Item 1. Business
Business Description
Sculptor Capital, formerly Och-Ziff Capital Management Group Inc., is a leading global institutional alternative asset manager, with approximately $34.5 billion in assets under management as of February 1, 2020. 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 Sculptor Capital 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. We currently manage multi-strategy funds, dedicated credit funds, including opportunistic credit funds and Institutional Credit Strategies products, real estate funds and other alternative investment vehicles.
Multi-Strategy - Our multi-strategy funds invest globally in high-conviction investment ideas across asset classes, regions, and investment strategies with a primary focus on idiosyncratic opportunities where return drivers are less sensitive to the direction of broader financial markets. Through detailed fundamental analysis and due diligence, we aim to identify investment opportunities where intermediate or long-term value is obscured by attributes such as complexity, corporate events, technical dislocations, or market misunderstandings. Our multi-strategy funds allocate capital across strategies and geographies opportunistically based on market conditions, with no predetermined capital allocations by strategy or asset class. Our investment strategies include Fundamental Equities, Merger Arbitrage, Corporate Credit, Structured Credit, and Convertible & Derivative Arbitrage and Private Investments.
Credit - Our credit platform comprises both opportunistic credit and Institutional Credit Strategies. Opportunistic credit focuses on global corporate, structured and private credit markets, including investments in distressed businesses, restructurings and bankruptcies. In many cases, we actively enforce creditor rights or pursue other legal strategies in order to favorably affect outcomes. We may also buy undervalued securities following broader market dislocations. Institutional Credit Strategies invests in performing credit via leveraged loans, high yield bonds, private financing and investment-grade credit and serves clients through CLOs, collateralized bond obligations (“CBOs”), commingled products and customized solutions.
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, 2019, we had 390 employees worldwide, including 112 investment professionals, 23 active executive managing directors and 52 managing directors working from our offices in New York, London, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Our New York office was established in 1994 and has been operational for over 26 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.
Name Change
Effective September 12, 2019, we changed our name to Sculptor Capital Management, Inc. Our Class A Shares now trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “SCU.” Also, effective September 12, 2019, Och-Ziff Holding Corporation changed its name to Sculptor Capital Holding Corporation, and in its capacity as the general partner of the Sculptor
Operating Partnerships, changed the names of OZ Management LP, OZ Advisors LP and OZ Advisors II LP to Sculptor Capital LP, Sculptor Capital Advisors LP and Sculptor Capital Advisors II LP, respectively.
Recapitalization
On February 7, 2019, we completed the Recapitalization, which included a series of transactions that involved the reallocation of certain ownership interests in the Sculptor Operating Group to existing members of senior management, a “Distribution Holiday” on interests held by active and former executive managing directors, an amendment to the tax receivable agreement, a “Cash Sweep” to pay down the 2018 Term Loan and 2019 Preferred Units, and various other related transactions. See Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report for additional information.
Reverse Share Split
At the close of trading on January 3, 2019, we effectuated a 1-for-10 reverse share split (the “Reverse Share Split”) of the Class A Shares. As a result of the Reverse Share Split, every ten issued and outstanding Class A Shares were combined into one Class A Share. In addition, corresponding adjustments were made to the Class B Shares, Group A Units, Group B Units, Group D Units, Group P Units, RSUs and PSUs. All prior period share, unit, per share and per unit amounts have been restated to give retroactive effect to the Reverse Share Split.
Corporate Classification Change
The Registrant changed its tax classification from a partnership to a corporation effective April 1, 2019 (the “Corporate Classification Change”), and subsequently converted from a Delaware limited liability company into a Delaware corporation effective May 9, 2019.
Segments Reporting Change
Prior to the fourth quarter of 2019, we had two operating segments: Sculptor Funds and Real Estate. In the fourth quarter of 2019, we combined these into one operating and reportable segment, which is reflective of how the chief operating decision makers review our operating results and make resource allocation decisions.
Our Assets Under Management
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 are a function of the capital that is allocated to us by the investors in our funds and the investment performance of our funds. 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, 2019, assets under management in our multi-strategy funds totaled approximately $9.3 billion, or 27% of our total assets under management. These funds seek to consistently generate strong risk-adjusted returns across market cycles while protecting investor capital. We aim to achieve these objectives by investing in high-conviction investment ideas across asset classes, regions and strategies, with a primary focus on opportunities where return drivers are less sensitive to market direction. Sculptor’s investment process combines expert bottom-up fundamental analysis, a dynamic approach to portfolio construction, and a sophisticated and fully integrated risk management effort. The primary investment strategies we employ in our multi-strategy funds include the following:
•Fundamental Equities seeks to generate returns through both long and short positions across global equity markets by employing a deep fundamental research process that draws on resources and knowledge from across the
firm. Our primary focus is on event-driven situations involving corporate actions such as spin-offs, restructurings or recapitalizations, and on securities that may be temporarily undervalued due to a technical event or market misunderstanding.
•Structured Credit invests in a wide breadth of structured products, with a primary focus in several credit categories, including residential, and commercial, corporate, and consumer credit, among others. This strategy aims to provide idiosyncratic and highly differentiated returns by pursuing investments that can be realized through active rights enforcement, litigation, liquidation or restructuring.
•Corporate Credit takes an opportunistic approach to corporate credit investing and includes investments in undervalued or dislocated securities and pursuing process-driven investments including investments in complex distressed businesses, restructurings and bankruptcies. We take a fundamental investment approach to identify investments that may be undervalued due to complexity, market inefficiencies or other investors’ lack of scale, capability or mandate to pursue these investments. Our ability to participate in many of these types of investments is a direct function of our presence in the markets, scale, experience and reputation as a counterparty.
•Convertible and Derivative Arbitrage seeks to exploit the price discrepancies between certain convertible bonds and derivative securities and the underlying equity or other security to generate strong, stable and uncorrelated returns. We explore opportunities in traditional convertible arbitrage, mandatory convertible investments, short convertible strategies and relative value opportunities.
•Merger Arbitrage pursues a wide array of event-driven situations, with a broad focus on mergers and acquisitions as well as corporate actions, including exchange offers, unannounced deals, spin-offs, split-offs and hostile cross-border situations with regulatory and geopolitical complexity. Our flexible approach allows us to pursue strategies on a risk-adjusted basis and size them accordingly.
•Private Investments encompasses investments in a variety of special situations that seek to generate value through realizations, strategic sales or initial public offerings.
The Sculptor Master Fund, our global multi-strategy fund, opportunistically allocates capital to investments in North America, Europe and Asia, with flexibility to cast a wide net and source attractive investments. The key limitations we consider when selecting and sizing investments are related to our fundamental and quantitative view on the risk/reward, liquidity and availability of the specific investment under evaluation. Sculptor Master Fund generally employs every strategy and geography in which our funds invest and constituted approximately 25% of our assets under management as of December 31, 2019. The investment performance for our other funds may vary from those of the Sculptor Master Fund, and that variance may be material.
The table below sets forth, as of December 31, 2019, the net annualized return, volatility and Sharpe Ratio of the Sculptor Master Fund, the Sculptor 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 Sculptor Master Fund. There can be no assurance that any 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.
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Net Annualized Return through December 31, 2019
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1 Year
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3 Years
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5 Years
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Since Sculptor Master
Fund Inception
(January 1, 1998)
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Since Sculptor
Multi-Strategy
Composite
Inception
(April 1, 1994)
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Sculptor Master Fund Composite(1)
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14.8%
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7.5%
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5.2%
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8.6%
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n/a
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Sculptor Multi-Strategy Composite(2)
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14.8%
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7.5%
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5.2%
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8.6%
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11.3%
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S&P 500 Index(3)
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31.5%
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15.3%
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11.7%
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7.6%
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10.1%
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MSCI World Index(3)
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28.1%
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12.4%
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9.9%
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6.5%
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7.9%
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Volatility - Standard Deviation (Annualized)(4)
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Sculptor Master Fund Composite(1)
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6.7%
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5.7%
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5.6%
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5.1%
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n/a
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Sculptor Multi-Strategy Composite(2)
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6.7%
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5.7%
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5.6%
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5.1%
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5.5%
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S&P 500 Index(3)
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12.9%
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12.1%
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12.0%
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14.8%
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14.4%
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MSCI World Index(3)
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11.6%
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10.7%
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11.1%
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14.0%
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13.5%
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Sharpe Ratio(5)
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Sculptor Master Fund Composite(1)
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1.87
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0.99
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0.70
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1.23
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n/a
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Sculptor Multi-Strategy Composite(2)
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1.87
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0.99
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0.70
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1.23
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1.56
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S&P 500 Index(3)
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2.27
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1.11
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0.87
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0.36
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0.51
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MSCI World Index(3)
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2.22
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0.99
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0.77
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0.30
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0.38
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_______________
(1)The returns shown represent the composite performance of all feeder funds that comprise the Sculptor Master Fund since the inception of the Sculptor Master Fund on January 1, 1998 (collectively, the “Sculptor Master Fund Composite”). The Sculptor Master Fund Composite is calculated using the total return of all feeder funds net of all fees and expenses, except incentive income on Special Investments that could reduce returns on these investments at the time of realization, and includes the reinvestment of all dividends and other income. Performance includes realized and unrealized gains and losses attributable to Special Investments and initial public offering investments that are not allocated to all investors in the feeder funds. Investors that were not allocated Special Investments and/or initial public offering investments may experience materially different returns. The Sculptor Master Fund Composite is not available for direct investment.
(2)The Sculptor Multi-Strategy Composite is provided as supplemental information to the Sculptor Master Fund Composite. The Sculptor Multi-Strategy Composite represents the composite performance of all accounts that were managed in accordance with our broad multi-strategy mandate that were not subject to portfolio investment restrictions or other factors that limited our investment discretion since our inception on April 1, 1994. Performance is calculated using the total return of all such accounts net of all investment fees and expenses of such accounts, except incentive income on unrealized gains attributable to Special Investments that could reduce returns in these investments at the time of realization, and the returns include the reinvestment of all dividends and other income. For the period from April 1, 1994 through December 31, 1997, the returns are gross of certain overhead expenses that were reimbursed by the accounts. Such reimbursement arrangements were terminated at the inception of the Sculptor Master Fund on January 1, 1998. The size of the accounts comprising the composite during the time period shown vary materially. Such differences impacted our investment decisions and the diversity of the investment strategies we followed. Furthermore, the composition of the investment strategies we follow is subject to our discretion and has varied materially since inception and is expected to vary materially in the future.
(3)These comparisons show the returns of the S&P 500 Index (SPTR) and the MSCI World Index (GDDLWI) (collectively, the “Broader Market Indices”) against the Sculptor Master Fund Composite and the Sculptor Multi-Strategy Composite. These comparisons are intended solely for illustrative purposes to show a historical comparison of the Sculptor Master Fund Composite and the Sculptor Multi-Strategy Composite to the broader equity markets, as represented by the Broader Market Indices, and should not be considered as an indication of how the Sculptor Master Fund or the feeder funds will perform relative to the Broader Market Indices in the future. The Broader Market Indices are not performance benchmarks of the Sculptor Master Fund or the feeder funds. Neither the Sculptor Master Fund nor the feeder funds are managed to correlate in any way with the returns or composition of the Broader Market Indices, which are unmanaged. It is not possible to invest in an unmanaged index. You should not assume that there is any material overlap between the securities underlying the Sculptor Master Fund Composite or the Sculptor Multi-Strategy Composite and those that comprise the Broader Market Indices. The S&P 500 Index is an equity index owned and maintained by Standard & Poor’s, a division of McGraw-Hill, whose value is calculated as the free float-weighted average of the 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.
(4)Standard Deviation is a statistical measure of volatility that measures the fluctuation of the monthly rates of return against the average return.
(5)Sharpe Ratio represents a measure of the risk-adjusted return of the composite returns, or benchmark returns, as applicable. The Sharpe Ratio is calculated by subtracting the risk-free rate from the composite returns, or benchmark returns, as applicable, and dividing that amount by the standard deviation of the applicable returns. The risk-free rate of return used in computing the Sharpe Ratio is the one-month U.S. dollar London Interbank Offered Rate compounded monthly throughout the periods presented.
Credit
As of December 31, 2019, we managed approximately $21.7 billion of assets under management in our dedicated credit funds, or 63% of our total assets under management. Our dedicated credit funds comprise our opportunistic credit funds and Institutional Credit Strategies products.
Opportunistic Credit Funds
As of December 31, 2019, we managed approximately $6.0 billion of assets under management in our opportunistic credit funds. These products 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, 2019, assets under management in the Sculptor Credit Opportunities Master Fund, our global opportunistic credit fund, totaled $1.6 billion. The remainder of the assets under management in our opportunistic credit products was made up 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, 2019, we managed approximately $15.7 billion of assets under management in our Institutional Credit Strategies products. Institutional Credit Strategies is our platform that invests in performing credit via leveraged loans, high yield bonds, private financing and investment-grade credit and serves clients through CLOs, CBOs, commingled products and customized solutions.
Real Estate
As of December 31, 2019, we managed approximately $3.4 billion of assets under management in our real estate funds, or 10% 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.
Investment and Risk Management Process
Our extensive experience and consistent approach to investing and risk management are an essential part of our strong performance history. Risk management is highly integrated with our investment process and the operations of our business. Our investment and risk management processes benefit from our dedicated and experienced teams operating out of our offices worldwide.
Our approach to investing and managing risk is defined by certain common elements:
•Proactive risk management is built on the principles of constant vigilance, frequent dialog, and continuous improvement. We constantly monitor risk and have instituted a formal and consistent process to disseminate information, conduct informed debate, and take proactive or responsive action across our portfolios. Technology is at the core of Sculptor’s risk management efforts, and we leverage our broad capabilities to develop proprietary solutions that fit the exact specifications of our investment approach. In addition to our formalized process, we conduct custom studies and optimizations for various groups on an as-needed, ad hoc basis such as bespoke hedge solutions, pre-trade what-if analysis, and portfolio rebalance alternatives.
•Preservation of capital. Preservation of capital is our top priority and guiding factor in our effort to deliver attractive returns to fund investors. Our goal is to preserve capital during periods of market decline and generate competitive investment performance in rising markets. We use sophisticated risk tools and active portfolio management to govern exposures to market and other risk factors. We adhere strictly to each fund’s mandate and provisions with respect to leverage. We are knowledgeable about the risks of fund leverage, respectful of its limits, and judicious in our application.
•Dynamic capital allocation. We allocate to individual investments based on a thorough analysis of the risk/reward for each opportunity under consideration and the investment objectives for each of our funds. This results in an overall capital allocation that is constantly fine-tuned based on our best ideas at each point in time.
•Expertise across strategies and geographies. The considerable expertise, tenure and collaboration among our diverse interdisciplinary investment team forms the basis of our ability to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our fund investors. We have fostered a culture that allows us to analyze and scrutinize investment opportunities on a firm-wide basis, focusing on the best ideas and opportunities available.
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 our securitization vehicles within Institutional Credit Strategies products, we currently have over 1,000 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 4% of our total assets under management as of January 1, 2020. The single largest unaffiliated investor in our funds accounted for approximately 17% of our total assets under management as of January 1, 2020, and the top five unaffiliated fund investors accounted for approximately 39%. Approximately 28% of our assets under management were from investors from outside North America as of January 1, 2020. These percentages, as well as those presented in the chart below, exclude assets under management in our securitization vehicles , 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, 2020:
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
Sculptor Capital is built on certain distinct fundamental elements that we believe are differentiating competitive strengths. We view these elements as a crucial part of our efforts to generate attractive and consistent long-term investment performance and to retain and attract new assets under management.
•Alignment of interests. Sculptor’s structure is designed to align the interests of our executive managing directors and employees with those of investors in our funds and our Class A Shareholders. Our 23 active executive managing directors and 52 managing directors (as of December 31, 2019) have a compensation structure that focuses on both individual and firm-wide performance. This structure includes granting a portion of any bonus compensation in a combination of equity and/or deferred cash interests that vest over time.
•One-firm philosophy. Our “one-firm” philosophy promotes a collaborative environment that encourages internal cooperation and cross-functional sharing of information, expertise and transaction experience gained over our 25-year history. We believe this strong collaborative approach is a key differentiator that enhances the success of our firm as a whole.
•Synergies among investment strategies. Our investment model is built off and benefits from full collaboration among our investment team, fostering trust, diverse viewpoints, cross-disciplinary development and critical self-examination. We believe this approach is a central factor in our ability to identify, evaluate and pursue opportunities across a broad range of geographies and capital structures.
•Global presence. We are a global organization with an investment philosophy that opportunistically pursues “best ideas” investment opportunities wherever they arise. Our ability to invest worldwide allows us to evaluate the fullest range of investments by employing both on-the-ground expertise and the support of our global team and infrastructure. Our investment professionals in the US, Europe and Asia are seamlessly integrated with the global team and have a long history of investing on an international scale.
•Experience. Sculptor’s one-firm philosophy and collaborative investment style is enabled by the long tenure and shared experience of our investment and executive teams. We have a history of hiring highly talented employees and developing them into senior roles as managing directors and executive managing directors across the firm.
•Focus on infrastructure. Since inception, Sculptor has been highly committed to building and maintaining a robust infrastructure with an emphasis on strong financial, operational and compliance controls. As of December 31, 2019, of the firm’s 75 active executive managing directors and managing directors, 22 are dedicated to our global infrastructure, illustrating our commitment to this important part of our business. As a public company, we are required to identify and document key processes and controls, which are subject to independent review.
•Transparency. We believe that our fund investors should be provided with qualitative and quantitative information about our investment process, operational procedures and portfolio exposures in order to fully understand and evaluate their partnership with Sculptor. We provide fund investors with comprehensive and transparent reporting on a regular basis, and our senior management and investment staff regularly meet with investors to provide updates and address questions.
Our Structure
Sculptor Capital Management, Inc.
Sculptor Capital Management, Inc. is a publicly traded holding company, and its primary assets are ownership interests in the Sculptor Operating Group entities, which are held indirectly through Sculptor Corp. We conduct our business through the Sculptor Operating Group. Sculptor Capital Management, Inc. currently has two classes of shares outstanding: Class A Shares and Class B Shares.
Class A Shares. Class A Shares represent Class A common stock in Sculptor Capital Management, Inc. 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, 2019, represent 42.2% of our total combined voting power. The holders of Class A Shares are entitled to any distribution declared by our Board of Directors, 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 Partner Equity Units, subject to certain vesting and other conditions as discussed 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 and, as of December 31, 2019, the Class B Shares represent 57.8% of our total combined voting power. The Class B Shares are held solely by current and former executive managing directors and provide them with a voting interest in Sculptor Capital Management, Inc. commensurate with their
economic interest in the Sculptor Operating Group in the form of Group A Units, Group A-1 Units (until a corresponding number of Group E Units have vested), Group E Units (once such Group E Units have vested) and Group P Units (assuming such Group P Units are participating). Each executive managing director holding Group A Units, Group A-1 Units (until a corresponding number of Group E Units have vested), vested Group E Units or Group P Units holds an equal number of Class B Shares. Upon an issuance of Group A Units or Group P Units to an executive managing director or the vesting of such executive managing director’s Group E Units, an equal number of Class B Shares is also issued to such executive managing director. Upon the exchange by an executive managing director of a Partner Equity Unit for a Class A Share as further discussed below, the corresponding Class B Share is canceled.
Prior to May 29, 2019, (“the Transition Date”), holders of the Class B Shares granted an irrevocable proxy to vote all of their Class B Shares to the Class B Shareholder Committee, the sole member of which was Mr. Och. As a result, Mr. Och was able to control all matters requiring the approval of our shareholders. Following the Transition Date, each Class B Shareholder is entitled to one vote per share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders except that Class B Shares that relate to our Group A-1 Units will be voted pro rata in accordance with the vote of the Class A Shares held by non-affiliates until a corresponding Group E Unit has vested.
Sculptor Operating Group Entities
We conduct our business through the Sculptor Operating Group. Historically, we have used more than one Sculptor Operating Group entity to segregate our operations for business, financial, tax and other reasons. We may increase or decrease the number of our Sculptor 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 Sculptor Operating Group currently consists of Sculptor Capital LP, Sculptor Capital Advisors LP and Sculptor Capital Advisors II LP, and each of their consolidated subsidiaries (collectively, the “Sculptor Operating Partnerships” and collectively with their consolidated subsidiaries, the “Sculptor Operating Group”). Sculptor Capital Management, Inc. holds its interests in the Sculptor Operating Group indirectly through Sculptor Capital Holding Corporation (“Sculptor Corp”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Sculptor Capital Management, Inc. Sculptor Corp is the sole general partner of each of the Sculptor Operating Partnerships and, therefore, generally controls the business and affairs of such entities. The Sculptor Operating Group currently has the following units outstanding: Group A Units, Group A-1 Units, Group B Units, Group E Units, Group P Units and Preferred Units.
As of December 31, 2019, the Preferred Units had an aggregate liquidation preference of $500 per Preferred Unit, plus accrued and unpaid distributions. After the Preferred Units liquidation preference is satisfied, the Group A Units and Group B Units have no preference or priority over other securities of the Sculptor Operating Group (other than the Group E Units and Group P 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 Sculptor Operating Group.
Group A Units. Our current and former executive managing directors own 100% of the Group A Units, which as of December 31, 2019, represent a 31.6% equity interest in the Sculptor Operating Group. Currently, Group A Units are exchangeable for our Class A Shares at the discretion of the Exchange Committee (which consists of the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of Sculptor Capital Management, Inc.) (or the cash equivalent thereof), on a one-for-one basis, subject to vesting requirements by our executive managing directors, book-up requirements, transfer restrictions and certain exchange rate adjustments for splits, unit distributions and reclassifications. Beginning on the final day of the Distribution Holiday, each of our executive managing directors may exchange his or her vested and booked-up Group A Units over a period of two years in three equal installments commencing upon the final day of the Distribution Holiday and on each of the first and second anniversary thereof (or, for units that become vested and booked-up Group A Units after the final day of the Distribution Holiday, from the later of the date on which they would have been exchangeable in accordance with the foregoing and the date on which they become vested and booked-up Group A Units) (and thereafter such units will remain exchangeable), in each case, subject to certain restrictions (including, among other things, in connection with the Company’s insider trading policy in respect of affiliate holders and in certain circumstances where the exchange would be likely to impact the Company’s ability to use net operating losses). On the date of the Recapitalization, each Group A Unit then outstanding was recapitalized into 0.65 Group A Units and 0.35 Group A-1 Units. Further, as part of the Recapitalization, holders of Group A Units do not receive distributions
during the Distribution Holiday. See Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information.
Group A-1 Units. Group A-1 Units are interests into which 0.35 of each Group A Unit then outstanding was recapitalized in connection with the Recapitalization. The Group A-1 Units will be canceled at such time and to the extent that the Group E Units granted in connection with the Recapitalization and associated with such Group A-1 Units vest and achieve a book-up. Group A-1 Units are not eligible to receive distributions at any time. However, the holders of Group A-1 Units shall participate in any sale, change of control or other liquidity event. In the Recapitalization, the holders of the 2016 Preferred Units forfeited 749,813 Group A Units, which were also recapitalized into Group A-1 Units.
Group B Units. Sculptor Corp holds a general partner interest and Group B Units in each Sculptor Operating Partnership that it controls. Sculptor Corp owns 100% of the Group B Units, which, as of December 31, 2019, represent a 41.9% equity interest in the Sculptor Operating Group. Except during the Distribution Holiday, the Group B Units are economically identical to the Group A Units 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.
Group D Units. Prior to the Recapitalization, Group D Units were issued to certain current and former executive managing directors. Group D Units were non-equity, limited partner profits interests that were only entitled to share in residual assets upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up, and would become eligible to participate in any exchange right or tag along right in a change of control transaction or other liquidity event to the extent that there had been a threshold amount of appreciation. The Group D Units converted into Group A Units to the extent they had become economically equivalent to Group A Units. All Group D Units converted to Group E Units in connection with the Recapitalization.
Group E Units. Group E Units are limited partner profits interests issued to certain executive managing directors that are only entitled to future profits and gains. Each Group E Unit converts into a Group A Unit and becomes exchangeable for one Class A Share (or the cash equivalent thereof) to the extent there has been a sufficient amount of appreciation for a Group E Unit to achieve a book-up target and, subject to other conditions contained in the limited partnership agreements of the Sculptor Operating Partnerships, the Distribution Holiday has ended (or an earlier exchange date is established by the Exchange Committee). The Group E Units are entitled to share in residual assets upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up and become eligible to participate in any tag along right, in a change of control transaction or other liquidity event only to the extent of their relative positive capital accounts (if any). One Class B Share will be issued to each holder of Group E Units upon the vesting of each such holder’s Group E Unit, at which time a corresponding number of Class B Shares held by holders of Group A-1 Units will be canceled. The general partner of the Sculptor Operating Partnerships may conditionally issue additional Group E Units to active executive managing directors, in an aggregate number not to exceed the amount described in the Sculptor Operating Partnerships’ limited partnership agreements. The Group E Units convert into Group A Units to the extent they have become economically equivalent to Group A Units. As part of the Recapitalization, holders of Group E Units do not receive distributions during the Distribution Holiday. See Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information.
Group P Units. On March 1, 2017, we issued Group P Units to certain executive managing directors. Group P Units entitle holders to receive distributions of future profits of the Sculptor Operating Group, and each Group P Unit becomes exchangeable for one Class A Share (or the cash equivalent thereof), in each case upon satisfaction of certain service and performance conditions at such time and, with respect to exchanges, to the extent there has been sufficient appreciation for a Group P Unit to achieve a book-up target and, subject to other conditions contained in the limited partnership agreements of the Sculptor Operating Partnerships, the Distribution Holiday has ended (or an earlier exchange date is established by the Exchange Committee). The Group P Units are entitled to share in residual assets upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up and become eligible to participate in any tag along right, in a change of control transaction or other liquidity event only to the extent that certain performance conditions are met and to the extent of their relative positive capital accounts (if any). The terms of the Group P Units may be varied for certain executive managing directors. See Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information regarding the terms of the Group P Units.
Preferred Units. Preferred Units represent ownership interests in each of the Sculptor Operating Partnerships and are held by certain current and former executive managing directors (the “EMD Purchasers”). Preferred Units are a class of non-voting preferred equity interests in the Sculptor Operating Group entities with an aggregate liquidation preference of $500, plus
accrued and unpaid distributions. See Note 10 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information regarding the terms of the Preferred Units. As part of the Recapitalization, the 2016 Preferred Units were restructured into Debt Securities and 2019 Preferred Units.
Restricted Share Units
We grant RSUs as a form of compensation to our employees and executive managing directors. An RSU entitles the holder to receive a Class A Share, or cash equal to the fair value of a Class A Share at the election of the Board of Directors, upon completion of the requisite service period. All of the RSUs granted to date accrue dividend equivalents equal to the dividend amounts paid on our Class A Shares. To date, these dividend equivalents have been awarded in the form of additional RSUs that also accrue additional dividend equivalents. Delivery of dividend equivalents on outstanding RSUs is contingent upon the vesting of the underlying RSUs. As part of the Recapitalization, certain RSUs held by directors and certain executive managing directors are limited in the amount of dividend equivalents they may receive during the Distribution Holiday. See Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information.
In 2018, we began granting PSUs. A PSU entitles the holder to receive a Class A Share, or cash equal to the fair value of a Class A Share at the election of the Board of Directors, upon completion of the requisite service period, as well as satisfying certain performance conditions based on achievement of targeted total shareholder return on Class A Shares. PSUs do not begin to accrue dividend equivalents until the requisite service period has been completed and performance conditions have been achieved.
See Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information regarding RSUs and PSUs.
The diagram below depicts our organizational structure as of December 31, 2019:
This diagram does not give effect to 4,154,388 Class A restricted share units, or “RSUs,” that were outstanding as of December 31, 2019, and were granted to our executive managing directors, managing directors, other employees and the independent members of our Board of Directors. Also not presented in the diagram above are Group P Units and PSUs issued and held by our executive managing directors. The Group P Units and PSUs are not participating in the economics of Sculptor Operating Group, as the applicable Service Condition and Performance Condition (as defined in Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements) have not yet been met as of December 31, 2019. Further, not presented in the diagram above are Class C Non-Equity Interests, which are non-equity interests in the Sculptor Operating Group entities held by our executive managing directors. No holder of Class C Non-Equity Interests will have any right to receive distributions on such interests. Our executive managing directors hold all of the Class C Non-Equity Interests, which may be used for discretionary income allocations, including the cash element of any discretionary annual performance awards paid to our executive managing directors. References to bonuses throughout this annual report include any Class C Non-Equity Interests distributions.
Employees
As of December 31, 2019, our worldwide headcount was 390 (including 46 in the United Kingdom and 20 in Asia), with 112 investment professionals (including 25 in the United Kingdom and 9 in Asia). As of this date, we had 23 active executive managing directors and 52 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 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 among other rules and regulations, 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, and the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong. 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 “—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 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.
Information about our Executive Officers
Set forth below is certain information regarding our executive officers as of the date of this filing.
Robert Shafir, 61, is the Chief Executive Officer of Sculptor Capital and a member of Sculptor Capital’s Partner Management Committee. He is also an Executive Managing Director and a member of the Board of Directors. Prior to joining Sculptor Capital in 2018, Mr. Shafir served in various capacities at Credit Suisse Group AG from 2007 to 2016. Most recently, he served as Chairman and CEO of Credit Suisse Americas and Co-Head of Private Banking & Wealth Management, which included oversight of Asset Management. He was a member of the Executive Board of Credit Suisse Group and Credit Suisse. Prior to joining Credit Suisse, in August 2007, Mr. Shafir worked at Lehman Brothers for 17 years, serving as Head of Global Equities, as well as a member of their Executive Board. He also held other senior roles, including Head of European Equities and Global Head of Equities Trading, and played a key role in building Lehman’s equities business into a global, institutionally-focused franchise. Prior to that, he worked at Morgan Stanley in the preferred stock business within the fixed income division. Mr. Shafir received a B.A. in Economics from Lafayette College and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Thomas M. Sipp, 49, is the Chief Financial Officer of Sculptor Capital. He is also an Executive Managing Director and a member of the Company’s Partner Management Committee. In his role, Mr. Sipp oversees all aspects of Accounting, Tax, Treasury, Financial Operations, Internal Audit and Shareholder Services at Sculptor Capital. Prior to joining Sculptor Capital in 2018, Mr. Sipp was a Managing Partner at Magis Partners. During the prior eight years, Mr. Sipp held several senior executive positions at Credit Suisse, including Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer for Credit Suisse’s Asset Management division and Global Chief Operating Officer for Credit Suisse’s Wealth & Asset Management division. Prior to joining Credit Suisse, Mr. Sipp served as the COO for the Institutional Investment Division of Fidelity Investments. He also spent eight years with Gartmore Global Investments, serving as the Chief Financial Officer, Head of Product Development and COO for the Investment Division. Mr. Sipp received a B.A. in Finance from Alfred University and an M.B.A from the University of Pittsburgh. He has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is on the Board of Fiduciary Exchange.
James S. Levin, 37, is Chief Investment Officer for Sculptor Capital. He is also an Executive Managing Director and a member of the Company’s Partner Management Committee. Mr. Levin is also an Executive Managing Director and a member of the Portfolio Committee. Prior to joining Sculptor Capital 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, 45, is President and Chief Operating Officer for Sculptor Capital. He is also an Executive Managing Director and member of the Company’s Partner Management Committee. In this role, Mr. Cohen has a broad scope of responsibilities managing day-to-day operations of Sculptor Capital, including overseeing non-investment functions and leading strategic initiatives. Mr. Cohen joined the Firm in 2005 working as an Attorney and General Counsel. Prior to joining Sculptor Capital, he was an Attorney at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP. 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, 52, is Chief Legal Officer for Sculptor Capital. He is also an Executive Managing Director and a member of the Company’s Partner Management Committee. In this role, Mr. Levine oversees the Company’s legal team and the management of its legal affairs. Mr. Levine has over 20 years practicing securities law. Prior to joining Sculptor Capital in January 2017, Mr. Levine spent 15 years at Deutsche Bank AG, where he served as Global Head of Litigation and Regulatory Enforcement. From 1993 through 2001, Mr. Levine worked at the SEC in both New York and in the Washington headquarters. During this time he served in a variety of roles including as the agency’s Chief of Staff, as well as Senior Adviser to the Director of Enforcement. Mr. Levine holds a B.S. from SUNY Albany, and a J.D. Degree from Hofstra University School of Law where he was valedictorian and an editor of the law review.
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 and tariffs, disease, 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 credit or equity financial markets and economic and geopolitical conditions worldwide.
U.S. interest rates generally fell in 2019 as the Federal Reserve reduced its target policy rate and conducted open market operations. Following these actions, the path for interest rates in 2020 remains uncertain. Future changes in interest rates could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, or results of operations, through both direct and indirect means. 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.
Terms of the United Kingdom’s transition in its withdrawal from the European Union.
On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom’s (the “UK”) formal exit from the European Union (the “EU”), commonly referred to as “Brexit” became effective. During the subsequent transition period, if no trade or extension agreement is reached by December 31, 2020, the UK is expected to withdraw from the EU single market and customs union. Political and economic uncertainty regarding the UK’s future relationship with the EU, including the specific terms of any agreements between the EU and the UK to provide future access to each other’s respective markets, may lead to increased volatility in global financial and foreign exchange markets, including volatility in the value of the Euro and the British Pound, which could materially impair the investment performance of our funds. In addition, increased political, legal and economic uncertainty may result from 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 of such changes 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 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 (including any uncertainty related to the Recapitalization and Corporate Classification Change (as defined below)), we could experience increased redemptions and a consequent reduction in our assets under management. 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 2019, we experienced redemptions of approximately $3.1 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 a large portion of our annual discretionary cash 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, 2019, with respect to 68% 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 a large portion of our annual discretionary cash bonus during the fourth quarter based on fund performance for the year. 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. Note, on the other hand, as of December 31, 2019, 46% of our assets under management are in Institutional Credit Strategies, which includes our CLOs, and have not historically generated a material amount of incentive income.
The amount of incentive income that may be generated by our funds is uncertain until it is actually crystallized. The commitment period for most of our multi-strategy assets under management is for a period of one year on a calendar-year basis, and therefore we generally crystallize incentive income annually on December 31. We may also recognize incentive income related to fund investor redemptions at other times during the year, as well as on assets under management subject to commitment periods that are longer than one year. We may also recognize incentive income 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. Beginning in 2018, as a result of the adoption of new revenue recognition accounting guidance, we recognize incentive income when such amounts are probable of not significantly reversing. 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 compete in an international arena and, to remain competitive, we may need to further expand our business into new geographic regions or new business areas where our competitors may have a more established presence or greater experience and expertise.
•A number of our competitors have greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources and more personnel than we do.
•Several of our competitors have raised and continue to raise significant amounts of capital, and many of them have or may pursue investment objectives that are similar to ours, which would create additional competition for
investment opportunities and may reduce the size and duration of pricing inefficiencies that many alternative investment strategies seek to exploit.
•Some of our competitors may have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of investments and to bid more aggressively than us for investments that we may want to make.
•Some of our competitors may be subject to less extensive regulation and thus may be better positioned to pursue certain investment objectives and/or be subject to lower expenses related to compliance than us.
•Other industry participants will from time to time seek to recruit our active executive managing directors, investment professionals and other professional talent away from 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:
•Investment performance.
•Investor liquidity and willingness to invest.
•Investor perception of investment managers’ ability, drive, focus and alignment of interest with them.
•Investor perception of robustness of business infrastructure and financial controls.
•Transparency with regard to portfolio composition.
•Investment and risk management processes.
•Quality of service provided to and duration of relationship with investors.
•Business reputation, including the reputation of a firm’s investment professionals.
•Level of fees and incentive income charged for services.
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. 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.
Damage to our reputation could harm our business.
Our business is highly competitive and we benefit from being highly regarded in our industry. Maintaining our reputation is critical to attracting and retaining fund investors and for maintaining our relationships with our regulators. Negative publicity regarding our company could give rise to reputational risk which could significantly harm our existing business and business prospects.
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.
Senior Credit Facility
On April 10, 2018, Sculptor Capital LP (formerly OZ Management LP), as borrower, and certain of our other subsidiaries, as guarantors (collectively, with certain of their respective subsidiaries, the “Sculptor Operating Group Credit Parties”), entered into a senior secured credit and guaranty agreement originally consisting of (i) a $250.0 million term loan facility (the “2018 Term Loan”) and (ii) a $100.0 million revolving credit facility (the “2018 Revolving Credit Facility”), which was subsequently amended on February 7, 2019 (as amended, the “Senior Credit Facility”), with certain financial institutions, as lenders, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, and certain other parties thereto. In connection with the amendment on February 7, 2019, the 2018 Revolving Credit Facility was terminated.
The Senior Credit Facility provides for a term loan facility with an initial maturity of five years and contains a number of restrictive covenants that collectively impose significant operating and financial restrictions on the Sculptor Operating Group Credit Parties including restrictions that may limit their ability to engage in acts that may be in our long-term best interests, including but not limited to:
•Incur certain additional indebtedness or issue certain equity interests.
•Create liens.
•Pay dividends or make other restricted payments.
•Merge, consolidate, or sell or otherwise dispose of all or any part of their assets.
•Engage in certain transactions with shareholders or affiliates.
•Engage in substantially different lines of business.
•Amend their organizational documents in a manner materially adverse to the lenders.
Our Senior Credit Facility includes two financial maintenance covenants relating to assets under management and an economic income secured leverage ratio. Our Senior Credit Facility also includes a covenant requiring compliance with the provisions of the agreements that implemented the transactions contemplated by the Recapitalization (the “Implementing Agreements”) that impose restrictions on distributions, including certain tax distributions, during the Distribution Holiday (as defined below), requiring prepayment of loans under the Senior Credit Facility with excess cash above a certain threshold and restricting the incurrence of indebtedness for borrowed money and certain liens, in each case subject to exceptions set forth in the Implementing Agreements.
The Senior Credit Facility also identifies a number of events that, if they occur or are continuing, would constitute an event of default under the Senior Credit Facility. 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 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 Sculptor Operating Group Credit Parties.
Subordinated Credit Facility
In connection with the Recapitalization, and as part of the 2016 Preferred Units Restructuring, the Sculptor Operating Group Credit Parties, each as a borrower, entered into an unsecured senior subordinated term loan credit and guaranty agreement consisting of term loan facilities in an aggregate initial principal amount of $200.0 million (the “Subordinated Credit Facility”) with certain parties thereto, as lenders, and Wilmington Trust, National Association, as administrative agent.
The Subordinated Credit Facility matures on the earlier of (i) the fifth anniversary of the date on which all obligations under the Unit Designations of the Preferences and Relative, Participating, Optional, and Other Special Rights, Powers and Duties of Class A Cumulative Preferred Units of each Sculptor Operating Partnership (collectively, the “New Preferred Unit Designations”), entered into in connection with the Recapitalization, have been in paid in full and (ii) April 1, 2026 and contains a number of restrictive covenants that collectively impose significant operating and financial restrictions on the Sculptor Operating Group Credit Parties, including restrictions that may limit their ability to engage in acts that may be in our long-term best interests, including but not limited to:
•Incur certain additional indebtedness or create or issue certain equity interests.
•Create liens.
•Pay dividends or make other restricted payments.
•Merge, consolidate, or sell or otherwise dispose of all or any part of their assets.
•Engage in substantially different lines of business.
•Amend their organizational documents in a manner materially adverse to the lenders.
Our Subordinated Credit Facility includes two financial maintenance covenants relating to assets under management and an economic income secured leverage ratio. Our Subordinated Credit Facility also includes a covenant requiring compliance with the provisions of the Implementing Agreements that will impose restrictions on distributions, including certain tax distributions, during the Distribution Holiday, requiring prepayment of loans under the Senior Credit Facility and thereafter, 2019 Preferred Units (as defined below), in each case with excess cash above a certain threshold, and restricting the incurrence of indebtedness for borrowed money and certain liens, in each case subject to exceptions set forth in the Implementing Agreements.
The Subordinated Credit Facility also identifies a number of events that, if they occur or are continuing, would constitute an event of default under the Subordinated Credit Facility. 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 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 Sculptor Operating Group Credit Parties.
Under the terms of the New Preferred Unit Designations, so long as any Preferred Units are outstanding, without the consent of the Holders’ Committee (as defined below), which initially consists of Daniel S. Och as sole member, the Company and the Sculptor Operating Group entities and their respective subsidiaries may not, subject to limited exceptions:
•Incur certain additional indebtedness or create or issue certain equity interests.
•Create liens.
•Sell or otherwise dispose of any businesses, business lines or divisions, or any significant assets thereof.
•Engage in certain transactions with affiliates.
•Declare or pay distributions on or repurchase any equity securities that rank equal with or junior to the Preferred Units.
Preferred Units
Pursuant to the terms of the New Preferred Unit Designations, 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 (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 Sculptor Operating Group will redeem the Preferred Units at a redemption price equal to the liquidation preference plus all accumulated but unpaid distributions (collectively, the “Liquidation Value”). For so long as the Sculptor Operating Group does 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.
Additionally, the terms of the New Preferred Unit Designations include a cash sweep arrangement (“Cash Sweep”) during the Distribution Holiday that was initiated in connection with the Recapitalization under which 100% of all Economic Income (as defined therein) will be applied to repay the Senior Credit Facility and then to redeem the Preferred Units. The terms of the New Preferred Unit Designations will also require an amount equal to the excess of the Free Cash Balance (as defined in the New Preferred Unit Designations) as of December 31 of the applicable fiscal year over the minimum free cash balance of $200.0 million, to be used to repay the Senior Credit Facility and redeem the Preferred Units. In addition, without duplication of the Cash Sweep, (i) certain of the proceeds resulting from the realization of Designated Accrued Unrecognized Incentive (as defined in the New Preferred Unit Designations) and (ii) 85% of the Net Cash Proceeds (as defined in the New Preferred Unit Designations) from any Asset Sales (as defined in the New Preferred Unit Designations), will be used to repay the Senior Credit Facility and redeem the Preferred Units.
As long as the Cash Sweep is in effect, we may only use funds from a cumulative discretionary one-time basket of up to $50.0 million in the aggregate, or reserve up to $17.0 million in the aggregate (the “Discretionary Basket”), to, subject to certain exceptions, fund new firm investments or new firm products or to fund share buybacks (including RSU cash settlements in excess of permitted amounts) in an aggregate amount not to exceed $25.0 million and to engage in other activities related to our strategic expansion and may not use any other of our funds to fund such activities, subject to certain exceptions.
A failure by any of the Sculptor Operating Group Credit Parties to comply with the covenants and other obligations-or upon the occurrence of other defaults-specified in the Senior Credit Facility or the Subordinated Credit Facility, as the case may be, could result in an event of default under the Senior Credit Facility or the Subordinated Credit Facility, as the case may be, which would give the lenders under the Senior Credit Facility or the Subordinated Credit Facility the right to declare all indebtedness and other obligations outstanding under the Senior Credit Facility or the Subordinated Credit Facility, 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 Senior Credit Facility or the Subordinated Credit Facility were to be accelerated, the Sculptor Operating Group Credit Parties 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 Senior Credit Facility and the Subordinated Credit Facility, see “—The terms of our outstanding Preferred Units, the Senior Credit Facility and the Subordinated Credit Facility and changes in the credit markets may negatively impact or may prohibit 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. An increase in our borrowing costs may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.” For more detail regarding the Senior Credit Facility and the Subordinated Credit Facility, their respective terms and the current status of compliance with the Senior Credit Facility and the Subordinated Credit Facility by the Sculptor 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.”
Changes in the method of determining LIBOR, or the replacement of LIBOR with an alternative reference rate, may adversely affect our credit arrangements and our collateralized loan obligation transactions.
LIBOR and certain other “benchmarks” are the subject of recent national, international, and other regulatory guidance and proposals for reform. These reforms may cause such benchmarks to perform differently than in the past or have other consequences which cannot be predicted.
In July 2017, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) announced that it would phase out LIBOR as a benchmark by the end of 2021. It is unclear whether new methods of calculating LIBOR will be established such that it continues to exist after 2021. The U.S. Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a steering committee comprised of large U.S. financial institutions, is considering replacing U.S. dollar LIBOR with a new index calculated by short-term repurchase agreements, backed by Treasury securities called the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”). The first publication of SOFR was released in April 2018. Whether or not SOFR attains market traction as a LIBOR replacement remains a question and the future of LIBOR at this time is uncertain.
Potential changes, or uncertainty related to such potential changes, may adversely affect the market for LIBOR-based financial instruments, including interest rates on certain of our floating rate obligations, loans, deposits, derivatives, and other financial instruments tied to LIBOR rates, as well as the revenue and expenses associated with those financial instruments. In addition, changes or reforms to the determination or supervision of LIBOR may result in a sudden or prolonged increase or decrease in reported LIBOR, which could have an adverse impact on the market for LIBOR-based financial instruments, including the value of our floating rate obligations, loans, deposits, derivatives, and other financial instruments tied to LIBOR rates. If LIBOR ceases to exist, we may need to renegotiate these instruments extending beyond 2021 to replace LIBOR with the new standard that is established in its place or another pricing method.
Management is in the process of evaluating the impact of the possible transition from LIBOR to an alternative reference rate. To address a potential transition away from LIBOR, the Senior Credit Facility and the Subordinated Credit Facility each provide for an agreed upon methodology to calculate the new floating rate reference plus new applicable spreads. For our latest generation of CLOs, we have been incorporating provisions to address a potential transition from LIBOR, however certain older CLOs may not currently have been amended to contain clear LIBOR transition procedures. For these older CLOs, if LIBOR ceases to exist, we may need to amend certain governing documents extending beyond 2021 to replace LIBOR with the new standard that is established.
Given the current uncertainties over LIBOR’s discontinuation and the replacement alternatives, it is not possible at this time to predict the effect of any such changes, any establishment of alternative reference rates, or any other reforms to LIBOR, including any impact on our LIBOR-linked credit agreements and CLOs. There is no guarantee that a transition from LIBOR to an alternative will not result in financial market disruptions, significant increases in benchmark rates, or borrowing costs to borrowers, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, result of operations, financial condition, and price of our Class A Shares.
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 certain key person provisions that are triggered upon the loss of services of one or more key investment professionals and could, upon the occurrence of such event, provide the investors in the funds with certain rights such as earlier redemption rights (including by conversion to interests providing for more frequent liquidity) or rights providing for the termination or suspension of the funds’ investment periods and/or wind-down of the funds. Accordingly, the loss of such key investment professionals could result in significant or earlier redemptions from our funds or disruption of the funds’ investment activities, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations, and could harm our ability to maintain or grow our assets under management in existing funds or raise additional funds in the future. Withdrawals exercised pursuant to key person provisions could lead to a liquidation of certain funds and a corresponding elimination of our management fees and potential to earn incentive income beyond the withdrawal dates with respect to such funds.
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. Many of the Group A and Group D Units granted to executive managing directors since then are now also fully vested. The Group E Units granted to our active executive managing directors in connection with the Recapitalization generally vest in the future subject to vesting conditions. Sculptor Operating Group common 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. The holder of any Group A Units generally has the right to exchange each of his or her Group A Units for one of our Class A Shares (or, at our option, the cash equivalent thereof), subject to vesting and book-up requirements and transfer restrictions under the Sculptor Operating Partnerships’ limited partnership agreements and the Class A Unit Exchange Agreement (as defined below). Beginning on the final day of the Distribution Holiday, each of our executive managing directors may exchange his or her vested and booked-up Group A Units over a period of two years in three equal installments commencing upon the final day of the
Distribution Holiday and on each of the first and second anniversary thereof (or, for units that become vested and booked-up Group A Units after the final day of the Distribution Holiday, from the later of the date on which they would have been exchangeable in accordance with the foregoing and the date on which they become vested and booked-up Group A Units) (and thereafter such units will remain exchangeable), in each case, subject to certain restrictions. For more detail regarding exchange rights of our active executive managing directors, see “—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.” See Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information on the 2017 Incentive Program and Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information on the Recapitalization.
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 Sculptor Operating Partnerships’ 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 Sculptor Operating Partnerships’ 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.
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 or breach in any such systems or infrastructure (including from a cyberattack) 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 (including, in all respects, via a security breach or other tampering) 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 may be 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 malware, cyberattacks and other means and could originate from a wide variety of sources, including employees, foreign governments and other unknown third parties outside the firm. The increased use of mobile technology can heighten these and other operational risks. 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. The costs related to cyber or other security threats or disruptions may not be fully insured or indemnified by other means. In addition, cybersecurity has become a top priority for regulators around the world. Many jurisdictions in which we operate have laws and regulations relating to data privacy, cybersecurity and protection of personal information, including, in the EU, the General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679) (the “GDPR”), which came into effect on May 25, 2018, as supplemented by any national laws (such as in the UK, the Data Protection Act of 2018) and further implemented through binding guidance from the European Data Protection Board. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act, which came into effect on January 1, 2020, provides enhanced consumer protections for California residents, including a private right of action for data breaches, and imposes civil penalties for violations. Some jurisdictions have also enacted laws requiring companies to notify individuals of data security breaches involving certain types of personal data. Breaches in security could potentially jeopardize our, our employees’ or our fund investors’ or counterparties’ confidential and other information processed and stored in, and transmitted through, our computer systems and networks, or otherwise cause interruptions or malfunctions in our, our employees’, our fund investors’, our counterparties’ or third parties’ operations, which could result in significant losses, increased costs, disruption of our business, liability to our fund investors and other counterparties, regulatory intervention or reputational damage. Furthermore, if we fail to comply with the relevant laws and regulations, it could result in regulatory investigations and penalties, which could lead to negative publicity and may cause our fund investors and clients to lose confidence in the effectiveness of our security measures. Any of these failures, particularly those that directly affect us, could materially impair our business, financial condition or results of operations.
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, London and Hong Kong offices, 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. In the event any fund-related litigation scenarios described above materialize, it is possible we are made a party to any such litigation. 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 FCA. 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 Investment Company Act (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 (“DPA”) 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. On January 23, 2020, we entered into an amendment to the DPA that extended the term of the DPA until 61 days after the entry of a final judgment by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in the matter of U.S. v. Oz Africa Management GP, LLC, Cr. No. 16-515 (NGG) (EDNY). The amendment makes no other material changes to the DPA. The extension is based solely on the voluntary agreement of the parties and is not premised on any non-compliance by the Company with the DPA. Because of an outstanding restitution claim against OZ Africa, sentencing in the OZ Africa matter did not occur prior to the scheduled conclusion of the DPA. Because the DPA contemplates that the sentencing in the OZ Africa matter would have occurred before the expiration of the DPA, the parties executed an agreement with the purpose of extending the expiration date of the DPA. On January 30, 2020, the independent compliance monitor appointed in connection with the SEC and DOJ settlements concluded and certified that the Company’s corporate compliance program is functioning effectively. 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 “—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,” in 2016 we 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 were disqualified from relying on Rule 506 to offer securities. However, on June 13, 2019, the SEC granted a waiver from the disqualification provisions of Rules 506 to certain of our existing funds that were relying on Rule 506 on September 29, 2016. Prospective offerings in funds that were not granted a waiver of disqualification currently remain prohibited from relying on Rule 506 to offer securities. Notwithstanding the ability of certain of our existing funds to rely on Rule 506 to offer securities, 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 our funds that were not granted a waiver of disqualification 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.
We are subject to numerous regulations under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”). 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.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council (the “Council”) has the authority under the Dodd-Frank Act to review nonbank financial companies predominantly engaged in financial activities for potential designation as systematically important financial institutions (“SIFI”). To date, the Council has not designated any asset managers as a 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. The Volcker Rule limits 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”). As a result, the Volcker Rule may cause banking entities and their affiliates that would otherwise invest in our funds to not invest in our funds or CLOs, to invest less capital in our funds or CLOs, reduce or eliminate such investments, or require modifications to the documents governing our funds or CLOs that may adversely affect their performance or attractiveness to other investors or that otherwise may be adverse to our business and the value of our Class A Shares. The Volcker Rule also includes a general prohibition on certain banking entities engaging in activities defined as “proprietary trading.” Applicable regulators have proposed amendments and invited comments to the Volcker Rule, including twice in 2018, and the requirements of the Volcker Rule may change over time. The Volcker Rule (including any changes thereto) and its effects 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. Proposed regulations were published in April and May 2016 but it remains unclear when, if at all, federal regulators will adopt final regulations. 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 $1.0 million for a violation of the securities laws or the Commodity Exchange Act, respectively. These rules 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. For more detail about risks relating to the FCPA settlement and the related disqualification event which prevents certain of our funds that did not receive a waiver of disqualification from raising capital using Rule 506, see “—The FCPA settlements could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise capital for our funds.”
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.
Recently enacted tax legislation commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “TCJA”) made significant changes to the taxation of U.S. business entities. The effects of the TCJA are discussed in more detail below under “Item 1A. Risk Factors-Risks Related to Taxation-U.S. federal income tax reform could have uncertain effects” and in Note 15 on our consolidated financial statements.
Risk retention regulations could adversely affect our business.
Jurisdictions including the United States and the EU have adopted risk retention regulations applicable to securitizations and similar transactions, including collateralized loan obligation transactions (“CLOs”) and other transactions that we manage or may manage in the future. As a result of these regulations, we may be required to retain, and historically have retained, a portion of the securities or other interests issued in some of these CLOs and other transactions, whether in order to satisfy compliance obligations directly applicable to us or in response to investor demands based on regulatory requirements imposed on such investors. Accordingly, this has required us to utilize capital that could otherwise be deployed in another manner, and we expect that we will need to continue to do so in the future for certain CLOs and other transactions that we may manage in the future. In addition, retaining interests in these transactions increases our exposure to the performance of these transactions and changes in the value of those interests. We have also incurred, and expect to continue to incur, costs and expenses in connection with our efforts to comply with these regulations or related investor demands. We have historically financed the majority of the interests we retain as a result of these regulations, and expect to continue to do so. Such financing arrangements may impose limitations or restrictions on our business that could adversely affect our business and the price of our Class A Shares.
These risk retention regulations have changed and may continue to change over time, and may be introduced in other jurisdictions, and their interpretation and applicability at any given point in time may be uncertain. For example, as of January 1, 2019, new EU risk retention regulations replaced previously existing EU risk retention regulations for applicable transactions that issue securities on or after January 1, 2019. In addition, in the United States, a court has held that certain regulators exceeded their statutory authority by requiring managers of “open-market” CLOs to hold risk retention interests in those CLOs under U.S. risk retention regulations. Regulatory uncertainty of this nature may cause us to continue to incur costs and expenses in our efforts to comply with risk retention regulations or in response to the efforts of others to comply with risk retention regulations, and there can be no assurance that those costs and expenses, or the amount of capital we invest in connection with these risk retention regulations, will not increase in the future. Nor can there be any assurance that applicable governmental or regulatory authorities agree with our compliance approaches to these risk retention regulations, which may expose us to liability, including to third parties to whom we have made representations, warranties or covenants regarding such compliance. In the event that we adopt compliance approaches that are subsequently determined to not be required (such as with U.S. “open-market” CLOs), or are less capital-efficient than other approaches subsequently determined to be possible under applicable law, there can be no assurance that we will be able to recover or redeploy capital that we’ve previously committed (and we may be contractually prohibited from disposing of the related risk retention interests), and we will generally not be able to recover any costs or expenses that we have already incurred.
In addition to any direct effects on us, risk retention regulations may adversely affect markets relevant to our business, such as leveraged loan markets or credit markets generally, which may in turn adversely affect the transactions we manage and our business generally. There can be no assurance that risk retention regulations will not materially and adversely affect our business and operations, and the price of our Class A Shares.
A downturn in the global credit markets could adversely affect our CLO investments.
CLOs are subject to credit, liquidity, interest rate and other risks. From time to time, liquidity in the credit markets is reduced, sometimes significantly, resulting in an increase in credit spreads and a decline in ratings, performance and market values for leveraged loans. We have exposure to these markets through our investments in our CLOs. In some cases, we may be required to maintain such exposure as a result of applicable risk retention regulations. CLOs invest on a leveraged basis in loans or securities that are themselves highly leveraged investments in the underlying collateral, which increases both the opportunity for
higher returns as well as the magnitude of losses when compared to unlevered investments. As a result of CLOs’ leveraged position, CLOs and their investors are at greater risk of suffering losses. Any failure by our CLOs to meet certain “overcollateralization” and “interest coverage” tests will result in reduced cash flows that may have been otherwise available for distribution to us. This could reduce the value of our investment. There can be no assurance that market conditions giving rise to these types of consequences will not occur, subsist or become more acute in the future.
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 the EU, have become subject to further regulation. Regulators and other governmental authorities in the EU have proposed or implemented a number of initiatives and additional rules and regulations that could adversely affect our business.
The EU’s Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (2011/61/EU) (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, all 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 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 notification 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 the 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 non-EU AIFMs would, thereafter, need to comply with substantially all of the obligations under the AIFMD 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 the AIFMD, the EU has also introduced significant changes to its regulation of EU securities and derivatives markets through new legislation known as “MiFID II” which came into force on January 3, 2018. MiFID II replaces the original MiFID I regime which had been in force since November 2007. MiFID II, which is comprised of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (2014/65/EU), the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation ((EU)600/2014) and a number of regulatory and implementing technical standards that take the form of EU Delegated Acts, is the foundational legislation for investment firms operating in the EU, including our UK affiliates Sculptor Capital Management Europe Limited (“SCME”) and Sculptor Europe Loan Management Limited (“SELM”), both of which are authorized and regulated in the UK as MiFID investment firms.
MiFID II has imposed significant new organizational, conduct, governance, operational and reporting requirements on SCME and SELM, including new requirements around the receipt of inducements and the use of soft dollars / dealing commissions, enhanced transaction reporting and pre- and post-trade transparency requirements, formal telephone taping requirements, and new best execution rules. Further, new MiFID II rules may restrict the ability of other Sculptor entities domiciled outside of the EU (known as “third-country firms”) to provide investment services to clients domiciled in the EU. Other changes resulting from MiFID II may have an impact (indirectly) on any Sculptor entity or client that trades on EU markets or trading venues, or does business with EU-regulated banks or brokers. These impacts may include venue trading requirements
for certain categories of shares and derivatives, restrictions on so-called “dark pool” trading, 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 change. These include, but are not limited to:
•The European Markets Infrastructure Regulation ((EU) No 648/2012) (known as EMIR), which, together with EU Delegated Acts, imposes clearing, risk mitigation, margining and trade reporting requirements on OTC derivatives counterparties.
•The Solvency II directive, which applies capital charges on insurers in respect of their fund investments.
•The Market Abuse Regulation ((EU) No. 596/2014) (known as MAR) and a directive designed to harmonize criminal sanctions for market abuse (called CSMAD) which came into force in July 2016 and which extended the EU’s market abuse regime to behavior in respect of financial instruments traded on a wider variety of trading venues and EU emission allowances, refined the definition of inside information, introduced a new offense of “attempted market manipulation” and strengthened regulatory authorities’ investigative and sanctioning powers.
•The GDPR expanded the scope of the EU data protection law to foreign companies processing personal data of European Economic Area (“EEA”) individuals (e.g., investor and employee data), imposed a more stringent data protection compliance regime, and included new data subject rights (e.g., the right to erasure, commonly known as “the right to be forgotten”). The GDPR is expected to have a significant impact on those who act as data controllers and processors and those who intend to transfer personal data outside the EEA, including the introduction of severe administrative fines of up to the greater of 4% of total worldwide annual turnover or €20.0 million (as well as the right to compensation for financial or non-financial damages claimed by any individuals under Article 82 GDPR). Additionally, non-compliance may lead to reputational damages and a loss of confidence in our security and privacy or data protection measures as well as the right to compensation for financial or non-financial damages claimed by individuals under Article 82 GDPR.
•The EU has proposed to replace the European e-Privacy Directive (Directive 2002/58/EC as amended by Directive 2009/136/EC), which obliges the EU member states to introduce certain national laws regulating privacy in the electronic communications sector, with a new e-Privacy Regulation. The text of the proposal for the e-Privacy Regulation is not yet final and the formal EU legislative process in relation to the e-Privacy Regulation has not yet begun. As the text of the e-Privacy Regulation is still under development and in draft form, and as further guidance is issued and interpretations of both the e-Privacy Regulation and the GDPR develop, it is difficult to assess the impact of the proposed e-Privacy Regulation on our business or operations, but it may require us to modify our data practices and policies (e.g. in relation to the management of cookies and marketing messages sent through different media) and we could incur substantial costs as a result. Each or all of these measures could have direct and indirect effects on our business.
In the UK, the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (the “SMCR”) was extended on December 9, 2019 to “solo-regulated” firms (i.e. those firms that are only regulated by the FCA and not jointly by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority) such as SCME and SELM. The SMCR replaces the existing FCA approved person regime and imposes new, more burdensome requirements on certain SCME and SELM staff as well as increasing the documentation and record-keeping needed to demonstrate compliance with the new regime.
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 Sculptor Capital LP. 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 (including in the workplace via inappropriate or unlawful behavior or actions directed to other 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 significant 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. It is also possible that, from time to time, we may need to make payments in order to resolve commercial disputes. 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.
The terms of our outstanding Preferred Units, the Senior Credit Facility and the Subordinated Credit Facility and changes in the credit markets may negatively impact or may prohibit 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. An increase in our borrowing costs may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
In April 2023, our Senior Credit Facility will mature and all obligations thereunder will become due and payable. Our Subordinated Credit Facility will mature and all obligations thereunder will become due and payable on the earlier of (i) the fifth anniversary of the date on which all obligations under the Preferred Units have been in paid in full and (ii) April 1, 2026. At those times, we will be required to either refinance or replace any outstanding indebtedness under the Senior Credit Facility and the Subordinated Credit Facility, as applicable. Pursuant to the terms of the New Preferred Unit Designations, subject to certain exceptions, we, the Sculptor Operating Partnerships and their respective subsidiaries are prohibited from refinancing, refunding, replacing renewing, restating amending and restating, amending, supplementing or otherwise modifying the Senior Credit Facility without the prior written consent of the Holders’ Committee. If the prior written consent of the Holders’ Committee is obtained, entering into one or more new credit facilities or issuing debt securities, could result in higher borrowing costs, or issuing equity, which would dilute existing shareholders. 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 Senior Credit Facility and the Subordinated 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 Senior Credit Facility, the Subordinated Credit Facility and, with respect to our funds, other committed secured credit facilities expire, or if our lenders fail, we will need the consent of the Holders’ Committee to replace them by entering into new facilities or finding other sources of liquidity. Furthermore, to the extent that we do not obtain the consent of the Holders’ Committee or the debt financing markets make it difficult or impossible for us to refinance or replace our Senior Credit Facility or the Subordinated Credit Facility, we may be unable to repay the loans outstanding under the Senior Credit Facility or the Subordinated Credit Facility, if any, or 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 Senior Credit Facility and Subordinated Credit Facility and overall liquidity position.
Subject to certain exceptions, we have the option to voluntarily repay the remaining $200.0 million of the Preferred Units at a 25% discount until March 31, 2021 and then at a 10% discount at any time between April 1, 2021 and the day prior to March 31, 2022. To the extent we are unable to repay the Preferred Units in full prior to March 31, 2022, then, pursuant to the terms of the Preferred Units, at the option of the holder, all or any portion of the liquidation preference of such Preferred Unit automatically converts into Debt Securities. Under the terms of the Subordinated Credit Facility, for a period of nine months after the repayment of the Preferred Units, we will have the option to voluntarily repay up to $200.0 million of the initial Debt Securities at a 5% discount. To the extent we are unable to do so within this time period, we will be unable to take advantage of this discount.
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.
Significant disruptions 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, uncertainty in U.S. federal fiscal, tax, trade or regulatory policy and the fiscal, tax, trade or regulatory policy of foreign governments, 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:
•A decline in assets under management, resulting in lower management fees and incentive income.
•An increase in the cost of financial instruments, executing transactions or otherwise doing business.
•Lower or negative investment returns, which may reduce assets under management and potential incentive income.
•Reduced demand for assets held by our funds, which would negatively affect our funds’ ability to realize value from such assets.
•Increased investor redemptions or greater demands for enhanced liquidity or other terms, resulting in a reduction in assets under management, lower revenues and potential increased difficulty in raising new capital.
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:
•The historical returns of our funds should not be considered indicative of the future results that should be expected from such funds or from any future funds we may raise.
•Our funds’ returns, particularly during periods of more extreme market and economic conditions, have benefited from or been impaired by the existence or lack of investment opportunities and such general market and economic conditions, which may not repeat themselves, and there can be no assurance that our current or future funds will be able to avail themselves of profitable investment opportunities.
•The historical rates of return of our funds reflect such funds’ historical expenses, which may vary in the future due to factors beyond our control, including changes in laws or regulations.
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 although the Dodd-Frank Act provides certain regulation in the derivatives market. 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 investment or 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 major disruptions in the financial markets in recent years. Further, the consolidation or elimination of counterparties has increased our 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:
•Currency exchange matters, including fluctuations in currency exchange rates and costs associated with conversion of investment principal and income from one currency into another.
•Less developed or efficient financial markets than in the United States, which may not enable or permit appropriate hedging techniques or other developed trading activities, leading to potential price volatility and relative illiquidity.
•The absence of uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, practices and disclosure requirements and less government supervision and regulation.
•Differences in the legal and regulatory environment, including less-developed or less-comprehensive bankruptcy laws.
•Fewer investor protections and less stringent requirements relating to fiduciary duties.
•Difficulties in enforcing contracts and filing claims under foreign legal systems.
•Less publicly available information in respect of companies in non-U.S. markets.
•Higher rates of inflation
•Heightened exposure to corruption risk in non-U.S. markets.
•Certain economic and political risks, including potential exchange control regulations and restrictions on our non-U.S. investments and repatriation of profits on investments or of capital invested, the risks of political, economic or social instability, the possibility of expropriation or confiscatory taxation, unexpected, additional and/ or costly changes in trade policies, tariffs or other barriers and adverse economic and political developments.
•The possible imposition of non-U.S. taxes or withholding on income and gains recognized with respect to such securities.
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.
Tariffs imposed by the current Administration and potential for further regulatory reform may create regulatory uncertainty for our funds and our investment strategies and adversely affect the profitability of our funds.
The U.S. has imposed new or increased tariffs on certain goods and materials, such as steel products imported into the U.S. These tariffs, or other changes in U.S. trade policy, have resulted in, and may continue to trigger, retaliatory actions by affected countries. Certain foreign governments have instituted or are considering imposing trade sanctions on certain U.S. goods. Others are considering the imposition of sanctions that will deny U.S. companies access to critical raw materials. A “trade war” of this nature or other governmental action related to tariffs or international trade agreements or policies has the potential to further increase uncertainty and costs, decrease margins, reduce the competitiveness of products and services offered by companies where our funds have current or future investments and adversely affect the revenues and profitability of companies whose businesses rely on goods imported from outside of the U.S and could reduce the value of our current or future investments in such companies. In addition, tariff increases may have a similar impact to suppliers and certain other customers of companies where our funds have current or future investments, which could increase the negative impact on our operating results or future cash flows.
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 as by limiting the opportunity for gain if the value of a hedged position increases, and in some cases, the hedging or derivative transaction may not perform as anticipated. 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:
•The funds may engage in short selling, which is subject to the theoretically unlimited risk of loss because there is no limit on how much the price of a security may appreciate before the short position is closed out. A fund may be subject to losses if a security lender demands return of the lent securities and an alternative lending source cannot be found or if the fund is otherwise unable to borrow securities that are necessary to hedge its positions.
•Our funds may be limited in their ability to engage in short selling or other activities as a result of regulatory mandates. Such regulatory actions may limit our ability to engage in hedging activities and therefore impair our investment strategies. In addition, our funds may invest in securities and other assets for which appropriate market hedges do not exist or cannot be acquired on attractive terms.
•Our funds may invest in companies with weak financial conditions, poor operating results, substantial financial needs, negative net worth and/or special competitive problems or that are involved in bankruptcy or reorganization proceedings. In such “distressed” situations, it may be difficult to obtain full information as to the exact financial and operating condition of the issuer. Depending on the specific fund’s investment profile, a fund’s exposure to distressed investments may be substantial in relation to the market for those investments and the investments may be illiquid and difficult to transfer. As a result, it may take a number of years for the fair value of our funds’ distressed investments to reflect their intrinsic value as perceived by us.
•Distressed investments may be involved in work-outs, liquidations, spin-offs, reorganizations, bankruptcies and similar transactions and may purchase high-risk receivables. Additionally, the fair values of such investments may be subject to abrupt and erratic market movements and significant price volatility if they are widely traded securities and significant uncertainty in general if they are not widely traded securities, have no recognized market or if transactions or events in related markets, such as related derivatives markets, have the effect of increasing the economic significance or importance of a price or value determined as of a particular time of timeframe. Moreover, a major economic recession could have a materially adverse impact on the value of such securities. An investment in such business enterprises entails the risk that the transaction in which such business enterprise is involved either will be unsuccessful, will take considerable time or will result in a distribution of cash or a new security, the value of which will be less than the purchase price to the fund of the security or other financial instrument in respect of which such distribution is received. In addition, if an anticipated transaction does not in fact occur, the fund may be required to sell its investment at a loss. Because there is substantial uncertainty concerning the outcome of transactions involving financially troubled companies, there is a potential risk of loss by a fund of its entire investment in each such company.
•Investments in troubled companies may also be adversely affected by U.S. federal and state laws relating to, among other things, fraudulent conveyances, voidable preferences, lender liability and a bankruptcy court’s discretionary power to disallow, subordinate or disenfranchise particular claims. Investments in securities and private claims of
troubled companies made in connection with an attempt to influence a restructuring proposal or plan of reorganization in a bankruptcy case may also involve substantial litigation. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may also decrease the value and liquidity of securities rated below investment grade or otherwise adversely affect our reputation.
•Credit risk may be exacerbated by a default by any one of several large institutions that are dependent on one another to meet their liquidity or operational needs, so that a default by one institution causes a series of defaults by the other institutions. This “systemic risk” could have a further material adverse effect on the financial intermediaries (such as prime brokers, clearing agencies, clearing houses, banks, securities firms and exchanges) with which the funds transact on a daily basis. Although the U.S. government, including the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, has taken significant actions to prevent a systemic collapse, no assurance can be given that such actions will be sufficient or successful in all cases.
•The effectiveness of investment and trading strategies depends largely on the ability to establish and maintain an overall market position in a combination of financial instruments. A fund’s trading orders may not be executed in a timely and efficient manner due to various circumstances, including systems failures or human error. In such event, the funds may only be able to acquire some but not all of the components of the position, or if the overall position were to need adjustment, the funds might not be able to make such adjustment. As a result, the funds would not be able to achieve the market position selected by the investment manager or general partner of such funds, and might incur a loss in liquidating their position.
•Fund investments are subject to risks relating to investments in commodities, futures, options and other derivatives, the prices of which are highly volatile and may be subject to the theoretically unlimited risk of loss in certain circumstances, including if the fund writes a call option. Price movements of commodities, futures and options contracts and payments pursuant to swap agreements are influenced by, among other things, interest rates; changing supply and demand relationships; trade, fiscal, monetary and exchange control programs; and policies of governments and national and international political and economic events and policies. The value of futures, options and swap agreements also depends upon the price of the securities underlying them. In addition, the funds’ assets are subject to the risk of the failure of any of the exchanges on which their positions trade or of their clearinghouses or counterparties.
•Our funds may make real estate investments, including, without limitation, the acquisition of real estate assets, the purchase of loans secured directly or indirectly by real estate and the purchase of securities backed by mortgage loans secured by real estate, which will be subject to the risks incident to the lending, ownership and operation of commercial and residential real estate, including (i) risks associated with both the domestic and international general economic climate; (ii) local real estate conditions; (iii) risks due to dependence on cash flow; (iv) risks relating to the decline in value of the real estate properties in question; (v) risks and operating problems arising out of the absence of certain construction materials; (vi) changes in supply of, or demand for, competing properties in an area (as a result, for instance, of over-building); (vii) the financial condition of tenants, buyers and sellers of properties; (viii) risks relating to the absence of debt financing or changes in its availability; (ix) energy and supply shortages; (x) laws assigning liability to the owners of real estate properties for environmental hazards existing on such properties; (xi) laws relating to real estate lending, management and/or ownership that are complex or unclear or otherwise difficult to comply with; (xii) changes in the tax, real estate, environmental and zoning laws and regulations; (xiii) various uninsured or uninsurable risks; (xiv) natural disasters; and (xv) the ability of the fund or third-party borrowers to develop and manage the real properties. With respect to investments in equity or debt securities, the fund will in large part be dependent on the ability of third parties to successfully manage the underlying real estate assets. In addition, the fund may invest in mortgage loans that are structured so that all or a substantial portion of the principal will not be paid until maturity, which increases the risk of default at that time. The fund’s investment strategy, which may involve the acquisition of distressed or underperforming assets in a leveraged capital structure, will involve a high degree of legal and financial risk, and there can be no assurance that the fund’s rate of return objectives will be realized or that there will be any return of capital. There is no assurance that there will be a ready market for resale of investments because investments in real estate generally are not liquid.
Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure
Our current and former executive managing directors’ total combined voting power could influence major corporate decisions that could conflict with the interests of our Class A Shareholders and materially adversely affect the market price of the Class A Shares.
As of December 31, 2019, our current and former executive managing directors control approximately 60.6% 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 certain current and former executive managing directors’ ownership of Class A Shares purchased on the open market. Our executive managing directors may receive additional Class B Shares resulting in additional control in connection with the vesting of Group E Units. In addition, our executive managing directors received Class B Shares in connection with the grant of Group P Units under the 2017 Incentive Program. See Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information on the 2017 Incentive Program and Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information on the Recapitalization.
Our executive managing directors’ current total combined voting power 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.
Accordingly, our executive managing directors are currently able to influence all matters requiring shareholder approval and could, together with the other executive managing directors, be able to prevent a change in control of our Company or a change in the composition of our Board of Directors, and could preclude any unsolicited acquisition of our Company.
Although, as of the Transition Date, Mr. Och no longer has an irrevocable proxy to vote all of our executive managing director’s Class B Shares. Mr. Och controls approximately 25.6% of the total combined voting power of our Class A Shares and Class B Shares. In addition, pursuant to the governance agreement, dated as of February 7, 2019, (the “Governance Agreement”), Mr. Och has the right to designate a director who is not required to meet the NYSE director independence requirements, to serve in his place as a director on the Board for as long as Mr. Och continues to own either (i) 2019 Preferred Units and Debt Securities with an initial liquidation preference not less than 33% of the initial liquidation preference of the 2019 Preferred Units and Debt Securities owned by Mr. Och or (ii) a number of common equity units (on an as-converted basis) of the Company not less than 33% of the number of common equity units (on an as-converted basis) of the Company owned by Mr. Och, in each case, immediately after the Recapitalization.
In addition, until such time as the relevant Group E Units become vested, the Class B Shares corresponding to the Group A-1 Units will be voted on any matter pro rata in accordance with the vote of the Class A Shares held by non-affiliates.
Our Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws contain 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.
Under our Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws, in most circumstances the Company will indemnify the following persons (the “Indemnified Persons”), to the fullest extent authorized or permitted by applicable law, if such indemnified persons acted in a manner not constituting fraud, gross negligence or willful misconduct: (a) any person who is or was a director, officer or tax matters partner of the Company or its predecessor, (b) any person who is or was serving at the request of the Company or its predecessor as an officer, director, member, manager, partner, tax matters partner, fiduciary or trustee of another person (including any subsidiary); provided, that a person shall not be an Indemnified Person by reason of providing, on a fee-for-services basis, trustee, fiduciary or custodial services, and (c) any person the Board of Directors designates as an “Indemnified Person” for purposes of the Certificate of Incorporation or the By-Laws. In addition to rights to indemnification, the Certificate of Incorporation also contains a provision eliminating personal liability of directors of the Company for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duties, except for personal liability for fraud, gross negligence or willful misconduct and except that personal liability may not be eliminated for:
•any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Company or its stockholders;
•any act or omission not in good faith or which involved intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;
•unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions as provided in Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which we refer to as the “DGCL”; and
•any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.
The Company has agreed to provide this indemnification unless there has been a final and non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction determining that these persons are not entitled to indemnification. The Company has also agreed to provide this indemnification for criminal proceedings. The Company may purchase insurance against these liabilities asserted against and expenses incurred by persons in connection with its activities, regardless of whether the Company would have the power to indemnify the person against liabilities under the Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws.
In connection with the Recapitalization, we agreed to indemnify losses, and advance expenses, of each active and former executive managing director and trust that executed a consent agreement (and their applicable related parties and representatives) arising out of, relating to, based upon or resulting from the Recapitalization or any act or omission with respect to the planning for, or otherwise arising out of or relating to, the Recapitalization (including, without limitation, losses relating to taxes) solely in respect of the period beginning on May 17, 2018 and subject to and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the consent agreements (and excluding any intended effects of the Recapitalization).
Additionally, we have entered into an indemnification agreement with each of our directors and executive officers. The indemnification agreements provide for, among other things, indemnification to the fullest extent permitted by law against: (i) any and all expenses and liabilities, including judgments, fines, penalties, interest and amounts paid in settlement of any claim with our approval, and counsel fees and disbursements; (ii) any liability pursuant to a loan guarantee, or otherwise, for any of our indebtedness; and (iii) any liabilities incurred as a result of acting on our behalf (as a fiduciary or otherwise) in connection with an employee benefit plan. The indemnification agreements provide for the advancement or payment of all expenses to the director or executive officer and for reimbursement to us if it is found that such director or executive officer is not entitled to such indemnification under applicable law. The Sculptor Operating Partnerships’ limited partnership agreements also require the Sculptor Operating Group entities to indemnify and exculpate our executive managing directors, including those who are our executive officers.
Because our executive managing directors hold their economic interest in our business directly in the Sculptor 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, 2019, our executive managing directors held 58.1% of the outstanding interests in the Sculptor Operating Group (excluding Group P Units) in the form of Group A Units and Group E Units. In addition, as of December 31, 2019, our executive managing directors held 3,410,000 Group P Units. Because they hold their economic interests in our business directly through the Sculptor 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 Partner Management 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 Ziff Investors Partnership, L.P. II and certain of its affiliates and control persons (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 to Class A Shareholders but our ability to do so may be limited by our holding company structure, as we are dependent on distributions from the Sculptor Operating Group to make distributions and to pay taxes and other expenses, and may be limited by contractual restrictions and obligations.
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 Sculptor Operating Group to make distributions to Sculptor Corp in an amount sufficient to enable us to pay 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. The Sculptor Operating Group are subject to
certain restrictions under the Senior Credit Facility, Subordinated Credit Facility and New Preferred Unit Designations that limit their ability to make distributions. Consequently, no assurance can be given that the Sculptor Operating Group will or can make such distributions to Sculptor Corp. Our Board of Directors can change our distribution policy or reduce or eliminate our distributions at any time, in its discretion. The Sculptor Operating Group may make minimum tax distributions to its direct unit holders, to which our Class A Shareholders may not be entitled, as distributions on Group B Units to Sculptor Corp that may be used to settle tax liabilities, if any, and make payments under the tax receivable agreement or settle other obligations. In addition, the Sculptor 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 from time to time. As a result, Class A Shareholders may not receive any distributions at a time when our executive managing directors are receiving distributions on their Class C Non-Equity Interests or their other ownership interests. If the Sculptor 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, our Board may only declare and pay dividends either out of our surplus (as defined in DGCL) or in case there is no such surplus, out of our net profits for the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and/or the preceding fiscal year) or under our Senior Credit Facility, Subordinated Credit Facility or New Preferred Unit Designations.
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, and may be subject to contractual obligations and restrictions under Delaware law.
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 Senior Credit Facility or Subordinated Credit Facility and the New Preferred Unit Designations; 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 Sculptor 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 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 (except with respect to certain RSUs, during the Distribution Holiday) 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 corporation, our Board may only declare and pay dividends either out of our surplus (as defined in DGCL) or in case there is no such surplus, out of our net profits for the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and/or the preceding fiscal year. In addition, we may not be permitted to make certain distributions if we are in default under our Senior Credit Facility or Subordinated Credit Facility. Further, the declaration and payment of any distribution may be subject to the Cash Sweep. 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 Sculptor 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 Sculptor 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 Sculptor Corp and our other intermediate corporate taxpayers that hold 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.
We have agreed to indemnify certain executive managing directors and their related parties for certain losses in connection with the Recapitalization.
In connection with the Recapitalization, the Company agreed to indemnify losses, and advance expenses, of each active and former executive managing director and trust that executes a consent agreement (and their applicable related parties and representatives) arising out of, relating to, based upon or resulting from the Recapitalization (including, among other things, losses
relating to certain taxes relating to the Recapitalization) or any act or omission with respect to the planning for, or otherwise arising out of or relating to, the Recapitalization solely in respect of the period beginning on May 17, 2018 and subject to and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the consent agreements (and excluding any intended effects of the Recapitalization).
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.
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:
•Reductions or lack of growth in our assets under management, whether due to poor investment performance by our funds or redemptions by investors in our funds.
•Difficult global market and economic conditions.
•Loss of investor confidence in the global financial markets and investing in general and in alternative asset managers in particular.
•Competitively adverse actions taken by other hedge fund managers with respect to pricing, fund structure, redemptions, employee recruiting and compensation.
•Inability to attract, retain or motivate our active executive managing directors, investment professionals, managing directors or other key personnel.
•Inability to refinance or replace the Senior Credit Facility or the Subordinated Credit Facility either on acceptable terms or at all.
•Public or other offerings of additional Class A Shares.
•Inability to develop or successfully execute on business strategies or plans including the Recapitalization and the Corporate Classification Change.
•Unanticipated variations in our quarterly operating results or dividends.
•Failure to meet analysts’ earnings estimates.
•Publication of negative or inaccurate research reports about us or the asset management industry or the failure of securities analysts to provide adequate coverage of our Class A Shares in the future.
•Adverse market reaction to any indebtedness we may incur, Sculptor Operating Group common units or cash awards we may grant under our 2013 Incentive Plan or otherwise, or any other securities we may issue in the future.
•Changes in market valuations of similar companies.
•Speculation in the press or investment community about our business.
•Additional or unexpected changes or proposed changes in laws or regulations or differing interpretations thereof affecting our business or enforcement of these laws and regulations, or announcements relating to these matters.
•Increases in compliance or enforcement inquiries and investigations by regulatory authorities, including as a result of regulations mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act and other initiatives of various regulators that have jurisdiction over us related to the alternative asset management industry.
•Adverse publicity about the asset management industry generally or scandals involving hedge funds specifically.
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, 2019, 21,284,945 Class A Shares were outstanding and 2,696,466 interests were outstanding pursuant to our Amended and Restated 2007 Equity Incentive Plan. The Amended and Restated 2007 Equity Incentive Plan expired on November 11, 2017, and no new awards may be granted thereunder on or after that date. As of December 31, 2019, 21,851,718 interests were outstanding pursuant to our 2013 Incentive Plan, and approximately 10,641,074 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 Sculptor Operating Group common units (other than 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, 2019, our executive managing directors owned an aggregate of 29,470,327 Group A and E Units. The holder of any Group A Units generally has the right to exchange each of his or her Group A Units for one of our Class A Shares (or, at our option, the cash equivalent thereof), subject to vesting and transfer restrictions under the Sculptor Operating Partnerships’ limited partnership agreements and the Class A Unit Exchange Agreement. In connection with the Recapitalization, each Group D Unit converted into one Group E Unit. The Group E Units convert into Group A Units to the extent they have become economically equivalent to Group A Units. Prior to the expiration of the Distribution Holiday, the Exchange Committee (comprised of our Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer), in consultation with the Board, shall have the authority to permit exchanges of vested and booked-up Group A Units, which exchanges shall be made available to all holders of such vested and booked-up Group A Units on a pro rata basis. Beginning on the final day of the Distribution Holiday, each of our executive managing directors may exchange his or her vested Group A Units over a period of two years in three equal installments commencing upon the final day of the Distribution Holiday and on each of the first and second anniversary thereof (or, for units that become vested and booked-up Group A Units after the final day of the Distribution Holiday, from the later of the date on which they would have been exchangeable in accordance with the foregoing and the date on which they become vested and booked-up Group A Units) (and thereafter such units will remain exchangeable), in each case, subject to certain restrictions (including, among other things, in connection with our insider trading policy in respect of affiliate holders and in certain circumstances where the exchange would be likely to impact our ability to use net operating losses).
As of December 31, 2019, our executive managing directors owned an aggregate of 3,410,000 Group P Units. The holder of any Group P Unit generally has the right to exchange each of his or her Group P Units for one of our Class A Shares (or, at our option, the cash equivalent thereof), subject to service and performance criteria, and only to the extent there has been a
sufficient amount of appreciation for the Group P Unit to achieve a book-up target and, subject to other conditions contained in the limited partnership agreements of the Sculptor Operating Partnerships, the Distribution Holiday has ended (or an earlier exchange date is established by the Exchange Committee). See Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information regarding the terms of the 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 “piggyback” registration rights with respect to the resale of all Class A Shares delivered in exchange for Group A Units or otherwise held from time to time by our executive managing directors, including after an exchange of Group P Units. We will agree to file with the SEC a shelf registration statement or a prospectus supplement or other supplemental materials to an existing shelf registration statement, no later than the first “established exchange date” under the Class A Unit Exchange Agreement, providing for registration and resale of the Class A Shares that may be delivered in exchange for Och-Ziff Operating Group Units (as defined in the registration rights agreement) or otherwise held from time to time by the executive managing directors.
RSUs may be settled at the election of a majority of our Board of Directors in Class A Shares or cash, with the amount of cash available for settlement of RSUs being subject to certain limitations as part of the Recapitalization. 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 Form S-8 to register an aggregate of 6,718,827 Class A Shares reserved for issuance under our Amended and Restated 2007 Equity Incentive Plan (which expired on November 11, 2017) and registration statements on Form S-8 to register an aggregate of 32,904,525 Class A Shares reserved for issuance under our 2013 Incentive Plan (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, 2019, DIC Sahir Limited (“DIC”) owned 2,995,309 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 current and former executive managing directors’ beneficial ownership of Class B Shares, the tax receivable agreement and anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law could delay or prevent a change in control.
Our current and former executive managing directors own all of our Class B Shares, which as of December 31, 2019, represent approximately 57.8% of the total combined voting power of our Company. In addition, Mr. Och is currently able to significantly influence all matters requiring the approval of shareholders and could, together with the other executive managing directors, be able to prevent a change in control of our Company. See “—Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure—Our current and former executive managing directors’ total combined voting power could influence major corporate decisions that could conflict with the interests of our Class A Shareholders and materially adversely affect the market price of the Class A Shares.”
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 Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws 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 Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws provide for a staggered board of directors, require advance notice for proposals by shareholders and nominations, place limitations on convening shareholder meetings, and authorize 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 our current and former executive managing directors’ influence over us, as well
as provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws, 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.
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 affect or cause us to change our investments and commitments, change the character or treatment of portions of our income, affect the tax considerations of an investment in us and adversely affect an investment in our Class A Shares.
As a result of the Recapitalization and the Corporate Classification Change, we expect to pay more corporate income taxes and may be required to make accelerated payments under the tax receivable agreement than under our prior structure. In addition, we may fail to realize some or all of the benefits of the Corporate Classification Change, or those benefits could take longer to materialize than expected, which could have a material and adverse effect on the trading price or the Class A Shares.
We converted from a partnership to a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, effective April 1, 2019 (the “Corporate Classification Change”). Following the Corporate Classification Change, all of our net income has become subject to U.S. federal (and state and local) corporate income taxes, which may reduce the amount of cash available for distributions or for reinvestment in our business as well as reduce our after-tax earnings as reported in our financial statements. The maximum U.S. federal corporate income tax rate is currently 21%, but this rate may increase in the future, which would cause us to pay more corporate income taxes than currently anticipated.
We generally receive a tax benefit when common units in the Sculptor Operating Group are acquired or exchanged because our tax basis in our distributive share of the Sculptor Operating Group assets generally increases as a result of these acquisitions or exchanges. We are a party to a tax receivable agreement with active and former executive managing directors and the Ziffs, that originally required us to pay 85% of the amount of cash savings in U.S. federal, state and local income tax that we actually realize as a result of such an increase in tax basis. The tax receivable agreement has been amended to provide that, conditioned on us electing to be classified as, or converting into, a corporation for U.S. tax purposes during 2019, no payments will be due under the tax receivable agreement in respect of the 2017 tax year and only partial payments (based on comparing taxable income and economic income) will be due in respect of the 2018 tax year, and the percentage of cash savings required to be paid with respect to the 2019 tax year and thereafter, as well as with respect to cash savings from subsequent exchanges, will be reduced to 75%. Despite these amendments, we expect corporate-entity-level taxes and payments under the tax receivable agreement will accelerate as a result of the Recapitalization and the Corporate Classification Change.
During the Distribution Holiday, net income and distributions of the Sculptor Operating Group that previously would have been allocated and distributed pro rata among the Group A Units, the Group B Units and the Group D Units in the Sculptor Operating Partnerships will be allocated and distributed solely to the Group B Units. This will result in increased corporate income taxes and acceleration of the utilization of our deferred tax assets, and may result in accelerated payments under the tax receivable agreement.
For U.S. federal income tax purposes, any distributions we pay since the Corporate Classification Change generally will be treated as qualified dividend income (generally subject to tax in the hands of U.S. individual shareholders at capital gain rates under current law) paid by a domestic corporation to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Since the Corporate Classification Change, no income, gains, losses, deductions or credits of the Sculptor Operating Partnerships flow through to the shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Although we believe that the Corporate Classification Change will, among other things, simplify our tax reporting for shareholders, expand our shareholder base, and increase the liquidity of our Class A Shares, we may fail to realize all or some of the anticipated benefits of the Corporate Classification Change, or those benefits may take longer to realize than we expected, which could contribute to a decline in the trading price of our shares. Moreover, there can be no assurance that the anticipated benefits of the Corporate Classification Change will over time offset the cost of these transactions.
U.S. federal income tax reform could have uncertain effects.
The TCJA made significant changes to the taxation of U.S. business entities, including reducing the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%, eliminating the corporate alternative minimum tax, restricting deductions allowed for net operating losses beginning in 2018 to 80% of current year taxable income, permitting those net operating losses to be carried forward indefinitely, limiting the deductibility of business interest to 30% of “adjusted taxable income” (which is similar to EBITDA before 2022 and EBIT beginning in 2022), and making certain modifications to section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), among other changes. Proposed regulations, if enacted in their current form, would treat partnership guaranteed payments for the use of capital as interest for this purpose. In addition, recently proposed regulations under section 162(m) would limit deductions for compensation paid by a partnership for services performed for it by covered employees of a corporation that is a partner in the partnership. The proposed regulations, if enacted in their current form, could reduce deductions available to us. See Note 15 for additional information regarding the effects of the TCJA.
Our structure is subject to other potential legislative, judicial or administrative changes and differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis.
As described above, the TCJA made significant changes to the taxation of U.S. business entities. If any change in the tax laws, rules, regulations or interpretations were to impose additional taxes or limitations, Class A Shareholders could be negatively affected because we could incur a material increase in our tax liability as a public company from the date any such changes applied to us, which could result in a reduction in the value of our 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 for periods prior to the Corporate Classification Change in excess of the total net taxable income allocated to you for such periods, 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.
New rules regarding U.S. federal income tax liability arising from IRS audits of partnerships could adversely affect shareholders.
For taxable years of entities treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes beginning on or after January 1, 2018, U.S. federal income tax liability arising from an IRS audit will be borne by the entity, unless certain alternative methods are available and the entity elects to utilize them. Under the new rules, it is possible that holders or the entity itself may bear responsibility for taxes attributable to adjustments to the taxable income of the entity with respect to tax years that closed before
the holder owned an interest in the entity. Accordingly, this new legislation may adversely affect certain of our shareholders for periods prior to the Corporate Classification Change in certain cases and could affect the Sculptor Operating Partnerships, which will continue to be classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes. These new rules differ from the prior rules, which generally provided that tax adjustments only affected the persons who were shareholders in the tax year in which the item was reported on our 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.
Our delivery of required tax information for periods prior to the Corporate Classification Change may be subject to delay, which may require Class A Shareholders 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 the period through April 1, 2019. 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 respect of any such taxable year, our shareholders will need to apply for extensions of time to file their tax returns.
Our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards to offset future taxable income may be subject to limitations.
Our ability to use our federal net operating losses and built-in losses (“NOLs”) to offset potential future taxable income and related income taxes may be limited. Section 382 of the Code, imposes an annual limitation on the amount of taxable income that may be offset by loss carryforwards of a “loss corporation” if the corporation experiences an “ownership change” as defined in Section 382 (generally, a cumulative change in ownership that exceeds 50% of the value of a corporation’s stock over a rolling three-year period). We may experience an ownership change as a result of issuances or other changes in ownership of our shares, including as a result of issuances of Class A Shares upon future exchanges of Group A Units or Group P Units by active and former executive managing directors. In addition, Section 382 of the Code contains certain anti-avoidance rules that could result in the application of similar limitations on our ability to use our NOLs. To the extent we experience an ownership change at a time when we are a loss corporation, or Section 382 of the Code otherwise applies under such rules, our ability to utilize our NOLs could be significantly limited, and similar limitations may apply at the state level.
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 and Shanghai. 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. See Note 7 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information regarding our leases.
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 “—Regulatory changes in jurisdictions outside the United States could adversely affect our business.” See Note 19 to our consolidated financial statements included in this report for additional information.