, structured credit, corporate credit, convertible and derivative arbitrage, merger arbitrage and private investments. Our focus is on investing in value opportunities based on detailed, research-based analysis and thorough due diligence. Our multi-strategy funds allocate capital across strategies and geographies opportunistically based on market conditions and opportunities, with no predetermined capital allocations by strategy or asset class.

Credit - Our dedicated credit funds are comprised of opportunistic credit funds and our Institutional Credit Strategies products. Our opportunistic credit funds seek to generate risk-adjusted returns by capturing value in mispriced investments across disrupted, dislocated and distressed corporate, structured and private credit markets globally. Institutional Credit Strategies is our asset management platform that invests in performing credits via CLOs and other customized solutions for clients.

Real Estate - Our real estate funds generally make investments in commercial and residential real estate, including real property, multi-property portfolios, real estate-related joint ventures, real estate operating companies and other real estate-related assets. These funds typically seek to preserve capital and mitigate risk by limiting competitive bidding. The real estate funds focus on proprietary sourcing, discretion in deal selection, thorough due diligence, intensive asset management, multiple defined exit strategies and structured downside protection to seek and manage investments.

We have built an experienced investment management team with a well-established presence in the United States, Europe and Asia. As of December 31, 2016 , we had 524 employees worldwide, including 156 investment professionals, 23 active executive managing directors and 79 managing directors working from our offices in New York, London, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Beijing, Shanghai and Houston. Our New York office was established in 1994 and has been operational for over 20 years. Our London office, established in 1998, houses our European investment team. Our Hong Kong office, established in 2001, houses the majority of our Asian investment team. See “—Employees” for additional information on our global headcount.

We currently have two operating segments: the Och-Ziff Funds segment and our real estate business. The Och-Ziff Funds segment is currently our only reportable operating segment under GAAP and provides asset management services to our multi-strategy funds, dedicated credit funds and other alternative investment vehicles. Our real estate business, which provides asset management services to our real estate funds, is included within Other Operations, as it does not meet the threshold of a reportable operating segment under GAAP . See Note 18 to our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report for additional information regarding the Och-Ziff Funds segment.

Our primary sources of revenues are management fees, which are based on the amount of our assets under management, and incentive income, which is based on the investment performance of our funds. Accordingly, for any given

period, our revenues will be driven by the combination of assets under management and the investment performance of our funds.

Our Assets Under Management

Our assets under management are a function of the capital that is allocated to us by the investors in our funds and the investment performance of our funds. Over the last ten years, we have increased our total assets under management at a compound annual growth rate (“CAGR”) of 5% to $37.9 billion as of December 31, 2016 .

For additional information regarding assets under management, please see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Assets Under Management and Fund Performance.”

Overview of Our Funds

Multi-Strategy

As of December 31, 2016 , we managed approximately $21.1 billion of assets under management in our multi-strategy funds, or 56% of our total assets under management. The portfolio composition of our multi-strategy funds is determined by evaluating what we believe are the best market opportunities for each fund, consistent with each fund’s goal of generating consistent, positive, risk-adjusted returns while protecting fund investor capital. The primary investment strategies we employ in our multi-strategy funds include the following:

recapitalizations and other corporate restructurings, whether company specific or due to industry or economic conditions.

The OZ Master Fund, our global multi-strategy fund, opportunistically allocates capital between our investment strategies in North America, Europe and Asia based on market conditions and attractive investment opportunities. The OZ Master Fund generally employs every strategy and geography in which our funds invest and constituted approximately 47% of our assets under management as of December 31, 2016 . Our other funds implement geographical- or strategy-focused investment programs. The investment performance for our other funds may vary from those of the OZ Master Fund, and that variance may be material.

The chart below presents the composition, by strategy (excluding residual assets attributable to redeeming investors), of the OZ Master Fund as of January 1, 2017 :

The table below sets forth, as of December 31, 2016 , the net annualized return, volatility and Sharpe Ratio of the OZ Master Fund, the Och-Ziff Multi-Strategy Composite (as defined below), the S&P 500 Index and the MSCI World Index. This table is provided for illustrative purposes only. The performance reflected in the table below is not necessarily indicative of the

future results of the OZ Master Fund. There can be no assurance that any Och-Ziff fund will achieve comparable results. An investment in our Class A Shares is not an investment in any of our funds. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—An investment in our Class A Shares is not an alternative to an investment in any of our funds, and the returns of our funds should not be considered as indicative of any returns expected on our Class A Shares, although poor investment performance of, or lack of capital flows into, the funds we manage could have a materially adverse impact on our revenues and, therefore, the returns on our Class A Shares.”

Past performance is no indication or guarantee of future results.

share prices of 500 large-capitalization corporations listed on the NYSE and NASDAQ. The MSCI World Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index owned and maintained by MSCI Inc. that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets. Returns of the Broader Market Indices have not been reduced by fees and expenses associated with investing in securities and include the reinvestment of dividends.

Credit

As of December 31, 2016 , we managed approximately $13.4 billion of assets under management in our dedicated credit funds, or 35% of our total assets under management. Our dedicated credit funds are comprised of our opportunistic credit funds and our Institutional Credit Strategies products.

Opportunistic Credit Funds

As of December 31, 2016 , we managed approximately $5.4 billion of assets under management in our opportunistic credit funds. Our opportunistic credit funds seek to generate risk-adjusted returns by capturing value in mispriced investments across disrupted, dislocated and distressed corporate, structured and private credit markets globally. As of December 31, 2016 , assets under management in the OZ Credit Opportunities Master Fund, our global opportunistic credit fund, totaled $1.8 billion . The remainder of the assets under management in our opportunistic credit funds was comprised of various open-end and closed-end funds, as well as customized solutions structured to meet our fund investors’ needs.

Institutional Credit Strategies

As of December 31, 2016 , we managed approximately $8.0 billion of assets under management in our Institutional Credit Strategies products. Institutional Credit Strategies is our asset management platform that invests in performing credits, including leveraged loans, high-yield bonds, private credit/bespoke financing and investment grade credit via CLOs and other customized solutions for clients.

Real Estate

As of December 31, 2016 , we managed approximately $2.2 billion of assets under management in our real estate funds, or 6% of our total assets under management. Our real estate funds employ a situation-specific, opportunistic investment strategy, combined with a disciplined risk assessment process. These funds seek to diversify investments across geography, asset types and transaction structures to actively balance the portfolios within each of the funds.

Other

Our other assets under management are comprised of funds that are generally strategy-specific, including our equity funds and other dedicated strategy funds. Our equity funds’ investment objective is to achieve consistent, absolute returns with low volatility primarily by seeking to exploit pricing inefficiencies in equity securities. Investment strategies include, but may not be limited to, merger arbitrage and long/short equity special situations.

Diversification of Assets Under Management

We continue to pursue a strategy of diversifying our assets under management primarily by expanding our fund offerings in dedicated credit, real estate and other strategy-specific funds (collectively, “Dedicated Strategy Funds”). As of December 31, 2016 , these assets under management totaled $16.8 billion , or 44% of our total assets under management, compared with $2.4 billion , or 8% , five years ago. We believe that we are well positioned to continue to increase the diversification of our asset base through the growth of these products.

As we have continued to diversify the type of funds we offer, we have also increased the amount of our longer-term assets under management. Over the last five years, our longer-term assets under management, which are those subject to initial commitment periods of three years or longer, have increased from approximately 18% to 45% of our total assets under management as of December 31, 2016 . Our longer-term assets under management are comprised of a portion of the capital invested in the OZ Master Fund and certain other multi-strategy funds, as well as the majority of the capital in our Dedicated Strategy Funds. For additional information regarding longer-term assets under management, please see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Longer-Term Assets Under Management.”

Investment and Risk Management Process

Our extensive investment experience, combined with the consistency of our approach to investing and risk management, has been integral to extending our performance history. Risk management is central to the investment process in all of our funds and the operations of our business. Our investment and risk management processes benefit from our dedicated and experienced investment teams operating out of our offices worldwide.

Our approach to investing and managing risk is defined by certain common elements:

Our Fund Investors

We focus on developing and maintaining long-term relationships with a global base of institutional investors, which includes many of the largest, most sophisticated investors in the world. Excluding CLOs, we currently have over 1,400 investors in our funds, including pension funds, private banks, corporates and other institutions, fund-of-funds, foundations and endowments, and family offices and individuals. Our investors value our funds’ consistent performance history, our global investing expertise, our diverse investment strategies and our ability to develop investment capabilities in areas where we see opportunities evolve. As a result, a number of our fund investors invest in more than one of our funds.

Investments by our executive managing directors and employees collectively comprised approximately 9% of our total assets under management as of January 1, 2017 . The single largest unaffiliated investor in our funds accounted for approximately 12% of our total assets under management as of January 1, 2017 , and the top five unaffiliated fund investors accounted for approximately 27% . Approximately 25% of our investors were from outside North America as of January 1, 2017 . These percentages, as well as those presented in the chart below, exclude assets under management in our CLOs, which are held by various types of investors.

The following chart presents the composition of our fund investors by type across our funds as of January 1, 2017 :

Competitive Environment

The asset management industry is intensely competitive, and we expect that it will remain so. We compete globally and regionally with other investment managers, including hedge funds, public and private investment firms, distressed debt funds, mezzanine funds and other CLO issuers, real estate development companies, business development companies, investment banks and other financial institutions worldwide. We compete for both investors in our funds and attractive investment opportunities

based on a number of factors, including investment performance, brand recognition, business reputation, pricing, innovation, the quality of services we provide to the investors in our funds, the range of products we offer, and our ability to attract and retain qualified professionals in all aspects of our business while managing our operating costs. We face competitors that are larger than we are and have greater financial, technical and marketing resources. Certain of our competitors may continue to raise capital to pursue investment strategies that may be similar to ours, which may create additional competition for investment opportunities. In addition, some of these competitors may have higher risk tolerances or make different risk assessments than we do, or may have lower return thresholds, allowing them to consider a wider variety of investments and establish broader networks of business relationships. They may also be subject to different regulatory requirements, which may give them greater flexibility to pursue investment opportunities or attract new capital to their funds. For additional information regarding the competitive risks that we face, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—Competitive pressures in the asset management business could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.”

Competitive Strengths

Our business was built on certain fundamental elements that we believe are differentiating competitive strengths. They continue to define Och-Ziff today. As such, we view these elements as important to our ability to retain and attract new assets under management and, over time, increase our market share of new capital flows to the alternative asset management industry.

Our Structure

Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC

Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC is a publicly traded holding company, and its primary assets are ownership interests in the Och-Ziff Operating Group entities, which are held indirectly through two intermediate holding companies, Och-Ziff Corp and Och-Ziff Holding. We conduct our business through the Och-Ziff Operating Group.

Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC currently has two classes of shares outstanding: Class A Shares and Class B Shares.

Class A Shares .    Class A Shares represent Class A limited liability company interests in Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC. The holders of Class A Shares are entitled to one vote per share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders and, as of December 31, 2016 , represent 38.3% of our total combined voting power. The holders of Class A Shares are entitled to any distribution declared by our Board of Directors out of funds legally available, subject to any statutory or contractual restrictions on the payment of distributions and to any restrictions on the payment of distributions imposed by the terms of any outstanding preferred shares we may issue in the future. Additional Class A Shares are issuable upon exchange of Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units by our executive managing directors, as described below, and upon vesting of equity awards granted under our Amended and Restated 2007 Equity Incentive Plan or 2013 Incentive Plan.

Class B Shares .    Class B Shares have no economic rights and are not publicly traded, but rather entitle the holders of record to one vote per share on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders. The Class B Shares are held solely by our executive managing directors and provide them with a voting interest in Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC commensurate with their economic interest in our business in the form of Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units. Each executive managing director holding Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units holds an equal number of Class B Shares. Upon a grant of Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units to an executive managing director, an equal number of Class B Shares is also granted to such executive managing director. Upon the exchange by an executive managing director of an Och-Ziff Operating Group A Unit for a Class A Share as further discussed below, the corresponding Class B Share is canceled.

As of December 31, 2016 , the Class B Shares represent 61.7% of our total combined voting power. Our executive managing directors have granted an irrevocable proxy to vote all of their Class B Shares to the Class B Shareholder Committee, the sole member of which is currently Mr. Och, as it may determine in its sole discretion. This proxy will terminate upon the later of (i) Mr. Och’s withdrawal, death or disability, or (ii) such time as our executive managing directors hold less than 40% of our total combined voting power. As a result, Mr. Och is currently able to control all matters requiring the approval of our shareholders.

Och-Ziff Operating Group Entities

We conduct our business through the Och-Ziff Operating Group. Historically, we have used more than one Och-Ziff Operating Group entity to segregate our operations for business, financial, tax and other reasons. We may increase or decrease the number of our Och-Ziff Operating Group entities and intermediate holding companies based on our views as to the appropriate balance between administrative convenience and business, financial, tax and other considerations.

The Och-Ziff Operating Group currently consists of OZ Management, OZ Advisors I and OZ Advisors II. All of our interests in OZ Management and OZ Advisors I are held through Och-Ziff Corp. All of our interests in OZ Advisors II are held through Och-Ziff Holding. Each intermediate holding company is the sole general partner of the applicable Och-Ziff Operating Group entity and, therefore, generally controls the business and affairs of such entity. All of the equity interests in the Och-Ziff Operating Group are represented by Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units and Och-Ziff Operating Group B Units.

The Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units and Och-Ziff Operating Group B Units have no preference or priority over other securities of the Och-Ziff Operating Group (other than the Och-Ziff Operating Group D Units to the extent described below) and, upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up, will be entitled to any assets remaining after payment of all debts and liabilities of the Och-Ziff Operating Group (together with the Och-Ziff Operating Group D Units to the extent described below).

Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units.     Our executive managing directors own 100% of the Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units, which as of December 31, 2016 , represent a 61.7% equity interest in the Och-Ziff Operating Group. Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units are exchangeable for our Class A Shares at the discretion of the Exchange Committee (which consists of the members of the Partner Management Committee), on a one-for-one basis, subject to minimum retained ownership and vesting requirements by our executive managing directors and certain exchange rate adjustments for splits, unit distributions and reclassifications.

Och-Ziff Operating Group B Units.     Each intermediate holding company holds a general partner interest and Och-Ziff Operating Group B Units in each Och-Ziff Operating Group entity that it controls. Our intermediate holding companies own 100% of the Och-Ziff Operating Group B Units, which, as of December 31, 2016 , represent a 38.3% equity interest in the Och-Ziff Operating Group. The Och-Ziff Operating Group B Units are economically identical to the Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units held by our executive managing directors and represent common equity interests in our business, but are not exchangeable for Class A Shares and are not subject to vesting, forfeiture or minimum retained ownership requirements.

Och-Ziff Operating Group D Units.     We issue Och-Ziff Operating Group D Units in connection with performance-related grants to executive managing directors. The Och-Ziff Operating Group D Units are non-equity, limited partner profits interests that are only entitled to share in residual assets upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up, and become eligible to participate in any exchange right or tag along right in a change of control transaction to the extent that there has been a threshold amount of appreciation. The Och-Ziff Operating Group D Units convert into Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units to the extent we determine that they have become economically equivalent to Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units. Allocations to these interests are recorded within compensation and benefits in our consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss).

Och-Ziff Operating Group P Units.     On March 1, 2017, we issued Och-Ziff Operating Group P Units to certain executive managing directors to incentivize these executive managing directors for their services, contributions and leadership and to ensure the future continuity of the Company while further strengthening alignment with the Company's fund investors and shareholders. Och-Ziff Operating Group P Units entitle holders to receive distributions of future profits of the Och-Ziff Operating Group and each Och-Ziff Operating Group P Unit becomes exchangeable for one Class A Share (or the cash equivalent), in each case upon satisfaction of certain service and performance conditions. The terms of the Och-Ziff Operating Group P Units may be varied for certain executive managing directors.

See Note 19 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information regarding the terms of the Och-Ziff Operating Group P Units.

Preferred Units. Preferred Units represent ownership interests in each of the Och-Ziff Operating Group entities and are held by certain executive managing directors of the Company (the “EMD Purchasers”). Preferred Units are a class of non-voting preferred equity interests in the Och-Ziff Operating Group entities with an aggregate liquidation preference of $1,000 , plus accrued and unpaid distributions.

Pursuant to the terms of the Preferred Units, distributions on the Preferred Units are payable on the liquidation preference amount on a cumulative basis at an initial distribution rate of 0% per annum until February 19, 2020 (the “Step Up Date”), after which the distribution rate will increase in stages thereafter to a maximum of 10% per annum on and after the eighth anniversary of the Step Up Date. In addition, following the occurrence of a change of control event, the Och-Ziff Operating Group entities will redeem the Preferred Units at a redemption price equal to the liquidation preference plus all accumulated but unpaid distributions. For so long as the Och-Ziff Operating Group entities do not redeem all of the outstanding Preferred Units, the distribution rate will increase by 7% per annum, beginning on the 31 st day following such change in control. Pursuant to the terms of the Preferred Units, the Och-Ziff Operating Group entities will not be required to effect such redemption until the earlier of (i) 91 days after the maturity date of our revolving credit facility and (ii) the payment in full of all

loans and other obligations and the termination of all commitments thereunder. See Note 11 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information regarding the terms of the Preferred Units.

The diagram below depicts our organizational structure as of December 31, 2016 ⁽¹⁾ :

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Profit Sharing Interests (PSIs)

Beginning in 2016, we began to provide profit sharing interests (“PSIs”) to new executive managing directors upon their admission as partners to the Och-Ziff Operating Group entities. PSIs are non-equity, limited partner profits interests in the Och-Ziff Operating Group that participate in distributions of future profits of the Och-Ziff Operating Group on a pro rata basis with the Och-Ziff Operating Group A, B and D Units and may share in residual assets upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up to the extent that there has been a threshold amount of appreciation subsequent to issuance of the PSIs. Subject to the discretion of the Chairman of the Partner Management Committee (the “PMC Chairman”), distributions on the PSIs are made in a combination of cash, Och-Ziff Operating Group D Units and deferred cash interests (“DCIs”), which are discussed in further detail below. PSIs are subject to forfeiture upon the departure of an executive managing director, and the number of PSIs held by an executive managing director can be increased or decreased each year at the PMC Chairman’s discretion.

Deferred Cash Interests (DCIs)

DCIs are granted pursuant to the Och-Ziff Deferred Cash Interest Plan (the “DCI Plan”), which was adopted on February 27, 2017. DCIs reflect notional Och-Ziff fund investments made by the Company on behalf of an executive managing director. DCIs generally vest in three equal portions over three years commencing on January 1st of the calendar year following the applicable grant date, subject to an executive managing director's continued service. Upon vesting, the Company pays the executive managing director an amount in cash equal to the notional investment represented by the DCIs, as adjusted for notional fund performance. Except as otherwise provided in the DCI Plan or in an award agreement, in the event of a termination of the executive managing director's service, any portion of the DCIs that are unvested as of the date of termination will be forfeited.

Our Fund Structures

Our funds are typically organized using a “master-feeder” structure. This structure is commonly used in the hedge fund industry and calls for the establishment of one or more U.S. or non-U.S. “feeder” funds, which are managed by us but are separate legal entities and have different structures and operations designed for distinct groups of investors. Fund investors, including our executive managing directors, employees and other related parties, invest directly into our feeder funds. These feeder funds hold direct or indirect interests in a “master” fund that, together with its subsidiaries, is the primary investment vehicle for its feeder funds.

We also organize certain funds (e.g., our real estate funds and certain opportunistic credit funds) without the use of a master-feeder structure. Finally, the CLOs we manage are collateralized financing vehicles that issue notes to investors and use those proceeds to acquire various types of credit-related investments that serve as collateral for the notes. Senior notes issued by these vehicles make periodic payments based on a stated interest rate, while the most subordinated notes have no stated interest

rate but receive periodic payments from excess cash flows remaining after periodic payments have been made to the other notes and for fees and expenses due.

All of our funds are managed by the Och-Ziff Operating Group. Any of our existing or future funds may invest using any alternative structure that is deemed useful or appropriate.

Employees

As of December 31, 2016 , our worldwide headcount was 524 (including 65 in the United Kingdom and 37 in Asia), with 156 investment professionals (including 38 in the United Kingdom and 16 in Asia). As of this date, we had 23 active executive managing directors and 79 managing directors.

Regulatory Matters

Our business is subject to extensive regulation, including periodic examinations and regulatory investigations, by governmental and self-regulatory organizations in the jurisdictions in which we operate around the world. Since 1999, we have been registered with the SEC as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, which we refer to as the “Advisers Act.” We are also a company subject to the registration and reporting provisions of the Exchange Act, and therefore subject to regulation and oversight by the SEC. As a company with a class of securities listed on the NYSE, we are subject to the rules and regulations of the NYSE. In addition, we are subject to regulation by the Department of Labor under the U.S. Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, which we refer to as “ERISA.” As a registered commodity pool operator and a registered commodity trading advisor, we are subject to regulation and oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which we refer to as the “CFTC.” We are also subject to regulation and oversight by the National Futures Association in the U.S., as well as other regulatory bodies.

Our European and Asian operations, and our investment activities around the globe, are subject to a variety of regulatory regimes that vary country by country, including the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority, the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong and the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Currently, governmental authorities in the United States and in the other countries in which we operate have proposed additional disclosure requirements and regulation of hedge funds and other alternative asset managers.

See “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—Extensive regulation of our business affects our activities and creates the potential for significant liabilities and penalties. Our reputation, business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially affected by regulatory issues,” “—Increased regulatory focus in the United States could result in additional burdens on our business” and “—Recent regulatory changes in jurisdictions outside the United States could adversely affect our business.”

Global Compliance Program

We have implemented a global compliance program to address the legal and regulatory requirements that apply to our company-wide operations. We have structured our global compliance program to address the requirements of each of our regulators, as described above, as well as the requirements necessary to support our global securities, commodities and loan trading operations.

Our compliance program includes comprehensive policies and supervisory procedures that have been designed and implemented to monitor compliance with these requirements. All employees attend mandatory annual compliance training to remain informed of our policies and procedures related to matters such as the handling of material non-public information, conflicts of interest and employee securities trading. Annual training specifically targeted at ensuring the understanding of and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”) and, as applicable, other foreign anti-corruption laws and regulations is mandatory for employees and executives responsible for structuring, supervising, ensuring compliance of and executing accounting functions for private deals, as well as for employees who interact with or provide reporting to investors. In addition to a robust internal compliance framework, we have strong relationships with a global network of local attorneys specializing in compliance matters to help us quickly identify regulatory changes and address compliance issues as they arise.

Our Executive Officers

Set forth below is certain information regarding our executive officers as of the date of this filing.

Daniel S. Och , 56 , is the founder of the Och-Ziff Capital Management Group. Mr. Och serves as Och-Ziff’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Partner Management Committee. Prior to founding Och-Ziff in 1994, Mr. Och spent eleven years at Goldman, Sachs & Co. He began his career in the Risk Arbitrage Department, and later responsibilities included Head of Proprietary Trading in the Equities Division and Co-Head of U.S. Equities Trading. Mr. Och holds a B.S. in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Alesia J. Haas , 40 , is Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Partner Management Committee. Prior to joining Och-Ziff in 2016, Ms. Haas was the Chief Financial Officer and Head of Strategy for OneWest Bank. Prior to that, she spent time in senior finance, investment and strategy roles at Merrill Lynch, General Electric, and Infinity Point. Ms. Haas holds a B.S. from California Polytechnic State University.

David Windreich , 59 , is Co-Chief Investment Officer of Och-Ziff and a member of Och-Ziff’s Board of Directors and Partner Management Committee. Prior to joining Och-Ziff at its inception in 1994, Mr. Windreich was a Vice President in the Equity Derivatives Department of Goldman, Sachs & Co. He began his career at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in 1983 and became a Vice President in 1988. Mr. Windreich holds both a B.A. in Economics and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Zoltan Varga , 43 , is Head of Asian Investing for Och-Ziff, is a member of Och Ziff’s Partner Management Committee and helps manage Och-Ziff’s Hong Kong office. Prior to joining Och-Ziff in 1998, Mr. Varga was with Goldman, Sachs & Co. as an Investment Banking Analyst in the Mergers and Acquisitions Department. Mr. Varga holds a B.A. in Economics from DePauw University.

Harold A. Kelly , 53 , is Head of Global Convertible and Derivative Arbitrage for Och-Ziff and is a member of Och-Ziff’s Partner Management Committee. Prior to joining Och-Ziff in 1995, Mr. Kelly spent seven years trading various financial instruments and held positions at Cargill Financial Services Corporation, Eagle Capital Management, Merrill Lynch International, Ltd. and Buchanan Partners, Ltd. Mr. Kelly holds a B.B.A. in Finance and also holds an M.B.A. and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from The University of Georgia.

James S. Levin , 34 , is Co-Chief Investment Officer and Head of Global Credit for Och-Ziff, and a member of Och-Ziff’s Partner Management Committee. Prior to joining Och-Ziff in 2006, Mr. Levin was an Associate at Dune Capital Management LP. Prior to that, Mr. Levin was an analyst at Sagamore Hill Capital Management, L.P. Mr. Levin holds a B.A. in Computer Science from Harvard University.

Wayne Cohen , 42 , is President and Chief Operating Officer of Och-Ziff and is a member of Och-Ziff’s Partner Management Committee. Prior to joining Och-Ziff in 2005, Mr. Cohen was an Associate at Schulte Roth & Zabel. Mr. Cohen holds a B.A. in International Relations from Tulane University and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.

David M. Levine, 49 , is Chief Legal Officer of Och-Ziff and is a member of Och-Ziff’s Partner Management Committee. Prior to joining Och-Ziff in 2017, Mr. Levine spent 15 years at Deutsche Bank in various positions with increasing responsibilities, most recently, Global Head of Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement. Prior to that, he spent eight years in various roles at the SEC including as Chief of Staff. Mr. Levine holds a B.S. from the State University of New York at Albany and a J.D. from Hofstra University.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Risks Related to Our Business

In the course of conducting our business operations, we are exposed to a variety of risks that are inherent to or otherwise impact the alternative asset management business. Any of the risk factors we describe below have affected or could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. The market price of our Class A Shares could decline, possibly significantly or permanently, if one or more of these risks and uncertainties occur. Certain statements in “Risk Factors” are forward-looking statements. See “Forward-Looking Statements.”

Difficult global market, economic or geopolitical conditions may materially adversely affect our business and cause significant volatility in equity and debt prices, interest rates, exchange rates, commodity prices and credit spreads. These factors can materially adversely affect our business in many ways, including by reducing the value or performance of the investments made by our funds and by reducing the ability of our funds to raise or deploy capital, each of which could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

The success and growth of our business are highly dependent upon conditions in the global financial markets and economic and geopolitical conditions throughout the world that are outside of our control and difficult to predict. Factors such as equity prices, equity market volatility, asset or market correlations, interest rates, counterparty risks, availability of credit, inflation rates, economic uncertainty, changes in laws or regulation (including laws relating to the financial markets generally or the taxation or regulation of the hedge fund industry), trade barriers, commodity prices, currency exchange rates and controls, and national and international political circumstances (including governmental instability or dysfunction, wars, terrorist acts or security operations) can have a material impact on the value of our funds’ portfolio investments or our general ability to conduct business. Difficult market, economic and geopolitical conditions can negatively impact those valuations and our ability to conduct business, which in turn would reduce or even eliminate our revenues and profitability, thereby having a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

As a global alternative asset manager, we seek to generate consistent, positive, absolute returns across all market cycles for the investors in our funds. Our ability to do this has been, and in the future may be, materially impacted by conditions in the global financial markets and economic and geopolitical conditions worldwide. For example, the financial crisis that began in the second half of 2008 resulted in significant global market turbulence, a lack of liquidity and substantial declines in the values of most asset classes worldwide, and had an adverse impact on the hedge fund industry, which experienced significant losses in assets under management. While these conditions have generally stabilized and improved since the first quarter of 2009, adverse conditions directly or indirectly resulting from the crisis continue to persist. Recently, markets have been affected by a weak global economy, increases in interest rates in the U.S., concerns of China’s slowing economy, fluctuations in currency exchange rates (including a strengthening U.S. dollar), falling oil prices, growing debt loads for certain countries and uncertainty about the consequences of the U.S. and other governments withdrawing monetary stimulus measures. Global financial markets have experienced considerable volatility in the valuations of equity and debt securities, a contraction in the availability of credit and an increase in the cost of financing. Moreover, the recent U.S. Presidential election and United Kingdom (“UK”) “Brexit” referendum have fostered a climate of increased uncertainty and introduced new economic and geopolitical risks with potentially significant implications for global financial markets.

Interest rates have been at historically low levels for the last few years. However, in December 2015, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, and in December 2016 the Federal Reserve raised interest rates further by one quarter point and indicated it may continue raising interest rates in the coming twelve months. Interest rates could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Unpredictable or unstable market, economic or geopolitical conditions have resulted and may in the future result in reduced opportunities to find suitable risk-adjusted investments to deploy capital and make it more difficult to exit and realize value from our existing investments, which could materially adversely affect our ability to raise new funds and increase our assets under management and, therefore, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, during such periods, financing and merger and acquisition activity may be greatly reduced, making it harder and more competitive for asset managers to find suitable investment opportunities and to obtain funding for such opportunities. If we fail to react appropriately to difficult market, economic and geopolitical conditions, our funds could incur material losses.

Potential impact of the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union.

On June 23, 2016, the UK held a referendum in which voters approved an exit from the European Union (the “EU”), commonly referred to as “Brexit.” It is expected that the British government will trigger Article 50 and the two-year notification period by the end of March 2017 and a period of negotiation between the EU and the UK will then follow. The timing and the outcome of the negotiations between the EU and the UK in connection with Brexit are both highly uncertain and information regarding the long-term consequences of the UK's withdrawal is expected to become clearer over time. The announcement of Brexit caused significant volatility in global financial and foreign exchange markets, including volatility in the value of the Euro and the British Pound, which may impair the investment performance of our funds. In addition, Brexit could lead to political, legal and economic uncertainty and potentially divergent national laws and regulations, particularly from a tax perspective, as the UK determines which EU laws to replace or replicate. Changes made by the UK to its domestic or international tax system and

its implementation after the UK has withdrawn from the EU could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

An investment in our Class A Shares is not an alternative to an investment in any of our funds, and the returns of our funds should not be considered as indicative of any returns expected on our Class A Shares, although poor investment performance of, or lack of capital flows into, the funds we manage could have a materially adverse impact on our revenues and, therefore, the returns on our Class A Shares.

The returns on our Class A Shares are not directly linked to the historical or future performance of the funds we manage or the manager of those funds. Even if our funds experience positive performance and our assets under management increase, holders of our Class A Shares may not experience a corresponding positive return on their Class A Shares.

However, poor performance of the funds we manage will cause a decline in our revenues from such funds, and may therefore have a negative effect on our performance and the returns on our Class A Shares. If we fail to meet the expectations of our fund investors or otherwise experience poor investment performance, whether due to difficult economic and financial conditions or otherwise, our ability to retain existing assets under management and attract new investors and capital flows could be materially adversely affected. In turn, the management fees and incentive income that we would earn would be reduced and our business, financial condition or results of operations would suffer, thus negatively impacting the price of our Class A Shares. Furthermore, even if the investment performance of our funds is positive, our business, financial condition or results of operations and the price of our Class A Shares could be materially adversely affected if we are unable to attract and retain additional assets under management consistent with our past experience, industry trends or investor and market expectations.

Investors in our funds have the right to redeem their investments in our funds on a regular basis and could redeem a significant amount of assets under management during any given quarterly period, which would result in significantly decreased revenues.

Subject to any specific redemption provisions applicable to a fund, investors in our multi-strategy hedge funds may generally redeem their investments in our funds on an annual or quarterly basis following the expiration of a specified period of time (typically between one and three years), although certain investors generally may redeem capital during such specified period upon the payment of a redemption fee and upon giving proper notice. In a declining market, during periods when the hedge fund industry generally experiences outflows, or in response to specific events that occur at the Company, we could experience increased redemptions and a consequent reduction in our assets under management. Recently, our assets under management have declined and we believe this trend will likely continue to some extent for some period of time following the settlement of the FCPA investigation as described in Note 17 to our consolidated financial statements. Furthermore, investors in our funds may also invest in funds managed by other alternative asset managers that have restricted or suspended redemptions or may in the future do so. Such investors may redeem capital from our funds, even if our performance is superior to such other alternative asset managers’ performance if they are restricted or prevented from redeeming capital from those other managers.

The decrease in revenues that would result from significant redemptions in our funds could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. During 2016 , we experienced redemptions of approximately $9.6 billion from our funds. We may continue to experience elevated redemption levels and, if economic and market conditions remain uncertain or worsen, we may once again experience significant redemptions.

Our business, financial condition or results of operations may be materially adversely impacted by the highly variable nature of our revenues, results of operations and cash flows. In a typical year, a substantial portion of our incentive income and all of our annual discretionary bonus expense is determined and recorded in the fourth quarter each year, which means that our interim results are not expected to be indicative of our results for a full year, causing increased volatility in the price of our Class A Shares.

Our revenues are influenced by the combination of the amount of assets under management and the investment performance of our funds. Asset flows, whether inflows or outflows, can be highly variable from month-to-month and quarter-to-quarter. Furthermore, our funds’ investment performance, which affects the amount of assets under management and the amount of incentive income we may earn in a given year, can be volatile due to, among other things, general market and economic conditions. Accordingly, our revenues, results of operations and cash flows are all highly variable. This variability is exacerbated during the fourth quarter of each year, primarily due to the fact that a substantial portion of our revenues historically has been

and we expect will continue to be derived from incentive income from our funds. Such incentive income is contingent on the investment performance of the funds as of the relevant commitment period, which generally is as of the end of each calendar year; however, as of December 31, 2016 , with respect to 45% of assets under management, the initial commitment period can be three years or longer depending on how the assets are invested. The expiration of these commitment periods may occur on dates other than December 31, which, in certain circumstances, may cause increased volatility in our results. Moreover, in a typical year, we determine the amount of our annual discretionary cash bonus during the fourth quarter based on total annual revenues. Because this bonus is variable and discretionary, it can exacerbate the volatility of our results. We may also experience fluctuations in our results from quarter to quarter due to a number of other factors, including changes in management fees resulting from changes in the management fee rates we charge our fund investors or due to changes in the values of our funds’ investments, as well as capital inflows or outflows. Changes in our operating expenses, unexpected business developments and initiatives and, as discussed above, general economic and market conditions may also cause fluctuations in our results from quarter to quarter. Such variability and unpredictability may lead to volatility or declines in the price of our Class A Shares and cause our results for a particular period not to be indicative of our performance in a future period or particularly meaningful as a basis of comparison against results for a prior period.

The amount of incentive income that may be generated by our funds is uncertain until it is actually crystallized. We generally do not record incentive income in our interim financial statements other than incentive income earned (i) as a result of fund investor redemptions during the interim period, (ii) at the end of the three-year commitment period for assets under management subject to a three-year commitment period, (iii) at the end of the commitment period for other assets subject to longer-term commitment periods, or (iv) from tax distributions relating to assets with longer-term commitment periods. As a result of these and other factors, our interim results may not be indicative of historical performance or any results that may be expected for a full year.

In addition, all of our hedge funds have “perpetual high-water marks.” This means that if a fund investor experiences losses in a given year, we will not be able to earn incentive income with respect to such investor’s investment unless and until our investment performance surpasses the perpetual high-water mark. For example, the incentive income we earn is dependent on the net asset value of each fund investor’s investment in the fund. However, failure to earn incentive income as a result of any high-water marks that do arise may adversely impact our business, financial condition or results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our Class A Shareholders. In addition, incentive income distributions from our real estate and certain other funds is subject to clawback obligations generally measured as of the end of the life of a fund, and therefore we defer this revenue until we are no longer required to repay amounts to a fund to the extent we have received excess incentive income distributions during the life of the fund relative to the aggregate performance of the fund. We cannot predict when realization events will occur or whether, upon occurrence, these investments will be profitable.

As a result of quarterly fluctuations in, and the related unpredictability of, our revenues and profits, the price of our Class A Shares can be significantly volatile.

Competitive pressures in the asset management business could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The asset management business remains intensely competitive, with competition based on a variety of factors, including investment performance, the quality of service and level of desired information provided to fund investors, brand recognition and business reputation. We compete for fund investors, highly qualified talent, including investment professionals, and for investment opportunities with a number of hedge funds, private equity firms, specialized funds, traditional asset managers, commercial banks, investment banks and other financial institutions.

A number of factors create competitive risks for us:

We may lose fund investors in the future if we do not match or provide more attractive management fees, incentive income arrangements, structures and terms than those offered by competitors. However, we may experience decreased revenues if we match or provide more attractive management fees, incentive income arrangements, structures and terms offered by competitors. In addition, changes in the global capital markets could diminish the attractiveness of our funds relative to investments in other investment products. This competitive pressure could materially adversely affect our ability to make successful investments and limit our ability to raise future successful funds, either of which would materially adversely impact our business, financial condition or results of operations.

If our investment performance, including the level and consistency of returns or other performance criteria, does not meet the expectations of our fund investors, it will be difficult for our funds to retain or raise capital and for us to grow our business. Additionally, even if our fund performance is strong, it is possible that we will not be able to attract additional capital. Further, the allocation of increasing amounts of capital to alternative investment strategies over the long term by institutional and individual investors may lead to a reduction in profitable investment opportunities, including by driving prices for investments higher and increasing the difficulty of achieving consistent, positive, absolute returns.

Competition for fund investors is based on a variety of factors, including:

If we are not able to compete successfully based on these and other factors, our assets under management, earnings and revenues may be significantly reduced and our business, financial condition or results of operations may be materially adversely affected. Furthermore, if we are forced to compete with other alternative asset managers on the basis of fees, we may not be able to maintain our current management fee and incentive income structures, which drive our revenues and earnings. We have historically competed for fund investors primarily on the investment performance of our funds and our reputation, and not on the level of our fees or incentive income relative to those of our competitors. However, as the alternative asset management sector continues to mature and addresses current market and competitive conditions, there is increasing downward pressure on management fees and a risk that incentive income rates will decline, without regard to the historical performance of a manager. Management fee or incentive income rate reductions on existing or future funds, particularly without corresponding increases in

assets under management or decreases in our operating costs, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

In addition to the competitive pressures described above, as we diversify by offering new or enhanced products and investment platforms, the average management fee rate we earn on our assets under management may fall as a result of a larger proportion of our assets under management being invested in products that earn lower management fee rates. For example, our average management fee rate has fallen during the period 2014 to 2016 from 1.46% to 1.22% of weighted-average assets under management. The rate decline was driven primarily by lower assets under management in our multi-strategy funds as a percentage of our total assets under management. Additionally, effective October 1, 2016, we reduced the management fee rate for existing fund investors in virtually all of our multi-strategy assets under management further contributing to the decline in our management fee income. Our average management fee will vary from period to period based on the mix of products that comprise our assets under management.

Even if we are able to compete successfully based on the factors noted above, it is possible we could lose assets under management to our competitors. It is possible that similar circumstances could cause us to experience unusually high redemptions or a decrease in inflows, even if our investment performance and other business attributes are otherwise competitive or superior.

Our indebtedness and Preferred Units may restrict our current and future operations, particularly our ability to respond to certain changes or to take future actions.

On November 20, 2014, OZ Management, as borrower, and certain of our other subsidiaries, as guarantors (collectively, with certain of their respective subsidiaries, the “Och-Ziff Operating Group Credit Parties”), entered into a $150 million unsecured revolving credit and guaranty agreement which was subsequently amended on December 29, 2015 (as amended, the “Revolving Credit Facility”), with certain financial institutions, as lenders, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, and certain other parties party thereto. On November 20, 2014, Och-Ziff Finance Co. LLC (“Och-Ziff Finance”), an indirect subsidiary of the Company, issued $400 million in aggregate principal amount of its 4.50% Senior Notes due 2019 (the “Senior Notes”) pursuant to an indenture (as supplemented by a supplemental indenture, the “Indenture”) among Och-Ziff Finance and the Och-Ziff Operating Group entities (excluding Och-Ziff Finance, collectively, the “Senior Notes Guarantors”) and Wilmington Trust, National Association, as trustee. Also, pursuant to a securities purchase agreement, dated September 29, 2016 (the “Purchase Agreement”), the Company completed a $250.0 million issuance and sale of 250,000 Preferred Units on October 5, 2016, and an additional $150.0 million issuance and sale of 150,000 Preferred Units on January 23, 2017.

The Revolving Credit Facility provides for a revolving credit facility with a maturity of five years and contains a number of restrictive covenants that collectively impose significant operating and financial restrictions on the Och-Ziff Operating Group Credit Parties, including restrictions that may limit their ability to engage in acts that may be in our long-term best interests.

The restrictions in the Revolving Credit Facility include, among other things, limitations on the ability of the Och-Ziff Operating Group Credit Parties to:

Additionally, our Revolving Credit Facility includes two financial maintenance covenants relating to assets under management and an economic income leverage ratio.

The Indenture includes certain covenants, including limitations on Och-Ziff Finance’s and the Senior Notes Guarantors’ ability to, subject to exceptions, incur indebtedness secured by liens on voting stock or profit participating equity interests of their respective subsidiaries or merge, consolidate or sell, transfer or lease all or substantially all assets.

The Revolving Credit Facility also identifies a number of events that, if they occur or are continuing, would constitute an event of default under this agreement. The events of default include a change of control, which would occur if any person or group, other than certain permitted holders (including, but not limited to, Daniel S. Och, our other executive managing directors, and each of their respective related entities), becomes the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of at least 50% (on a fully diluted basis) of the voting interests in the Och-Ziff Operating Group. Similarly, the Indenture provides for customary events of default and , if a change of control repurchase event occurs, Och-Ziff Finance will be required to offer to repurchase the Senior Notes at a price in cash equal to 101% of the aggregate principal amount of the Senior Notes, plus any accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the repurchase date.

The terms of the Preferred Units contain certain operational limitations, a change in control provision and other mandatory repurchase provisions. Without the consent of the holders’ committee, which initially consists of Daniel S. Och as sole member, the Operating Group entities, their respective subsidiaries and the other subsidiaries of the Company may not, subject to limited exceptions, sell or otherwise dispose of any businesses, business lines or divisions, or any significant assets thereof. Under the terms of the Preferred Units, the Company, the Operating Group entities, their respective subsidiaries and the Och-Ziff funds are also prohibited from any transaction with any Designated Officer (as defined in the exhibit to the Purchase Agreement), any holder of at least 10% of the outstanding equity of the Company, the Operating Group entities, their respective subsidiaries or their respective affiliates (other than Daniel S. Och or his related parties) other than transactions in the ordinary course of business with any person (other than a Designated Officer) relating to such person’s service to any Operating Group entity or consistent with past practice as of the date of the initial closing, including in connection with granting any direct or indirect carry or capital interest in the Och-Ziff funds to such Person, which matters shall be determined by the Company’s board of directors or compensation committee.

Pursuant to the terms of the Preferred Units, distributions on the Preferred Units will be payable on the liquidation preference amount on a cumulative basis at an initial distribution rate of 0% per annum until the Step Up Date of February 19, 2020, after which the distribution rate will increase in stages thereafter to a maximum of 10% per annum on and after the eighth anniversary of the Step Up Date. In addition, following the occurrence of a change of control event, the Operating Group entities will redeem the Preferred Units as a redemption price equal to the liquidation preference plus all accumulated but unpaid distributions (collectively, the “liquidation value”). For so long as the Operating Group entities do not redeem all of the outstanding Preferred Units, the distribution rate will increase by 7.00% per annum, beginning on the 31st day following such event. If we do not have sufficient cash to make such distributions or to repurchase the Preferred Units when required, we may be forced to sell assets, borrow additional funds or enter into new debt facilities. No assurance can be given that we would be able to complete such transactions on favorable terms, or at all, or that our borrowing costs would not increase.

A failure by any of the Och-Ziff Operating Group Credit Parties, Och-Ziff Finance or the Senior Notes Guarantors, as applicable, to comply with the covenants and other obligations—or upon the occurrence of other defaults—specified in the Revolving Credit Facility, or the Indenture, as the case may be, could result in an event of default under the Revolving Credit Facility, or the Indenture, as the case may be, which would give the lenders under the Revolving Credit Facility, or the holders of the Senior Notes, the right to declare all indebtedness and other obligations outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility, if any, or the Senior Notes, as the case may be, together with accrued and unpaid interest and fees, to be immediately due and payable. If the indebtedness outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility, if any, or the Senior Notes were to be accelerated, the Och-Ziff Operating Group Credit Parties , Och-Ziff Finance or the Senior Notes Guarantors, as applicable , may not have sufficient cash on hand or be able to sell sufficient assets to repay this indebtedness, which may have an immediate material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. For more detail about risks relating to any refinancing, repurchasing or repayment of our Revolving Credit Facility and the Senior Notes, see “—Changes in the credit markets may negatively impact our ability to refinance our outstanding indebtedness or our ability to otherwise obtain attractive financing for our business, and may increase the cost of such financing if it is obtained, which would lead to higher interest expense or, with respect to our funds, lower-yielding investments, either of which would decrease our earnings. An increase in our borrowing costs may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.” For more detail regarding the Revolving Credit Facility, and Senior Notes, their respective terms and the current status of compliance with the

Revolving Credit Facility by the Och-Ziff Operating Group Credit Parties, please see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources” and “—Debt Obligations.”

Our business and financial condition may be materially adversely impacted by the loss of any of our key executive managing directors, particularly certain members of our Partner Management Committee.

The success of our business depends on the efforts, judgment and personal reputations of our key executive managing directors, particularly certain members of our Partner Management Committee. Our key executive managing directors’ reputations, expertise in investing and risk management, relationships with investors in our funds and third parties on which our funds depend for investment opportunities and financing are each critical elements in operating and expanding our business. The loss of any of these individuals could harm our business and jeopardize our relationships with our fund investors and members of the business community. We believe our performance is highly correlated to the performance of these individuals. Accordingly, the retention of our key executive managing directors is crucial to our success, but none of them is obligated to remain actively involved with us. In addition, if any of our key executive managing directors were to join or form a competitor, some of our fund investors could choose to invest with that competitor rather than in our funds. The loss of the services of any of our key executive managing directors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations, including on the performance of our funds, our ability to retain and attract fund investors and highly qualified employees and our ability to raise new funds. We do not carry any “key man” insurance that would provide us with proceeds in the event of the death or disability of any of our key executive managing directors.

In addition, investors in most of our funds have one-time special redemption rights that are triggered upon the loss of services of Mr. Och. See “—Most of our funds have special withdrawal provisions pursuant to which the failure of Daniel S. Och to be actively involved in the business provides investors with the right to redeem from such funds. The loss of the services of Mr. Och would have a material adverse effect on each of such funds and on our business, financial condition or results of operations” for additional information. Further, we negotiate other key man provisions in certain of our funds, which could provide for earlier redemption rights, in the event that one or more of certain of our key executive managing directors cease to provide services to such funds. Accordingly, the loss of such key executive managing directors could also result in significant or earlier redemptions from our funds, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our ability to retain and attract executive managing directors, managing directors and other investment professionals is critical to the success and growth of our business.

Our investment performance and ability to successfully manage and expand our business, including into new geographic areas, is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of highly skilled individuals, including our active executive managing directors, managing directors and other investment professionals. Accordingly, our future success and growth depend on our ability to retain and motivate our active executive managing directors and other key personnel and to strategically recruit, retain and motivate new talent. We may not be successful in our efforts to recruit, retain and motivate the required personnel as the global market for qualified investment professionals is extremely competitive, particularly in cases where we are competing for qualified personnel in geographic or business areas where our competitors have a significantly greater presence or more extensive experience. We compete intensely with businesses both within and outside the alternative asset management industry for highly talented and qualified personnel. Accordingly, in order to retain and attract talent, our total compensation and benefits expense could increase to a level that may materially adversely affect our profitability and reduce our cash available for distribution to our executive managing directors and Class A Shareholders.

It may be difficult for us to retain and motivate our active executive managing directors after their interests in our business are fully vested and they are permitted to exchange their interests for Class A Shares that they can sell. The Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units granted to our executive managing directors who were executive managing directors before our IPO (our “Pre-IPO Partners”) in connection with the Reorganization have now generally become fully vested while the Och-Ziff Operating Group Units granted to our executive managing directors, under our Partner Incentive Plan established in 2012 (the “PIP”) are not subject to vesting. Och-Ziff Operating Group Units otherwise granted to our executive managing directors, including awards granted under our Incentive Program established in 2017 (the “2017 Incentive Program”), continue to vest over time. See Note 19 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information on the 2017 Incentive Program.

If we are unable to retain the services of any of our active executive managing directors, the loss of their services could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations, including by harming our ability to maintain or grow assets under management in existing funds or raise additional funds in the future.

In any year where our funds experience losses and we do not earn incentive income, bonuses for that year (and in subsequent years until such losses are recouped) may be significantly reduced. Reduced bonuses, particularly during subsequent years, could have a material adverse impact on our ability to motivate and retain our investment professionals and other employees.

Furthermore, our active executive managing directors and investment professionals possess substantial experience and expertise in investing, are responsible for locating and executing our funds’ investments, have significant relationships with the institutions that are the source of many of our funds’ investment opportunities, and in certain cases have strong relationships with our fund investors. Therefore, if our active executive managing directors or investment professionals join competitors or form competing businesses, we could experience a loss of investment opportunities and existing fund investor relationships, which if significant, would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The Och-Ziff Operating Group entities’ limited partnership agreements and other agreements entered into with our executive managing directors provide that the ownership interests in our business that are held by our executive managing directors are subject to various transfer restrictions and vesting and forfeiture conditions. In addition, the RSUs that have been awarded to our managing directors, certain executive managing directors and certain other employees are also subject to certain vesting and forfeiture requirements. Further, all of our active executive managing directors and managing directors are subject to certain restrictions with respect to competing with us, soliciting our employees and fund investors and disclosing confidential information about our business. These restrictions, however, may not be enforceable in all cases and can be waived by us at any time. There is no guarantee that these requirements and agreements, or the forfeiture provisions of the Och-Ziff Operating Group entities’ limited partnership agreements (which are relevant to our executive managing directors) or the agreements we have with our managing directors will prevent any of these professionals from leaving us, joining our competitors or otherwise competing with us. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Most of our assets under management are in funds that have special withdrawal provisions pursuant to which the failure of Daniel S. Och to be actively involved in the business provides investors with the right to redeem from such funds. The loss of the services of Mr. Och would have a material adverse effect on each of such funds and on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Most of our assets under management are in funds that give investors a one-time special redemption right (not subject to redemption fees) if Daniel S. Och dies or ceases to perform his duties with respect to the fund for 90 consecutive days or otherwise ceases to be involved in the activities of the Och-Ziff Operating Group. The death or inability of Mr. Och to perform his duties with respect to any of our funds for 90 consecutive days, or termination of Mr. Och’s involvement in the activities of the Och-Ziff Operating Group for any reason, could result in substantial redemption requests from investors in certain of our funds. Any such event would have a direct material adverse effect on our revenues and earnings, and would likely harm our ability to maintain or grow assets under management in existing funds or raise additional funds in the future. Such withdrawals could lead to a liquidation of certain funds and a corresponding elimination of our management fees and potential to earn incentive income. The loss of Mr. Och could, therefore, ultimately have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations, including a loss of substantially all of our revenues and earnings.

We have experienced and may again experience periods of rapid growth and significant declines in assets under management, which place significant demands on our legal, compliance, accounting, risk management, administrative and operational resources.

Rapid changes in our assets under management may impose substantial demands on our legal, compliance, accounting, risk management, administrative and operational infrastructures. The complexity of these demands, and the time and expense required to address them, is a function not simply of the size of the increase or decrease, but also of significant differences in the investing strategies employed within our funds and the time periods during which these changes occur. For example, expanding our product offerings and entering into new lines of business places additional demands on our infrastructure. Furthermore, our

future growth will depend on, among other things, our ability to maintain and develop highly reliable operating platforms, management systems and financial reporting and compliance infrastructures that are also sufficiently flexible to promptly and appropriately address our business needs, applicable legal and regulatory requirements and relevant market and other operating conditions, all of which can change rapidly.

Addressing the matters described above may require us to incur significant additional expenses and to commit additional senior management and operational resources, even if we are experiencing declines in assets under management.

There can be no assurance that we will be able to manage our operations effectively without incurring substantial additional expense or that we will be able to grow our business and assets under management, and any failure to do so could materially adversely affect our ability to generate revenues and control our expenses.

We are highly dependent on information systems and other technology, including those used or maintained by third parties with which we do business. Any failure in any such systems or infrastructure could materially impair our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our business is highly dependent on information systems and technology. We rely heavily on our financial, accounting, trading, risk management and other data processing and information systems to, among other things, execute, confirm, settle and record a very large number of transactions, which can be highly complex and involve multiple parties across multiple financial markets and geographies, and to facilitate financial reporting and legal and regulatory compliance all in an extremely time-sensitive, efficient and accurate manner. We must continually update these systems to properly support our operations and growth, which creates risks associated with implementing new systems and integrating them into existing ones. We also use and rely upon third-party information systems and technology to perform certain business functions. Such third-party technology may be integrated with our own. Therefore, we face additional significant risks that would arise from the failure, disruption, termination or constraints in the information systems and technology of such third parties, including financial intermediaries such as exchanges and other service providers whose information systems and technology we use. Any of these information systems or technology infrastructures could fail, become disrupted (including by unauthorized security breaches) or otherwise not operate properly or as intended. In addition, our systems are from time to time subject to cyberattacks. Breaches of our network security systems could involve attacks that are intended to obtain unauthorized access to our proprietary information, destroy data or disable, degrade or sabotage our systems, often through the introduction of computer viruses, cyberattacks and other means and could originate from a wide variety of sources, including unknown third parties outside the firm. Although we take various measures to ensure the integrity of our systems, there can be no assurance that these measures will always provide sufficient protection. If any of these failures occur, particularly those that directly affect our New York headquarters, we could suffer a disruption or cessation in our business operations, an interception of confidential or proprietary information, liability to our funds, regulatory intervention, legal action or reputational damage, any or all of which could materially impair our business, financial condition or results of operations. We could also be significantly affected if the information systems and technology of third parties with whom we conduct business are subject to unauthorized security breaches or other tampering

We depend on our headquarters in New York and our London and Hong Kong offices, where most of our personnel are located. Although, we have taken important precautions to limit the impact of failures or disruptions in the information systems and technology infrastructures that we use, as well as the impact of physical disruptions to our New York headquarters and London office, these precautions, including our disaster recovery programs, may not be sufficient to adequately mitigate the harm that may result from such a disaster or disruption. In addition, insurance and other safeguards might only partially reimburse us for any losses, if at all.

We are subject to third-party litigation that could result in significant legal and other liabilities and reputational harm, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We face significant risks in our business that subject us to third-party litigation and legal liability. In general, we will be exposed to litigation risk in connection with any allegations of misconduct, negligence, dishonesty or bad faith arising from our management of any fund. We may also be subject to litigation arising from investor dissatisfaction with the performance of our funds, including certain losses due to the failure of a particular investment strategy or improper trading activity, if we violate restrictions in our funds’ organizational documents or from allegations that we improperly exercised control or influence over companies in which our funds have large investments. In addition, we are exposed to risks of litigation relating to claims that we

have not properly addressed conflicts of interest. Any litigation arising in such circumstances is likely to be protracted, expensive and surrounded by circumstances that could be materially damaging to our reputation and our business. Moreover, in such cases, we would be obligated to bear legal, settlement and other costs, which may be in excess of any available insurance coverage. In addition, although we are indemnified by our funds, our rights to indemnification may be challenged. If we are required to incur all or a portion of the costs arising out of any litigation or investigation as a result of inadequate insurance proceeds, if any, or fail to obtain indemnification from our funds, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Now that the FCPA investigation has been settled, it is possible that we will be exposed to increased civil litigation risk arising out of the events investigated by the SEC and DOJ as part of the FCPA matter.

It is possible that we would be made a party to any lawsuit involving any of the fund-related litigation described above. As with the funds, while we maintain insurance, there can be no assurance that our insurance will prove to be adequate. If we are required to incur all or a portion of the costs arising out of litigation, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected. Furthermore, any such litigation could be protracted, expensive and highly damaging to our reputation, which could result in a significant decline in our assets under management and revenues, even if the underlying claims are without merit. In addition, we may participate in transactions that involve litigation (including the enforcement of property rights) from time to time, and such transactions may expose us to reputational risk and increased risk from countersuits.

Extensive regulation of our business affects our activities and creates the potential for significant liabilities and penalties. Our reputation, business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially affected by regulatory issues.

Our business is subject to extensive and complex regulation, including periodic examinations and regulatory investigations, by governmental and self-regulatory organizations in the jurisdictions in which we operate and trade around the world. As an investment adviser registered under the Advisers Act and a company subject to the registration and reporting provisions of the Exchange Act, we are subject to regulation and oversight by the SEC. As a company with a class of securities listed on the NYSE, we are subject to the rules and regulations of the NYSE. As a registered commodity pool operator and a registered commodity trading advisor, we are subject to regulation and oversight by the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and the National Futures Association. In addition, we are subject to regulation by the Department of Labor under ERISA. In the UK, our UK sub-adviser is subject to regulation by the UK Financial Conduct Authority. Our Asian operations, and our investment activities around the globe, are subject to a variety of other regulatory regimes that vary country by country, including the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong, and the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

The regulatory bodies with jurisdiction over us have the authority to grant, and in specific circumstances to cancel, permissions to carry on our business and the authority to conduct investigations and administrative proceedings. Such investigations and administrative proceedings can result in fines, suspensions of personnel or other sanctions, including censure, the issuance of cease-and-desist orders or the suspension or expulsion of an investment adviser from registration or memberships. For example, a failure to comply with the obligations imposed by the Exchange Act or Advisers Act, including recordkeeping, advertising and operating requirements, disclosure obligations and prohibitions on fraudulent activities, or a failure to maintain our funds’ exemption from compliance with the 1940 Act could result in investigations, sanctions and reputational damage, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Our funds are involved regularly in trading activities that implicate a broad number of U.S. and foreign securities law regimes, including laws governing trading on inside information, market manipulation, anti-corruption, including the FCPA, and a broad number of technical trading requirements that implicate fundamental market regulation policies. Even if an investigation or proceeding does not result in a sanction or the sanction imposed against us or our personnel by a regulator were small in monetary amount, the adverse publicity relating to the investigation, proceeding or imposition of these sanctions could harm our reputation and cause us to lose existing investors or to fail to gain new investors. Furthermore, the legal, technology and other costs associated with regulatory investigations could increase to such a level that they could have a material impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

These global financial services regulators affect us not only with their regulations, but also with their examination, inspection and enforcement functions as well. We are routinely subject to examination and inspection and, although we make reasonable efforts to maintain effective compliance programs, there can be no assurances that any such inquiry would not result in a finding or sanction that would adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.  Likewise, enforcement

investigations and administrative inquiries can be sweeping in nature. Cooperating with these investigations, as is our practice, can be expensive and time-consuming and could distract us from our business operations.  In particular, U.S. regulators routinely investigate potentially serious matters such as possible insider trading, market manipulation, misleading disclosure, conflicts of interest, fraud, foreign corruption, including under the FCPA; lesser potential violations, such as books and records inaccuracies, weaknesses in internal controls; and compliance with general reporting and advertising regulations. For the past several years, we have cooperated with a number of ongoing regulatory investigations and examinations, both domestically and internationally, and we expect to be the subject of investigations and examinations in the future. There can be no assurances that ongoing or future investigations will not adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Enforcement actions and administrative proceedings can result in fines, or other sanctions, including censure, the issuance of a cease-and-desist order, suspension or expulsion of persons or firms from the industry. Such sanctions can harm our reputation and cause us to lose existing investors or fail to gain new investors, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

On September 29, 2016, we reached settlements with the DOJ and the SEC, resolving their investigations into our former private investment business in Africa and a 2007 investment by the Libyan Investment Authority in certain of our funds. As part of the settlements, we entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the DOJ, and our subsidiary, OZ Africa, agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. We also agreed to settle an administrative proceeding with the SEC involving violations of the FCPA and the Advisers Act.

Pursuant to the settlement agreements with the regulators, we agreed to pay $412.1 million in settlement charges and to implement enhanced internal accounting controls and policies, to separate the chief compliance officer from other officer positions, and to engage an independent compliance monitor for three years, subject to early termination or extension. The settlements could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations as described below in “-The FCPA settlements could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise capital for our funds.”

In addition, we regularly rely on exemptions or exclusions from various requirements of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, the 1940 Act, the Commodity Exchange Act and ERISA in conducting our asset management activities. These exemptions or exclusions are sometimes highly complex and may, in certain circumstances, depend on compliance by third parties whom we do not control. If for any reason these exemptions or exclusions were to become unavailable to us, we could become subject to regulatory action or third-party claims and our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected. Certain of the requirements imposed under the 1940 Act, the Advisers Act, ERISA and by non-U.S. regulatory authorities are designed primarily to ensure the integrity of the financial markets and to protect investors in our funds and are not designed to protect holders of our Class A Shares. At any time, the regulations applicable to us may be amended or expanded by the relevant regulatory authorities. If we are unable to correctly interpret and timely comply with any amended or expanded regulatory requirements, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be adversely impacted in a material way.

We may also be adversely affected if additional legislation or regulations are enacted, or by changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing rules and regulations imposed by the SEC, other U.S. or foreign governmental regulatory authorities or self-regulatory organizations that supervise the financial markets and their participants. See “—Increased regulatory focus in the United States could result in additional burdens on our business” and “—Recent regulatory changes in jurisdictions outside the United States could adversely affect our business” for additional information. It is impossible to determine the extent of the impact of any new laws, regulations or initiatives that may be proposed, or whether any of the proposals will become law. Compliance with additional new laws or regulations could be difficult and expensive and affect the manner in which we conduct business, and we may be unable to correctly interpret and timely comply with any amended or expanded regulatory requirements, which could have adverse impacts on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The FCPA settlements could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise capital for our funds.

As described above under “-Extensive regulation of our business affects our activities and creates the potential for significant liabilities and penalties. Our reputation, business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially affected by regulatory issues,” we recently settled investigations by the SEC and the DOJ concerning violations of the FCPA and other laws, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition to the financial cost of the settlements, the investigation and settlements may harm our reputation and cause us to lose existing investors or fail to gain new investors, which could further adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Prior to the settlements, many of our funds raised capital relying on the exemption from registration provided by Rule 506 of Regulation D under the Securities Act (“Rule 506”) in connection with a securities offering structured as a private placement. As a consequence of the settlements, many of our funds are currently disqualified from raising capital using Rule 506 offerings. This could negatively affect our ability to raise capital for these funds, and our ability to offer and sell fund interests to certain investors in certain U.S. states may be impaired. The inability of many of our funds to raise capital in Rule 506 offerings may also result in additional expenses. The potential negative impact of the FCPA settlements on our ability to raise or retain capital for our funds could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Increased regulatory focus in the United States could result in additional burdens on our business.

The financial industry has become more highly regulated. Legislation has been introduced in recent years in the U.S. relating to financial markets and institutions, including alternative asset management firms, which would result in increased oversight and taxation. There has been, and may continue to be, a related increase in regulatory investigations of the trading and other investment activities of alternative investment funds, including our funds. Such investigations may impose additional expenses on us, may require the attention of senior management and may result in fines if any of our funds are deemed to have violated any regulations.

On July 21, 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) was signed into law. The Dodd-Frank Act imposes significant new regulations on the U.S. financial services industry, including aspects of our business and the markets in which we operate.

Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act (the “Derivatives Title”) imposes a comprehensive regulatory regime on over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivatives and the operations of the markets for, and the activities of the dealers in and users of, OTC derivatives. The Derivatives Title, among other things: (i) could require certain OTC derivatives, including “swaps” (such as rate, credit, equity and commodity swaps) and “security-based swaps” (swaps and security-based swaps, collectively, “Swaps”), to be traded on a regulated exchange and cleared through a regulated clearing entity, potentially increasing significantly the collateral costs associated with such activities; (ii)  imposes initial and variation margin requirements on certain entities whose derivatives are not cleared through a regulated clearing entity; (iii) creates several new classes of CFTC and SEC registrants, including “swap dealers,” “security-based swap dealers,” “major swap participants” and “major security-based swap participants,” that are subject to comprehensive regulation, including minimum net capital, margin, disclosure, reporting and recordkeeping requirements, conflicts of interest policies and procedures, new business conduct standards and other regulatory requirements; and (iv) expands the CFTC’s authority to impose speculative position limits with respect to derivative instruments, including Swaps on certain physical commodities (such as Swaps based on oil, gas, precious metals and agricultural commodities) and aggregate position limits for those instruments (including futures and options contracts and other listed instruments that are economically equivalent to such contracts) based on the same underlying physical commodity.

We are and may be directly and indirectly affected by the Derivatives Title and its rules, including but not limited to potential results such as increased clearing and margin costs and decreased liquidity. Although many of the regulations under the Derivative Title have been adopted, certain issues under the Derivatives Title that were to be addressed by the regulators have not yet been addressed in final form. At this time we still cannot fully predict what impact the Derivatives Title will have on us, the funds we manage, our counterparties, the financial services industry or the markets, although we have already seen meaningful impacts on the financial services industry and the markets, both positive and negative.

On December 18, 2014, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (the “Council”) released a notice seeking public comment regarding potential risks to U.S. financial stability from asset management products and activities and on February 4, 2015, the Council approved supplemental procedures for reviewing nonbank financial companies for potential designation as

systematically important financial institutions (“SIFI”). If we or any of our funds were to be designated as a SIFI, or otherwise designated by the Council as presenting systemic risk, we would be subject to limitations on our ability to conduct certain activities, along with increased costs of doing business in the form of fees and assessments associated with such designation as well as by virtue of increased regulatory compliance costs, all of which would be likely to adversely affect our competitive position.

On December 10, 2013, U.S. financial regulators adopted final regulations to implement the statutory mandate of the “Volcker Rule” contained in Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Under the Volcker Rule, the ability of certain banking entities to acquire as principal, directly or indirectly, ownership interests in certain private investment funds (referred to in the Volcker Rule as “covered funds”) will be limited.  As a result, banking entities and their affiliates that would otherwise invest in our funds may choose not to invest in our funds, or to invest less capital in our funds.  In addition, banking entities that are invested in our funds may be required to reduce or eliminate such investments due to the requirements of the Volcker Rule. The Volcker Rule also includes a general prohibition on banking entities engaging in activities defined as “proprietary trading.” The effectiveness of the Volcker Rule could negatively impact our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The Dodd-Frank Act also requires increased disclosure of executive compensation and provides shareholders with the right to a non-binding vote on executive compensation. In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act empowers federal regulators to prescribe regulations or guidelines to prohibit any incentive-based payment arrangements that the regulators determine encourage covered financial institutions to take inappropriate risks by providing officers, employees, directors or principal shareholders with excessive compensation or that could lead to a material financial loss by such financial institutions. Until all of the relevant regulations and guidelines have been established, we cannot predict what effect, if any, these developments may have on our business or the markets in which we operate.

Furthermore, the Dodd-Frank Act required the SEC and the CFTC to implement more expansive regulations concerning whistleblowers. The SEC and the CFTC have each adopted rules under this requirement, establishing reward programs for persons who bring information to the SEC or the CFTC. To receive a reward under these programs, the information must lead to the successful enforcement or resolution of a judicial or administrative action brought by the SEC or CFTC that results in a monetary sanction of more than $1 million for a violation of the securities laws or the Commodity Exchange Act, respectively. While it is too soon to observe the full effect of these rules, they may result in increased regulatory inquiries or investigations by the SEC or the CFTC. Such inquiries or investigations could impose significant additional expense on us, require the attention of senior management and result in negative publicity and harm to our reputation.

Effective September 23, 2013, and pursuant to a mandate under the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC adopted amendments to Rule 506 that disqualify issuers, such as our funds, from relying on the exemption from registration provided by Rule 506 in connection with a securities offering structured as a private placement if any “covered persons” are deemed to be “bad actors.” Specifically, an issuer generally will be precluded from conducting offerings that rely on the registration exemption provided by Rule 506 if a “covered person” has been subject to a relevant criminal conviction, regulatory or court order or other disqualifying event that occurred on or after September 23, 2013. For these purposes, the “covered persons” of an issuer include directors, certain officers, various entities related to the issuer, solicitors and promoters of the issuer and 20% beneficial owners of the issuer’s voting securities.  If any covered person is subject to a disqualifying event, one or more of our funds could lose the ability to raise capital in a Rule 506 offering, which would result in significant additional expenses in connection with such offerings. Many of our funds continuously raise capital in reliance on Rule 506.  If one or more of our funds were to lose the ability to rely on the Rule 506 exemption, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

These and other outstanding rulemakings mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act will be completed by various regulatory bodies and other groups over the next several years, and the Dodd-Frank Act mandates multiple agency reports and studies (which could result in additional legislative or regulatory action). As a result of the regulatory and other action yet to be taken, we do not know what the remaining final regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act will require and it is difficult to predict how significantly the Dodd-Frank Act will affect us. The Dodd-Frank Act will likely increase our administrative costs and could impose additional restrictions on our business.

In early February 2017, the new Trump administration issued an executive order calling for a review of laws and regulations affecting the U.S. financial industry in order to determine their consistency with a set of core principles identified in the executive order. Several bills have been introduced in recent years as avenues to amend the Dodd-Frank Act, including the

Financial CHOICE Act (the “CHOICE Act”), which is currently pending in the House of Representatives and the Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015 (“FRIA”), which is currently pending in the Senate. If reintroduced, these bills, while different, could change the process and criteria for designating systemically important financial institutions, modify the Volcker Rule and make reforms to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, among other proposals. The CHOICE Act would also significantly enhance the SEC’s enforcement capabilities and increase the maximum civil penalties and criminal sanctions under federal securities laws, including under the Investment Company Act (the “1940 Act”) and the Advisers Act, while the FRIA would change the operations, structure and accountability of the Federal Reserve System.

A number of legislative proposals have been considered by past Congresses that would have characterized some or all of the income recognized from carried interests as ordinary income and would have treated such income as non-qualifying income under the publicly traded partnership rules, thereby precluding us from qualifying for treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes after a transition period or requiring us to restructure our operations to earn such non-qualifying income through taxable subsidiary corporations. In addition, versions of the prior proposals could have, if enacted, (i) prevented us from completing certain types of internal reorganization transactions on a tax-free basis and acquiring other asset management companies on a tax-free basis, (ii) subjected holders of Class A Shares to tax on our conversion into a corporation or restructuring after the transition period, and (iii) increased the portion of any gain realized from the sale or other disposition of a Class A Share that is treated as ordinary income rather than capital gain. Former Representative David Camp, then Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, released a discussion draft of proposed legislation in the past that would have, among other things, prevented us from qualifying for treatment as a partnership and characterized some or all of the income we may earn from carried interests as ordinary income.

The new administration and leaders in Congress have indicated their desire to pursue comprehensive tax reform and the treatment of carried interests in such legislation is unclear. More broadly, Congress and the new administration may consider potentially significant changes to various aspects of the tax law, including the deductibility of certain expenses and tax treatment of certain entities. If the carried interest proposals or former Chairman Camp’s proposal described above were to be enacted into law or any other change in the tax laws, rules, regulations or interpretations were to preclude us from qualifying for treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes under the publicly traded partnership rules or otherwise impose additional taxes, Class A Shareholders would be negatively affected. We would incur a material increase in our tax liability as a public company from the date any such changes applied to us, which likely would result in a reduction in the value of our Class A Shares.

Risk retention rules could adversely affect our CLO management business.

Effective as of December 24, 2016, “risk retention” rules promulgated by U.S. federal regulators under the Dodd-Frank Act require a “securitizer” or “sponsor” of a CLO to retain directly or through a “majority-owned affiliate” (as defined in the U.S. Risk Retention Rules), in one or more prescribed forms, at least 5% of the credit risk of the securitized assets (the “U.S. Risk Retention Rules”).

The U.S. Risk Retention Rules became effective for CLOs on December 24, 2016 (the “Risk Retention Compliance Date”). Thus, any CLO transaction that issues securities after such Risk Retention Compliance Date (including as a result of “deemed” issuances of securities resulting from refinancing, re-pricings or material amendments) will be required to satisfy the U.S. Risk Retention Rules. An existing CLO that has issued securities prior to the Risk Retention Compliance Date may be structured in a manner intended to facilitate the later refinancing, re-pricing or material amendment thereof in compliance with the U.S. Risk Retention Rules. However, there can be no assurance that any such existing CLO will actually be able to be refinanced, repriced or materially amended in compliance with the U.S. Risk Retention Rules.

The U.S. Risk Retention Rules have caused, and are expected to continue to cause, significant and potentially adverse changes to the CLO management business generally, and to our business specifically. In addition, the U.S. Risk Retention Rules may also affect our general fund management business, particularly with respect to our managed funds that have historically acquired securities issued by the CLOs we manage. We currently manage a number of CLOs through our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Och-Ziff Loan Management LP (the “CLO Manager”), and a number of our managed funds hold interests in the most subordinated class of securities issued by CLOs managed by the CLO Manager. Furthermore, because the CLO Manager has no personnel of its own and the personnel employed by the CLO Manager to perform the CLO Manager’s functions are employees of OZ Management, it is possible that OZ Management rather than the CLO Manager itself may be viewed as the

true “sponsor” of the CLOs managed by the CLO Manager, and accordingly the party required to comply with the U.S. Risk Retention Rules.

In connection with the U.S. Risk Retention Rules, we may seek to retain the requisite risk retention interest directly, through the CLO Manager, or through a majority-owned affiliate. We may also seek to establish a standalone, self-managed collateral manager entity that will manage CLOs and retain the risk retention interest directly or through a majority-owned affiliate. There can be no assurance that applicable regulatory or governmental authorities will agree that any of the approaches we adopt in order to comply with the requirements of the U.S. Risk Retention Rules satisfy such requirements.

Our efforts to undertake compliance with the U.S. Risk Retention Rules are expected to require additional costs and expenses, which may be significant, and are further expected to require tying up capital that could potentially be deployed in another manner in order to generate better risk-adjusted returns. In addition, in the event applicable regulatory or governmental authorities disagree that any of our adopted compliance approaches satisfy the requirements of the U.S. Risk Retention Rules, this may expose us to additional costs and expenses, in addition to potential liability. Furthermore, we may be required to agree to certain undertakings and covenants in connection with complying with the U.S. Risk Retention Rules, breaches of which may cause us to incur liability. To the extent any third party financing is obtained in connection with retaining the requisite risk retention interest, such as through recourse financings as contemplated by the U.S. Risk Retention Rules, the terms of such financing may impose additional limitations or restrictions on our business that could adversely alter the way in our business is operated, reduce the value of our managing CLOs to us and to our shareholders, or otherwise adversely affect our business and operations generally, or the value of our shares. Generally, managing CLOs following the Risk Retention Compliance Date may be less valuable to us and our shareholders relative to managing CLOs prior to the Risk Retention Compliance Date, and we may accordingly be less likely to manage new CLO transactions following the Risk Retention Compliance Date.

The U.S. Risk Retention Rules are subject to varying interpretations, and one or more regulatory or governmental authorities could take positions with respect to the U.S. Risk Retention Rules that conflict with, or are inconsistent with, the U.S. Risk Retention Rules as understood or interpreted by us, the CLO management industry generally, or past or current regulatory or governmental authorities. Available interpretive authority to date addressing the U.S. Risk Retention Rules applicable to CLOs is limited. Accordingly, no assurance can be made that the U.S. Risk Retention Rules, as understood or interpreted by us, by the CLO management industry generally, or by past or current regulatory or governmental authorities, will not be interpreted differently by applicable regulatory or governmental authorities, now or in the future, or that there will not be a change in applicable law or rules and regulations in the future that could adversely affect us or the CLOs we manage, including by making any structural changes undertaken to facilitate compliance with the U.S. Risk Retention Rules obsolete, unnecessarily burdensome or otherwise economically or administratively disadvantageous.

In addition to any potential direct affects on us or the CLOs we manage, the U.S. Risk Retention Rules also may have an adverse effect on the leveraged loan markets or credit markets generally, which may in turn adversely affect the CLOs we manage or our business generally.

No assurance can be given that the U.S. Risk Retention Rules will not have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.

Recent regulatory changes in jurisdictions outside the United States could adversely affect our business.

Similar to the United States, jurisdictions outside the United States in which we operate, in particular Europe, have become subject to further regulation. Governmental regulators and other authorities in Europe have proposed or implemented a number of initiatives and additional rules and regulations that could adversely affect our business.

The European Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (the “AIFMD”) became effective on July 21, 2011, but with implementation taking place between July 22, 2013 and July 22, 2014. As of January 1, 2017, EU Member States had transposed the AIFMD into their domestic law. The AIFMD is complex and key aspects of it remain subject to further consultation and interpretation.

The AIFMD imposes significant regulatory requirements on alternative investment fund managers (“AIFMs”), operating within the EU, as well as prescribing certain conditions with regard to regulatory standards, cooperation and transparency that will

need to be satisfied for non-EU AIFMs to market alternative investment funds (“AIFs”) into EU Member States. Should any member of our group be treated as an AIFM operating within the EU, AIFMD rules would impose significant additional costs on the operation of our business in the EU and limit our operating flexibility. In any event, in order to market one of our AIFs to investors in the EU, the non-EU investment adviser of that AIF will be required to comply with the marketing conditions in the AIFMD and any additional national restrictions, assuming that national private placement is available. The AIFMD conditions are that the AIFM complies with specific ratification or registration requirements and certain additional transparency requirements requiring disclosures to investors in the AIF and to EU regulators; the AIFM also complies with requirements relating to the acquisition of substantial stakes in EU companies; and the jurisdictions in which the non-EU AIFM and the relevant AIF are organized satisfy certain conditions with regard to regulatory standards, cooperation and transparency.

If AIFMD’s marketing passport is made available to non-EU AIFMs, it is possible that national private placement regimes will be phased out, in which case such persons would, thereafter, need to comply with the AIFMD in full in order to be able to continue to market their AIFs within the EU. Again, such rules could, if they start to apply in full to our business, potentially impose significant additional costs on the operation of our business in the EU and could limit our operating flexibility and our ability to raise funds within the EU. There is also no requirement for EU Member States to make the private placement regimes available to non-EU AIFMs and consequently, individual EU Member States could, theoretically, seek to apply the rules set out in the AIFMD in full to non-EU AIFMs at any time, even before the marketing passport is made available to such non-EU AIFMs.

Separately to AIFMD, the EU is also introducing significant changes to the existing Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, known as “MiFID II.” The original MiFID, which came into force in 2007, is the foundational piece of legislation for financial services firms operating in the EU, including our UK affiliate Och-Ziff Management Europe Limited (“OZME”), which is authorized and regulated in the UK under MiFID. MiFID II is due to come into force with effect from January 2018.

Many of the changes in MiFID II will impose significant new organizational, conduct, governance and reporting requirements on OZME, including new requirements around the receipt of inducements and the use of soft dollars / dealing commissions, enhanced transaction reporting and post-trade transparency requirements, formal telephone taping requirements, and new best execution rules. Further, new rules in MiFID II may restrict the ability of other Och-Ziff entities domiciled outside of the EU (known as “third-country firms”) to provide services to clients domiciled in the EU. Other changes resulting from MiFID II may have an impact (indirectly) on any Och-Ziff entity or client that trades on EU markets or trading venues, or does business with EU-regulated banks or brokers. This may include venue trading requirements for certain categories of shares and derivatives, product banning powers, algorithmic trading restrictions, and enhanced requirements around the provision of direct market access / direct electronic access services.

In addition to the AIFMD and MiFID II, the EU has implemented, or is in the process of implementing a number of measures in response to the financial crisis or as part of an ongoing program of legislative changes. These include, but are not limited to:

information, to introduce a new offense of “attempted market manipulation” and to strengthen regulatory authorities’ investigative and sanctioning powers).

Each or all of these measures could have direct and indirect effects on our business.

In addition, the UK introduced a tax on “diverted profits,” effective April 1, 2015. The tax requirement remains controversial and, in some parts, unclear as to its operation. According to the UK government’s publications, the rules are intended to counteract “contrived arrangements” to divert profits from the UK by avoiding a UK taxable presence or by other contrived arrangements between connected entities. A 25% rate of tax will apply to diverted profits relating to UK activity, targeting foreign companies that are perceived as exploiting the UK’s permanent establishment rules or creating other tax advantages by using transactions or entities that lack economic substance. Credit will be available in some circumstances for foreign taxes incurred on the same profits. Statements by the UK government indicate that the legislation was not primarily focused on investment funds such as our funds, or non-UK investment managers of such funds such as Och-Ziff. While it is not possible to reach a definitive conclusion that the funds or the management entities will not be affected, we consider there to be sufficiently strong arguments as to why neither our funds nor the management entities should self-report for this tax. It is worth noting in this regard that the UK government is of the view that the tax is not within the terms of the U.S.-UK double taxation treaty, potentially limiting the availability of credit in the U.S., as well as treaty-based dispute resolution procedures.

If third-party investors in our funds exercise their right to remove us as investment manager or general partner of the funds, we would lose the assets under management in such funds, which would eliminate our management fees and incentive income derived from such funds.

The governing agreements of most of our funds provide that, subject to certain conditions, third-party investors in those funds have the right, without cause, to vote to remove us as investment manager or general partner of the fund by a simple majority vote, resulting in the elimination of the assets under management by those funds and the management fees and incentive income derived from those funds. In addition to having a significant negative impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations, the occurrence of such an event would likely result in significant reputational damage to us.

In addition, because our funds generally have an adviser that is registered under the Advisers Act, the management agreements of all of our funds would be terminated upon an “assignment” of these agreements without investor consent, which assignment may be deemed to occur in the event these advisers were to experience a change of control. We cannot be certain that consents required to assignments of our investment management agreements will be obtained if a change of control occurs. “Assignment” of these agreements without investor consent could cause us to lose the fees we earn from such funds.

Our failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the related rules require our management to conduct annual assessments of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and require a report by our independent registered public accounting firm, as well as an independent audit of our internal control over financial reporting. If our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to opine on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting for any reason or we are unable to report our financial information on a timely basis due to matters impacting our internal controls, as has occurred in the past, we may become subject to adverse regulatory or other consequences, including sanctions or investigations by the SEC, and some of these consequences could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our failure to deal appropriately with conflicts of interest could damage our reputation and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

As we expand the scope of our business, we increasingly confront potential conflicts of interest relating to our funds’ investment activities. Certain of our funds have overlapping investment objectives and potential conflicts may arise with respect to our decisions regarding how to allocate investment opportunities among or even within those funds. For example, a decision to acquire material non-public information about a company while pursuing an investment opportunity for a particular fund gives rise to a potential conflict of interest when it results in our having to restrict the ability of other funds to buy or sell securities in the public markets. In addition, fund investors and holders of our Class A Shares may perceive conflicts of interest regarding

investment decisions for funds in which our executive managing directors and employees, who have and may continue to make significant personal investments, are personally invested.

It is possible that actual, potential or perceived conflicts could give rise to investor dissatisfaction or litigation or regulatory enforcement actions. Appropriately dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult and our reputation could be damaged if we fail, or appear to fail, to deal appropriately with one or more potential or actual conflicts of interest. Regulatory scrutiny of, or litigation in connection with, conflicts of interest would have a material adverse effect on our reputation, which would materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations in a number of ways, including an inability to raise additional funds and a reluctance of counterparties to do business with us.

Misconduct by our executive managing directors, employees or agents could harm us by impairing our ability to attract and retain investors and subjecting us to significant legal liability, regulatory scrutiny and reputational harm.

There is a risk that our executive managing directors, employees, joint venture partners, consultants or agents could engage in misconduct that materially adversely affects our business. We are subject to a number of obligations and standards arising from our asset management business and our authority over the assets we manage, as well as our status as a public company with securities listed on the NYSE. The violation of these obligations and standards by any of our executive managing directors, employees, joint venture partners, consultants or agents could materially adversely affect our investors, both in our funds and in our Class A Shares, and us. In addition to these numerous and complex obligations, our business requires that we properly deal with confidential matters of great significance to companies in which we may invest or with which we otherwise do business. If our executive managing directors, employees, joint venture partners, consultants or agents were improperly to use or disclose confidential information, we could be subject to litigation, regulatory investigations or sanctions and suffer serious harm to our reputation, financial position and current and future business relationships. Furthermore, there have been a number of recent highly publicized cases involving fraud or other misconduct by employees in the financial services industry generally and there can be no assurance that we will not suffer from similar employee misconduct. It is not always possible to detect or deter employee misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity have not been and may not be effective in all cases. If one of our executive managing directors, employees, joint venture partners, consultants or agents were to engage in misconduct or were to be accused of such misconduct, even if such allegations were unsubstantiated, our reputation and our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

In recent years, the DOJ and the SEC have devoted greater resources to enforcement of the FCPA. In addition, the UK has recently significantly expanded the reach of its anti-bribery laws. While we have developed and implemented policies and procedures designed to ensure strict compliance by us and our personnel with the FCPA, such policies and procedures previously have not been, and in the future may not be effective in all instances to prevent violations. Any determination that we have violated the FCPA or other applicable anti-bribery laws could subject us to, among other things, civil and criminal penalties, material fines, profit disgorgement, injunctions on future conduct, securities litigation and a general loss of investor confidence, any one of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We may enter into new businesses, make future strategic investments or acquisitions or enter into joint ventures, each of which may result in additional risks and uncertainties in our business.

We intend, to the extent that market conditions warrant, to grow our business by increasing assets under management and creating new investment platforms and businesses. Accordingly, we may pursue growth through strategic investments, acquisitions or joint ventures, which may include entering into new lines of business in which we may not have extensive experience, including sponsoring business development companies. In addition, we expect opportunities will arise to acquire, or enter into joint ventures with, other alternative or traditional asset managers. To the extent we make strategic investments or acquisitions, enter into joint ventures, or enter into a new line of business, we will face numerous risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with the required investment of capital and other resources, the possibility that we have insufficient expertise to engage in such activities profitably or without incurring inappropriate amounts of risk, combining or integrating operational and management systems and controls, or loss of investors in our funds due to the perception that we are no longer focusing on our core fund management duties. Entry into certain lines of business may subject us to more complex or extensive new laws and regulations with which we may not be familiar, or from which we are currently exempt, and may lead to increased litigation and regulatory risk. If a new business that we enter into generates insufficient revenues or if we are unable to efficiently manage any expansion of our operations, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected. In

the case of joint ventures, we are subject to additional risks and uncertainties in that we may be dependent upon, and subject to liability, losses or reputational damage relating to, systems, controls and personnel that are not under our control.

Changes in the credit markets may negatively impact our ability to refinance our outstanding indebtedness or our ability to otherwise obtain attractive financing for our business, and may increase the cost of such financing if it is obtained, which would lead to higher interest expense or, with respect to our funds, lower-yielding investments, either of which would decrease our earnings. An increase in our borrowing costs may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

In November 2019, our Revolving Credit Facility will expire and our Senior Notes will mature . At those times , we will be required to either refinance or replace any outstanding indebtedness under the Revolving Credit Facility (or to obtain a new revolving line of credit), and the Senior Notes, as applicable, by entering into one or more new credit facilities or issuing debt securities, which could result in higher borrowing costs, or issuing equity, which would dilute existing shareholders. We could also repay any outstanding loans under the Revolving Credit Facility, or the Senior Notes , by using cash on hand or cash from the sale of our assets, which would reduce amounts available for compensation of our employees or distribution to our Class A Shareholders and our executive managing directors. No assurance can be given that we will be able to enter into new credit facilities, issue debt securities or issue equity in the future on attractive terms, or at all. Loans under the Revolving Credit Facility may be subject to a base rate plus a margin or a LIBOR-based floating rate plus a margin, and the interest expense we incur may vary with changes in the applicable LIBOR reference rate. See “Item 7A. Qualitative and Quantitative Disclosures about Market Risk—Interest Rate Risk,” for additional information regarding the impact that a change in LIBOR would have on our annual interest expense associated with our debt obligations.

As our Revolving Credit Facility, the Senior Notes and, with respect to our funds, other committed secured credit facilities expire, or if our lenders fail, we will need to replace them by entering into new facilities or finding other sources of liquidity. Furthermore, to the extent that the debt financing markets make it difficult or impossible for us to refinance or replace our Revolving Credit Facility or the Senior Notes, we may be unable to repay the loans outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility, if any, or the aggregate principal amount of the Senior Notes upon maturity, our liquidity may be reduced in a manner that may restrict or otherwise prevent us from funding or operating our general business affairs. We may be forced to sell assets, undergo a recapitalization or seek bankruptcy protection, and substantial doubt may be raised as to our status as a going concern. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources” and “—Debt Obligations” for a discussion of our Revolving Credit Facility and overall liquidity position.

Furthermore, depending on the facts and circumstances, we may want to use significant borrowings to finance our business operations or growth. If we incur additional substantial indebtedness, we will be exposed to risks associated with the use of substantial borrowings, including those discussed below under “—Risks Related to Our Funds—Our funds may determine to use leverage in investments, which could materially adversely affect our ability to achieve positive rates of return on those investments.”

Risks Related to Our Funds

Our results of operations are dependent on the performance of our funds. Poor performance of our funds will result in reduced revenues and earnings and make it difficult for us to retain or attract investors to our funds, retain and increase assets under management and grow our business. The performance of each fund we manage is subject to some or all of the following risks.

Difficult market conditions can adversely affect our funds in many ways, including by negatively impacting their performance and reducing their ability to raise or deploy capital, which could materially reduce our revenues and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

A recurrence of significant disruption and volatility in the global financial markets and economies could impair the investment performance of our funds. Additionally, we may not be able to raise capital for existing or new funds during, or even following, periods of market instability. Although we seek to generate consistent, positive, absolute returns across all market cycles, our funds have been and may be materially affected by conditions in the global financial markets and economic conditions. The global market and economic climate may become increasingly uncertain due to numerous factors beyond our control,

including but not limited to, concerns related to unpredictable global market and economic factors, regulatory uncertainty, rising interest rates, inflation or deflation, the availability of credit, performance of financial markets, terrorism or political uncertainty.

A general market downturn, a specific market dislocation or deteriorating economic conditions may cause a material reduction in our revenues and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations by causing:

Furthermore, while difficult market and economic conditions and other factors can potentially increase investment opportunities over the long term, including with respect to the competitive landscape for the hedge fund industry, such conditions and factors also increase the risk of increased investment losses and additional regulation, which may impair our business model and operations. Our funds may also be materially adversely affected by difficult market conditions if our investment professionals fail to assess the adverse effect of such conditions on our investments, resulting in a significant reduction in the value of those investments. Moreover, challenging market conditions may prompt alternative asset managers to reduce the management fee and incentive income rates they charge in order to retain assets. In response to competitive pressures or for any other reason, we may reduce or change the fee structures of our funds, which could reduce the amount of fees and income that we may earn relative to assets under management.

Most of our funds utilize investment strategies that depend on our ability to appropriately react to, or accurately assess, the occurrence of, certain events, including market and corporate events. If we fail to do so, our funds’ investment performance could be adversely affected in a material way.

The historical returns attributable to our funds should not be considered as indicative of the future results of our funds or any future funds we may raise.

We have presented throughout this report the net composite returns relating to the historical performance of our most significant funds, and we have also referred to other metrics associated with historical returns, such as risk and correlation measures. The returns are relevant to us primarily insofar as they are indicative of incentive income we have earned in prior periods and are not indicative of any future fund returns.

Moreover, with respect to the historical returns of our funds:

We are subject to counterparty default risks.

Our funds enter into numerous types of financial arrangements with a wide array of counterparties around the world, including loans, swaps, repurchase agreements, securities lending agreements and other derivative and non-derivative contracts. The terms of these contracts are often customized and complex and these arrangements may occur in markets or relate to

products that are not currently subject to experienced regulatory oversight. In particular, certain of our funds utilize prime brokerage arrangements with a relatively limited number of counterparties, which has the effect of concentrating the transaction volume (and related counterparty default risk) of these funds with these counterparties.

Our funds are subject to the risk that the counterparty to one or more of these contracts defaults, either voluntarily or involuntarily, under the contract. Any such default may occur rapidly and without prior notice to us. Moreover, if a counterparty defaults, we may be unable to take action to recover our assets or any amounts due to us, either because we lack the contractual ability or because market conditions make it difficult to take effective action. This inability could occur at any time, but particularly in times of market stress, which are precisely the times when defaults may be most likely to occur.

In addition, our risk-management assessments may not accurately anticipate the impact of market stress or counterparty financial condition and, as a result, we may not take sufficient action to reduce our risks effectively. Although each of our funds regularly monitors its credit exposures, default risk may arise from events or circumstances that are difficult to detect, foresee or evaluate. In addition, concerns about, or a default by, one large participant could lead to significant liquidity problems for other participants, which may in turn expose us to significant losses.

In the event of a counterparty default, particularly a default by a major commercial bank or other financial institution, one or more of our funds could incur material losses, and the resulting market impact of a major counterparty default could harm our business, results of operation and financial condition. In the event that one of our counterparties becomes insolvent or files for bankruptcy, our ability to eventually recover any losses suffered as a result of that counterparty’s default may be limited by the liquidity of the counterparty or the applicable legal regime governing the bankruptcy proceeding.

The counterparty risks that we face have increased in complexity and magnitude as a result of the financial crisis, including the recent sovereign debt crisis in Europe, and resulting impairment or insolvency of a number of major financial institutions that serve as counterparties for derivative contracts and other financial instruments with our funds. The consolidation or elimination of counterparties may also result in concentration of counterparty risk. In addition, counterparties have generally reacted to the ongoing market volatility by tightening their underwriting standards and increasing their margin requirements for all categories of financing, which has the result of decreasing the overall amount of leverage available to our funds and increasing the costs of borrowing.

Poor performance of our funds would cause a decline in our revenues, results of operations and cash flows and could materially adversely affect our ability to retain capital or attract additional capital.

If our funds perform poorly, our revenues, results of operations and cash flows decline because the value of our assets under management decreases, which in turn results in a reduction in management fees. To the extent that our funds perform poorly and such performance is continuing at the end of a relevant commitment period, we would experience a reduction in incentive income and, if such reduction was substantial, could result in the elimination of incentive income for a given year and future years until that decrease has been surpassed by positive performance. Poor performance of our funds would make it more difficult for us to raise new capital and may cause investors in our funds to redeem their investments. Investors and potential investors in our funds continually assess our funds’ performance, as well as our ability to raise capital for existing and future funds. Our ability to avoid excessive redemption levels will depend in part on our funds’ continued satisfactory performance. Moreover, poor performance, particularly in our most significant funds, would harm our reputation and competitive standing, which would further impair our ability to retain or attract fund capital. These factors may cause us to reduce or change the fee structure of our funds in order to retain or continue to attract assets under management, which could further reduce the amounts of management fees and incentive income that we may earn relative to assets under management.

Our funds may determine to use leverage in investments, which could materially adversely affect our ability to achieve positive rates of return on those investments.

Our funds use or may choose to use leverage, either directly or through the use of derivative instruments, to increase the yield on certain of their investments. The use of leverage poses a significant degree of risk, most notably by significantly increasing the risk of loss associated with leveraged investments that decline in value, and enhances the possibility of a significant loss in the value of the investments in our funds. Our funds may borrow money from time to time to purchase or carry securities. The interest expense and other costs incurred in connection with such borrowing may not be recovered by appreciation in the

securities purchased or carried, and will be lost—and the timing and magnitude of such losses may be accelerated or exacerbated—in the event of a decline in the market value of such securities. Volatility in the credit markets increases the degree of risk associated with such borrowing. Gains realized with borrowed funds may cause a fund’s net asset value to increase at a faster rate than would be the case without borrowings. If investment results fail to cover the cost of borrowings, the fund’s net asset value could also decrease faster than if there had been no borrowings. Increases in interest rates could also decrease the value of fixed-rate debt investments made by our funds. To the extent our funds determine to significantly increase their use of leverage, any of the foregoing circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The due diligence process that we undertake in connection with investments by our funds may not reveal all facts that may be relevant in connection with making an investment.

Before investments are made by our funds, particularly investments in securities that are not publicly traded, we conduct due diligence that we deem reasonable and appropriate based on the facts and circumstances applicable to each investment. When conducting due diligence, we may be required to evaluate important and complex business, financial, tax, accounting, environmental and legal issues. Outside consultants, legal advisors, accountants and investment bankers may be involved in the due diligence process in varying degrees depending on the type of investment. Nevertheless, when conducting due diligence and making an assessment regarding an investment, we rely on the resources available to us, including information provided by the target of the investment and, in some circumstances, third-party investigations. The due diligence that we carry out with respect to any investment opportunity may not reveal or highlight all relevant facts that may be necessary or helpful in evaluating such investment opportunity, and such an evaluation will not necessarily result in the investment being successful. Moreover, the level of due diligence conducted with respect to a particular investment will vary and we may not properly assess the appropriate amount of diligence for each investment, which may result in losses.

Our funds may invest in relatively high-risk, illiquid assets, including structured products, and may fail to realize any profits from these activities for a considerable period of time or lose some or all of the principal investments.

Our funds invest in securities that are not publicly traded or that are otherwise illiquid, including complex structured products. There may be no readily available liquidity in these securities, particularly at times of market stress or where many participants may be seeking liquidity at the same time. In many cases, our funds may be prohibited, whether by contract, by applicable securities laws or by the lack of a liquid market, from selling such securities for a period of time. Moreover, even if the securities are publicly traded, large holdings of securities can often be disposed of only over a substantial length of time, exposing the investment returns to risks of downward movement in market prices during the required holding period. Accordingly, under certain conditions, our funds may be forced to either sell securities at lower prices than they had expected to realize or defer, potentially for a considerable period of time, sales that they had planned to make. Investment in illiquid assets involves considerable risk and our funds may lose some or all of the principal amount of such investments.

Valuation methodologies for certain assets in our funds are subject to significant subjectivity and the values established pursuant to such methodologies may never be realized, which could result in significant losses for our funds.

There are no readily ascertainable market prices for the large number of the illiquid investments held by our funds. The fair value of the investments of our funds is determined periodically by us using a number of methodologies permitted by our funds’ valuation policies. These methodologies involve a significant degree of judgment and are based on a number of factors, which may include, without limitations, the nature of the investment, the expected cash flows from the investment, bid or ask prices provided by third parties for the investment, the length of time the investment has been held, the trading price of securities (in the case of publicly traded securities), restrictions on transfer and other recognized valuation methodologies. In addition, because certain of the illiquid investments held by our funds may be in industries or sectors that are under distress or undergoing some uncertainty, such investments may be subject to rapid changes in value caused by sudden company-specific or industry-specific developments.

Because valuations, and in particular valuations of investments for which market quotations are not readily available, are inherently uncertain, may fluctuate over short periods of time and may be based on estimates, determinations of fair value may differ materially from the values that would have resulted if a ready market had existed. Even if market quotations are available for our investments, such quotations may not reflect the value that may actually be realized because of various factors, including the possible illiquidity associated with a large ownership position, subsequent illiquidity in the market for a company’s securities,

future market price volatility or the potential for a future loss in market value based on poor industry conditions or the market’s view of overall company and management performance.

Because there is significant uncertainty in the valuation of and in the stability of the value of illiquid investments, the fair values of such investments as reflected in a fund’s net asset value do not necessarily reflect the prices that might actually be obtained when such investments are sold. Realizations at values significantly lower than the values at which investments have been reflected in fund net asset values would result in losses for the applicable fund, a decline in management fees and the loss of potential incentive income. Also, a situation where asset values turn out to be materially different from values reflected in fund net asset values may cause investors to lose confidence in us, which could, in turn, result in redemptions from our funds, difficulties in our ability to raise additional capital or an increased risk of litigation by investors or governmental or self-regulatory organizations. These issues could result in regulatory scrutiny of our valuation methodologies, polices and related disclosures.

Our funds make investments in companies that we do not control, exposing us to the risk of decisions made by others with whom we may not agree.

Investments by our funds will include investments in debt or equity of companies that we do not control. Such investments may be acquired by our funds through trading activities or through purchases of securities from the issuer. Those investments will be subject to the risk that the company in which the investment is made may make business, financial or management decisions contrary to our expectations, with which we do not agree or that the majority stakeholders or the management of the company may take risks or otherwise act in a manner that does not serve our interests. In addition, we may make investments in which we share control over the investment with co-investors, which may make it more difficult for us to implement our investment approach or exit the investment when we otherwise would. If any of the foregoing were to occur with respect to one or more significant investments, the values of such investments by our funds could decrease and our business, financial condition or results of operations could suffer as a result.

Our funds make investments in companies that are based outside of the United States, exposing us to additional risks not typically associated with investing in companies that are based in the United States.

Many of our funds may invest a significant portion of their assets in the equity, debt, loans or other securities of issuers located outside the United States. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve certain factors not typically associated with investing in U.S. securities, including risks relating to the following:

There can be no assurance that adverse developments with respect to such risks will not materially adversely affect our funds’ investments that are held in certain countries or the returns from these investments.

Our funds and certain of our counterparties may have direct or indirect credit exposure to sovereign debt of non-U.S. countries, and disruptions in these economies could have a negative effect on the performance of our funds or our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The financial markets continue to reflect concern and a loss of investor confidence globally about the ability of certain countries to finance their deficits and service growing debt burdens amid difficult economic conditions. The potential for insolvency has led to financial rescue measures for Greece, Portugal and Ireland by Euro-zone countries, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The actions required to be taken by those countries as a condition to rescue packages, and by other countries to mitigate similar developments in their economies, have resulted in increased political and economic discord within and among Euro-zone countries. The interdependencies among European economies and financial institutions (in particular the European Central Bank, which has played a growing role during the crisis) have also exacerbated concern regarding the stability of European financial markets generally and certain institutions in particular. Our funds have and may continue to have exposure to non-U.S. sovereign debt, including the debt of a number of European countries whose credit ratings have been downgraded or placed under review in recent months by one or more major rating agencies. Given the scope of our global operations and our exposure to a wide array of counterparties, some of whom may have exposure to the economies of non-U.S. countries, there can be no assurance that persistent or unexpected disruptions in the global financial markets related to, directly or indirectly, non-U.S. sovereign debt will not have a negative impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Risk management activities may materially adversely affect the return on our funds’ investments.

When managing our funds’ exposure to market risks, we may from time to time use hedging strategies and various forms of derivative instruments to limit the funds’ exposure to changes in the relative values of investments that may result from market developments, including changes in prevailing interest rates, currency exchange rates and commodity prices. The success of any hedging transactions generally will depend on our ability to correctly assess the degree of correlation between price movements of the hedging instrument, the position being hedged, the creditworthiness of the counterparty and other factors. As a result, while we may enter into a transaction in order to reduce our exposure to market risks, the transaction may result in poorer overall investment performance than if it had not been executed. Such transactions may also limit the opportunity for gain if the value of a hedged position increases. In addition, the degree of correlation between price movements of the instruments used in connection with hedging activities and price movements in a position being hedged may vary. For a variety of reasons, we may not seek or be successful in establishing a perfect correlation between the instruments used in a hedging or other derivative transaction and the position being hedged. An imperfect correlation could prevent us from achieving the intended result and could give rise to a loss. In addition, it may not be possible to fully or perfectly limit our exposure against all changes in the value of our investment because the value of investments is likely to fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, some of which will be beyond our control or ability to hedge.

If our risk management processes and systems are ineffective, we may be exposed to material unanticipated losses.

We continue to refine and implement our risk management techniques, strategies and assessment methods, such as the use of statistical and other quantitative and qualitative tools to identify, observe, measure and analyze the risks to which our funds are exposed. These methods, even if properly implemented, may not allow us to fully mitigate the risk exposure of our funds in all economic or market environments, or against all types of risk, including risks that we might fail to identify or anticipate. Some of our strategies for anticipating and managing risk in our funds are based upon our use of historical market behavior statistics, which may not be an accurate predictor of current or future market risks. We apply statistical and other tools to these observations to measure and analyze the risks to which our funds are exposed. Any failure in our risk management systems, whether in design or implementation, to accurately identify and quantify such risk exposure could limit our ability to manage risks in the funds, identify appropriate investment opportunities or realize positive, risk-adjusted returns. Because neither our quantitative nor qualitative risk management processes can anticipate for every investment the economic and financial outcome or timing and other specifics of the outcome, we will, in the course of our activities, incur losses.

Our funds’ investments are subject to numerous additional risks.

Our funds’ investments are subject to numerous additional risks, including the following:

Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure

Control by Mr. Och of the total combined voting power of our shares could cause or prevent us from engaging in certain transactions, which could materially adversely affect the market price of the Class A Shares or deprive our Class A Shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium as part of a sale of our Company.

As of December 31, 2016 , our executive managing directors control approximately 63.4% of the total combined voting power of our Class A Shares and Class B Shares through their ownership of 100% of our Class B Shares and Mr. Och’s and certain other executive managing directors’ ownership of Class A Shares purchased on the open market. In addition, our executive managing directors will receive additional Class B Shares resulting in additional control upon the conversion of any Och-Ziff Operating Group D Units into Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units and, if an amendment to our 2013 Incentive Plan is approved at our upcoming annual meeting of shareholders, in connection with the grant of Och-Ziff Operating Group P Units under the 2017 Incentive Program. See Note 19 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information on the 2017 Incentive Program. Each of our executive managing directors that owns Class B Shares has granted to the Class B Shareholder Committee, the sole member of which is currently our founder, Mr. Och, an irrevocable proxy to vote all of their Class B Shares as the Committee may determine in its sole discretion. This proxy will terminate upon the later of Mr. Och’s withdrawal, death or disability, or such time as our executive managing directors hold less than 40% of our total combined voting power. Accordingly, Mr. Och currently has the ability to elect all of the members of our Board of Directors and thereby control our management and affairs. In addition, he currently is able to determine the outcome of all matters requiring shareholder approval and will be able to cause or prevent a change of control of our Company or a change in the composition of our Board of Directors, and could preclude any unsolicited acquisition of our Company. The control of voting power by Mr. Och could deprive Class A Shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their Class A Shares as part of a sale of our Company, and might ultimately affect the market price of the Class A Shares. Upon Mr. Och’s withdrawal, death or disability, the

Class B Shareholder Committee will consist of either the remaining members of the Partner Management Committee, who shall act by majority vote in such capacity, or an executive managing director elected by majority vote of the remaining members of the Partner Management Committee to serve as the sole member of the Class B Shareholder Committee.

In addition, the shareholders’ agreement among us and our executive managing directors, in their capacity as the Class B shareholders, provides the Class B Shareholder Committee, so long as our executive managing directors and their permitted transferees continue to hold more than 40% of the total combined voting power of our outstanding Class A Shares and Class B Shares, with approval rights over a variety of significant Board actions, including:

In addition, our operating agreement requires that we obtain the consent of the Class B Shareholder Committee for specified actions primarily relating to our structure so long as any Class B Shares are outstanding. Our structure is intended to ensure that we maintain exchangeability of Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units for Class A Shares on a one-for-one basis. Accordingly, the Class B Shareholder Committee will have the right to approve or consent to actions that could result in an economic disparity between holders of our Class A Shares and other classes of equity, such as the issuance of certain securities, making certain capital contributions, owning or disposing of certain assets, incurring certain indebtedness and conducting business outside of the Och-Ziff Operating Group.

Our operating agreement contains provisions that reduce fiduciary duties of our directors and officers with respect to potential conflicts of interest against such individuals and limit remedies available to our Class A Shareholders against such individuals for actions that might otherwise constitute a breach of duty.

Our operating agreement provides that in the event a potential conflict of interest exists or arises between any of our executive managing directors, our officers, our directors or their respective affiliates, on the one hand, and us, any of our subsidiaries or any of our shareholders, on the other hand, a resolution or course of action by our Board of Directors shall be deemed approved by all of our shareholders, and shall not constitute a breach of the fiduciary duties of members of the Board to us or our shareholders, if such resolution or course of action is: (i) approved by our Nominating, Corporate Governance and Conflicts Committee, which is composed of independent directors; (ii) approved by shareholders holding a majority of our shares that are disinterested parties; (iii) on terms no less favorable than those generally provided to or available from unrelated third parties; or (iv) fair and reasonable to us. Accordingly, if such a resolution or course of action is approved by our Nominating,

Corporate Governance and Conflicts Committee or otherwise meets one or more of the above criteria, shareholders will not be able to successfully assert a claim that such resolution or course of action constituted a breach of fiduciary duties owed to our shareholders by our officers, directors and their respective affiliates. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, which we refer to as the “DGCL,” in contrast, a corporation is not permitted to automatically exempt Board members from claims of breach of fiduciary duty under such circumstances.

Our operating agreement contains provisions limiting the liability of our officers and directors to us, which also reduces remedies available to our Class A Shareholders for certain acts by such persons.

Our operating agreement also provides that to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law our directors or officers will not be liable to us other than in instances of fraud, gross negligence and willful misconduct. Accordingly, unless our officers or directors commit acts of fraud, gross negligence or willful misconduct, our shareholders may not have remedies available against such individuals under applicable law. Under the DGCL, in contrast, a director or officer would be liable to us for: (i) breach of duty of loyalty to us or our shareholders; (ii) intentional misconduct or knowing violations of the law that are not done in good faith; (iii) improper redemption of stock or declaration of a dividend; or (iv) a transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

Our operating agreement also provides that we will indemnify our directors and officers for acts or omissions to the fullest extent permitted by law other than in instances of fraud, gross negligence and willful misconduct, against all expenses and liabilities (including judgments, fines, penalties, interest, amounts paid in settlement with the approval of the Company and counsel fees and disbursements) arising from the performance of any of their obligations or duties in connection with their service to us or the operating agreement, including in connection with any civil, criminal, administrative, investigative or other action, suit or proceeding to which any such person may hereafter be made party by reason of being or having been one of our directors or officers. Under the DGCL, in contrast, a corporation can only indemnify directors and officers for acts or omissions if the director or officer acted in good faith, in a manner he reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the corporation, and, in a criminal action, if the officer or director had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful.

In the future, we may elect to rely on exceptions from certain corporate governance and other requirements under the rules of the NYSE.

Our executive managing directors control more than 50% of our voting power. We are therefore eligible for the “controlled company” exception from NYSE requirements that our Board of Directors be comprised of a majority of independent directors and that our Compensation Committee and Nominating, Corporate Governance and Conflicts Committee consist solely of independent directors. Although we do not currently intend to utilize this exception, we may in the future determine to do so.

Because our executive managing directors hold their economic interest in our business directly in the Och-Ziff Operating Group, conflicts of interest may arise between them and holders of our Class A Shares, particularly with respect to tax considerations.

As of December 31, 2016 , our executive managing directors held 61.7% of the equity in the Och-Ziff Operating Group directly through Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units, rather than through ownership of our Class A Shares. In addition, as of December 31, 2016 , our executive managing directors held a 5.0% interest in the Och-Ziff Operating Group in the form of Och-Ziff Operating Group D Units, which are non-equity profit interests. Because they hold their economic interests in our business directly through the Och-Ziff Operating Group, our executive managing directors may have conflicting interests with holders of Class A Shares or with us. For example, our executive managing directors will have different tax positions from holders of our Class A Shares which could influence decisions of the Class B Shareholder Committee and also our Board of Directors regarding whether and when to dispose of assets, and whether and when to incur new or refinance existing indebtedness, especially in light of the existence of the tax receivable agreement. Decisions with respect to these and other operational matters could affect the timing and amounts of payments due to our executive managing directors and the Ziffs under the tax receivable agreement. In addition, the structuring of future transactions and investments may take into consideration our executive managing directors’ tax considerations even where no similar benefit would accrue to us or the holders of Class A Shares.

We intend to pay regular quarterly distributions but our ability to do so may be limited by our holding company structure, as we are dependent on distributions from the Och-Ziff Operating Group to make distributions and to pay taxes and other expenses.

As a holding company, our ability to make distributions or to pay taxes and other expenses is subject to the ability of our subsidiaries to provide cash to us. We intend to make quarterly distributions to our Class A Shareholders. Accordingly, we expect to cause the Och-Ziff Operating Group to make distributions to the direct owners of Och-Ziff Operating Group Units, currently our intermediate holding companies, and our executive managing directors, pro rata in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay corresponding distributions to our Class A Shareholders and make required tax payments and payments under the tax receivable agreement; however, no assurance can be given that such distributions will or can be made. Our Board of Directors can change our distribution policy or reduce or eliminate our distributions at any time, in its discretion. In addition, the Och-Ziff Operating Group is required to make minimum tax distributions to its direct unit holders, to which our Class A Shareholders may not be entitled, as distributions on Och-Ziff Operating Group B Units to our intermediate holding companies may be used to settle tax liabilities, if any, or other obligations. In addition, the Och-Ziff Operating Group may make distributions to our executive managing directors in respect of their Class C Non-Equity Interests with respect to cash awards granted to them under the PIP or otherwise. As a result, Class A Shareholders may not receive any distributions at a time when our executive managing directors are receiving distributions on their ownership interests. If the Och-Ziff Operating Group has insufficient funds to make such distributions, we may have to borrow additional funds or sell assets, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Furthermore, by paying cash distributions rather than investing that cash in our business, we might risk slowing the pace of our growth, or not having a sufficient amount of cash to fund our operations, new investments or unanticipated capital expenditures, should the need arise.

There may be circumstances under which we are restricted from making distributions under applicable law or regulation (for example, due to Delaware limited partnership act or limited liability company act limitations on making distributions if liabilities of the entity after the distribution would exceed the fair value of the entity’s assets).

The declaration and payment of any future distributions will be at the sole discretion of our Board of Directors, which may change our distribution policy or reduce or eliminate our distributions at any time, in its discretion.

Because we have historically earned and recognized most of our incentive income in the fourth quarter of each year, we anticipate that quarterly distributions in respect of the first three calendar quarters will be disproportionate to distributions in respect of the last calendar quarter, which will typically be paid in the first calendar quarter of the following year. Our Board of Directors will take into account such factors as it may deem relevant, including general economic and business conditions; our strategic plans and prospects; our business and investment opportunities; our financial condition and operating results; working capital requirements and anticipated cash needs; contractual restrictions and obligations, including payment obligations pursuant to the tax receivable agreement and restrictions pursuant to our Revolving Credit Facility; legal, tax and regulatory restrictions; and other restrictions and implications on the payment of distributions by us to our Class A Shareholders or by our subsidiaries to us and such other factors as our Board of Directors may deem relevant. Any compensatory payments made to our employees, as well as payments that Och-Ziff Corp makes under the tax receivable agreement and distributions to holders of ownership interests in respect of their tax liabilities arising from their direct ownership of ownership interests, will reduce amounts that would otherwise be available for distribution on our Class A Shares. In addition, discretionary income allocations on Class C Non-Equity Interests as determined by the Chairman of the Partner Management Committee (or, in the event there is no Chairman, the full Partner Management Committee acting by majority vote) in conjunction with our Compensation Committee, relating to cash awards granted to our executive managing directors, including under the PIP, will also reduce amounts available for distribution to our Class A Shareholders. We have granted RSUs that may settle in Class A Shares to certain of our executive managing directors, managing directors and other employees, and to independent members of our Board of Directors. All of these RSUs accrue distributions to be paid if and when the underlying RSUs vest. Distributions may be paid in cash or in additional RSUs that accrue additional distributions and will be settled at the same time the underlying RSUs vest.

The declaration and payment of any distribution may be subject to legal, contractual or other restrictions. For example, as a Delaware limited liability company, we are not permitted to make distributions if and to the extent that after giving effect to such distributions, our liabilities would exceed the fair value of our assets. In addition, we may not be permitted to make certain distributions if we are in default under our Revolving Credit Facility. Our cash needs and payment obligations may fluctuate

significantly from quarter to quarter, and we may have material unexpected expenses in any period. This may cause amounts available for distribution to significantly fluctuate from quarter to quarter or may reduce or eliminate such amounts.

There are a number of risks involving the tax receivable agreement we are party to, including the risk that the Internal Revenue Service may challenge all or part of the tax basis increases and related increased deductions, and a court could sustain such a challenge, even with respect to amounts for which we have made payments pursuant to the tax receivable agreement.

The actual increase in tax basis of the Och-Ziff Operating Group assets resulting from an exchange or from payments under the tax receivable agreement, as well as the amortization thereof and the timing and amount of payments under the tax receivable agreement, will vary based upon a number of factors including the law in effect at the time of an exchange or a payment under the tax receivable agreement, the timing of future exchanges, the timing and amount of prior payments under the tax receivable agreement, the price of our Class A Shares at the time of any exchange, the composition of the Och-Ziff Operating Group’s assets at the time of any exchange, the extent to which such exchanges are taxable and the amount and timing of the income of Och-Ziff Corp and our other intermediate corporate taxpayers that hold Och-Ziff Operating Group B Units in connection with an exchange, if any. Depending upon the outcome of these factors, payments that we may be obligated to make to our executive managing directors and the Ziffs under the tax receivable agreement in respect of exchanges are likely to be substantial. In light of the numerous factors affecting our obligation to make payments under the tax receivable agreement, however, the timing and amounts of any such actual payments are not reasonably ascertainable. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Tax Receivable Agreement.”

The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may challenge all or part of increased deductions and tax basis increase, and a court could sustain such a challenge, which could result in a substantial increase in our tax liabilities. Were the IRS to challenge a tax basis increase, our executive managing directors and the Ziffs who have received payments under the tax receivable agreement will not reimburse the corporate taxpayers for any such payments that have been previously made. As a result, in certain circumstances, payments could be made to our executive managing directors and the Ziffs under the tax receivable agreement in excess of the corporate taxpayers’ cash tax savings. The corporate taxpayers’ ability to achieve benefits from any tax basis increase, and the payments to be made under this agreement, will depend upon a number of factors, including the timing and amount of our future income.

Decisions made by our executive managing directors in the course of running our business, in particular decisions made with respect to the sale or disposition of assets or change of control, may influence the timing and amount of payments that are payable to an exchanging or selling executive managing director or the Ziffs under the tax receivable agreement. In general, earlier disposition of assets following an exchange or acquisition transaction will tend to accelerate such payments and increase the present value of the tax receivable agreement, and disposition of assets before an exchange or acquisition transaction will tend to increase the tax liability of our executive managing directors or the Ziffs without giving rise to any rights to receive payments under the tax receivable agreement.

In addition, the tax receivable agreement provides that, upon a merger, asset sale or other form of business combination or certain other changes of control, the corporate taxpayers’ (or their successors’) obligations with respect to exchanged or acquired units (whether exchanged or acquired before or after such change of control) would be based on certain prescribed assumptions, including that the corporate taxpayers would have sufficient taxable income to fully utilize the deductions arising from the increased tax deductions and tax basis and other benefits related to entering into the tax receivable agreement. Accordingly, obligations under the tax receivable agreement may make it more expensive for third parties to acquire control of us and make it more difficult for the holders of Class A Shares to recognize a premium in connection with any such transaction. Finally, we may need to incur debt to finance payments under the tax receivable agreement to the extent our cash resources are insufficient to meet our obligations under the tax receivable agreement, which may or may not be available on favorable terms, if at all.

If we are deemed an investment company under the 1940 Act, the applicable restrictions could make it impracticable for us to continue our business as contemplated and would have a material adverse impact on the market price of our Class A Shares.

We do not believe that we are an “investment company” under the 1940 Act because the nature of our assets and the sources of our income exclude us from the definition of an investment company under the 1940 Act. In addition, we believe our

Company is not an investment company under Section 3(b)(1) of the 1940 Act because we are primarily engaged in a non-investment company business. We intend to continue to conduct our operations so that we will not be deemed an investment company. If we were to be deemed an investment company, restrictions imposed by the 1940 Act, including limitations on our capital structure and our ability to transact with affiliates, could make it impractical for us to continue our business as contemplated. In addition, we would no longer be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as a partnership and our earnings would become taxable as a corporation, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations and the price of our Class A Shares.

Risks Related to Our Shares

The market price and trading volume of our Class A Shares has been and may continue to be highly volatile, which could result in rapid and substantial losses for our shareholders.

The market price of our Class A Shares has been and may continue to be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations. In addition, the trading volume in our Class A Shares can be highly variable, which has caused and may continue to cause significant price variations to occur. The market price of our Class A Shares may fluctuate or decline significantly in the future.

Some of the primary factors that could negatively affect the price of our Class A Shares or result in fluctuations in the price or trading volume of our Class A Shares include:

The price of our Class A Shares may decline due to the large number of shares eligible for future sale and for exchange into Class A Shares.

The market price of our Class A Shares could decline as a result of sales of a large number of our Class A Shares or the perception that such sales could occur. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and price that we deem appropriate. As of December 31, 2016 , 184,843,255 Class A Shares were outstanding and 30,706,935 interests were outstanding pursuant to our Amended and Restated 2007 Equity Incentive Plan, with approximately 6,001,347 Class A Shares and other plan interests that remain available for future grant under that plan. The Class A Shares reserved under the Amended and Restated 2007 Equity Incentive Plan are increased on the first day of each fiscal year during the plan’s term by the positive difference, if any, of (i) 15% of the number of outstanding Class A Shares (assuming the exchange of all outstanding Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units for Class A Shares) on the last day of the immediately preceding fiscal year over (ii) the number of shares reserved for issuance under the plan as of such date. As of December 31, 2016 , 36,583,198 interests were outstanding pursuant to our 2013 Incentive Plan, and approximately 40,081,567 Class A Shares and other plan interests remain available for future grant under that plan. The Class A Shares reserved under our 2013 Incentive Plan are increased on the first day of each fiscal year during the plan’s term by 15% of any increase in the number of outstanding Class A Shares (assuming the exchange of all outstanding Och-Ziff Operating Group Units (other than Och-Ziff Operating Group B Units) for Class A Shares) from the number outstanding on the first day of the immediately preceding fiscal year.

As of December 31, 2016 , our executive managing directors owned an aggregate of 322,767,350 Och-Ziff Operating Group A and D Units. The holder of any Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units generally has the right to exchange each of its Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units for one of our Class A Shares (or, at our option, a cash equivalent), subject to vesting, minimum retained ownership requirements and transfer restrictions. The Och-Ziff Operating Group D Units convert into Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units to the extent we determine that they have become economically equivalent to Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units. As of March 1, 2017, our executive managing directors owned an aggregate of 73,400,000 Och-Ziff Operating Group P Units. If shareholders approve an amendment to our 2013 Incentive Plan to reserve a sufficient number of Class A Shares under the 2013 Incentive Plan, the holder of any Och-Ziff Operating Group P Unit generally has the right to exchange each of its Och-Ziff Operating Group P Units for one of our Class A Shares (or, at our option, a cash equivalent), to the extent that we determine that they have become economically equivalent to Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units. See Note 19 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information regarding the terms of the Och-Ziff Operating Group P Units.

We are party to a registration rights agreement, as amended, with our executive managing directors pursuant to which we granted them certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights with respect to the resale of all Class A Shares delivered in exchange for Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units or otherwise held from time to time by executive managing directors that would be deemed affiliates (as such term is defined in Rule 144 of the Securities Act) of the Company, including after an exchange of Och-Ziff Operating Group P Units.

RSUs may be settled at the election of a majority of our Board of Directors in Class A Shares or cash. Subject to continued employment over the vesting period, the underlying Class A Shares will be issued, or cash in lieu thereof will be paid, as such RSUs vest. We filed registration statements on Forms S-8 to register an aggregate of 67,188,267 Class A Shares reserved for issuance under our Amended and Restated 2007 Equity Incentive Plan and a registration statement on Form S-8 to register an aggregate of 75,000,000 Class A Shares reserved for issuance under our 2013 Incentive Plan (in each case, not including automatic annual increases thereto). As a result, any Class A Shares issued in respect of the RSUs will be freely transferable by non-affiliates upon issuance and by affiliates under Rule 144, without regard to holding period limitations.

As of December 31, 2016 , DIC Sahir Limited (“DIC”) owned 29,953,094 of our Class A Shares, which it purchased from us concurrent with the consummation of our IPO pursuant to a Securities Purchase and Investment Agreement. The transfer restrictions originally imposed by such agreement no longer apply to any of DIC’s Class A Shares, and DIC will be able to sell these Class A Shares.

Our executive managing directors’ beneficial ownership of Class B Shares, our shareholders’ agreement, the tax receivable agreement and anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law could delay or prevent a change in control.

Our executive managing directors own all of our Class B Shares, which as of December 31, 2016 , represent approximately 61.7% of the total combined voting power of our Company. In addition, our executive managing directors have granted an irrevocable proxy to vote all of such shares to the Class B Shareholder Committee (the sole member of which is currently Mr. Och) as it may determine in its sole discretion. As a result, Mr. Och is currently able to control all matters requiring the approval of shareholders and will be able to prevent a change in control of our Company. In addition, under the shareholders’ agreement entered into in connection with the IPO, the Class B Shareholder Committee has approval rights with respect to certain actions of our Board of Directors, including actions relating to a potential change in control, so long as our executive managing directors continue to hold at least 40% of our total combined voting power, and has the ability to initially designate five of the seven nominees to our Board of Directors, and, under our operating agreement, the Class B Shareholder Committee will have certain consent rights with respect to structural and other changes involving our Company. See “—Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure—Control by Mr. Och of the total combined voting power of our shares could cause or prevent us from engaging in certain transactions, which could materially adversely affect the market price of the Class A Shares or deprive our Class A Shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium as part of a sale of our Company.”

In addition, the tax receivable agreement provides that, upon a merger, asset sale or other form of business combination or certain other changes of control, the corporate taxpayers’ (or any successors’) obligations with respect to exchanged or acquired units (whether exchanged or acquired before or after such change of control) would be based on certain prescribed assumptions, including that the corporate taxpayers would have sufficient taxable income to fully utilize the deductions arising from the increased tax deductions and tax basis and other benefits related to entering into the tax receivable agreement. The provisions may make it more difficult and expensive for a third party to acquire control of us even if a change of control would be beneficial to the interests of our shareholders.

Further, provisions in our operating agreement may make it more difficult and expensive for a third party to acquire control of us even if a change of control would be beneficial to the interests of our shareholders. For example, our operating agreement provides for a staggered board of directors, requires advance notice for proposals by shareholders and nominations, places limitations on convening shareholder meetings, and authorizes the issuance of preferred shares that could be issued by our Board of Directors to thwart a takeover attempt. The market price of our Class A Shares could be materially adversely affected to the extent that Mr. Och’s control over us, as well as provisions of our operating agreement, discourage potential takeover attempts that our shareholders may favor.

Finally, some provisions of Delaware law may delay or prevent a transaction that would cause a change in our control. In this regard, Section 203 of the DGCL restricts certain business combinations with interested stockholders in certain situations. In general, this statute prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years after the date of the transaction by which that person became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. For purposes of Section 203, a business combination includes a merger, asset sale or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder, and an interested stockholder is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns, or within three years prior, did own, 15% or more of voting stock. While Section 203 does not apply to limited liability companies, such companies may elect to utilize it. Although we currently have elected not to utilize Section 203, we may in the future determine to do so.

Risks Related to Taxation

Our structure involves complex provisions of U.S. federal income tax law for which no clear precedent or authority may be available. Our structure also is subject to potential legislative, judicial or administrative change and differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis.

The U.S. federal income tax treatment of holders of the Class A Shares depends in some instances on determinations of fact and interpretations of complex provisions of U.S. federal income tax law for which no clear precedent or authority may be available. You should be aware that the U.S. federal income tax rules are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process, the IRS, and the U.S. Treasury Department, frequently resulting in revised interpretations of established concepts, statutory changes, revisions to regulations and other modifications and interpretations. The IRS pays close attention to the proper application of tax laws to partnerships. The present U.S. federal income tax treatment of an investment in the Class A

Shares may be modified by administrative, legislative or judicial interpretation at any time, possibly on a retroactive basis, and any such action may affect investments and commitments previously made. For example, changes to the U.S. federal tax laws and interpretations thereof could make it more difficult or impossible to meet the qualifying income exception for us to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes that is not taxable as a corporation, affect or cause us to change our investments and commitments, change the character or treatment of portions of our income (including, for instance, treating carried interest income as entirely ordinary income), affect the tax considerations of an investment in us and adversely affect an investment in our Class A Shares. “Carried interest” is a term often used in the marketplace as a general reference to describe a general partner’s right to receive its incentive income in the form of a profit allocation eligible for capital gains tax treatment (to the extent that the carried interest consists of capital gains). See “—Legislation changing the treatment of carried interest has been considered that would, if enacted, preclude us from qualifying for treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes under the publicly traded partnership rules. Our structure also is subject to other potential legislative, judicial or administrative changes and differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis.”

Our organizational documents and agreements permit the Board of Directors to modify our operating agreement from time to time, without the consent of the holders of Class A Shares, in order to address certain changes in U.S. federal income tax regulations, legislation or interpretation. In some circumstances, such revisions could have a material adverse impact on some or all of the holders of our Class A Shares. Moreover, we will apply certain assumptions and conventions in an attempt to comply with applicable rules and to report income, gain, deduction, loss and credit to holders in a manner that reflects such holders’ beneficial ownership of partnership items, taking into account variation in ownership interests during each taxable year because of trading activity. However, these assumptions and conventions may not be in compliance with all aspects of applicable tax requirements. It is possible that the IRS will assert successfully that the conventions and assumptions used by us do not satisfy the technical requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and/or Treasury regulations and could require that items of income, gain, deductions, loss or credit, including interest deductions, be adjusted, reallocated, or disallowed, in a manner that adversely affects holders of the Class A Shares.

Possible U.S. federal income tax reform could have uncertain effects.

The new administration and the Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives have stated that one of their top legislative priorities is significant reform of the Code, including significant changes to taxation of business entities and the deductibility of interest expense and capital investment. There is uncertainty as to the likelihood, timing and details of any such tax reform and the effect of any potential tax reform on us or an investment in our Class A Shares, and we cannot, at this time, determine how any such changes will affect us, holders of our Class A Shares or any of the entities or assets in which we invest.

Legislation changing the treatment of carried interest has been considered that would, if enacted, preclude us from qualifying for treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes under the publicly traded partnership rules. Our structure also is subject to other potential legislative, judicial or administrative changes and differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis.

A number of legislative proposals have been considered by past Congresses that would have characterized some or all of the income recognized from carried interests as ordinary income and would have treated such income as non-qualifying income under the publicly traded partnership rules, thereby precluding us from qualifying for treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes after a transition period or requiring us to restructure our operations to earn such non-qualifying income through taxable subsidiary corporations. In addition, versions of the prior proposals could have, if enacted, (i) prevented us from completing certain types of internal reorganization transactions on a tax-free basis and acquiring other asset management companies on a tax-free basis, (ii) subjected holders of Class A Shares to tax on our conversion into a corporation or restructuring after the transition period, and (iii) increased the portion of any gain realized from the sale or other disposition of a Class A Share that is treated as ordinary income rather than capital gain. Former Representative David Camp, then Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, released a discussion draft of proposed legislation in the past that would have, among other things, prevented us from qualifying for treatment as a partnership and characterized some or all of the income we may earn from carried interests as ordinary income. The new administration and leaders in Congress have indicated their desire to pursue comprehensive tax reform and the treatment of carried interests in such legislation is unclear.

States, including New York, have also considered legislation to increase taxes with respect to carried interests and, as a result of widespread budget deficits, several states have evaluated proposals to subject partnerships to entity level taxation through

the imposition of state income, franchise or other forms of taxation. More broadly, Congress and the administration may consider potentially significant changes to various aspects of the tax law, including the deductibility of certain expenses and tax treatment of certain entities.

If the carried interest proposals or former Chairman Camp’s proposal described above were to be enacted into law or any other change in the tax laws, rules, regulations or interpretations were to preclude us from qualifying for treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes under the publicly traded partnership rules or otherwise impose additional taxes, Class A Shareholders would be negatively affected because we would incur a material increase in our tax liability as a public company from the date any such changes applied to us, which likely would result in a reduction in the value of our Class A Shares.

You may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on your share of our taxable income, regardless of whether you receive any cash distributions from us.

So long as we are not required to register as an investment company under the 1940 Act and 90% of our gross income for each taxable year constitutes “qualifying income” within the meaning of the Code on a continuing basis, we will be treated, under current law, as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes and not as an association or a publicly traded partnership taxable as a corporation. You may be subject to U.S. federal, state, local and possibly, in some cases, foreign income taxation on your allocable share of our items of income, gain, loss, deduction and credit (including our allocable share of those items of any entity in which we invest that is treated as a partnership or is otherwise subject to tax on a flow-through basis) for each of our taxable years ending with or within your taxable year, regardless of whether or not you receive cash distributions from us. You may not receive cash distributions equal to your allocable share of our net taxable income or even the tax liability that results from that income. Even in cases where we make cash distributions, our taxable income and losses will be apportioned among Class A Shareholders in a manner that may not correspond with the timing of cash distributions. In addition, certain of our holdings, including holdings, if any, in a Controlled Foreign Corporation, which we refer to as “CFC,” and a Passive Foreign Investment Company, which we refer to as “PFIC,” may produce taxable income prior to the receipt of cash relating to such income, and holders of our Class A Shares that are United States persons will be required to take such income into account in determining their taxable income. Under our operating agreement, in the event of an inadvertent partnership termination in which the IRS has granted us limited relief, each holder of our Class A Shares also is obligated to make such adjustments as are required by the IRS to maintain our status as a partnership. Such adjustments may require persons who hold our Class A Shares to recognize additional amounts in income during the years in which they hold such shares. We may also be required to make payments to the IRS.

There can be no assurance that amounts paid as distributions on Class A Shares will be sufficient to cover the tax liability arising from ownership of Class A Shares.

Any distributions paid on Class A Shares will not take into account your particular tax situation (including the possible application of the alternative minimum tax) and, therefore, because of the foregoing as well as other possible reasons, may not be sufficient to pay your full amount of tax based upon your share of our net taxable income. In addition, the actual amount and timing of distributions will always be subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors and we cannot assure you that we will in fact pay cash distributions as currently intended. In particular, the amount and timing of distributions will depend upon a number of factors, including, among others:

Even if we do not distribute cash in an amount that is sufficient to fund your tax liabilities, you will still be required to pay income taxes on your share of our taxable income.

If we were to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the value of the Class A Shares may be materially adversely affected.

We have not requested, and do not plan to request, a ruling from the IRS on our treatment as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or on any other matter affecting us. Under current law and assuming full compliance with the terms of our operating agreement (and other relevant documents), we believe that we would be treated as a partnership, and not as an association or a publicly traded partnership taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

In general, if an entity that would otherwise be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes is a “publicly traded partnership” (as defined in the Code) it will be nonetheless treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, unless the exception described below, and upon which we intend to rely, applies. A publicly traded partnership will, however, be treated as a partnership, and not as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, so long as 90% or more of its gross income for each taxable year constitutes “qualifying income” within the meaning of the Code and it is not required to register as an investment company under the 1940 Act. We refer to this exception as the “qualifying income exception.”

Qualifying income generally includes dividends, interest, capital gains from the sale or other disposition of stocks and securities and certain other forms of investment income. We expect that our income generally will consist of interest and dividends (including dividends from Och-Ziff Corp), capital gains and other types of qualifying income, such as income from notional principal contracts, securities loans, options, forward contracts and future contracts. No assurance can be given as to the types of income that will be earned in any given year. If we fail to satisfy the qualifying income exception described above, items of income and deduction would not pass through to holders of the Class A Shares and holders of the Class A Shares would be treated for U.S. federal (and certain state and local) income tax purposes as shareholders in a corporation. In such a case, we would be required to pay income tax at regular corporate rates on all of our income. In addition, we would likely be liable for state and local income and/or franchise taxes on all of such income. Moreover, dividends to holders of the Class A Shares would constitute ordinary dividend income taxable to such holders to the extent of our earnings and profits, and the payment of these dividends would not be deductible by us. Taxation of us as a publicly traded partnership taxable as a corporation could result in a material adverse effect on our cash flows and the after-tax returns for holders of Class A Shares and thus could result in a substantial reduction in the value of the Class A Shares.

Tax gain or loss on disposition of our Class A Shares could be more or less than expected.

If you sell your Class A Shares, you will recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and the adjusted tax basis in those Class A Shares. Prior distributions to you in excess of the total net taxable income allocated to you, which decreased the tax basis in your Class A Shares, will in effect become taxable income to you if the Class A Shares are sold at a price greater than your tax basis in those Class A Shares, even if the price is less than the original cost.

We cannot match transferors and transferees of our Class A Shares, and we have therefore adopted certain income tax accounting positions that may not conform with all aspects of applicable tax requirements. The IRS may challenge this treatment, which could materially adversely affect the value of our Class A Shares.

Because we cannot match transferors and transferees of Class A Shares, we have adopted depreciation, amortization and other tax accounting positions that may not conform with all aspects of existing Treasury regulations. A successful IRS challenge to those positions could materially adversely affect the amount of tax benefits available to our holders. It also could affect the timing of these tax benefits or the amount of gain on the sale of Class A Shares and could have a negative impact on the value of our Class A Shares or result in audits of and adjustments to our Class A Shareholders’ tax returns.

New rules regarding U.S. federal income tax liability arising from IRS audits could adversely affect shareholders.

For taxable years of the Company beginning on or after January 1, 2018, U.S. federal income tax liability arising from an IRS audit will be borne by the Company, unless certain alternative methods are available and the Company elects to utilize them.  Under the new rules, it is possible that shareholders or the Company itself may bear responsibility for taxes attributable to adjustments to the taxable income of the Company with respect to tax years that closed before the shareholder owned shares in the Company.  Accordingly, this new legislation may adversely affect certain shareholders in certain cases.  These new rules differ from the existing rules, which generally provide that tax adjustments only affect the persons who were shareholders in the tax year in which the item was reported on the Company's tax return. The changes created by these new rules are uncertain and in many respects depend on the promulgation of future regulations or other guidance by the IRS or the U.S. Treasury.

As we currently do not intend to make, or cause to be made, an otherwise available election under Section 754 of the Internal Revenue Code to adjust our asset basis or the asset basis of OZ Advisors II, a holder of Class A Shares could be allocated more taxable income in respect of those shares prior to disposition than if such an election were made.

We have not made and currently do not intend to make, or cause to be made, an election to adjust asset basis under Section 754 of the Code with respect to the Registrant or OZ Advisors II. Without such an election, there will generally be no adjustment to the basis of the assets of OZ Advisors II upon our acquisition of interests in OZ Advisors II in connection with an exchange of Och-Ziff Operating Group A Units for Class A Shares, or to the assets of the Registrant or of OZ Advisors II upon a subsequent transferee’s acquisition of Class A Shares from a prior holder of such shares, even if the purchase price for those interests or shares, as applicable, is greater than the share of the aggregate tax basis of the assets of the Registrant or OZ Advisors II attributable to those interests or units immediately prior to the acquisition. Consequently, upon a sale of an asset by the Registrant or OZ Advisors II, gain allocable to a holder of Class A Shares could include built-in gain in the asset existing at the time the Registrant acquired those interests, or such holder acquired such shares, which built-in gain would otherwise generally be eliminated if a Section 754 election had been made.

The sale or exchange of 50% or more of our capital and profit interests will result in the termination of our Company as a partnership for federal income tax purposes.

We will be considered to have been terminated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes if there is a sale or exchange of 50% or more of the total interests in our capital and profits within a 12-month period. A termination would, among other things, result in the closing of our taxable year for all holders and could result in a deferral of depreciation deductions allowable in computing our taxable income.

Complying with certain tax-related requirements may cause us to forego otherwise attractive business or investment opportunities or enter into acquisitions, borrowings, financings or arrangements we may not have otherwise entered into.

In order for us to be treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and not as an association or publicly traded partnership taxable as a corporation, we must meet the qualifying income exception discussed above on a continuing basis and we must not be required to register as an investment company under the 1940 Act. In order to effect such treatment, we (or our subsidiaries) may be required to invest through foreign or domestic corporations, forego attractive business or investment opportunities or enter into borrowings or financings we may not have otherwise entered into. This may materially adversely affect our ability to operate solely to maximize our cash flows. Our structure also may impede our ability to engage in certain corporate acquisitive transactions because we generally intend to hold all of our assets through the Och-Ziff Operating Group. In addition,

we may be unable to participate in certain corporate reorganization transactions that would be tax free to our holders if we were a corporation. To the extent we hold assets other than through the Och-Ziff Operating Group, we will make appropriate adjustments to the Och-Ziff Operating Group agreements so that distributions to our executive managing directors and us would be the same as if such assets were held at that level.

We may not be able to invest in certain assets, other than through a taxable corporation.

In certain circumstances, we or one of our subsidiaries may have an opportunity to invest in certain assets through an entity that is characterized as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, where the income of such entity may not be “qualifying income” for purposes of the publicly traded partnership rules. In order to manage our affairs so that we will meet the qualifying income exception, we may either refrain from investing in such entities or, alternatively, we may structure our investment through an entity classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If the entity were a U.S. corporation, it would be subject to U.S. federal income tax on its operating income, including any gain recognized on its disposal of its interest in the entity in which the opportunistic investment has been made, as the case may be, and such income taxes would reduce the return on that investment.

The IRS could assert that we are engaged in a U.S. trade or business and that some portion of our income is properly treated as effectively connected income, which we refer to as “ECI,” with respect to non-U.S. holders of Class A Shares. Moreover, certain REIT dividends and other stock gains may be treated as effectively connected income with respect to non-U.S. holders of Class A Shares.

While we expect that our method of operation will not result in a determination that we are engaged in a U.S. trade or business, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not assert successfully that we are engaged in a U.S. trade or business and that some portion of our income is properly treated as ECI with respect to non-U.S. holders. Moreover, dividends paid by an investment that we make in a Real Estate Investment Trust, which we refer to as a “REIT,” that is attributable to gains from the sale of U.S. real property interests will, subject to certain exceptions, and sales of certain investments in the stock of U.S. corporations owning significant U.S. real property may, be treated as effectively connected income with respect to non-U.S. holders. In addition, certain income of non-U.S. holders from U.S. sources not connected to any such U.S. trade or business conducted by us could be treated as ECI. To the extent our income is treated as ECI, non-U.S. holders generally would be subject to withholding tax on their allocable shares of such income and would be required to file a U.S. federal income tax return for such year reporting their allocable shares of income effectively connected with such trade or business and any other income treated as ECI, and would be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular U.S. tax rates on any such income (state and local income taxes and filings may also apply in that event). Non-U.S. holders that are treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes may also be subject to a 30% branch profits tax on such income.

Class A Shareholders may be subject to foreign, state and local taxes and return filing requirements as a result of investing in our Class A Shares.

While it is expected that our method of operation will not result in a determination that the holders of our Class A Shares, solely on account of their ownership of Class A Shares, are engaged in trade or business so as to be taxed on any part of their allocable shares of our income or subjected to tax return filing requirements in any jurisdiction in which we conduct activities or own property, there can be no assurance that the Class A Shareholders, on account of owning Class A Shares, will not be subject to certain taxes, including foreign, state and local income taxes, unincorporated business taxes and estate, inheritance or intangible taxes, imposed by the various jurisdictions in which we conduct activities or own property now or in the future, even if the Class A Shareholders do not reside, or are not otherwise subject to such taxes, in any of those jurisdictions. Consequently, Class A Shareholders also may be required to file foreign, state and local income tax returns in some or all of these jurisdictions. Furthermore, Class A Shareholders may be subject to penalties for failure to comply with those requirements. It is the responsibility of each Class A Shareholder to file all United States federal, foreign, state and local tax returns that may be required of such Class A Shareholder.

Our delivery of required tax information for a taxable year may be subject to delay, which may require a Class A Shareholder to request an extension of the due date for their income tax returns.

We have agreed to use reasonable efforts to furnish to you tax information (including Schedule K-1) which describes your allocable share of our income, gains, losses and deductions for our preceding taxable year. Delivery of this information by us will be subject to delay in the event of, among other reasons, the late receipt of any necessary tax information from lower-tier entities. It is therefore possible that, in any taxable year, our shareholders will need to apply for extensions of time to file their tax returns.

An investment in Class A Shares will give rise to UBTI to certain tax-exempt holders of Class A Shares.

Due to ownership interests we will hold in entities that are treated as partnerships, or are otherwise subject to tax on a flow-through basis, which will incur indebtedness or may engage in a trade or business, we will derive unrelated business taxable income, which we refer to as “UBTI,” from “debt-financed” property or from such trade or business, as applicable, and, thus, an investment in Class A Shares will give rise to UBTI to certain tax-exempt holders of Class A Shares. Och-Ziff Holding may borrow funds from Och-Ziff Corp or third parties from time to time to make investments. These investments will give rise to UBTI from “debt-financed” property.

We may hold or acquire certain investments through an entity classified as a PFIC or CFC for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Certain of our investments may be in foreign corporations or may be acquired through a foreign subsidiary that would be classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Such an entity may be a PFIC or a CFC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. U.S. holders of Class A Shares indirectly owning an interest in a PFIC or a CFC may experience adverse U.S. tax consequences.

Special tax considerations may apply to mutual fund investors.

U.S. mutual funds that are treated as regulated investment companies, or RICs, for U.S. federal income tax purposes are required, among other things, to meet an annual 90% gross income and a quarterly 50% asset value test under Section 851(b) of the Code to maintain their favorable U.S. federal income tax status. The treatment of an investment by a RIC in Class A Shares for purposes of these tests will depend on whether our partnership will be treated as a “qualified publicly traded partnership.” If our partnership is so treated, then the Class A Shares themselves are the relevant assets for purposes of the 50% asset value test and the net income from the Class A Shares is the relevant gross income for purposes of the 90% gross income test. If, however, our partnership is not so treated, then the relevant assets are the RIC’s allocable share of the underlying assets held by our partnership and the relevant gross income is the RIC’s allocable share of the underlying gross income earned by our partnership. Whether our partnership will qualify as a “qualified publicly traded partnership” depends on the exact nature of its future investments, but we believe our partnership is not a “qualified publicly traded partnership.” We expect, however, that at least 90% of our annual gross income from the underlying assets held by our partnership will consist of dividends, interest and gains from the sale of securities or other income that qualifies for the RIC gross income test described above. As discussed above under “—You may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on your share of our taxable income, regardless of whether you receive any cash distributions from us,” RICs investing in Class A Shares may recognize income for U.S. federal income tax purposes without receiving a corresponding cash distribution. RICs should consult their own tax advisors about the U.S. tax consequences of an investment in Class A Shares.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

Our principal executive offices are located in leased office space in New York. We also lease space for our operations in London, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Beijing, Shanghai and Houston. The terms of these leases vary, but most are long term. We

believe that our existing facilities are adequate to meet our current requirements and we anticipate that suitable additional or substitute space will be available, as necessary, upon favorable terms.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

    

We are from time to time involved in litigation, investigations, inquiries, disputes, and other potential claims incidental to the conduct of our business. Like other businesses in our industry, we are subject to extensive scrutiny by regulatory agencies globally that have, or may in the future have, regulatory authority over us and our business activities. This has resulted in, or may in the future result in, regulatory agency investigations, litigation and subpoenas, and related sanctions and costs. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—Extensive regulation of our business affects our activities and creates the potential for significant liabilities and penalties. Our reputation, business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially affected by regulatory issues,” “—Increased regulatory focus in the United States could result in additional burdens on our business” and “—Recent regulatory changes in jurisdictions outside the United States could adversely affect our business.” See Note 17 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

None.