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Organization and Basis of Presentation | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2020
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] |
Organization and Basis of Presentation | 1. Organization and Basis of Presentation Organization Overview Siebert Financial Corp., a New York corporation incorporated in 1934, is a holding company that conducts its retail brokerage business through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Muriel Siebert & Co., Inc. (“MSCO”), a Delaware corporation and registered broker-dealer, its investment advisory business through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Siebert AdvisorNXT, Inc. (“SNXT”), a New York corporation registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as a Registered Investment Adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and its insurance business through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Park Wilshire Companies, Inc. (“PWC”), a Texas corporation and licensed insurance agency. Siebert conducts operations through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Siebert Technologies, LLC. (“STCH”), a Nevada limited liability company and developer of robo-advisory technology. Siebert offers prime brokerage services through its fifth wholly-owned subsidiary, Weeden Prime Services, LLC (“WP”), a Delaware limited liability company and a broker-dealer registered with the SEC. As of the beginning of May 2020, the Company filed for the name of Weeden Prime Services, LLC to be changed to WPS Prime Services, LLC, pursuant to the terms of an agreement the Company had with the previous owners of WP. The Company also owns StockCross Digital Solutions, Ltd. (“STXD”), an inactive subsidiary headquartered in Bermuda. For purposes of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the terms “Siebert,” “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Siebert Financial Corp., MSCO, SNXT, PWC, STCH, WP, and STXD collectively, unless the context otherwise requires. The Company is headquartered in New York, NY, with primary operations in New Jersey and California. The Company has 18 offices throughout the U.S. and clients around the world. The Company’s SEC filings are available through the Company’s website at www.siebert.com, where investors can obtain copies of the Company’s public filings free of charge. The Company’s common stock, par value $.01 per share, trades on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “SIEB.” The Company primarily operates in the securities brokerage and asset management industry and has no other reportable segments. All of the Company's revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 were derived from its operations in the U.S. As a result of its acquisitions of StockCross Financial Services, Inc. (“StockCross”) in January 2020 and WP in December 2019, the Company re-evaluated its reportable segments and concluded that as of March 31, 2020, the Company is comprised of a single operating segment based on the factors related to management’s decision-making framework as well as management evaluating performance and allocating resources based on assessments of the Company from a consolidated perspective. Acquisition of StockCross As previously disclosed in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 25, 2019, the Company purchased approximately 15% of the outstanding shares of StockCross. Subsequently, as previously disclosed in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 7, 2020, the Company acquired the remaining 85% of StockCross’ outstanding shares in exchange for 3,298,774 shares of the Company’s common stock. Effective January 1, 2020, StockCross was merged with and into MSCO, and as of January 1, 2020, all clearing and other services provided by StockCross are performed by MSCO. Change in Reporting Entity As of the date of the Company’s acquisition of StockCross, the Company and StockCross were entities under common control of Gloria E. Gebbia, the Company’s principal stockholder, and members of her immediate family (collectively, the “Gebbia Family”). The acquisition represented a change in reporting entity and as such, the companies have been presented on a combined basis for all periods presented in the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements (“financial statements”). See “Note 3 – Acquisitions” for additional detail on the transaction with StockCross and the corresponding accounting. COVID-19 The challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy increased significantly as the first quarter of 2020 progressed. COVID-19 has spread across the globe during 2020 and is impacting economic activity worldwide. In response to COVID-19, national and local governments around the world have instituted certain measures, including travel bans, prohibitions on group events and gatherings, shutdowns of certain businesses, curfews, shelter-in-place orders and recommendations to practice social distancing. Based on management’s assessment as of March 31, 2020, the ultimate impact of COVID-19 on the Company’s business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows is dependent on future developments, including the duration of the pandemic and the related length of its impact on the global economy, which are uncertain and cannot be predicted at this time. See “Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” for additional detail on COVID-19 and its impact on the Company. Basis of Presentation The financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“GAAP”) for interim financial information with the instructions for Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete annual financial statements. In the opinion of the Company’s management, the accompanying financial statements contain all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring entries) necessary to fairly present such interim results. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations which may be expected for a full year or any subsequent period. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 (“2019 Form 10-K”). The financial statements include the accounts of Siebert and its wholly-owned subsidiaries and upon consolidation, all intercompany balances and transactions are eliminated. The U.S. dollar is the functional currency of the Company and numbers are rounded for presentation purposes. Significant Accounting Policies The Company’s significant accounting policies are included in “Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” in the Company’s 2019 Form 10-K. The following changes to the Company’s significant accounting policies as of March 31, 2020 are primarily due to the acquisition of StockCross. Other than the updates indicated below and in “Note 2 – New Accounting Standards,” there have been no significant changes to the Company’s significant accounting policies. Cash and Securities Segregated For Regulatory Purposes MSCO is subject to Customer Account Rule 15c3-3 of the SEC which requires segregation of funds in a special reserve account for the exclusive benefit of customers. Effective upon the Company’s acquisition of StockCross on January 1, 2020, the requirements and special reserve accounts of MSCO and StockCross were combined. See “Note 13 – Capital Requirements” for additional detail. Receivables From and Payables To Customers Accounts receivable from and payable to customers include amounts due and owed on cash and margin transactions. Securities owned by customers are held as collateral for receivables. Receivables from customers are reported at their outstanding principal balance, adjusted for any allowance for doubtful accounts. An allowance is established when collectability is not reasonably assured. When the receivable from a brokerage client is considered to be impaired, the amount of impairment is generally measured based on the fair value of the securities acting as collateral, which is measured based on current prices from independent sources such as listed market prices or broker-dealer price quotations. Securities beneficially owned by customers, including those that collateralize margin or other similar transactions, are not reflected in the statements of financial condition. No valuation allowance for doubtful accounts was necessary as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019. Receivables From, Payables To, and Deposits With Broker-Dealers and Clearing Organizations Accounts receivable from and payable to broker-dealers and clearing organizations includes amounts due from / to introducing broker-dealers, fail-to-deliver and fail-to-receive items, and amounts receivable for unsettled regular-way transactions. Deposits with broker-dealers and clearing organizations include amounts held on deposit with broker-dealers and clearing organizations and are included in the line item “Deposits with broker-dealers and clearing organizations.” MSCO customer transactions for the three months ended March 31, 2020 were both self-cleared and cleared on a fully disclosed basis through National Financial Services Corp. (“NFS”). MSCO customer transactions for the three months ended March 31, 2019 were cleared on a fully disclosed basis through NFS and StockCross, the former of which was an affiliate. As of January 1, 2020, all clearing and other services provided by StockCross are performed by MSCO. The Company operates on a month to month basis with its broker-dealers and clearing organizations and their fees are offset against the Company's revenues on a monthly basis. As of March 31, 2020, cash clearing deposits with NFS were $50,000. As of December 31, 2019, cash clearing deposits with NFS and StockCross were $50,000 and $75,000, respectively. Upon the closing of the Company’s acquisition of StockCross on January 1, 2020, all deposits with StockCross were eliminated. As of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company had deposits with and other non current receivables from broker-dealers and clearing organizations of approximately $2.2 million and $1.8 million, respectively. Institutional customer transactions clear on a fully disclosed basis through two clearing broker-dealers, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (“Goldman Sachs”) and Pershing LLC (“Pershing”). Amounts payable to broker-dealers and clearing organizations are offset against amounts receivables from broker-dealers and clearing organizations. Receivables from these broker-dealers and clearing organizations are subject to clearance agreements and include the net receivable from net monthly revenues as well as cash on deposit. As of both March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, cash clearing deposits with Goldman Sachs and Pershing were approximately $2 million and $1 million. The Company evaluates receivables from broker-dealers and clearing organizations and other receivables for collectability noting no amount was considered uncollectable as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019. No valuation allowance is recognized for these receivables as the Company does not have a history of losses from these receivables and does not anticipate losses in the future. See “Note 9 – Revenue Recognition” for additional detail on the accounting policies for the revenue related to these receivables. Securities Borrowed and Securities Loaned Securities borrowed are recorded at the amount of cash collateral advanced. Securities borrowed transactions require the Company to deposit cash, letters of credit, or other collateral with the lender. Securities loaned are recorded at the amount of cash collateral received. For securities borrowed and loaned, the Company monitors the market value of the securities and obtains or refunds collateral as necessary. Securities Owned, at Fair Value Securities owned, at fair value represent marketable securities owned by the Company at trade-date valuation. See “Note 5 – Fair Value Measurements” for additional detail. Payables to Non-Customers Accounts payable to non-customers includes amounts due on cash and margin transactions on accounts owned and controlled by principal officers, directors and stockholders of the Company. Payables to non-customers amounts include any amounts received from interest on credit balances. Payables to non-customers also include amounts due on cash transactions owned and controlled by the Company’s proprietary accounts of introducing broker-dealers. Effective upon the Company’s acquisition of StockCross on January 1, 2020, the Company no longer had any proprietary accounts of introducing broker-dealers. Securities Sold, Not Yet Purchased, at Fair Value Securities sold, not yet purchased, at fair value represent marketable securities sold by the Company prior to purchase at trade-date valuation. See “Note 5 – Fair Value Measurements” for additional detail.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for the business description and basis of presentation concepts. Business description describes the nature and type of organization including but not limited to organizational structure as may be applicable to holding companies, parent and subsidiary relationships, business divisions, business units, business segments, affiliates and information about significant ownership of the reporting entity. Basis of presentation describes the underlying basis used to prepare the financial statements (for example, US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Other Comprehensive Basis of Accounting, IFRS). + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2122369 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 205 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2122149 Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 275 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2134479 + Details
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