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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
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3 Months Ended | ||||
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Mar. 31, 2015
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| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |||||
| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block] |
Legal Matters
The Company is involved in litigation and arbitrations from time to time in the ordinary course of business. The Company does not believe that the outcome of any such pending or threatened litigation will have a material adverse effect on its financial condition or results of operations. However, as is inherent in legal proceedings, there is a risk that an unpredictable decision adverse to the company could be reached. The Company records legal costs associated with loss contingencies as incurred. Settlements are accrued when, and if, they become probable and estimable.
Regulatory Matters
In December 2007, the FINRA Office of Hearing Officers (“OHO”) held that Mr. Mathis negligently failed to make certain disclosures on his Form U4 to reflect the filing of certain personal federal tax liens. (All of the underlying tax liabilities were paid in full by Mr. Mathis in 2003 and the liens were released in 2003.) After several appeals regarding the willfulness finding, Mr. Mathis served a suspension, which was completed on September 4, 2012, and all fines have been paid. Under applicable FINRA rules, the finding that Mr. Mathis acted willfully subjected him to a “statutory disqualification” would have prevented him from working in the securities industry. In accordance with FINRA rules, Mr. Mathis filed Form MC-400 with FINRA in September 2012, requesting that he be permitted to continue to work in the securities industry and in October 2014, FINRA’s Member Regulation Department recommended approval of the MC-400 application. On April 30, 2015, FINRA’s National Adjudicatory Council (NAC) agreed with the recommendation of Member Regulation and further approved the application so that Mr. Mathis can continue to work in the securities industry. That approval becomes automatically effective thirty days thereafter, unless the Securities and Exchange Commission determines that it should review the NAC decision. Commitments
The Company leases office space in New York City under an operating lease which expires on August 31, 2015. Rent expense for this property was $37,439 and $32,292 for the three ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, net of expense allocation to affiliates.
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