Cohen & Co Inc. - Annual Report: 2011 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011

OR

For the transition period from              to             

Commission file number: 001-32026

INSTITUTIONAL FINANCIAL MARKETS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (215) 701-9555

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ¨    No  x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ¨    No  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files.    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check One)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    Yes  ¨    No  x

As of June 30, 2011, the aggregate market value of the Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant was approximately $36.4 million.

As of March 1, 2012, there were 12,667,624 shares of Common Stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Proxy Statement for the Registrant’s 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.

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INSTITUTIONAL FINANCIAL MARKETS, INC.

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Forward Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Forward-looking statements discuss matters that are not historical facts. Because they discuss future events or conditions, forward-looking statements may include words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “intend,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “may,” “seek,” “plan,” “might,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “predict,” “project,” “forecast,” “potential,” “continue” negatives thereof or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, are based on various underlying assumptions and current expectations about the future and are not guarantees. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievement to be materially different from the results of operations or plans expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

While we cannot predict all of the risks and uncertainties, they include, but are not limited to, those described below in “Item 1A — Risk Factors.” Accordingly, such information should not be regarded as representations that the results or conditions described in such statements or that our objectives and plans will be achieved and we do not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are found at various places throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K and include information concerning possible or assumed future results of our operations, including statements about the following subjects:

These forward-looking statements represent our intentions, plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors. Many of those factors are outside of our control and could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events described in the forward-looking statements might not occur or might occur to a different extent or at a different time than we have described. You should consider the areas of risk and uncertainty described above and discussed under “Item 1A — Risk Factors.” You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements,

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which speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning other matters addressed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Except to the extent required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, a change in events, conditions, circumstances or assumptions underlying such statements, or otherwise.

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Certain Terms Used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, unless otherwise noted or as the context otherwise requires: “IFMI” refers to Institutional Financial Markets, Inc. a Maryland corporation. The “Company,” “we,” “ us,” and “ our” refers to IFMI and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis; “IFMI, LLC” (formerly Cohen Brothers, LLC), or the “Operating LLC” refers to the main operating subsidiary of the Company; “Cohen Brothers,” refers to the pre-Merger Cohen Brothers, LLC and its subsidiaries; “AFN” refers to the pre-Merger Alesco Financial Inc. and its subsidiaries; “Merger Agreement” refers to the Agreement and Plan of Merger among AFN, Alesco Financial Holdings, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of AFN that we refer to as the “Merger Sub,” and Cohen Brothers, dated as of February 20, 2009 and amended on June 1, 2009, August 20, 2009 and September 30, 2009; “Merger” refers to the December 16, 2009 closing of the merger of Merger Sub with and into Cohen Brothers pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, which resulted in Cohen Brothers becoming a majority owned subsidiary of the Company. When the term, “IFMI” is used, it is referring to the parent company itself, Institutional Financial Markets, Inc. “JVB” refers to JVB Financial Holdings, L.L.C.; “EDML” refers to EuroDekania Management, LTD; “PrinceRidge Holdings” refers to PrinceRidge Holdings LP and its subsidiaries; “PrinceRidge GP” refers to PrinceRidge Partners LLC; and “PrinceRidge” refers to PrinceRidge Holdings together with PrinceRidge GP.

“Securities Act” refers to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended; “Exchange Act” refers to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

In accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or “U.S. GAAP,” the Merger was accounted for as a reverse acquisition, Cohen Brothers was deemed to be the accounting acquirer and all of AFN’s assets and liabilities were required to be revalued at fair value as of the acquisition date. Therefore, any financial information reported herein prior to the Merger is the historical financial information of Cohen Brothers. As used throughout this filing, the terms, the “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to the operations of Cohen Brothers and its consolidated subsidiaries prior to December 17, 2009 and the combined operations of the merged company and its consolidated subsidiaries from December 17, 2009 forward. AFN refers to the historical operations of Alesco Financial Inc. through to December 16, 2009, the date of the Merger, or the “Merger Date”.

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PART I

INFORMATION REGARDING INSTITUTIONAL FINANCIAL MARKETS, INC.

Overview

We are an investment firm specializing in credit-related fixed income investments. We were incorporated in 2004 but began operations, through our predecessors, in 1999 as an investment firm focused on small and mid-cap banks but have grown into a more diversified specialty investment holding company. We are organized into three business segments — Capital Markets, Asset Management, and Principal Investing. The Capital Markets business segment consists of credit-related fixed income sales, trading, and financing as well as new issue placements in corporate and securitized products and advisory services. The Asset Management business segment manages assets within a variety of investment vehicles, including collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”), permanent capital vehicles, managed accounts, and investment funds. As of December 31, 2011, we had $8.1 billion in assets under management (“AUM”), which consisted primarily of CDO AUM. The Principal Investing business segment is comprised primarily of our investments in the investment vehicles we manage.

Financial information concerning our business segments is set forth in “Item 7— Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” on page 55 and note 29 of the consolidated financial statements beginning on page F-88. For more information regarding our geographic locations, see Item. 2 Properties, below, and note 29 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Capital Markets

Our Capital Markets business segment consists primarily of credit-related fixed income sales, trading, and financing as well as new issue placements in corporate and securitized products and advisory services through our subsidiaries, JVB, PrinceRidge, and EuroDekania Management, Limited (“EuroDekania Management”). On January 13, 2011, we closed our acquisition of JVB, a fixed income broker-dealer that specializes in small size transactions in certificates of deposit (“CDs”), corporate bonds, mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”), structured products, municipal securities, and U.S. government agency securities primarily within the dealer market. On May 31, 2011, we contributed a substantial part of our Capital Markets segment to PrinceRidge in exchange for an approximate 70% interest in PrinceRidge. The total amount contributed by us to PrinceRidge was approximately $45 million in cash and equity interests. JVB was not included in the PrinceRidge transaction. PrinceRidge is a New York-based financial services firm comprised of a sales and trading group specializing in structured products and corporate credit and an investment banking group concentrated on corporate finance. These transactions merged highly complementary businesses with little overlap to further our objective of expanding our Capital Markets business by significantly increasing our capital base and number of Capital Markets professionals. In particular, the PrinceRidge transaction provided an opportunity to partner with an experienced leadership team capable of building out our Capital Markets platform.

Immediately following the PrinceRidge transaction, we had four U.S. broker-dealers: Cohen & Company Securities LLC (“CCS”), Cohen & Company Capital Markets LLC (“CCCM”), The PrinceRidge Group LLC (“TPRG”), and JVB Financial Group LLC. They are all registered broker-dealers under the Exchange Act and members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”). We acquired CCCM in 2010 (formerly named Fairfax, LLC) primarily to avail ourselves of our existing clearing relationship. CCCM and TPRG operate under our PrinceRidge subsidiary. JVB Financial Group LLC operates under our JVB subsidiary. CCS is our legacy broker-dealer, which does not contribute materially to our current Capital Markets operations. In addition, our European subsidiary, EuroDekania Management, is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (“FSA”) in the United Kingdom. On February 8, 2012, FINRA approved the merger between TPRG and CCCM. On February 17, 2012, PrinceRidge effected the merger reducing the number of our U.S. broker-dealers to three.

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Our fixed income sales and trading group provides trade execution to corporate and institutional investors. We specialize in a variety of products, including but not limited to: corporate bonds and loans, asset-backed securities (“ABS”), MBS, commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”), residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”), CDOs, collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), collateralized bond obligations (“CBOs”), municipal securities, Small Business Administration loans (“SBA loans”), U.S. government bonds, U.S. government agency securities, brokered deposits and CDs for small banks and, hybrid capital of financial institutions including trust preferred securities (“TruPS”), whole loans, and other structured financial instruments. We also offer execution and brokerage services for cash equity and derivative products.

Our Capital Markets business segment generates revenue through the following activities: (1) trading activities, which include execution and brokerage services, securities lending activities, riskless trading activities as well as gains and losses (unrealized and realized), and income and expense earned on securities classified as trading, (2) new issue and advisory revenue comprised of (a) origination fees for corporate debt issues originated by us, (b) revenue from advisory services, and (c) new issue revenue associated with arranging the issuance of newly created debt, equity, and hybrid financial instruments. Our Capital Markets business segment has offices in Boca Raton, Charlotte, Chicago, Houston, London, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Ridgefield (Connecticut), Sparks (Maryland), and Washington D.C.

We have been in the Capital Markets business since our inception. Our Capital Markets segment has transformed over time in response to market opportunities and the needs of our clients. The initial focus was on sales and trading of listed equities of small financial companies with a particular emphasis on bank stocks. Early on, a market opportunity arose for participation in a particular segment of the debt market, securitization of TruPS. We began assisting small banks in the issuance of TruPS through securitized pools. These investment vehicles were structured and underwritten by large investment banks while our broker-dealer typically participated as a co-placement agent or selling group member. We also participated in the secondary market trading of these securities between institutional clients.

For the better part of a decade, we have actively engaged in the brokering of TruPS and pooled TruPS in the secondary market. However, there has been essentially no new issuance of pooled TruPS since 2007 because the credit market disruption resulted in market yields that are much higher than the banks would be willing to pay to issue securities into an investment vehicle. But while new issuance activity closed down, the secondary trading volumes increased dramatically. A large number of entities were motivated or forced to sell their holdings. Reasons for selling included margin calls on financed assets, hedge fund redemptions, ratings downgrades, warehouse liquidations, and investment vehicles breaching covenants and liquidating. At the same time, investors who had historically invested in the initial issuance of these securities were not as active in the market. We recognized that the conditions that caused increased secondary trading opportunities in the TruPS market also existed in other credit-based fixed income markets. Corporate bonds, RMBS, CMBS, European credit securities, and leveraged finance securities (high yield bonds and leveraged loans) all faced similar conditions.

In early 2008, our management team made the strategic decision to restructure our Capital Markets business model from an exclusive focus on TruPS and structured credit products to a more traditional fixed income broker-dealer platform with smoother, diversified revenue streams primarily from trading activity. Over the past four years, we have hired many sales and trading professionals with expertise in areas that complement our core competency in structured credit. In 2011, our acquisitions of JVB and PrinceRidge further expanded our Capital Markets platform. As a result of these acquisitions, our Capital Markets staffing increased from six sales and trading professionals at the beginning of 2008 to 145 sales and trading professionals and 25 investment banking professionals as of December 31, 2011. We continue to explore opportunities to add complementary distribution channels, hire experienced talent, expand our presence across asset classes, and bolster the service capabilities of our Capital Markets business segment.

Trades in our Capital Markets segment can be either “riskless” or risk-based. “Riskless trades” are transacted with a customer order in hand, resulting in limited risk to us. Risk-based trades involve us owning the

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securities and thus placing our capital at risk. Such risk-based trading activity may include the use of leverage. In recent years, we began to utilize more leverage in our Capital Markets business segment. We believe that the prudent use of capital to facilitate client orders increases trading volume and profitability. Any gains or losses on securities that we have purchased in the secondary market are recorded in our Capital Markets business segment, whereas any gains or losses on securities that we retained in our sponsored investment vehicles are recorded in our Principal Investing business segment.

Asset Management

Our Asset Management business segment manages assets within a variety of investment vehicles, including CDOs, permanent capital vehicles, managed accounts, and investment funds. We earn management fees for our on-going asset manager services provided to these investment vehicles, which may include fees both senior and subordinate to the securities issued by the investment vehicles. Management fees are based on the value of the AUM or the investment performance of the vehicle, or both. As of December 31, 2011, we had $8.1 billion in AUM, of which 97.5%, or $7.9 billion, was in CDOs we manage.

Our AUM increased from $965.8 million at December 31, 2003 to $8.1 billion at December 31, 2011, but has declined year-to-year since 2007. AUM refers to assets under management and equals the sum of: (1) the gross assets included in the CDOs that we have sponsored and manage; plus (2) the gross assets accumulated and temporarily financed in warehouse facilities during the accumulation phase of the securitization process, which gross assets are intended to be included in CDOs; plus (3) gross assets of a portfolio that we managed for RAIT Financial Trust, a publicly traded real estate investment trust (NYSE:RAS) (“RAIT”); plus (4) the net asset value (“NAV”) of the permanent capital vehicles and investment funds we manage; plus (5) the NAV of other managed accounts. Our calculation of AUM may differ from the calculations of other asset managers and, as a result, this measure may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other asset managers. Our AUM measure includes, for instance, certain AUM for which we charge either no or nominal fees such as assets in the accumulation phase for future securitization. This definition of AUM is not necessarily identical to any definition of AUM that may be used in our management agreements.

As of December 31, 2011, we had four subsidiaries that act as collateral managers and investment advisors to the CDOs that we manage. Each of these entities is a registered investment advisor under the Investment Advisers Act.

The value to us of a CDO structure was derived from the arbitrage between the cost of borrowing and the return profile of the underlying collateral. With our asset classes, we sought to maximize the spread differential between the yield on the underlying collateral and our cost of financing. Each portfolio was structured to maximize relative value based on our credit views and maximize diversification in order to minimize the effect

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of isolated credit events on the overall portfolio. Our management of the portfolio utilizes our infrastructure to minimize defaults of underlying assets and to maximize recoveries in the case of defaults. We sought to achieve diversification of overall asset exposure. Thus, CDOs were structured across a range of sectors to maximize portfolio diversification and to minimize correlation among the expected performance of our various asset classes.

The chart below shows changes in our AUM by product line for the last five years.

CDO Asset Classes:

A CDO is a form of secured borrowing. The borrowing is secured by different types of fixed income assets such as corporate or mortgage loans or bonds. The borrowing is in the form of a securitization, which means that

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the lenders are actually investing in notes secured by the assets. In the event of a default, the lender will have recourse only to the assets securing the loan. We have originated assets for, served as co-placement agent for, and continue to manage this type of investment vehicle, which is generally structured as a trust. In addition, we invested in some of the debt and equity securities initially issued by the CDOs, gains and losses of which are part of our Principal Investing business segment.

The credit crisis caused available liquidity, particularly through CDOs and other types of securitizations, to decline precipitously. Our ability to accumulate assets for securitization effectively ended with the market disruption. We securitized $14.8 billion of assets in 16 trusts during 2006; $17.8 billion of assets in 16 trusts during 2007; $400 million of assets in one trust during 2008; and zero assets in zero trusts during 2009, 2010, and 2011.

These structures can hold different types of securities. Historically, we have focused on the following asset classes: (1) United States and European bank and insurance TruPS and subordinated debt; (2) United States ABS, such as MBS and commercial real estate loans; (3) United States corporate loans; and (4) United States obligations of non-profit entities.

We generate asset management revenue for our services as asset manager. Many of our sponsored CDOs, particularly those where the assets are bank TruPS and ABS, have experienced asset deferrals, defaults, and rating agency downgrades that reduce our management fees. In 16 out of 19 of our ABS deals, the extent of the deferrals, defaults, and downgrades caused credit-related coverage tests to trigger an event of default. Under an event of default, the senior debt holders in the structure can generally force a liquidation of the entity. To date, nine of our ABS structures have been liquidated following an event of default, and one is in the process of liquidating. In addition, all of the bank TruPS structures we manage and all of the ABS structures we manage have experienced high enough levels of deferrals, defaults, and downgrades to reduce our subordinated management fees to zero. In a typical structure, any failure of covenant coverage tests redirects cash flow to pay down the senior debt until compliance is restored. If compliance is eventually restored, the entity will resume paying subordinated management fees to us, including those that accrued but remained unpaid during the period of non-compliance.

A description of each of our remaining CDO product lines is set forth below.

Alesco, Dekania, and Xenon. Cohen & Company Financial Management, LLC manages our Alesco platform. Dekania Capital Management, LLC manages the first four Dekania deals that were issued, which include both Dekania U.S. (denominated in U.S. dollars) and Dekania Europe (denominated in Euros) structures. EuroDekania Management manages the last Dekania Europe and the only Xenon deal that was issued, which are both Euro-denominated. From the inception of these asset classes in September 2003 through December 31, 2011, we originated or placed approximately $11.9 billion in subordinated financing in the form of TruPS and surplus notes issued by banks, bank holding companies, thrift holding companies, and insurance companies in the United States and Europe. As of December 31, 2011, we managed nine Alesco deals, two Dekania U.S. deals, three Dekania Europe deals, and one Xenon deal. We have six professionals who are primarily focused on these programs.

In general, our Alesco and Dekania deals have the following terms. We receive senior and subordinate management fees, and there is a potential for incentive fees on certain deals if equity internal rates of return are greater than 15%. We can be removed as manager without cause if 66.7% of the rated note holders voting separately by class and 66.7% of the equity holders vote to remove us, or if 75% of the most senior note holders vote to remove us when certain over-collateralization ratios are below 100%. We can be removed as manager for cause if a majority of the controlling class of note holders or a majority of equity holders vote to remove us. Cause includes unremedied violations of the collateral management agreement or indenture, defaults attributable to certain actions of the manager, misrepresentations or fraud, criminal activity, bankruptcy, insolvency or dissolution. There is a non-call period for the equity holders, which ranges from three to six years. Once this

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non-call period is over, a majority of the equity holders can trigger an optional redemption as long as it generates sufficient proceeds to cover all principal and accrued interest on the rated notes and all expenses. In ten years from closing, an auction call will be triggered if the rated notes have not been redeemed in full. In an auction call redemption, an appointee will conduct an auction of the collateral, which will only be executed if the highest bid results in sufficient proceeds to pay all principal and accrued interest on the rated notes and all expenses. If the auction is not successfully completed, all residual interest that would normally be distributed to equity holders will be sequentially applied to reduce the principal of the rated notes. Any failure of over-collateralization coverage tests redirects interest to paying down notes until compliance is restored. The securities mature 30 years from closing. An event of default will occur if certain over-collateralization ratios drop below 100%. While an event of default exists, a majority of the senior note holders can declare the principal and accrued and unpaid interest immediately due and payable.

In general, the Xenon deal has the following terms. We receive senior and subordinate management fees, and there is no potential for incentive fees. We cannot be removed as manager without cause. We can be removed as manager for cause if a majority of the security holders or a majority of subordinated security holders vote to remove us. Cause includes unremedied violations of the portfolio management agreement or trust agreement, breach of the portfolio management agreement that is not cured within 45-60 days, misrepresentations or fraud, criminal activity, bankruptcy, insolvency or dissolution, the occurrence of an event of default, or becoming subject to taxes that could be reduced by removing the manager. A majority of the subordinated security holders can trigger an optional redemption as long as it generates sufficient proceeds to cover all principal and accrued interest on the senior securities and all expenses. The securities mature in four years from closing. An event of default will occur if a default occurs and continues for a period of three days or more in the payment of any sum due in respect of the securities, failure to perform or observe any obligation under the portfolio management agreement or trust agreement, or if any order is made by any competent court or any resolution is passed for the winding-up or dissolution of the issuer other than for the purposes of amalgamation, merger, consolidation, reorganization or other similar arrangements on terms approved by the trustee. While an event of default exists, a majority of the senior security holders can declare the principal and accrued and unpaid interest immediately due and payable.

Our aggregate Alesco, Dekania, and Xenon AUM have increased from approximately $965.8 million as of December 31, 2003 to approximately $4.5 billion as of December 31, 2011, but has declined year-to-year since 2007.

Kleros/Libertas/Scorpius. Cira SCM, LLC manages our Kleros, Libertas, and Scorpius programs. We have completed 13 deals under the Kleros and Kleros Real Estate brand names, collateralized by high grade RMBS (generally backed by securities initially rated single A or higher). We have also completed five deals under the Libertas brand name, collateralized by mezzanine grade ABS (generally backed by securities initially rated BBB on average), and one deal under the Scorpius brand name, collateralized by synthetic mezzanine grade ABS (generally backed by synthetic or credit default swap securities). During 2008, as a result of turmoil in the credit markets and the real estate sector in particular, one of the Kleros Real Estate and two of the Libertas deals were liquidated. In 2009, the one Scorpius deal and one of the Kleros deals were liquidated. In 2011, two of the Kleros Real Estate deals, one of the Kleros deals, and one of the Libertas deals were liquidated. In early 2012, another of the Kleros deals began the process of liquidating.

On March 29, 2011, we completed the sale of our investment advisory agreements relating to a series of closed-end distressed debt funds, known as the Deep Value funds, and certain separately managed accounts to a new entity owned by two of our former employees, known as Strategos Capital Management, LLC. At the same time, we changed the name of our wholly owned subsidiary that previously served as the investment advisor from Strategos Capital Management, LLC to Cira SCM, LLC. This entity still serves as the collateral manager for the Kleros and Libertas portfolios. In connection with the transaction, we entered into a sub-advisory agreement to employ Strategos Capital Management, LLC to render advice and assistance with respect to collateral management services for the Kleros and Libertas portfolios.

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In general, our Kleros and Libertas deals have the following terms. We receive senior management fees. All of the subordinate management fees have been deferred with no potential for collection, and there is no potential for incentive fees. Typically, we cannot be removed as manager without cause. We can be removed as manager for cause if 66.7% of the controlling class of note holders or a majority of equity holders vote to remove us. In general, cause includes unremedied violations of the collateral management agreement or indenture, defaults attributable to certain actions of the manager, misrepresentations or fraud, criminal activity, bankruptcy, insolvency or dissolution, as well as an event of default. Certain of the deals have a reinvestment period after closing, which ranges from three to five years, during which the manager may sell and purchase collateral for the portfolio; such reinvestment period is terminated upon the occurrence of an event of default. Typically, there is a three or four year non-call period for the equity holders. Once this non-call period is over, a majority of the equity holders can trigger an optional redemption as long as it generates sufficient proceeds to cover all principal and accrued interest on the rated notes and all expenses. In seven or eight years from closing, an auction call will be triggered if the rated notes have not been redeemed in full. In an auction call redemption, an appointee will conduct an auction for the collateral, which will only be executed if the highest bid results in sufficient proceeds to pay all principal and accrued interest on the notes and all expenses. There is no protection for equity holders in an auction call. If the auction is not successfully completed, all residual interest that would normally be distributed to equity holders will be sequentially applied to reduce the principal of the rated notes. The securities mature 40-45 years from closing. An event of default will occur if certain credit covenant ratios drop below specific levels. While an event of default exists, a majority of the senior note holders can declare the principal and accrued and unpaid interest immediately due and payable. Only two of our Kleros deals and one of our Libertas deals have not yet triggered an event of default.

AUM in our Kleros, Libertas, and Scorpius product lines increased from $996.0 million as of December 31, 2005 to $24.3 billion as of December 31, 2007, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 394%. This period of rapid growth was driven by high levels of home price appreciation as well as the loosening of mortgage underwriting standards which generated record mortgage origination volume. In 2007, many regions of the country started reporting declining home prices. The aggressive underwriting standards and declining home prices led to higher than anticipated delinquencies, defaults, and losses. AUM fell to $2.6 billion as of December 31, 2011.

Neptuno. EuroDekania Management acts as junior investment manager to Neptuno CLO III B.V. (“Neptuno III”), a limited liability company incorporated under the laws of The Netherlands. The lead investment management partner on this deal is a large European bank. Neptuno III is comprised of European broadly syndicated corporate loans. We completed Neptuno III in December 2007.

In general, Neptuno III has the following terms. We receive senior and subordinate management fees, and there is no potential to earn incentive fees. We cannot be removed as junior investment manager without cause. We can be removed as junior investment manager for cause if 66.7% of the senior note holders and 66.7% of the equity holders vote to remove us. Cause includes unremedied violations of the collateral management agreement or trust deed, breach of the collateral management agreement that is not cured within 30-60 days, misrepresentations or fraud, criminal activity, bankruptcy, insolvency or dissolution. There is a six year reinvestment period after closing during which the manager may sell and purchase collateral for the deal. After the last day of the reinvestment period, collateral principal collections will be applied to pay down the notes sequentially. There is a three year non-call period for the equity holders. Once this non-call period is over, a majority of the equity holders can trigger an optional redemption as long as it generates sufficient proceeds to cover all principal and accrued interest on the rated notes and all expenses. Any failure of over-collateralization coverage tests redirects interest to pay down notes until compliance is restored. Any failure of interest diversion tests during the reinvestment period redirects interest to purchasing collateral until compliance is restored. The maturity of the securities is 17 years from closing. An event of default will occur if certain over-collateralization ratios drop below 100%. While an event of default exists, a majority of the senior note holders can declare the principal and accrued and unpaid interest immediately due and payable.

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Permanent Capital Vehicles:

The objective of permanent capital vehicles is to provide stockholders with attractive risk-adjusted returns and predictable cash distributions by investing in selected credit asset classes. Events in the financial markets over the last few years have challenged the investment strategy of our permanent capital vehicles. In general, poor credit performance reduces investor demand for the asset classes in which we specialize, thereby making it more difficult for us to raise additional capital into existing permanent capital vehicles.

EuroDekania

EuroDekania Limited (“EuroDekania”) is a Guernsey corporation that we manage. EuroDekania invests in hybrid capital securities of European banks and insurance companies, CMBS, RMBS, and widely syndicated leverage loans. EuroDekania’s investments are denominated in Euros or British Pounds. EuroDekania began operations in March 2007 when it raised approximately €218 million in net proceeds from a private offering of securities, of which we invested €5.3 million. In addition, we made follow-on investments in EuroDekania through secondary trades of $0.3 million in August 2010, $0.4 million in May 2011, and $0.1 million in June 2011.

Our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel G. Cohen, serves as one of five members of the board of directors of EuroDekania. As of December 31, 2011, we owned 10% of EuroDekania’s outstanding shares, which were valued at $2.4 million. At December 31, 2011, EuroDekania had an estimated NAV of $24 million.

MFCA / Tiptree

Muni Funding Company of America, LLC (“MFCA”) was a Delaware limited liability company that we managed until March 18, 2009. MFCA primarily invested in securities exempt from United States federal income taxes directly or through structured tax-exempt pass-through (“STEP”) vehicles which are similar in nature to CDOs, as well as other structured credit entities. MFCA began operations in June 2007 when it raised approximately $159 million of net proceeds from a private offering of securities, of which we invested $5.0 million. In June 2009, MFCA completed a rights offering in which we invested $0.6 million.

In February 2009, a new shareholder obtained a controlling interest in MFCA and requested that our management agreement with MFCA be assigned to a new management company controlled by the new majority shareholder. On March 18, 2009, we assigned the MFCA management agreement to that new management company. As a condition to the assignment, the assignee agreed to pay us an annual payment (“Revenue Share”) beginning in March 2012. The Revenue Share is calculated as 10% of the revenue the assignee earns under its management contract with MFCA to the extent that revenue exceeds $1.0 million per year.

In June 2011, MFCA was merged into Tiptree Financial Partners, LP (“Tiptree”), a Delaware limited partnership. Tiptree is a diversified financial services holding company that was organized in 2007, and which primarily focuses on the acquisition of majority control equity interests in financial services businesses.

Our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel G. Cohen, served as a member of the board of directors of MFCA until June 23, 2011, and our former President, Christopher Ricciardi, served as a member of the board of directors of MFCA until March 18, 2009. As of December 31, 2011, we owned approximately 1% of Tiptree’s outstanding shares, which were valued at $2.5 million.

Star Asia

Star Asia Finance, Limited (“Star Asia”) is a Guernsey company that is externally managed by Star Asia Management Ltd. (“Star Asia Manager”) which is a 50/50 joint venture between us and Star Asia Mercury LLC (formerly, Mercury Partners, LLC), a third-party real estate investment management company. Star Asia seeks to

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invest in Asian commercial real estate structured finance products, including CMBS, corporate debt of real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and real estate operating companies, whole loans, mezzanine loans, and other commercial real estate fixed income investments. Star Asia began operations in March 2007 when it raised approximately $255 million in net proceeds from a private offering of securities, of which we invested $10.0 million. Star Asia completed rights offerings in April 2008, raising approximately $49 million in net proceeds, of which we invested $7.0 million, and in March 2010, raising $5.7 million, of which we invested $1.3 million. In 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, we made follow-on investments of $0.4 million, $0.1 million, $4.5 million, and $0.4 million, respectively, in Star Asia through secondary trades.

Our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel G. Cohen, is one of three members of the board of directors of Star Asia. As of December 31, 2011, we owned approximately 28% of Star Asia’s outstanding shares, which were valued at $37.4 million. At December 31, 2011, Star Asia had a NAV of $169.2 million.

In addition, Star Asia raised funds through two related special purpose entities, which are classified as equity method affiliates on our balance sheet. In March 2010, Star Asia raised approximately $19.6 million in net proceeds in a rights offering through the Star Asia Special Purpose Vehicle (“Star Asia SPV”), of which we invested $4.1 million. Star Asia SPV was formed to create a pool of assets that would provide collateral to investors who participated in Star Asia’s 2010 rights offering. Investors in Star Asia’s rights offering also received equity interests in Star Asia SPV. Star Asia SPV purchased certain assets from Star Asia and the equity interest holders of Star Asia SPV are entitled to receive investment returns on the assets held in Star Asia SPV up to an agreed upon maximum. Returns above that agreed upon maximum are remitted back to Star Asia. As of December 31, 2011, we owned approximately 31% of Star Asia SPV’s outstanding shares, which were carried at $0.5 million. In July 2011, approximately $14.7 million in proceeds was raised in an equity offering through Star Asia Opportunity, LLC (“Star Asia Opportunity”), of which we invested $4.1 million. Star Asia Opportunity was formed to partially finance the acquisition of seven real estate properties in Tokyo, Japan. As of December 31, 2011, we owned approximately 28% of Star Asia Opportunity’s outstanding equity interests, which were carried at $4.5 million.

Managed Accounts:

We also provide investment management services to a collection of separately managed accounts. Part of our European CDO team has transitioned to providing investment management services primarily to European family offices and high net worth individuals. The focus is on CDO notes and debt instruments where the investment managers have relevant expertise. For these services, we are paid gross annual base management fees of approximately 1.5% plus a gross annual performance fee of 20% of cash-on-cash returns in excess of an 8% hurdle. There is also an early redemption fee if any of the clients were to terminate their arrangement within the first five years of the relationship. AUM of these European managed accounts has grown to $33.6 million at December 31, 2011.

In addition, our Kleros and Libertas CDO team provided investment management services to a state’s retirement system and a third party asset manager for portfolios of mortgage securities until March 29, 2011 when we completed the sale of the investment advisory agreements. For these services, we were paid annual management fees of 0.5%-1.5% of the net asset value of the aggregate AUM.

Investment Funds:

Deep Value

We had an investment in and served as external manager of a series of closed-end, distressed debt funds and other related entities that we refer to collectively as Deep Value. Deep Value earned investment returns by investing in a diversified portfolio of ABS consisting primarily of RMBS and other real estate related securities, as well as other United States real estate related assets and related securities. Deep Value’s management team

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consisted primarily of investment professionals from our Kleros and Libertas CDO team. On March 29, 2011, we completed the sale of our investment advisory agreements relating to Deep Value and certain separately managed accounts to a new entity owned by two of our former employees. We retained our ownership in the general partners of the existing Deep Value funds and our rights to receive incentive fees from the Deep Value funds that have not yet been liquidated.

While Deep Value was owned by us, we launched three master funds. We formed the initial fund in October 2007, which consummated its first closing in April 2008 and successfully completed its liquidation in December 2010; the second fund consummated its first closing in February 2009 and successfully completed its liquidation in June 2011; and the third fund closed in December 2009 and is in the process of distributing capital to its investors. The first master fund had two feeder funds. One feeder fund was referred to as the onshore fund and was designed for investors that are non-tax-exempt United States taxpayers. Foreign and United States tax-exempt investors invested through a second feeder fund referred to as the offshore fund. The second master fund did not have feeder funds. The third master fund has an offshore feeder fund only. Investors hold limited partnership interests in the feeder funds (in the case of the first and third master fund) or in the master fund itself (in the case of the second master fund). The Strategos Deep Value Credit GP, LLC (the “Deep Value GP”) served as the general partner for the feeder funds (in the case of the first master fund) and as the general partner of the master fund itself (in the case of the second master fund). The Strategos Deep Value Credit II GP, LLC (the “Deep Value GP II”), serves as the general partner for the offshore feeder fund (in the case of the third master fund). Deep Value GP and Deep Value GP II are collectively referred to as the Deep Value GPs.

Until March 29, 2011, we served as external manager of Deep Value. We owned 50% of the general partner of the first and second master funds and own 40% of the general partner of the third master fund. In addition, we made limited partnership investments in certain of the feeder funds.

The general terms of the investments in Deep Value included a minimum capital contribution of $10 million (in the case of the first two master funds) and $1 million (in the case of the third master fund), no redemptions, no short sales, no leverage (in the case of the first two master funds) or leverage only if it is non-recourse and non-callable for the term or if leverage becomes available directly or indirectly through a government program (in the case of the third master fund), no trading with any IFMI-related entity except as part of an exit strategy, 10% maximum concentration of non-real estate related assets, 5% maximum concentration in any single issuer of securities, investment in assets located primarily in the United States, limited investments in securities paying dividends or interest income subject to United States withholding taxes, committed capital must be drawn within one year of the final closing, orderly liquidation upon certain events, and a 1.5% annual management fee paid quarterly.

One year from the final closings of each of the master funds, Deep Value began to distribute at least quarterly all net cash available for distribution as follows:

1. Return of Capital: 100% to the limited partner investors in proportion to their capital contributions until the aggregate cumulative distributions equal their aggregate capital contributions;

2. “Preferred Return”: 100% to the limited partner investors until each has received a return of 10% (in the case of the first two master funds) and 8.0% (in the case of the third master fund) compounded annually on their total capital contributions for the period during which they were outstanding;

3. First Tier Incentive Fee: 80% to the Deep Value GPs and 20% to the limited partners until the aggregate distributions made to the general partner equal 20% of the cumulative distributions made to all limited partner investors pursuant to the Preferred Return and this First Tier Incentive Fee; and

4. Second Tier Incentive Fee: 80% to the limited partner investors and 20% to the general partners.

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We earned management fees based on the drawn committed capital of Deep Value during the first year after the final closing and thereafter based on NAV of Deep Value; however, we did not earn management fees on our own investment in Deep Value. As described above, we could also earn incentive fees based on the performance of Deep Value upon liquidation. We earned a $6.2 million incentive fee upon the successful liquidation of the first Deep Value fund during the second half of 2010 and a $4.4 million incentive fee upon the successful liquidation of the second Deep Value fund during mid-2011. The Deep Value funds had an expected term of three years from the final closing, but could be extended for one year by The Deep Value GP and could be extended for an additional year with the approval of Deep Value’s advisory board. The advisory board is comprised of representatives from select limited partners not affiliated with the Deep Value GP or us. In addition, we earned investment returns on our investment in Deep Value through our Principal Investing business segment.

We seeded Deep Value with an initial capital commitment of $15 million at inception. During April to October 2008, $110 million of outside capital was committed to the first master fund. In February, July, September, and December 2009, an additional $25 million, $7 million, $8 million, and $42.5 million, respectively, of outside capital was committed to Deep Value. Investors in Deep Value, which are closed end funds, do not have redemption rights. During the period from December 2009 through December 2010, we received capital distributions of $24.2 million from our investment in Deep Value.

Brigadier

We had an investment in and served as external manager of a series of investment funds and related entities that we refer to collectively as “Brigadier.” Brigadier, formed by us in 2006 and liquidated in 2010, was a series of investment funds that primarily earned investment returns by investing in various fixed income and credit-related investments and related securities through its master fund. Brigadier had a single master fund and two feeder funds. One feeder fund was referred to as the onshore feeder fund and was designed for investors that are non-tax-exempt U.S. tax payers. Foreign and U.S. tax-exempt investors invested through a second feeder fund referred to as the offshore feeder fund. We were the general partner and made an initial investment in the offshore feeder fund. In addition to being general partner of the onshore feeder fund, we made an investment as a limited partner as well.

The primary investment activities of Brigadier focused on relative value strategies in the credit markets. Target assets included long and short exposure to corporate investment grade and high yield securities, MBS, structured credit and other related securities, derivatives, and indices.

The general terms of investments in Brigadier included a minimum initial capital contribution of $500,000, a one-year lock-up period, quarterly redemptions after the lock-up period upon 90 days notice, capital contributions accepted on the first business day of each quarter, no restrictions on the amount of leverage utilized, a 2.0% annual management fee paid quarterly, a 20% annual incentive fee on the excess net capital appreciation after deducting management fees payable only if the net capital is above its high water mark, and quarterly reporting requirements. All of these terms were subject to the discretion of its limited and general partnership agreements.

We earned management and incentive fees based on the performance of Brigadier. We did not earn management or incentive fees on our own investment in Brigadier; however, we did earn investment returns on our investment in Brigadier through our Principal Investing business segment.

For most of 2010 Brigadier was in the process of liquidating. Brigadier experienced significant redemptions in 2009 and, effective in the second quarter of 2010, Brigadier ceased permitting redemptions until its final liquidation which was completed during the fourth quarter of 2010.

We seeded Brigadier with an initial investment of $30 million at its inception in May 2006. Our investment in Brigadier was at its highest level of $54.5 million in March 2008. In September 2008, Brigadier won an award

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for best “Long/Short Credit Hedge Fund — Relative Value” presented by CreditFlux magazine, a publication that covers the credit markets. The award was based on quantifiable return and volatility measures.

During the period from May 2008 through November 2010, we redeemed $56.8 million of our investment in Brigadier. As of December 31, 2010, Brigadier had completed its final liquidation.

Principal Investing

Our Principal Investing business segment is comprised primarily of our investments in investment vehicles we manage, as well as investments in structured products, and the related gains and losses that they generate.

Investments in Permanent Capital Vehicles:

EuroDekania. We made an initial investment of €5.3 million in EuroDekania in its initial private offering of securities in March 2007. In August 2010, May 2011, and June 2011, we purchased an additional $0.3 million, $0.4 million, and $0.1 million, respectively, in secondary trades. In addition to changes in the NAV of the entity, the value of our investment is impacted by changes in the U.S. dollar-Euro currency exchange rate due to the fact that our investment in EuroDekania is denominated in Euros. During 2011, we recorded $0.6 million of investment gains on our investment in EuroDekania. As of December 31, 2011, we owned approximately 10% of EuroDekania. Our 1.4 million shares of EuroDekania were valued at $2.4 million at December 31, 2011.

MFCA/Tiptree. We made an initial investment of $5.0 million in MFCA in its initial private offering of securities in June 2007 and a follow-on investment of $0.6 million in its rights offering of securities in June 2009. In June 2011, MFCA was merged into Tiptree, a diversified financial services holding company that was organized in 2007 and which primarily focuses on the acquisition of majority control equity interests in financial services businesses. During 2011, we recorded $53,000 of investment gains on our investment in MFCA/Tiptree. As of December 31, 2011, we owned approximately 1% of Tiptree. Our 111,133 shares of Tiptree were valued at $2.5 million at December 31, 2011.

Star Asia. We made an initial investment of $10.0 million in Star Asia in its initial private offering of securities in March 2007. We also made follow-on investments in its rights offerings of securities in April 2008 and March 2010, in the amounts of $7.0 million and $1.3 million, respectively. In addition, we made follow-on investments through secondary trades of $0.4 million in 2008, $0.1 million in 2009, $4.5 million in 2010, and $0.4 in 2011. During 2011, we recorded $0.5 million of investment losses on our investment in Star Asia. As of December 31, 2011, we owned approximately 28% of Star Asia and our 4.5 million shares of Star Asia were valued at $37.4 million, or $8.27 per share. During 2010, we put in place Japanese Yen-based forward contracts to partially hedge fluctuations in the investment value of Star Asia. These forward contracts were terminated in October 2011. We recorded $0.7 million of investment losses related to our investment in these forward contracts during 2011. In addition, Star Asia raised funds through two related special entities, which are classified as equity method affiliates on our balance sheet.

Other Investments:

Investments in Equity Method Affiliates. Our investments that are classified as equity method affiliates include: Star Asia Manager, Star Asia SPV, Star Asia Opportunity, Star Asia Capital Management, Deep Value GP, and Deep Value GP II. For a discussion of the equity method affiliates accounting see “Item 7— Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” beginning on page 55.

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Investments in CDO and Other Securities. We have invested in various original issuance securities of the deals we have sponsored and certain other deals that we have not sponsored. In addition, upon the closing of the Merger, we assumed ownership of the investments that AFN had made prior to the closing of the Merger. As of December 31, 2011, we had approximately $0.5 million in fair value of these CDO and other securities.

Previous Investments:

Deep Value. We seeded Deep Value with an initial capital commitment of $15 million at its inception in April 2008. The initial capital commitment was drawn during the following six months. This initial investment was subsequently impacted by the fund’s returns and distributions. As they are closed-end funds, investors in Deep Value do not have redemption rights. In December 2009, Deep Value started distributing net cash available for distribution. From December 2009 through December 2010, we received $24.2 million of these distributions. Our net investment in Deep Value was fully distributed at December 31, 2011.

Duart Fund. We seeded the Duart Global Deep Value Securities Fund LP (“Duart Fund”) with a $4.5 million investment in September 2010. The Duart Fund is a specialized deep value and special situations opportunity fund. The Duart Fund’s investment objective is to provide superior absolute returns by investing primarily in a portfolio of long and short positions in public and private real estate equity securities, equity-linked securities, or debt securities (including, but not limited to, convertible debt, debt with warrants, warrants, and credit default swaps related to real estate securities) and partnership or fund interests in the real estate industry globally. We do not manage the Duart Fund but we own 20% of the investment manager. Effective December 31, 2010, we submitted a redemption notice to the Duart Fund to redeem 100% of our capital. We received our redemption in April 2011.

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Brigadier. We seeded Brigadier with an initial investment of $30 million at its inception in May 2006. The initial investment was subsequently impacted by the fund’s returns as well as our redemptions. The change in value that is a result of the fund’s returns is what flowed through our Principal Investing business segment statement of operations. Our investment in Brigadier was at its highest level of $54.5 million in March 2008. Prior to its liquidation in 2010, we redeemed $56.8 million including our initial investment. During 2010, Brigadier was liquidated and our investment was fully redeemed as of December 31, 2010.

Investments in Publicly Traded Equity Securities. In March 2005, we sponsored the formation of Taberna. Taberna was a separate company through which we spun off our business of originating TruPS issued by REITs and sponsoring and managing investment vehicles collateralized by those assets. We did not manage Taberna. In December 2006, Taberna was acquired by RAIT, a publicly-traded REIT (NYSE: RAS). Our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel G. Cohen, is the former Chief Executive Officer and was a trustee of RAIT until he resigned from these positions on February 26, 2010. We sold our 510,434 common shares of RAIT in March 2010.

Employees

As of December 31, 2011, we employed a total of 237 full time professionals and support staff. This number includes 125 employees of our PrinceRidge subsidiary, 64 employees of our JVB subsidiary, and 17 employees of our EuroDekania Management subsidiary. We consider our employee relations to be good and believe that our compensation and employee benefits are competitive with those offered by other securities firms. None of our employees is subject to any collective bargaining agreements.

Our core asset is our professionals, their intellectual capital, and their dedication to providing the highest quality services to our clients. Prior to joining us, members of our management team held positions with other leading financial services firms, accounting firms, law firms or investment firms. Daniel G. Cohen, John P. Costas, and Joseph W. Pooler, Jr., are our executive operating officers, and biographical information relating to each of these officers is incorporated by reference in “Part III — Item 10 — Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance” to the Company’s Proxy Statement, to be filed in connection with the Company’s 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

Competition

All areas of our business are intensely competitive and we expect them to remain so. We believe that the principal factors affecting competition in our business include client relationships, reputation, quality and price of our products and services, market focus and the ability of our professionals.

Our competitors are other public and private asset managers, investment banks, brokerage firms, merchant banks, and financial advisory firms. We compete globally and on a regional, product or niche basis. Many of our competitors have substantially greater capital and resources than we do and offer a broader range of financial products and services. Certain of these competitors continue to raise additional amounts of capital to pursue business strategies which may be similar to ours. Some of these competitors may also have access to liquidity sources that are not available to us, which may pose challenges for us with respect to investment opportunities. In addition, some of these competitors may have higher risk tolerances or make different risk assessments than we do, allowing them to consider a wider variety of investments and establish broader business relationships.

In recent years, there has been substantial consolidation and convergence among companies in the financial services industry, including among many of our former competitors. In particular, a number of large commercial banks have established or acquired broker-dealers or have merged with other financial institutions. Many of these firms have the ability to offer a wider range of products than we offer, including loans, deposit taking, and insurance. Many of these firms also have more extensive investment banking services, which may enhance their competitive position. They also have the ability to support investment banking and securities products with

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commercial banking and other financial services revenue in an effort to gain market share, which could result in pricing pressure in our business. This trend toward consolidation and convergence has significantly increased the capital base and geographic reach of our competitors.

Competition is intense for the recruitment and retention of experienced and qualified professionals. The success of our business and our ability to continue to compete effectively will depend significantly upon our continued ability to retain and motivate our existing professionals and attract new professionals. See “Item 1A — Risk Factors” beginning on page 22.

Regulation

Certain of our subsidiaries, in the ordinary course of their business, are subject to extensive regulation by government and self-regulatory organizations both in the United States and abroad. As a matter of public policy, these regulatory bodies are responsible for safeguarding the integrity of the securities and other financial markets. The regulations promulgated by these regulatory bodies are designed primarily to protect the interests of the investing public generally and thus cannot be expected to protect or further the interests of our company or our stockholders and may have the effect of limiting or curtailing our activities, including activities that might be profitable.

Our subsidiaries include: CCS, CCCM, the TPRG, and JVB Financial Group LLC, each of which is a registered broker-dealer regulated by FINRA and subject to oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”); EuroDekania Management (previously known as Cohen & Company Financial Limited), a U.K. company regulated by the FSA; and Cohen & Company Financial Management, LLC, Dekania Capital Management, LLC, and Cira SCM, each of which is a registered investment advisor regulated by the SEC under the Investment Advisers Act. Since our inception, our businesses have been operated within a legal and regulatory framework that is constantly developing and changing, requiring us to be able to monitor and comply with a broad range of legal and regulatory developments that affect our activities.

Certain of our businesses are also subject to compliance with laws and regulations of United States federal and state governments, non-United States governments, their respective agencies and/or various self-regulatory organizations or exchanges relating to, among other things, the privacy of client information and any failure to comply with these regulations could expose us to liability and/or reputational damage. Additional legislation, changes in rules promulgated by financial authorities and self-regulatory organizations or changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing laws and rules, either in the United States or abroad, may directly affect our mode of operation and profitability.

The United States and non-United States government agencies and self-regulatory organizations, as well as state securities commissions in the United States, are empowered to conduct periodic examinations and initiate administrative proceedings that can result in censure, fine, the issuance of cease-and-desist orders and/or the suspension or expulsion of a broker-dealer or its directors, officers or employees. See “Item 1A — Risk Factors” beginning on page 22.

United States Regulation. CCS, CCCM, the TPRG, and JVB Financial Group LLC are registered as broker-dealers with the SEC, are licensed to conduct business, and are members of and regulated by FINRA. Our broker-dealer subsidiaries are subject to the regulations of FINRA and industry standards of practice that cover many aspects of their business, including initial licensing requirements, sales and trading practices, relationships with customers (including the handling of cash and margin accounts), capital structure, capital requirements, record-keeping and reporting procedures, experience and training requirements for certain employees, and supervision of the conduct of affiliated persons, including directors, officers and employees. FINRA has the power to expel, fine and otherwise discipline member firms and their employees for violations of these rules and regulations. Certain of our United States broker-dealer subsidiaries are also licensed as broker-dealers in certain states, requiring us to comply with the laws, rules and regulations of each state. Each state may revoke the license to conduct a securities business in that state and may fine or otherwise discipline broker-dealers and their employees.

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The SEC, FINRA, and various other regulatory agencies within and outside of the United States have stringent rules and regulations with respect to the maintenance of specific levels of net capital by regulated entities. Generally, a broker-dealer’s net capital is net worth plus qualified subordinated debt less deductions for certain types of assets. The net capital rule under the Exchange Act requires that at least a minimum part of a broker-dealer’s assets be maintained in a relatively liquid form. The SEC and FINRA impose rules that require notification when net capital falls below certain predefined criteria. These rules also dictate the ratio of debt to equity in the regulatory capital composition of a broker-dealer and constrain the ability of a broker-dealer to expand its business under certain circumstances. If a firm fails to maintain the required net capital, it may be subject to suspension or revocation of registration by the applicable regulatory agency, and suspension or expulsion by these regulators could ultimately lead to the firm’s liquidation. Additionally, the net capital rule under the Exchange Act and certain FINRA rules impose requirements that may have the effect of prohibiting a broker-dealer from distributing or withdrawing capital and requiring prior notice to the SEC and FINRA for certain capital withdrawals.

If these net capital rules are changed or expanded, or if there is an unusually large charge against our net capital, our operations that require the intensive use of capital would be limited. A large operating loss or charge against our net capital could adversely affect our ability to expand or even maintain current levels of business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.

Our investment advisor subsidiaries are registered with the SEC as investment advisers and are subject to the rules and regulations of the Investment Advisers Act. The Investment Advisers Act imposes numerous obligations on registered investment advisers including record-keeping, operational and marketing requirements, disclosure obligations, limitations on principal transactions between an adviser and its affiliates and advisory clients and prohibitions on fraudulent activities. The SEC is authorized to institute proceedings and impose sanctions for violations of the Investment Advisers Act, ranging from fines and censure to termination of an investment adviser’s registration. Investment advisers are also subject to certain state securities laws and regulations.

We are also subject to the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, which imposes obligations regarding the prevention and detection of money-laundering activities, including the establishment of customer due diligence, customer verification, and other compliance policies and procedures. These regulations require certain disclosures by, and restrict the activities of, research analysts and broker-dealers, among others. Failure to comply with these new requirements may result in monetary, regulatory and, in the case of the USA PATRIOT Act, criminal penalties.

On July 21, 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) was signed into law. The Dodd-Frank Act contains a variety of provisions designed to regulate financial markets, including credit and derivative transactions. Many aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act are subject to rulemaking that will take effect over several years, thus making it difficult to assess the impact of the statute on the financial industry, including us, at this time. We will continue to monitor all applicable developments in the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act and expect to adapt successfully to any new applicable legislative and regulatory requirements.

Foreign Regulation. Our U.K. subsidiary, EuroDekania Management is authorized and regulated by the FSA. EuroDekania Management has FSA permission to carry on the following activities: (1) advising on investments; (2) agreeing to carry on a regulated activity; (3) arranging (bringing about) deals in investments; (4) arranging safeguarding and administration of assets; (5) dealing in investments as agent; (6) dealing in investments as principal; (7) making arrangements with a view to transactions in investments and (8) managing investments. An overview of key aspects of the U.K.’s regulatory regime which apply to EuroDekania Management is set out below.

Ongoing regulatory obligations. As an FSA regulated entity, EuroDekania Management is subject to the FSA’s ongoing regulatory obligations, which cover the following wide-ranging aspects of its business:

Threshold conditions: The FSA’s Threshold Conditions Sourcebook sets out five conditions which all U.K. authorized firms, including EuroDekania Management, must satisfy in order to become and remain authorized by

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the FSA. These relate to having adequate legal status, an appropriate location for the firm’s registered or head office, fit and proper links, adequate financial and non-financial resources, and the suitability to be and to remain authorized.

Principles for Businesses: EuroDekania Management is expected to comply with the FSA’s high-level principles, set out in the Principles for Businesses Sourcebook (the “Principles”). The Principles govern the way in which a regulated firm conducts business and include obligations to conduct business with integrity, due skill, care and diligence, to have appropriate regard for customers’ interests, to ensure adequate and appropriate communication with clients, and to ensure appropriate dialogue with regulators (both in the U.K. and overseas).

Systems and controls: One of the FSA’s Principles requires a regulated firm to take reasonable care to organize and control its affairs responsibly and effectively, with adequate risk management systems. Consequently, the FSA imposes overarching responsibilities on the directors and senior management of a regulated firm. The FSA ultimately expects the senior management of a regulated firm to take responsibility for determining what processes and internal organization are appropriate to its business. Key requirements in this context include the need to have adequate systems and controls in relation to: (1) senior management arrangements and general organizational requirements; (2) compliance, internal audit and financial crime prevention; (3) outsourcing; (4) record keeping; and (5) managing conflicts of interest.

Conduct of business obligation. The FSA imposes conduct of business rules which set out the obligations to which regulated firms are subject in their dealings with clients and potential clients. EuroDekania Management has FSA permission to deal only with eligible counterparties and professional clients in relation to the regulated activities it conducts. The detailed level of the conduct of business rules with which EuroDekania Management must comply is dependent on the categorization of its clients, which should be considered in the context of the regulated activity being performed. These rules include requirements relating to the type and level of information which must be provided to clients before business is conducted with or for them, the regulation of financial promotions, procedures for entering into client agreements, obligations relating to the suitability and appropriateness of investments and rules about managing investments and reporting to clients.

Reporting. All authorized firms in the U.K. are required to report to the FSA on a periodic basis. EuroDekania Management’s reporting requirements are based on its scope of permissions. The FSA will use the information submitted by EuroDekania Management to monitor it on an ongoing basis. There are also high level reporting obligations under the Principles, whereby EuroDekania Management is required to deal with the FSA and other regulators in an open and co-operative way and to disclose to regulators appropriately anything relating to it of which the regulators would reasonably expect notice.

FSA’s enforcement powers. The FSA has a wide range of disciplinary and enforcement tools which it can use should a regulated firm fail to comply with its regulatory obligations. The FSA is not only able to investigate and take enforcement action in respect of breaches of FSA rules, but also in respect of insider dealing and market abuse offenses and breaches of anti-money laundering legislation. Formal sanctions vary from public censure to financial penalties to cancellation of an authorized firm’s permissions or withdrawal of an approved person’s approval.

Financial resources. One of the FSA’s Principles requires a regulated firm to maintain adequate financial resources. Under the FSA rules, the required level of capital depends on EuroDekania Management’s prudential categorization, calculated in accordance with the relevant FSA rules. A firm’s prudential categorization is loosely based on the type of regulated activities which it conducts, as this in turn determines the level of risk to which a firm is considered exposed. EuroDekania Management is classified as a full scope BIPRU 730K Investment firm. In broad terms, this means that it would be subject to a base capital requirement of the higher of (1) €730,000; or (2) its credit risk plus its market risk plus its operational risk. There are also detailed ongoing regulatory capital requirements applicable to a regulated firm, including those relating to limits on large exposures, and settlement and counterparty risk, client monies and client relationships.

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Anti-money laundering requirements. A U.K. financial institution is subject to additional client acceptance requirements, which stem from anti-money laundering legislation which requires a firm to identify its clients before conducting business with or for them and to retain appropriate documentary evidence of this process.

The key U.K. anti-money laundering legislation are: (1) the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (as amended); (2) the Terrorism Act 2000 (as amended); (3) the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (as amended); (4) the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001; and (5) the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008. For an FSA regulated firm such as EuroDekania Management, there are additional obligations contained in the FSA’s rules. Guidance is also set out in the U.K. Joint Money Laundering Steering Group Guidance Notes, which the FSA would have review of when considering compliance by a regulated firm with U.K. money laundering requirements.

As an FSA regulated entity, EuroDekania Management is required to ensure that it has adequate systems and controls to enable it to identify, assess, monitor and manage financial crime risk. EuroDekania Management must also ensure that these systems and controls are comprehensive and proportionate to the nature, scale and complexity of its activities.

In addition to potential regulatory sanctions from the FSA, failure to comply with the U.K.’s anti-money laundering requirements is a criminal offense; depending on the exact nature of the offense, such a failure is punishable by an unlimited fine, imprisonment or both.

Approved persons regime. Individuals performing certain functions within a regulated entity (known as “controlled functions”) are required to be approved by the FSA. Once approved, the “approved person” becomes subject to the FSA’s Statements of Principle for Approved Persons, which include the obligation to act with integrity, and with due skill, care and diligence. The FSA can take action against an approved person if it appears to it that such person is guilty of misconduct and the FSA is satisfied that it is appropriate in all the circumstances to take action against such person.

Consequently, EuroDekania Management is required to have approved persons performing certain key functions, known as required functions. In addition, EuroDekania Management must have its senior management personnel approved to perform the appropriate “governing functions.” EuroDekania Management is required to ensure that it assesses and monitors the ongoing competence of its approved persons and their fitness and propriety.

Changes in Existing Laws and Rules. Additional legislation and regulations, changes in rules promulgated by the government regulatory bodies or changes in the interpretation or enforcement of laws and regulations may directly affect the manner of our operation, our net capital requirements or our profitability. In addition, any expansion of our activities into new areas may subject us to additional regulatory requirements that could adversely affect our business, reputation and results of operations.

Available Information

Our internet website address is www.ifmi.com. We make available through our website, free of charge, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to those reports which we file or furnish pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such information with, or furnish such information to, the SEC.

Our SEC filings are available to be read or copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room, located at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington D.C. 20549. Information regarding the operation of the Public Reference Room can be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Our filings can also be obtained for free on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. The reference to our website address does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on our website in this filing or in other filings with the SEC, and the information contained on our website is not part of this filing.

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You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below and elsewhere in this document. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations could be adversely affected. The risks and uncertainties described below constitute all of the material risks of the Company of which we are currently aware; however, the risks and uncertainties described below may not be the only risks the Company will face. Additional risks and uncertainties of which we are presently unaware, or that we do not currently deem material, may become important factors that affect us and could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and the trading price of our securities. Investing in the Company’s securities involves risk and the following risk factors, together with the other information contained in this report and the other reports and documents filed by us with the Securities Exchange Commission, should be considered carefully.

Risks Related to Adverse Market Conditions

Difficult market conditions have adversely affected our business in many ways and may continue to adversely affect our business in a manner which could materially reduce our revenues.

Our business has been and will continue to be materially affected by conditions in the global financial markets and economic conditions throughout the world. The past several years have been extremely volatile and have presented many challenges including declines in the housing and credit markets in the U.S. and Europe and heightened concerns over the creditworthiness of various financial institutions. Global credit markets have continued to experience illiquidity and wider credit spreads. These factors have resulted in significant declines in the performance of financial assets in general with even more severe pressure on securitized financial assets.

Our Capital Markets business has been and continues to be materially and directly affected by conditions in the global financial markets. As a result of recent acquisitions and bankruptcies stemming from the recent credit crisis, consolidation in certain sectors of the financial services industry has created pricing pressures in our Capital Markets business as some of our competitors seek to increase market share by reducing prices and institutional investors have reduced the amounts they are willing to pay for our services.

Our asset management revenues and investments in collateralized debt obligations have been and continue to be materially and directly affected by conditions in the global securitization markets. Further, since a significant portion of our asset management contracts and collateralized debt obligation investments relate to entities that are collateralized by securities issued by banks and insurance companies, and real estate-related securities, we will be directly and materially affected by adverse changes in those sectors. During the recent period of unfavorable market and economic conditions, including loss of confidence of ratings agencies, the credit quality of certain assets underlying collateralized debt obligations has been adversely affected and investors have been and continue to be unwilling to invest in collateralized debt obligations. As a result, our profitability has been adversely affected and these same factors may continue to adversely affect our business. The future market and economic climate may further deteriorate due to factors beyond our control, including rising interest rates or inflation, increasing unemployment, continued turmoil in the global credit markets, terrorism or political uncertainty.

In addition, historically, the majority of our new issue revenues have come from arranging or participating in new debt offerings securitized by certain assets. As noted above, investments in collateralized debt obligations, collateralized loan obligations, and similar structured vehicles have fallen out of favor with investors and our ability to generate new issue revenues from the creation of new securitized financial assets has been adversely affected. If we are unable to increase these revenues, or replace them with new or other sources of revenue, our results of operations could continue to be adversely affected.

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Losses at PrinceRidge have negatively affected our overall financial condition and our results of operations, and certain restrictions governing our majority ownership interest in PrinceRidge has restricted, and may continue to restrict, the operations of our Capital Markets business, including restricting our ability to reallocate our capital to other business segments and/or opportunities that may be in the best interest of the Company.

Since we acquired a majority ownership interest in PrinceRidge, PrinceRidge has incurred operating losses resulting in a reduction in our investment from $45.0 million to $39.5 million from June 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. If PrinceRidge’s operating results do not improve, the value of our investment in PrinceRidge could decline further.

In addition, our majority ownership interest in PrinceRidge has limited the amount of capital that we can allocate to our other business segments and/or potential investment opportunities that may be in the best interest of the Company. Approximately $39.5 million of our net assets, including $11.0 million of cash as of December 31, 2011, are invested in PrinceRidge and subject to withdrawal restrictions as a result of our investment in PrinceRidge. PrinceRidge Holdings is required to pay distributions to us in an amount equal to one half of its net income. Any additional distributions are subject to the approval of the board of PrinceRidge GP (on which we designate three of the five board members), thereby limiting our ability to control distributions from PrinceRidge.

PrinceRidge may compete with our other broker-dealer businesses, which could harm our operating results.

Some components of PrinceRidge’s business compete with JVB. To the extent that PrinceRidge is successful in obtaining business that otherwise might have been conducted with JVB, and since JVB is a wholly owned subsidiary, we will not benefit to the same extent as if such business was conducted with JVB. In addition, if such the business had been conducted with JVB, the amounts earned from such business would not be subject to the restrictions and limitations noted above with respect to our ownership interest in PrinceRidge.

A prolonged economic slowdown, volatility in the markets, a recession, declining real estate values and increasing interest rates could impair our investments and harm our operating results.

Our investments are, and will continue to be, susceptible to economic slowdowns, recessions and rising interest rates, which may lead to financial losses in our investments and a decrease in revenues, net income and asset values. These events may reduce the value of our investments, reduce the number of attractive investment opportunities available to us and harm our operating results, which, in turn, may adversely affect our cash flow from operations.

Our ability to raise capital in the long-term or short-term debt capital markets or the equity markets, or to access secured lending markets, has been and could continue to be adversely affected by conditions in the U.S. and international markets and the economy. Global market and economic conditions have been, and continue to be, disrupted and volatile. In particular, the cost and availability of funding have been and may continue to be adversely affected by illiquid credit markets and wider credit spreads. As a result of concern about the stability of the markets generally and the strength of counterparties specifically, many lenders and institutional investors have reduced and, in some cases, ceased to provide funding to borrowers. Continued turbulence in the U.S. and international markets and economy may adversely affect our liquidity and financial condition and the willingness of certain counterparties to do business with us.

We may experience further write downs of financial instruments and other losses related to the volatile and illiquid market conditions.

The credit markets in the U.S. began suffering significant disruption in the summer of 2007. This disruption began in the subprime residential mortgage sector and extended to the broader credit and financial markets generally. During the third quarter of 2008, it became clear that the global economy had been adversely impacted

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by the credit crisis. Available liquidity, particularly through ABS, collateralized debt obligations and other securitizations, declined precipitously during 2007, continued to decline in 2008 and remains significantly depressed. Concerns about the capital adequacy of financial services companies, disruptions in global credit markets, volatility in commodities prices and price declines in the U.S. housing market have led to further disruptions in the financial markets, adversely affecting regional banks, and have exacerbated the longevity and severity of the credit crisis. The disruption in these markets generally, and in the U.S., European and Asian real estate markets in particular has directly impacted and may continue to directly impact our business because our investment portfolio includes investments in MBS, residential mortgages, leveraged loans and bank and insurance company debt. Furthermore, the asset management revenues we derive from collateralized debt obligations that hold these types of investments are based on the outstanding performing principal balance of those investments. Therefore, as adverse market conditions result in defaults within these collateralized debt obligations, our management fees may continue to decline. We have exposure to these markets and products, and if market conditions continue to worsen, the fair value of our investments and our management fees could further deteriorate. In addition, market volatility, illiquid market conditions and disruptions in the global credit markets have made it extremely difficult to value certain of our securities. Subsequent valuations, in light of factors then prevailing, may result in significant changes in the values of these securities and when such securities are sold it may be at a price materially lower than the current fair value. Any of these factors could require us to take further write downs in the fair value of our investment portfolio or cause our management fees to decline, which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations in future periods.

We have incurred losses for the period covered by this report in the recent past and may incur losses in the future.

The Company recorded net losses of $16.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2011 and $11.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. We may incur losses in future periods. If we are unable to finance future losses, those losses may have a significant effect on our liquidity as well as our ability to operate.

In addition, the Company may incur significant expenses in connection with initiating new business activities or in connection with any expansion of our businesses. We may also engage in strategic acquisitions and investments for which we may incur significant expenses. Accordingly, we may need to increase our revenue at a rate greater than our expenses to achieve and maintain profitability. If our revenue does not increase sufficiently, or even if our revenue does increase but we are unable to manage our expenses, we will not achieve and maintain profitability in future periods.

Risks Related to Our Business

We have experienced difficulties in our Capital Markets business segment over the past several quarters due to intense competition in our industry, which has resulted in significant strain on our administrative, operational and financial resources. These difficulties may continue in the future.

The financial services industry and all of our businesses are intensely competitive, and we expect them to remain so. We compete with commercial banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies, sponsors of mutual funds, hedge funds and other companies offering financial services in the United States, globally and through the internet. We compete on the basis of several factors, including transaction execution, capital or access to capital, products and services, innovation, reputation, risk appetite and price. Over time, certain sectors of the financial services industry have become more concentrated, as institutions involved in a broad range of financial services have been acquired by or merged into other firms or have declared bankruptcy. These developments could result in our competitors gaining greater capital and other resources, such as a broader range of products and services and geographic diversity. We have experienced and may continue to experience pricing pressures in our Capital Markets business as a result of these factors and as some of our competitors seek to increase market share by reducing prices.

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During 2010 and 2011, both margins and volumes in certain products and markets within the corporate bond brokerage business have decreased materially as competition has increased and general market activity has declined. Further, we expect that competition will increase over time, resulting in continued margin pressure. These challenges have materially adversely affected PrinceRidge’s results of operations and may continue to do so.

We intend to focus on improving the performance of our Capital Markets business segment, which could place additional demands on our resources and increase our expenses. Improving the performance of our Capital Markets business segment will depend on, among other things, our ability to successfully identify groups and individuals to join our firm. It may take more than a year for us to determine whether we have successfully integrated new individuals and capabilities into our operations. During that time, we may incur significant expenses and expend significant time and resources toward training, integration and business development. In addition, our membership agreement with FINRA limits the number of representatives who have direct contact with our public customers without FINRA review and approval. The need to obtain such approval could slow or prevent our growth. If we are unable to hire and retain senior management or other qualified personnel, such as sales people and traders, we will not be able to grow our business and our financial results may be materially and adversely affected.

There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully improve the operations of our Capital Markets business segment, and any failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our ability to generate revenue and control expenses.

The failure of the Company to successfully integrate the operations of recently acquired businesses could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and operating results.

Since the Merger in December 2009, the Company has acquired several assets, including CCCM in September 2010, JVB in January 2011 and a majority interest in PrinceRidge in June 2011. We will need to overcome significant challenges to realize the expected benefits and synergies of these acquisitions. These challenges include:

The accomplishment of these objectives will involve considerable risk, including: the potential disruption of each company’s ongoing business and distraction of their respective management teams; unanticipated expenses related to technology integration; and potential unknown liabilities associated with the acquisitions.

There is no assurance that future acquisitions will be successfully integrated. It is possible that the integration process could result in the loss of the technical skills and management expertise of key employees, the disruption of the ongoing businesses or inconsistencies in standards, procedures and policies due to possible cultural conflicts or differences of opinions on technical decisions and product road maps that adversely affect the Company’s ability to maintain relationships with clients, suppliers and employees or to achieve the anticipated benefits of the acquisitions.

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If we fail to manage our cost reductions effectively, our business could be disrupted and our financial results could be adversely affected.

In response to the recent financial market disruption, the Company has implemented restructuring objectives to reduce infrastructure costs and reposition itself in the financial services industry. Beginning in 2010 and continuing into 2012, the Company has executed initiatives that created efficiencies within its business and decreased operating expenses through a reduction in workforce, realignment of operating facilities, and restructuring of operating systems and system support. In 2011, we curtailed our investment in brokerage and market data and analytics services, including investments in personnel, technology and infrastructure. If management is unable to successfully implement the Company’s reorganization objectives or if these objectives do not have the desired effects or result in the projected efficiencies, the Company may incur additional or unexpected expenses, reputation damage, or loss of customers which would adversely affect the Company’s operations and revenues.

In addition, during fiscal years 2010 and 2011, we significantly reduced headcount, including departures of members of our senior management. Our cost reduction initiatives have placed and will continue to place a burden on our management, systems and resources, generally increasing our dependence on key persons and reducing functional back-ups. Many of the employees who were terminated possessed specific knowledge or expertise, and we may be unable to transfer that knowledge or expertise to our remaining employees. In that case, the absence of such employees will create significant operational difficulties. Further, the reduction in workforce may reduce employee morale and create concern among potential and existing employees about job security, which may lead to difficulty in hiring and increased turnover in our current workforce and place undue strain upon our operational resources. We may experience further reductions in our workforce which would compound the risks we face. As a result, our ability to respond to unexpected challenges may be impaired, and we may be unable to take advantage of new opportunities.

We must retain, train, supervise and manage our remaining employees effectively during this period of change in our business, and our ability to retain our employees may become more difficult as we face an increasingly competitive landscape with respect to talented employees as the economy begins to re-emerge from the financial crisis.

In response to changes in industry and market conditions, the Company may be required to further strategically realign its resources and consider restructuring, disposing of, or otherwise exiting businesses. We cannot assure you that we will be able to:

We have incurred significant transaction costs, which may diminish the anticipated benefits of the PrinceRidge transaction.

We have incurred costs associated with the PrinceRidge transaction, including integrating the operations of the two companies. Substantially all transaction costs incurred by the two companies have been charged to operations and will not be included as a component of the purchase price for purposes of purchase accounting. Although we believe that the elimination of duplicative costs, as well as the realization of other efficiencies related to the integration of the businesses, will offset incremental transaction and PrinceRidge transaction-related costs over time, this net benefit may not be achieved in the near term, or at all.

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Our Capital Markets business segment depends significantly on a limited group of customers.

From time to time, based on market conditions, a small number of our customers may account for a significant portion of our revenues earned in our capital markets segment. None of our customers is obligated contractually to use our services. Accordingly, these customers may direct their activities to other firms at any time. The loss of or a significant reduction in demand for our services from any of these customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

If we do not retain our senior management and continue to attract and retain qualified personnel, we may not be able to execute our business strategy.

The members of our senior management team have extensive experience in the financial services industry. Their reputations and relationships with investors, financing sources and members of the business community in our industry, among others, are critical elements in operating and expanding our business. As a result, the loss of the services of one or more members of our senior management team could impair our ability to execute our business strategy, which could hinder our ability to achieve and sustain profitability.

The Operating LLC has entered into an employment agreement (including non-competition provisions) with each of Messrs. Cohen and Pooler, and the term of each such employment agreement ends on December 31, 2012. In addition, PrinceRidge Holdings has entered into an employment agreement (including non-competition provisions) with each of Messrs. Cohen and Costas, and the term of each such agreement ends on December 31, 2013. Both employment agreements with Mr. Cohen and each of the employment agreements with Messrs. Costas and Pooler provide that the term will be renewed automatically for additional one year periods, unless terminated by either of the parties in accordance with the terms of each of the employment agreements. There can be no assurance that the terms of the employment agreements will provide sufficient incentives for each of the executive officers to continue employment with us.

We depend on the diligence, experience, skill and network of business contacts of our executive officers and employees in connection with (1) our Capital Markets business segment, (2) our asset management operations, (3) our investment activities, and (4) the evaluation, negotiation, structuring and management of our investment funds, permanent capital vehicles, and structured products. Our business depends on the expertise of our personnel and their ability to work together as an effective team and our success depends substantially on our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel. Competition for employees with the necessary qualifications is intense and we may not be successful in our efforts to recruit and retain the required personnel. The inability to retain and recruit qualified personnel could affect our ability to provide an acceptable level of service to our clients and funds, attract new clients and develop new lines of business which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Payment of severance could strain our cash flow.

Certain members of our senior management have agreements that provide for substantial severance payments. Should several of these senior managers leave our employ under circumstances entitling them to severance, or become disabled or die, the need to pay these severance benefits could put a strain on our cash flow.

Our business will require a significant amount of cash, and if it is not available, our business and financial performance will be significantly harmed.

We require a substantial amount of cash to fund our investments, pay expenses and hold assets. More specifically, we require cash to:

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Our primary sources of working capital and cash are expected to consist of:

We may not be able to generate a sufficient amount of cash from operations and investing and financing activities to successfully execute our business strategy.

Failure to obtain adequate capital and funding would adversely affect the growth and results of our operations and may, in turn, negatively affect the market price of our Common Stock.

Liquidity is essential to our businesses. We depend upon the availability of adequate funding and capital for our operations. In particular, we may need to raise additional capital in order to significantly grow our business. Our liquidity could be substantially affected negatively by our inability to raise funding in the long-term or short-term debt capital markets or the equity capital markets or our inability to access the secured lending markets. Factors that we cannot control, such as continued or additional disruption of the financial markets or negative views about the financial services industry generally, have limited and may continue to limit our ability to raise capital. In addition, our ability to raise capital could be impaired if lenders develop a negative perception of our long-term or short-term financial prospects. Such negative perceptions could be developed if we incur large trading losses, we suffer a decline in the level of our business activity, we suffer material litigation losses, regulatory authorities take significant action against us, or we discover significant employee misconduct or illegal activity, among other reasons. Sufficient funding or capital may not be available to us in the future on terms that are acceptable, or at all. If we are unable to raise funding using the methods described above, we would likely need to finance or liquidate unencumbered assets, such as our investment and trading portfolios, to meet maturing liabilities. We may be unable to sell some of our assets, or we may have to sell assets at a discount from market value, either of which could adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows. In addition, some or all of the holders of our 7.625% contingent convertible senior notes due 2027 may exercise their right to require us to repurchase up to $10.4 million aggregate principal amount of their notes, which may reduce the availability of capital for our operations. Our liquidity could be constrained if we are unable to obtain financing to pay for such repurchases on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to meet our funding needs on a timely basis, our business would be adversely affected and there may be a negative impact on the market price of our Common Stock.

The lack of liquidity in certain investments may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We hold investments in securities of private companies, investment funds, collateralized debt obligations and collateralized loan obligations. A portion of these securities may be subject to legal and other restrictions on resale or may otherwise be less liquid than publicly traded securities. The illiquidity of our investments may make it difficult for us to sell such investments if the need arises.

If we are unable to manage the risks of international operations effectively, our business could be adversely affected.

We provide services and products to clients in Europe, through offices in London and Paris, as well as in Japan (through our Star Asia joint venture) and may seek to further expand our international operations in the

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future. There are certain additional risks inherent in doing business in international markets, particularly in the regulated brokerage and asset management industries. These risks include:

If we are unable to manage any of these risks effectively, our business could be adversely affected.

In addition, our international operations expose us to the risk of fluctuations in currency exchange rates generally and fluctuations in the exchange rates for the Euro, the British Pound Sterling, and the Japanese Yen in particular. Although we may hedge our foreign currency risk, we may not be able to do so successfully and may incur losses that could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

The securities settlement process exposes us to risks that may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We provide brokerage services to our clients in the form of either agency transactions or “matched principal transactions.” In agency transactions, we charge a commission for connecting buyers and sellers and assisting in the negotiation of the price and other material terms of the transaction. After all material terms of a transaction are agreed upon, we identify the buyer and seller to each other and leave them to settle the trade directly. We are exposed to credit risk for commissions we bill to clients for agency brokerage services.

An increasing number of the brokerage transactions are “matched principal transactions” in which we act as a “middleman” by serving as a counterparty to both a buyer and a seller in matching reciprocal back-to-back trades. These transactions, which generally involve equity derivatives and bonds, are then settled through clearing institutions with which we have a contractual relationship. There is no guarantee that we will be able to maintain existing contractual relationships with clearing institutions on favorable terms or that we will be able to establish relationships with new clearing institutions on favorable terms, or at all.

In executing matched principal transactions, we are exposed to the risk that one of the counterparties to a transaction may fail to fulfill its obligations, either because it is not matched immediately or, even if matched, one party fails to deliver the cash or securities it is obligated to deliver upon settlement. In addition, we focus on less commoditized markets which exacerbates this risk because transactions in such markets are more likely not to settle on a timely basis. Adverse movements in the prices of securities that are the subject of these transactions can increase our risk. In addition, widespread technological or communication failures, as well as actual or perceived credit difficulties or the insolvency of one or more large or visible market participants, could cause market-wide credit difficulties or other market disruptions. These failures, difficulties or disruptions could result in a large number of market participants not settling transactions or otherwise not performing their obligations.

We are subject to financing risk in these circumstances because if a transaction does not settle on a timely basis, the resulting unmatched position may need to be financed, either directly by us or through one of our clearing organizations at our expense. These charges may not be recoverable from the failing counterparty. Finally, in instances where the unmatched position or failure to deliver is prolonged or widespread due to rapid or widespread declines in liquidity for an instrument, there may also be regulatory capital charges required to be taken by us which, depending on their size and duration, could limit our business flexibility or even force the curtailment of those portions of our business requiring higher levels of capital. Credit or settlement losses of this nature could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

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In the process of executing matched principal transactions, miscommunications and other errors by our clients or by us can arise whereby a transaction is not completed with one or more counterparties to the transaction, leaving us with either a long or short unmatched position. If the unmatched position is promptly discovered and there is a prompt disposition of the unmatched position, the risk to us is usually limited. If the discovery of an out trade is delayed, the risk is heightened by the increased possibility of intervening market movements prior to disposition. Although out trades usually become known at the time of, or later on the day of, the trade, it is possible that they may not be discovered until later in the settlement process. When out trades are discovered, our policy will generally be to have the unmatched position disposed of promptly, whether or not this disposition would result in a loss to us. The occurrence of unmatched positions generally rises with increases in the volatility of the market and, depending on their number and amount, such out trades have the potential to have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Participation in agency or matched principal transactions subjects us to disputes, counterparty credit risk, lack of liquidity, operational failure or other market wide or counterparty specific risks. Any losses arising from such could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations. In addition, the failure of a significant number of counterparties or a counterparty that holds a significant amount of derivatives exposure, or which has significant financial exposure to, or reliance on, the mortgage, asset-backed or related markets, could have a material adverse effect on the trading volume and liquidity in a particular market for which we provide brokerage services or on the broader financial markets.

We have policies and procedures to identify, monitor and manage these risks, in both agency and principal transactions, through reporting and control procedures and by monitoring credit standards applicable to our clients. These policies and procedures, however, may not be fully effective. Some of our risk management methods will depend upon the evaluation of information regarding markets, clients or other matters that are publicly available or otherwise accessible by us. That information may not, in all cases, be accurate, complete, up-to-date or properly evaluated. If our policies and procedures are not fully effective or we are not always successful in monitoring or evaluating the risks to which we may be exposed, our financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected. In addition, we may not be able to obtain insurance to cover all of the types of risks we face and any insurance policies we do obtain may not provide adequate coverage for covered risks.

We are exposed to the risk that third parties that are indebted to us will not perform their obligations.

Credit risk refers to the risk of loss arising from borrower or counterparty default when a borrower, counterparty or obligor does not meet its obligations. We incur significant credit risk exposure through our Capital Markets business segment. This risk may arise from a variety of business activities, including but not limited to entering into swap or other derivative contracts under which counterparties have obligations to make payments to us; extending credit to clients through various lending commitments; providing short or long-term funding that is secured by physical or financial collateral whose value may at times be insufficient to fully cover the loan repayment amount; and posting margin and/or collateral to clearing houses, clearing agencies, exchanges, banks, securities firms and other financial counterparties. We incur credit risk in traded securities and loan pools whereby the value of these assets may fluctuate based on realized or expected defaults on the underlying obligations or loans.

There is a possibility that continued difficult economic conditions may further negatively impact our clients and our current credit exposures. Although we regularly review our credit exposures, default risk may arise from events or circumstances that are difficult to detect or foresee.

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We have market risk exposure from unmatched principal transactions entered into by our brokerage desks, which could result in substantial losses to us and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We allow certain of our brokerage desks to enter into a limited number of unmatched principal transactions in the ordinary course of business for the purpose of facilitating clients’ execution needs for transactions initiated by such clients or to add liquidity to certain illiquid markets. As a result, we have market risk exposure on these unmatched principal transactions. Our exposure will vary based on the size of the overall positions, the terms and liquidity of the instruments brokered, and the amount of time the positions will be held before we dispose of the position.

We do not expect to track our exposure to unmatched positions on an intra-day basis. These unmatched positions are intended to be held short term. Due to a number of factors, including the nature of the position and access to the market on which we trade, we may not be able to match the position or effectively hedge our exposure and often may be forced to hold a position overnight that has not been hedged. To the extent these unmatched positions are not disposed of intra-day, we mark these positions to market. Adverse movements in the securities underlying these positions or a downturn or disruption in the markets for these positions could result in a substantial loss. In addition, any principal gains and losses resulting from these positions could on occasion have a disproportionate effect, positive or negative, on our financial condition and results of operations for any particular reporting period.

Pricing and other competitive pressures may impair the revenues and profitability of our brokerage business.

In recent years, we have experienced significant pricing pressures on trading margins and commissions primarily in debt trading. In the fixed income market, regulatory requirements have resulted in greater price transparency, leading to increased price competition and decreased trading margins. The trend toward using alternative trading systems is continuing to grow, which may result in decreased commission and trading revenue, reduce our participation in the trading markets and our ability to access market information, and lead to the creation of new and stronger competitors. As a result of pressure from institutional clients to alter “soft dollar” practices and SEC rulemaking in the soft dollar area, some institutions are entering into arrangements that separate (or “unbundle”) payments for research products or services from sales commissions. These arrangements, both in the form of lower commission rates and commission sharing agreements, have increased the competitive pressures on sales commissions and have affected the value our clients place on high-quality research. Additional pressure on sales and trading revenue may impair the profitability of our brokerage business. Moreover, our inability to reach agreement regarding the terms of unbundling arrangements with institutional clients who are actively seeking such arrangements could result in the loss of those clients, which would likely reduce our institutional commissions. We believe that price competition and pricing pressures in these and other areas will continue as institutional investors continue to reduce the amounts they are willing to pay, including reducing the number of brokerage firms they use, and some of our competitors seek to obtain market share by reducing fees, commissions or margins.

Increase in capital commitments in our trading business increases the potential for significant losses.

We may enter into transactions in which we commit our own capital as part of our trading business. The number and size of these transactions may materially affect our results of operations in a given period. We may also incur significant losses from our trading activities due to market fluctuations and volatility from quarter to quarter. We maintain trading positions in the fixed income market to facilitate client-trading activities. To the extent that we own security positions, in any of those markets, a downturn in the value of those securities or in those markets could result in losses from a decline in value. Conversely, to the extent that we have sold securities we do not own in any of those markets, an upturn in those markets could expose us to potentially unlimited losses as we attempt to acquire the securities in a rising market. Moreover, taking such positions in times of significant volatility can lead to significant unrealized losses, which further impact our ability to borrow to finance such activities. The unprecedented volatility of the global markets for both fixed income and equity securities in

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combination with the credit crisis, caused several well established investment banks to fail or come close to failing. If these conditions continue our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our principal trading and investments expose us to risk of loss.

A significant portion of our revenues is derived from trading in which we act as principal. The Company may incur trading losses relating to the purchase, sale or short sale of corporate and asset-backed fixed income securities and other securities for our own account and from other principal trading. In any period, we may experience losses as a result of price declines, lack of trading volume, and illiquidity. From time to time, we may engage in a large block trade in a single security or maintain large position concentrations in a single security, securities of a single issuer, or securities of issuers engaged in a specific industry. In general, any downward price movement in these securities could result in a reduction of our revenues and profits.

In addition, we may engage in hedging transactions and strategies that may not properly mitigate losses in our principal positions. If the transactions and strategies are not successful, we could suffer significant losses.

Our principal investments are concentrated in a few investments and represent a significant portion of our invested capital

As of December 31, 2011, we have $42.8 million of other investments, at fair value representing our principal investment portfolio. Of this amount, $42.3 million or 99% is comprised of investments in three separate investment funds and permanent capital vehicles: Star Asia, EuroDekania, and Tiptree. Furthermore, the investment in Star Asia is our largest single principal investment and has a fair value of $37.4 million representing 87% of the total amount of other investments, at fair value. Star Asia seeks to invest in Asian commercial real estate structured finance products, including CMBS, corporate debt of REITs and real estate operating companies, whole loans, mezzanine loans, and other commercial real estate fixed income investments. Therefore, our results of operations and financial condition will be significantly impacted by the financial results of these investments and, in the case of Star Asia, the Japanese real estate market in general.

We may not realize gains or income from our investments.

Certain of our investments have declined in value and may continue to decline in value, and the financings that we originated and the securities in which they invest have defaulted, or may default in the future, on interest and/or principal payments. Accordingly, we may not be able to realize gains or income from our investments. Any gains that we do realize may not be sufficient to offset any other losses we experience. Any income that we realize may not be sufficient to offset our expenses.

As of the date of this filing, our investment portfolios have been directly impacted by the disruption in various markets including in the U.S., Europe and Asia due to investments in, among other things, MBS, residential mortgages, leveraged loans and bank and insurance company debt. We continue to have significant exposure to these markets and products, and as market conditions continue to evolve, the fair value of these investments could further deteriorate. Any of these factors could require us to take additional write downs in the fair value of our investment portfolios, which may have an adverse effect on our results of operations in future periods.

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If the investments we make on behalf of our investment funds, permanent capital vehicles and collateralized debt obligations perform poorly we will suffer a decline in our asset management revenue and earnings because some of our fees are subject to the credit performance of the portfolios of assets. In addition, the investors in our investment funds and collateralized debt obligations and, to a lesser extent, our permanent capital vehicles may seek to terminate our management agreements based on poor performance. Any of these results could adversely affect our results of operations and our ability to raise capital for future investment funds, permanent capital vehicles and collateralized debt obligations.

Our revenue from our asset management business is derived from fees earned for managing our collateralized debt obligations and management fees paid by the permanent capital vehicles and investment funds we manage. Our collateralized debt obligations will generate three types of fees: (1) senior fees that are generally paid to us before interest is paid on any of the securities in the capital structure; (2) subordinated fees that are generally paid to us after interest is paid on securities in the capital structure; and (3) incentive fees that are generally paid to us after a period of years in the life of the collateralized debt obligation and after the holders of the most junior collateralized debt obligation securities have been paid a specified return.

In the case of the permanent capital vehicles and investment funds, our management fees are based on the equity of, and net income earned by, the vehicles, which is substantially based on the performance of our collateralized debt obligations or other securities in which they invest.

Furthermore, in the event that our collateralized debt obligations, investment funds or permanent capital vehicles perform poorly, our asset management revenues and earnings will suffer a decline and it will be more difficult for us to structure new collateralized debt obligations and raise funds for the existing or future permanent capital vehicles or investment funds. Our management contracts may be terminated for various reasons.

We could lose management fee income from the collateralized debt obligations we manage or client assets under management as a result of the triggering of certain structural protections built into such collateralized debt obligations.

The collateralized debt obligations we manage generally contain structural provisions including, but not limited to, over-collateralization requirements and/or market value triggers that are meant to protect investors from deterioration in the credit quality of the underlying collateral pool. In certain cases, breaches of these structural provisions can lead to events of default under the indentures governing the collateralized debt obligations and, ultimately, acceleration of the notes issued by the collateralized debt obligation and liquidation of the underlying collateral. In the event of a liquidation of the collateral underlying a collateralized debt obligation, we will lose client assets under management and therefore management fees, which could have a material adverse effect on our earnings.

We may need to offer new investment strategies and products in order to continue to generate revenue.

The asset management industry is subject to rapid change. Strategies and products that had historically been attractive may lose their appeal for various reasons. Thus, strategies and products that have generated fee revenue for us in the past may fail to do so in the future in which case we would have to develop new strategies and products. It could be both expensive and difficult for us to develop new strategies and products, and we may not be successful in this regard. Recently, we have been unable to expand our offerings this could inhibit our growth and harm our competitive position in the asset management industry, and this may continue in the future.

If our risk management systems for our investment fund and permanent capital vehicle business are ineffective, we may be exposed to material unanticipated losses.

Our risk management techniques and strategies may not fully mitigate the risk exposure of our investment funds and permanent capital vehicles in all economic or market environments, or protect against all types of risk, including risks that we might fail to identify or anticipate. Some of our expected strategies for managing risk in

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our investment funds are based upon our use of historical market behavior statistics. We will apply statistical and other tools to these observations to measure and analyze the risks to which our investment funds and permanent capital vehicles are exposed. Any failures in our risk management techniques and strategies to accurately quantify such risk exposure or any failure to manage the various risks associated with foreign markets including Europe and Asia could limit our ability to manage risks in the investment funds and permanent capital vehicles or to seek adequate risk-adjusted returns. In addition, any risk management failures could cause investment fund or permanent capital vehicles losses to be significantly greater than the historical measures predict. Further, our mathematical modeling will not take all risks into account. Our more qualitative approach to managing those risks could prove insufficient, exposing us to material unanticipated losses.

We are highly dependent on information and communications systems. Systems failures could significantly disrupt our business, which may, in turn, negatively affect our operating results.

Our business will depend to a substantial degree on the proper functioning of our information and communications systems and our ability to retain the employees who operate and maintain these systems. Any failure or interruption of our systems, due to systems failures, staff departures or otherwise, could result in delays, increased costs or other problems which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results. A disaster, such as water damage to an office, an explosion or a prolonged loss of electrical power, could materially interrupt our business operations and cause material financial loss, regulatory actions, reputational harm or legal liability. In addition, if security measures contained in our systems are breached as a result of third-party action, employee error, malfeasance or otherwise, our reputation may be damaged and our business could suffer. We have developed a business continuity plan, however, there are no assurances that such plan will be successful in preventing, timely and adequately addressing, or mitigating the negative effects of any failure or interruption.

There can be no assurance that our information systems and other technology will continue to be able to accommodate our operations, or that the cost of maintaining the systems and technology will not materially increase from the current level. A failure to accommodate our operations, or a material increase in costs related to information systems and technology, could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We may not be able to keep up pace with continuing changes in technology.

Our market is characterized by rapidly changing technology. To be successful, we must adapt to this rapidly changing environment by continually improving the performance, features and reliability of our services. We could incur substantial costs if we need to modify our services or infrastructure or adapt our technology to respond to these changes. A delay or failure to address technological advances and developments or an increase in costs resulting from these changes could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We depend on third-party software licenses and the loss of any of our key licenses could adversely affect our ability to provide our brokerage services.

We license software from third parties, some of which is integral to our electronic brokerage systems and our business. Such licenses are generally terminable if we breach our obligations under the licenses or if the licensor gives us notice in advance of the termination. If any of these relationships were terminated, or if any of these third parties were to cease doing business, we may be forced to spend significant time and money to replace the licensed software. These replacements may not be available on reasonable terms, or at all. A termination of any of these relationships could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

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Our failure to deal appropriately with conflicts of interest could damage our reputation and adversely affect our business.

As we expanded our business, we increasingly confronted potential conflicts of interest relating to the investment activities of the entities we manage. As a result, certain of our permanent capital vehicles and our investment funds may have overlapping investment objectives, which may create conflicts of interest issues for us. These entities will have different fee structures and potential conflicts may arise with respect to our decisions regarding how to allocate investment opportunities among those entities.

It is possible that 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 could materially and adversely affect our business in a number of ways, including as a result of sales of stock by investors in our permanent capital vehicles, an inability to raise additional funds, a reluctance of counterparties to do business with us and the costs of defending litigation.

Our substantial level of indebtedness could adversely affect our financial health and ability to compete. In addition, our failure to satisfy the financial covenants in our debt agreements could result in a default and acceleration of repayment of the indebtedness thereunder.

Our balance sheet includes approximately $68.1 million par value of recourse indebtedness. Our indebtedness could have important consequences to our stockholders. For example, our indebtedness could:

Under the junior subordinated notes related to the Alesco Capital Trust, we are required to maintain a total debt to capitalization ratio of less than 0.95 to 1.0. Also, because the aggregate amount of our outstanding subordinated debt exceeds 25% of our net worth, we are unable to issue any further subordinated debt.

In addition, our indebtedness imposes restrictions that limit our discretion with regard to certain business matters, including our ability to engage in consolidations and mergers and our ability to transfer and lease certain of our properties. Such restrictions could make it more difficult for us to expand, finance our operations and engage in other business activities that may be in our interest.

Our ability to comply with these and any other provisions of such agreements will be affected by changes in our operating and financial performance, changes in business conditions or results of operations, adverse regulatory developments or other events beyond our control. The breach of any of these covenants could result in a default, which could cause our indebtedness to become due and payable. If the maturity of our indebtedness

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were accelerated, we may not have sufficient funds to pay such indebtedness. Any additional indebtedness we may incur in the future may subject us to similar or even more restrictive conditions.

Our ability to use net operating loss carryovers and net capital loss carryovers to reduce our taxable income may be limited.

As of December 31, 2011, we estimate that we have a federal net operating loss (“NOL”) of approximately $80.3 million, which will be available to offset future taxable income, subject to limitations described below. If not used, this NOL will begin to expire in 2028. We also estimate we have net capital losses (“NCLs”) in excess of capital gains of $46.2 million as of December 31, 2011, which can be carried forward to offset future capital gains, subject to the limitations described below. If not used, this carry forward will begin to expire in 2015. No assurance can be provided that we will have future taxable income or future capital gains to benefit from our NOL and NCL carryovers.

Furthermore, our ability to use our NOL and NCL carryovers to offset our taxable income and gains may be limited by Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code if we undergo an “ownership change.” Generally, an “ownership change” occurs if certain persons or groups increase their aggregate ownership in a company by more than 50 percentage points looking back over the relevant testing period. If an ownership change occurs, our ability to use our NOLs, NCLs and certain recognized built-in losses to reduce our taxable income in a future year would be limited to a Section 382 limitation equal to the fair market value of our stock immediately prior to the ownership change multiplied by the long-term tax-exempt interest rate in effect for the month of the ownership change.

Currently, we have concluded that we have not undergone an ownership change and we have instituted a rights plan to assist in the avoidance of a future ownership change. However, if an ownership change were to occur in the future, our ability to use our NOLs, NCLs and certain recognized built-in losses to reduce our taxable income in a future year would generally be limited to an annual amount equal to the fair market value of our stock at the time of the change multiplied by the appropriate long term tax exempt interest rate at that time.

If we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures in the future, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results, which could have an adverse effect on our business.

If our internal controls over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures are not effective, we may not be able to provide reliable financial information.

Because we are a non-accelerated filer, we are not required to obtain, nor have we voluntarily obtained, an auditor attestation regarding the effectiveness of our controls as of December 31, 2011. Therefore, as of December 31, 2011, we have only performed management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal controls and management has determined that our internal controls are effective as of December 31, 2011.

Any failure to maintain effective controls in the future could adversely affect our business or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Such non-compliance could also result in an adverse reaction in the financial marketplace due to a loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial statements. In addition, perceptions of our business among customers, suppliers, rating agencies, lenders, investors, securities analysts and others could be adversely affected.

Accounting rules for certain of our transactions are highly complex and involve significant judgment and assumptions. Changes in accounting interpretations or assumptions could adversely impact our financial statements.

Accounting rules for transfers of financial assets, income taxes, compensation arrangements including share based compensation, securitization transactions, consolidation of variable interest entities (“VIEs”), determining

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the fair value of financial instruments and other aspects of our operations are highly complex and involve significant judgment and assumptions. These complexities could lead to delay in preparation of our financial information. Changes in accounting interpretations or assumptions could materially impact our financial statements.

We may change our investment strategy, hedging strategy, asset allocation and operational policies without our stockholders’ consent, which may result in riskier investments and adversely affect the market value of our Common Stock.

We may change our investment strategy, hedging strategy, asset allocation and operational policies at any time without the consent of our stockholders. A change in our investment or hedging strategy may increase our exposure to interest rate, exchange rate, and real estate market fluctuations. Furthermore, our board of directors will determine our operational policies and may amend or revise our policies, including polices with respect to our acquisitions, growth, operations, indebtedness, capitalization and distributions or approve transactions that deviate from these policies without a vote of, or notice to, our stockholders. Operational policy changes could adversely affect the market value of our Common Stock.

Maintenance of our Investment Company Act exemption imposes limits on our operations, and loss of our Investment Company Act exemption would adversely affect our operations.

We seek to conduct our operations so that we are not required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Section 3(a)(l)(C) of the Investment Company Act defines an investment company as any issuer that is engaged or proposes to engage in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities and owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of the issuer’s total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Excluded from the term “investment securities,” among other things, are securities issued by majority-owned subsidiaries that are not themselves investment companies and are not relying on the exception from the definition of investment company set forth in Section 3(c)(l) or Section 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act.

We are a holding company that conducts our business primarily through the Operating LLC as a majority owned subsidiary. Whether or not we qualify under the 40% test is primarily based on whether the securities we hold in the Operating LLC are investment securities. Based upon the value of the Operating LLC’s assets following the Merger, our investment in the Operating LLC became an investment security and caused our investment securities to comprise more than 40% of our assets.

Following the Merger, we relied on Rule 3a-2 under the Investment Company Act, which provides a safe harbor exemption, not to exceed one year, for companies that have a bona fide intent to be engaged in an excepted activity but that temporarily do not to meet the requirements for another exemption from registration as an investment company. As required by the rule, we took actions necessary to satisfy the requirements of the Rule 3a-2 safe harbor.

Rule 3a-2’s temporary exemption lasts only up to a year, which for us expired in December 2010. However, because we used our safe harbor exemption under 3a-2, we will need to continue to meet the 3(a)(1)(c) exemption continuously for the three years following December 2010. If we do not continuously satisfy the 3(a)(1)(c) exemption, we could, among other things, be required to (a) change substantially the manner in which we conduct our operations to avoid being required to register as an investment company or (b) register as an investment company, either of which could have an adverse effect on us and the market price of our Common Stock. If we were required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we would become subject to substantial regulation with respect to our capital structure (including our ability to use leverage), management, operations, transactions with affiliated persons (as defined in the Investment Company Act) and other matters. Such limitations could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations. As of December 31, 2011, we are in compliance and meet the Section 3(a)(1)(c) exclusion.

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Insurance may be inadequate to cover risks facing the Company.

Our operations and financial results are subject to risks and uncertainties related to our use of a combination of insurance, self-insured retention and self-insurance for a number of risks, including most significantly: property and casualty, workers’ compensation, errors and omissions liability, general liability and the portion of employee-related health care benefits plans we fund, among others.

While we endeavor to purchase insurance coverage that is appropriate to our assessment of risk, we are unable to predict with certainty the frequency, nature or magnitude of claims for direct or consequential damages. Our business may be negatively affected if in the future our insurance proves to be inadequate or unavailable. In addition, insurance claims may harm our reputation or divert management resources away from operating our business.

Risks Related to Our Industry

Defaults by another financial institution could adversely affect financial markets generally.

The commercial soundness of many financial institutions may be closely interrelated as a result of credit, trading, clearing or other relationships between the institutions. As a result, concerns about, or a default or threatened default by, one institution could lead to significant market-wide liquidity and credit problems, losses or defaults by other institutions. This is sometimes referred to as “systemic risk” and may adversely affect financial intermediaries, such as clearing agencies, clearing houses, banks, securities firms and exchanges, with which we interact on a daily basis, and therefore could adversely affect us.

We operate in a highly regulated industry and may face restrictions on, and examination of, the way we conduct certain of our operations.

Our business is subject to extensive government and other regulation and our relationship with our broker-dealer clients may subject us to increased regulatory scrutiny. These regulations are designed to protect the interests of the investing public generally rather than our stockholders and may result in limitations on our activities. Governmental and self-regulatory organizations, including the SEC, FINRA, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and other agencies and securities exchanges such as the NYSE and NYSE Amex regulate the U.S. financial services industry, and regulate certain of our operations in the U.S. Some of our international operations are subject to similar regulations in their respective jurisdictions, including rules promulgated by the FSA, which apply to entities which are authorized and regulated by the FSA. These regulatory bodies are responsible for safeguarding the integrity of the securities and other financial markets and protecting the interests of investors in those markets. In addition, all records of registered investment advisors and broker-dealers are subject at any time, and from time to time, to examination by the SEC. Some aspects of the business that are subject to extensive regulation and/or examination by regulatory agencies, include:

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The SEC, FINRA, the FSA and various other domestic and international regulatory agencies also have stringent rules and regulations with respect to the maintenance of specific levels of net capital by broker-dealers. Generally, in the U.S., a broker-dealer’s net capital is defined as its net worth plus qualified subordinated debt less deductions for certain types of assets. If these net capital rules are changed or expanded, or if there is an unusually large charge against net capital, our operations that require the intensive use of capital would be limited. Also, our ability to withdraw capital from our regulated subsidiaries is subject to restrictions, which in turn could limit our ability or that of our subsidiaries to pay dividends, repay debt, make distributions and redeem or purchase shares of our Common Stock or other equity interests in our subsidiaries. A large operating loss or charge against net capital could adversely affect our ability to expand or even maintain our expected levels of business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, we may become subject to net capital requirements in other foreign jurisdictions in which we operate. While we expect to maintain levels of capital in excess of regulatory minimums, we cannot predict our future capital needs or our ability to obtain additional financing.

If we or any of our subsidiaries fail to comply with any of these laws, rules or regulations, we or such subsidiary may be subject to censure, significant fines, cease-and-desist orders, suspension of business, suspensions of personnel or other sanctions, including revocation of registrations with FINRA, withdrawal of authorizations from the FSA or revocation of registrations with other similar international agencies to whose regulation we are subject, which would have a material adverse effect on our business. The adverse publicity arising from the imposition of sanctions against us, even if the amount of such sanctions is small, by regulators could harm our reputation and cause us to lose existing clients or fail to gain new clients.

The authority to operate as a broker-dealer in a jurisdiction is dependent on the registration or authorization in that jurisdiction or the maintenance of a proper exemption from such registration or authorization. Our ability to comply with all applicable laws and rules is largely dependent on our compliance, credit approval, audit and reporting systems and procedures, as well as our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel. Any growth or expansion of our business may create additional strain on our compliance, credit approval, audit and reporting systems and procedures and could result in increased costs to maintain and improve such systems and procedures.

In addition, new laws or regulations or changes in the enforcement of existing laws or regulations applicable to us and our clients also may adversely affect our business, and our ability to function in this environment will depend on our ability to constantly monitor and react to these changes. Such changes may cause us to change the way we conduct our business, both in the U.S. and internationally. The government agencies that regulate us have broad powers to investigate and enforce compliance and punish noncompliance with their rules, regulations and industry standards of practice. If we and our directors, officers and employees fail to comply with the rules and regulations of these government agencies, they may be subject to claims or actions by such agencies.

Recent legislation will result in changes to rules and regulations applicable to our business, which may negatively impact our business and financial results.

In July 2010, the Dodd-Frank Act was signed into law by President Obama. The Dodd-Frank Act contains a comprehensive set of provisions designed to govern the practices and oversight of financial institutions and other participants in the financial markets. The full impact of the Dodd-Frank Act is difficult to assess because many of its provisions require various federal agencies to adopt implementing regulations in the future. Further, the Dodd-Frank Act mandates multiple studies, which could result in additional legislative or regulatory action.

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While we have not yet been required to make material changes to our business or operations as a result of the Dodd-Frank Act, the Dodd-Frank Act and any related legislation or regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. The Dodd-Frank Act may require us to change our business practices or meet more stringent capital, liquidity and leverage ratio requirements, impose additional costs on our business operations, limit the fees that we can charge for our services, impact the value of our assets, or otherwise adversely affect our businesses. In addition, we may be required to invest significant management time and resources to address the various provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act and the numerous regulations that are required to be issued under it.

Substantial legal liability or significant regulatory action could have material adverse financial effects or cause significant reputational harm, either of which could seriously harm our business.

We face substantial regulatory and litigation risks and conflicts of interests, and may face legal liability and reduced revenues and profitability if our business is not regarded as compliant or for other reasons. We are subject to extensive regulation and many aspects of our business will subject us to substantial risks of liability. We engage in activities in connection with (1) the evaluation, negotiation, structuring, sales and management of our investment funds, permanent capital vehicles and structured products, including collateralized debt obligations, (2) our Capital Markets business segment, (3) our asset management operations, and (4) our investment activities. Our activities may subject us to the risk of significant legal liabilities under securities or other laws for material omissions or material false or misleading statements made in connection with securities offerings and other transactions. In addition, to the extent our clients, or investors in our investment funds, permanent capital vehicles and structured products, suffer losses, they may claim those losses resulting from our or our officers’, directors’, employees’ or agents’ or affiliates’ breach of contract, fraud, negligence, willful misconduct or other similar misconduct and may bring actions against us under federal or state securities or other applicable laws. Dissatisfied clients may also make claims regarding quality of trade execution, improperly settled trades, or mismanagement against us. We may become subject to these claims as the result of failures or malfunctions of electronic trading platforms or other brokerage services, including failures or malfunctions of third-party providers’ systems which are beyond our control, and third parties may seek recourse against us for any losses. In addition, investors may claim breaches of collateral management agreements, which could lead to our termination as collateral manager under such agreements.

In recent years, the volume of claims and amount of damages claimed in litigation and regulatory proceedings against financial advisors and asset managers has been increasing. With respect to the asset management business, we make investment decisions on behalf of our clients that could result in, and in some instances in the past have resulted in, substantial losses. In addition, all of the permanent capital vehicles that we manage rely on exemptions from regulation under the Investment Company Act and some of them are structured to comply with certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. As the manager of these vehicles, we are responsible for their compliance with regulatory requirements. Investment decisions we make on behalf of the vehicles could cause the vehicles to fail to comply with regulatory requirements and could result in substantial losses to such vehicles. Although the management agreements relating to such vehicles generally include broad indemnities and provisions designed to limit our exposure to legal claims relating to our services, these provisions may not protect us or may not be enforced in all cases.

In addition, we are exposed to risks of litigation or investigation relating to transactions which present conflicts of interest that are not properly addressed. In such actions, we could be obligated to bear legal, settlement and other costs (which may be in excess of available insurance coverage). Also, with a workforce consisting of many very highly paid professionals, we may face the risk of lawsuits relating to claims for compensation, which may individually or in the aggregate be significant in amount. Similarly, certain corporate events, such as a reduction in our workforce or employee separations, could also result in additional litigation or arbitration. In addition, as a public company, we are subject to the risk of investigation or litigation by regulators or our public stockholders arising from an array of possible claims, including investor dissatisfaction with the performance of our business or our share price, allegations of misconduct by our officers and directors or claims

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that we inappropriately dealt with conflicts of interest or investment allocations. In addition, we may incur significant expenses in defending claims, even those without merit. If any claims brought against us result in a finding of substantial legal liability and/or require us to incur all or a portion of the costs arising out of litigation or investigation, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. Such litigation or investigation, whether resolved in our favor or not, could cause significant reputational harm, which could seriously harm our business.

The competitive pressures we face as a result of operating in a highly competitive market could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

A number of entities conduct asset management, origination, investment and broker-dealer activities. We compete with public and private funds, REITS, commercial and investment banks, savings and loan institutions, mortgage bankers, insurance companies, institutional bankers, governmental bodies, commercial finance companies, traditional asset managers, brokerage firms and other entities.

Many firms offer similar and/or additional products and services to the same types of clients that we target or may target in the future. Many of our competitors are substantially larger and have more relevant experience, considerably greater financial, technical and marketing resources and have more personnel than we have. There are few barriers to entry, including a relatively low cost of entering these lines of business, and the successful efforts of new entrants into our expected lines of business, including major banks and other financial institutions, may result in increased competition. Other industry participants may, from time to time, seek to recruit our investment professionals and other employees away from us.

With respect to our asset management activities, our competitors may have more extensive distribution capabilities, more effective marketing strategies, more attractive investment vehicle structures and broader name recognition than we do. Further, other investment managers may offer services at more competitive prices than we do, which could put downward pressure on our fee structure. With respect to our origination and investment activities, some competitors may have a lower cost of funds, enhanced operating efficiencies and access to funding sources that are not available to us. In addition, 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 establish more relationships than we can. The competitive pressures we face, if not effectively managed, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations.

Also, as a result of this competition, we may not be able to take advantage of attractive asset management, origination and investment opportunities and, therefore, may not be able to identify and pursue opportunities that are consistent with our objectives. Competition may limit the number of suitable investment opportunities offered to us. It may also result in higher prices, lower yields and a narrower spread of yields over our borrowing costs, making it more difficult for us to acquire new investments on attractive terms. In addition, competition for desirable investments could delay the investment in desirable assets, which may in turn reduce our earnings per share.

With respect to our broker-dealer activities, our revenues could be adversely affected if large institutional clients that we have increase the amount of trading they do directly with each other rather than through our broker-dealer, decrease the amount of trading they do with our broker-dealer because they decide to trade more with our competitors, decrease their trading of certain OTC products in favor of exchange-traded products, or hire in-house professionals to handle trading that our broker-dealer would otherwise be engaged to do.

We have experienced intense price competition in our brokerage business in recent years. Some competitors may offer brokerage services to clients at lower prices than we offer, which may force us to reduce our prices or to lose market share and revenue. In addition, we intend to focus primarily on providing brokerage services in markets for less commoditized financial instruments. As the markets for these instruments become more commoditized, we could lose market share to other inter-dealer brokers, exchanges and electronic multi-dealer

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brokers who specialize in providing brokerage services in more commoditized markets. If a financial instrument for which we provide brokerage services becomes listed on an exchange or if an exchange introduces a competing product to the products we broker in the OTC market, the need for our services in relation to that instrument could be significantly reduced. Further, the recent consolidation among exchange firms, and expansion by these firms into derivative and other non-equity trading markets, will increase competition for customer trades and place additional pricing pressure on commissions and spreads.

Financial problems experienced by third parties could affect the markets in which we provide brokerage services. In addition, a disruption in the credit derivatives market could affect our net trading revenues.

Problems experienced by third parties could affect the markets in which we provide brokerage services. For example, in recent years, hedge funds have increasingly begun to make use of credit and other derivatives as part of their trading strategies. As a result, an increasing percentage of our business, directly or indirectly, resulted from trading activity by institutional investors. For example, hedge funds typically employ a significant amount of leverage to achieve their results and, in the past, certain hedge funds have had difficulty managing this leverage, which has resulted in market-wide disruptions. If one or more hedge funds that is a significant participant in a credit derivatives market experiences similar problems in the future, including as a result of the volatility in such market, that credit derivatives market could be adversely affected and, accordingly, our trading revenues in that credit derivatives market could decrease.

In addition, in recent years, reports in the U.S. and United Kingdom have suggested weaknesses in the way credit derivatives are assigned by participants in the credit derivatives markets. Such reports expressed concern that, due to the size of the credit derivatives market, the volume of assignments and the suggested weaknesses in the assignment process, one or more significant defaults by corporate issuers of debt may lead to further market-wide disruption or result in the bankruptcy or operational failure of hedge funds or other market participants which could adversely affect our business and revenues.

Employee misconduct or error, which can be difficult to detect and deter, could harm us by impairing our ability to attract and retain clients and by subjecting us to significant legal liability and reputational harm.

There have been a number of highly-publicized cases involving fraud, trading on material non-public information, or other misconduct by employees and others in the financial services industry, and there is a risk that our employees could engage in misconduct that adversely affects our business. For example, we may be subject to the risk of significant legal liabilities under securities or other laws for our employees’ material omissions or materially false or misleading statements in connection with securities and other transactions. In addition, our advisory business requires that we deal with confidential matters of great significance to our clients. If our employees were to improperly use or disclose confidential information provided by our clients, we could be subject to regulatory sanctions and could suffer serious harm to our reputation, financial position, current client relationships and ability to attract future clients. We are also subject to extensive regulation under securities laws and other laws in connection with our asset management business. Failure to comply with these legislative and regulatory requirements by any of our employees could adversely affect us and our clients. It is not always possible to deter employee misconduct, and any precautions taken by us to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in all cases.

Furthermore, employee errors, including mistakes in executing, recording or reporting transactions for clients (such as entering into transactions that clients may disavow and refuse to settle) could expose us to financial losses and could seriously harm our reputation and negatively affect our business. The risk of employee error or miscommunication may be greater for products that are new or have non-standardized terms.

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Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure and Ownership of Our Common Stock

We are a holding company whose primary asset is membership units in the Operating LLC and we are dependent on distributions from the Operating LLC to pay taxes and other obligations.

We are a holding company whose primary asset is membership units in the Operating LLC. Since the Operating LLC is a limited liability company taxed as a partnership, we, as a member of the Operating LLC, could incur tax obligations as a result of our allocable share of the income from the operations of the Operating LLC. In addition, we have convertible senior debt and junior subordinated notes outstanding. The Operating LLC will pay distributions to us in amounts necessary to satisfy our tax obligations and regularly scheduled payments of interest in connection with our convertible senior debt and our junior subordinated notes, and we are dependent on these distributions from the Operating LLC to generate the funds necessary to meet these obligations and liabilities. Industry conditions and financial, business and other factors will affect our ability to generate the cash flows we need to make these distributions.

There may be circumstances under which the Operating LLC may be restricted from paying dividends to us under applicable law or regulation (for example due to Delaware limited liability company act limitations on the Operating LLC’s ability to make distributions if liabilities of the Operating LLC after the distribution would exceed the value of the Operating LLC’s assets). The Operating Company’s ability to pay dividends to the Company will be dependent, in part, on distributions it receives from PrinceRidge Holdings. Distributions from PrinceRidge Holdings to the Operating Company are subject to the unanimous approval of the board of managers of PrinceRidge GP (to which the Company designates three of the five board members) and are subject to the provisions of PrinceRidge Holdings’ operating agreement.

Our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer may have ownership interests in the Operating LLC and competing duties to other entities that could create potential conflicts of interest and may result in decisions that are not in the best interests of IFMI stockholders.

The Operating LLC Agreement prevents the Operating LLC from undertaking certain actions without the affirmative approval of IFMI and a majority of voting power of the Operating LLC members, other than IFMI, having a percentage interest of at least 10% of the Operating LLC membership units. Mr. Cohen, through Cohen Bros. Financial, will have a majority of the voting power of the Operating LLC members, other than IFMI, having a percentage interest of at least 10% of the Operating LLC membership units and these actions are subject to his approval. As a result, it is possible that Mr. Cohen, in his capacity as a the Operating LLC member with approval rights over the actions identified above, could disapprove actions that would be in the best interests of IFMI even though, as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IFMI, he will have fiduciary duties to IFMI.

We are party to agreements with permanent capital vehicles and investment funds sponsored and managed by the Operating LLC, including EuroDekania, Star Asia, Brigadier and Deep Value. These agreements include rights of first refusal arrangements with EuroDekania and Star Asia and management agreements with EuroDekania, Star Asia, Brigadier and Deep Value. Mr. Cohen is a member of the boards of and/or has ownership interests in these entities. Mr. Cohen may face conflicts of interest when making decisions regarding these entities, including if either party to such agreements seeks to terminate or enforce their respective rights under such agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not be adversely affected by these potential conflicts.

Daniel G. Cohen and other executive officers may exercise significant influence over matters requiring stockholder approval.

Daniel G. Cohen beneficially owns 4,983,557 shares of Series B preferred stock, which have no economic rights, but entitle him to vote together with our stockholders on all matters presented to the stockholders and to exercise approximately 27.7% of the voting power of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock. The terms of the Series B preferred stock require that we redeem the Series B preferred stock on December 31, 2012 for a nominal payment equal to the aggregate par value of such shares. There are no voting agreements or other

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arrangements or understandings among Mr. Cohen and our other directors and executive officers with respect to our equity securities; however, to the extent that Mr. Cohen and our other directors and executive officers vote their shares in the same manner, their combined stock ownership and voting rights may have a significant or decisive effect on the election of all of the directors and the approval of matters that are presented to our stockholders. Their ownership may discourage someone from making a significant equity investment in us, even if we needed the investment to operate our business. The size of their combined stock holdings could be a significant factor in delaying or preventing a change of control transaction that other of our stockholders may deem to be in their best interests, such as a transaction in which the other stockholders would receive a premium for their shares over their then current market prices.

On several occasions, our Board of Directors has declared cash dividends. Any future distributions to our stockholders will depend upon certain factors affecting our operating results, some of which are beyond our control.

Our ability to make and sustain cash distributions is based on many factors, including the return on our investments, operating expense levels and certain restrictions imposed by Maryland law. Some of these factors are beyond our control and a change in any such factor could affect our ability to make distributions in the future. We may not be able to make distributions. Our stockholders should rely on increases, if any, in the price of our Common Stock for any return on their investment. Furthermore, we are dependent on distributions from the Operating LLC to be able to make distributions. See the risk factor above titled “We are a holding company whose primary asset is membership units in Cohen and we are dependent on distributions from Cohen to pay taxes and other obligations.”

Future sales of our Common Stock in the public market could lower the price of our Common Stock and impair our ability to raise funds in future securities offerings.

Future sales of a substantial number of shares of our Common Stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales may occur, could adversely affect the then prevailing market price of our Common Stock and could make it more difficult for us to raise funds in the future through a public offering of our securities.

Your percentage ownership in the Company may be diluted in the future.

Your percentage ownership in the Company may be diluted in the future because of equity awards that have been, or may be, granted to our directors, officers and employees. We have adopted equity compensation plans that provide for the grant of equity based awards, including restricted stock, stock options and other equity-based awards to our directors, officers and other employees, advisors and consultants. At December 31, 2011, we had 2,597,620 shares of restricted stock and 90,135 of restricted units outstanding to employees and directors of the Company and there were 1,914,702 shares available for future awards under our equity compensation plans. Vesting of restricted stock grants is generally contingent upon performance conditions and service conditions. Vesting of those shares of restricted units and stock would dilute the ownership interest of existing shareholders. Equity awards will continue to be a source of compensation for employees and directors.

If we raise additional capital, we expect it will be necessary for us to issue additional equity or convertible debt securities. If we issue equity or convertible debt securities, the price at which we offer such securities may not bear any relationship to our value, the net tangible book value per share may decrease, the percentage ownership of our current stockholders would be diluted, and any equity securities we may issue in such offering or upon conversion of convertible debt securities issued in such offering, may have rights, preferences or privileges with respect to liquidation, dividends, redemption, voting and other matters that are senior to or more advantageous than our common stock. If we finance acquisitions by issuing equity securities or securities convertible into equity securities, our existing stockholders will also be diluted.

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The Maryland General Corporation Law (the “MGCL”), provisions in our charter and bylaws, and our stockholder rights plan may prevent takeover attempts that could be beneficial to its stockholders.

Provisions of the MGCL and our charter and bylaws could discourage a takeover of us even if a change of control would be beneficial to the interests of its stockholders. These statutory, charter and bylaw provisions include the following:

In addition, we have a stockholder rights plan to help preserve the value of our deferred tax assets by reducing the risk of limitation of its NOLs and NCL which provides, among other things, that when specified events occur, our stockholders will be entitled to purchase from it a newly created series of junior participating preferred stock. The preferred stock purchase rights are triggered by the earlier to occur of (i) ten days following a public announcement that a person or group of affiliated or associated persons has become the beneficial owner of 4.95% or more of the shares of our Common Stock then outstanding, excluding the Company and any exempted persons identified in the rights agreement, or (ii) ten business days following the commencement of a tender offer or exchange offer that would result in a person or group becoming owner of 4.95% or more of the shares of our Common Stock then outstanding, excluding the Company and any exempted persons identified in the rights agreement. The preferred stock purchase rights would cause substantial dilution to a person or group that attempts to acquire the Company on terms not approved by our Board of Directors and could discourage a takeover.

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The Operating LLC Agreement prevents the Operating LLC from undertaking certain actions that may be in the best interest of the Operating LLC and IFMI without the affirmative approval of IFMI and the affirmative approval of a majority of the Operating LLC members, other than IFMI, having a percentage interest of at least 10% of the Operating LLC membership units.

The Operating LLC Agreement prevents the Operating LLC from undertaking the following actions without the affirmative approval of IFMI and a majority of voting power of the Operating LLC members, other than IFMI, having a percentage interest of at least 10% of the Operating LLC membership units:

Mr. Cohen, through Cohen Bros. Financial (“Cohen Bros. Financial”), has a majority of the voting power of the Operating LLC members, other than IFMI, having a percentage interest of at least 10% of the Operating LLC membership units and each of the actions set forth above is subject to his approval. As a result, it is possible that Mr. Cohen, in his capacity as a member of the Operating LLC with approval rights over the matters identified above, could disapprove actions that would be in the best interests of IFMI even though, as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IFMI, he will owe IFMI a fiduciary duty.

The market price of our Common Stock may be volatile and may be affected by market conditions beyond our control.

In addition, if the market for stocks in our industry, or the stock market in general, experience a loss of investor confidence, the market price of our Common Stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, financial condition or results of operations. If any of the foregoing occurs, it could cause the price of our Common Stock to fall and may expose us to lawsuits that, even if unsuccessful, could be costly to defend and a distraction to the board of directors and management.

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Our Common Stock may be delisted, which may have a material adverse effect on the liquidity and value of our Common Stock.

To maintain our listing on the NYSE Amex, we must meet certain financial and liquidity criteria. In addition, we may be subject to delisting by the NYSE Amex if our Common Stock sells for a substantial period of time at a low price per share, and we fail to effect a reverse split within a reasonable time after being notified that the NYSE Amex deems such action to be appropriate. The market price of our Common Stock has been and may continue to be subject to significant fluctuation as a result of periodic variations in our revenues and results of operations. If we violate the NYSE Amex listing requirements, we may be delisted. If we fail to meet any of the NYSE Amex’s listing standards, we may be delisted. In addition, our board may determine that the cost of maintaining our listing on a national securities exchange outweighs the benefits of such listing. Delisting of our Common Stock could have a material adverse effect on the liquidity and value of our Common Stock.

In addition, the holders of our outstanding $18.5 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior debt will have the right to require us to repurchase their notes at 100% of their principal amount together with accrued but unpaid interest thereon if, among other things, IFMI Common Stock ceases to be listed on the NYSE Amex, another established national securities exchange or an automated over the counter (“OTC”), trading market in the U.S. If our Common Stock is delisted due to a failure to meet any of the NYSE Amex’s listing standards and we are unable to list the our Common Stock on another established national securities exchange or an automated U.S. OTC trading market, some or all of the holders of our convertible notes may exercise their right to require us to repurchase up to $18.5 million aggregate principal amount of their notes.

Because our common stock is deemed a low-priced “Penny” stock, an investment in our Common Stock should be considered high risk and subject to marketability restrictions.

Since our Common Stock is a penny stock, as defined in Rule 3a51-1 under the Securities Exchange Act, it will be more difficult for investors to liquidate their investment in our Common Stock. Until the trading price of our Common Stock rises above $5.00 per share, if ever, trading in our Common Stock is subject to the penny stock rules of the Securities Exchange Act specified in rules 15g-1 through 15g-10. Those rules require broker-dealers, before effecting transactions in any penny stock, to:

Consequently, the penny stock rules may restrict the ability or willingness of broker-dealers to sell our Common Stock and may affect the ability of holders to sell their Common Stock in the secondary market and the price at which such holders can sell any such securities. These additional procedures could also limit our ability to raise additional capital in the future.

None.

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Our main offices are located in Philadelphia New York, Boca Raton, London and Paris. Our principal executive offices are located at Cira Centre, 2929 Arch Street, 17th Floor, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of December 31, 2011, we lease an aggregate of 10,396 square feet of office space in Philadelphia under a lease which will expire in April 2016. We lease 12,800 square feet of office space on each of the 21^st and 22^nd floors at 135 East 57th Street, New York, New York, with our lease with respect to such space expiring on November and December 2016, respectively. We sublease the 21^st and 22^nd floor to third parties. We lease approximately 220 square meters of office space at 3 rue Du Faubourg Saint Honoré, Paris, France, with such lease having an option to be terminated by us in December 2013. Our London office is located at Cannon Bridge House, 25 Dowgate Hill, 4th Floor, London, U.K., with such lease covering 2,403 square feet of office space expiring in June 2016 which may be terminated early be either party beginning in June 2013.

Effective January 1, 2011, we acquired JVB. JVB is part of our Capital Markets business segment. JVB has its principal office in Boca Raton, Florida, with additional offices in Sparks, Maryland; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Ridgefield, Connecticut that it maintains and leases pursuant to operating leases. JVB’s corporate headquarters is located at 2700 North Military Trail, Suite 200, Boca Raton, Florida. As of December 31, 2011, JVB leases an aggregate of 6,803 square feet of office space in Boca Raton under a lease which will expire in May 2013.

Effective May 31, 2011, we acquired an approximate 70% interest in PrinceRidge. PrinceRidge is part of our Capital Markets business segment. PrinceRidge has its principal office in New York, New York, with additional offices in Bethesda, Maryland; Chicago, Illinois; Boca Raton, Florida; and Houston, Texas that it maintains and leases pursuant to operating leases. PrinceRidge’s corporate headquarters is located at 1633 Broadway, 28^th Floor, New York, New York. As of December 31, 2011, PrinceRidge leases an aggregate of 28,122 square feet in its headquarters in New York and the lease expires in July 2015

The properties that we occupy are used either by the Company’s Capital Markets segment or Asset Management segment or both segments.

We believe that the facilities we occupy are suitable and adequate for our current operations.

Pending Litigation

One of the Company’s U.S. broker-dealer subsidiaries, CCS, is a party to litigation commenced on January 12, 2009 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (the “Illinois Court”) under the caption Frederick J. Grede, not individually, but as Liquidation Trustee and Representative of the Estate of Sentinel Management Group, Inc. v. Delores E. Rodriguez, Barry C. Mohr, Jr., Jacques de Saint Phalle, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., and Cohen & Company Securities, LLC. The plaintiff in this case is the Liquidation Trustee (the “Liquidation Trustee”) for the Estate of Sentinel Management Group, Inc. (“Sentinel”), which filed a bankruptcy petition in August 2007. The Liquidation Trustee alleges that CCS sold Sentinel securities, mainly collateralized debt obligations that the Liquidation Trustee contends were unsuitable for Sentinel and that CCS violated Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5. The Liquidation Trustee also seeks relief under the Illinois Blue Sky Law, the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, the United States Bankruptcy Code, and under common law theories of negligence and unjust enrichment. The relief sought by the Liquidation Trustee under these various legal theories includes damages, rescission, disgorgement, and recovery of allegedly voidable transactions under the Bankruptcy Code, as well as costs and attorneys’ fees. The Company is vigorously defending the claims. By order dated July 8, 2009, the Illinois Court dismissed the Liquidation Trustee’s Illinois Consumer Fraud Act claim. Discovery is ongoing with respect to the remaining claims. No contingent liability was recorded in the Company’s consolidated financial statements related to this litigation.

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CCS is also party to litigation commenced on May 21, 2009 in the Illinois Court under the caption Frederick J. Grede, not individually, but as Liquidation Trustee of the Sentinel Liquidation Trust, Assignee of certain claims v. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., Cohen & Company Securities, LLC., Delores E. Rodriguez, Barry C. Mohr, Jr., and Jacques de Saint Phalle. The plaintiff in this case is the Liquidation Trustee of the Sentinel Liquidation Trust, which emerged from the bankruptcy of Sentinel, filed in August 2007. The Liquidation Trustee, purportedly as the assignee of claims of Sentinel’s customers, alleges that, by recommending that Sentinel purchase securities, mainly collateralized debt obligations, that the trustee deems to have been unsuitable for Sentinel’s customer accounts, CCS aided and abetted breaches of fiduciary duties purportedly owed by Sentinel and its head trader to Sentinel’s customers, in violation of Illinois common law. The complaint also alleges claims under common law theories of negligence and unjust enrichment. The relief sought by the Liquidation Trustee under these various legal theories includes damages, disgorgement, costs, and attorneys’ fees. The Company is vigorously defending all claims. CCS filed a motion to dismiss the Liquidation Trustee’s complaint on July 21, 2009; that motion was dismissed “as moot” on March 29, 2011. Neither the court nor the Liquidation Trustee has taken any action since that time. No contingent liability was recorded in the Company’s consolidated financial statements related to this litigation.

In addition to the matters set forth above, the Company is a party to various routine legal proceedings and regulatory inquiries arising out of the ordinary course of the Company’s business. Management believes that the results of these routine legal proceedings and regulatory matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition, or on the Company’s operations and cash flows. However, the Company cannot estimate the legal fees and expenses to be incurred in connection with these routine matters and, therefore, is unable to determine whether these future legal fees and expenses will have a material impact on the Company’s operations and cash flows. It is the Company’s policy to expense legal and other fees as incurred.

Not Applicable.

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PART II

Market Information for Our Common Stock and Dividends

The closing price of our Common Stock was $1.52 on March 1, 2012. We had 12,667,624 shares of Common Stock outstanding held by approximately 41 holders of record as of March 1, 2012.

Commencing on March 22, 2004, our Common Stock began trading on the NYSE under the symbol “SFO.” On October 6, 2006, upon completion of our merger with Alesco Financial Trust and our name change from Sunset Financial Resources, Inc. to Alesco Financial Inc., our NYSE symbol was changed to “AFN.”

On December 16, 2009, we effectuated a 1-for-10 reverse stock split immediately prior to consummation of the Merger. Upon completion of the Merger, our name changed from Alesco Financial Inc. to Cohen & Company Inc., we moved our listing of Common Stock from the New York Stock Exchange to the NYSE Amex LLC, and our trading symbol was changed to “COHN.”

Effective January 21, 2011, we changed our name to Institutional Financial Markets, Inc. and our Common Stock began trading on the NYSE Amex LLC under the symbol “IFMI.”

The following sets forth the high and low sale prices of our Common Stock for the quarterly period indicated as reported on the NYSE Amex LLC from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011 and the cash dividends declared per share:

During 2010, the Company declared a $0.05 dividend on August 3, 2010 and November 9, 2010, respectively, payable to stockholders of record as of August 17, 2010 and November 19, 2010, respectively, and paid on August 31, 2010 and December 1, 2010, respectively. During 2011, the Company declared a $0.05 dividend on February 28, 2011, May 4, 2011, August 8, 2011 and November 8, 2011, respectively, payable to stockholders of record as of March, 14, 2011, May 19, 2011, August 23, 2011 and November 22, 2011, respectively, and payable on March 28, 2011, June 2, 2011, September 6, 2011 and December 6, 2011, respectively. On March 6, 2012, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a $0.02 dividend payable to stockholders of record as of March 20, 2012 and payable on April 3, 2012.

Effective January 1, 2010, the Company ceased to qualify as a REIT and, therefore, is not required to make any dividends or other distributions to its stockholders. The Company’s Board of Directors has the power to decide to increase, reduce, or eliminate dividends in the future. The board’s decision will depend on a variety of factors, including business, financial and regulatory considerations as well as any limitations under Maryland law or imposed by any agreements governing indebtedness of the Company.

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In addition, the Company’s ability to pay dividends to its stockholders will be dependent on distributions it receives from the Operating LLC and subject to the Operating LLC’s Operating Agreement. The amount and timing of distributions by the Operating LLC will be at the discretion of the Operating LLC’s board of managers and is subject to the provisions of the Operating LLC’s operating agreement. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources” in “Item 7 — Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” beginning on page 82 and note 21 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information regarding these restrictions, and “Equity Compensation Plan Information” included in “Part III — Item 12 — Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters” beginning on page 103.

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities

None.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

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The following selected financial data is derived from our audited consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, and 2007. In accordance with GAAP, the Merger was accounted for as a reverse acquisition with Cohen Brothers as the accounting acquirer. Our consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, and 2007 and for each of the five years in the period ended December 31, 2011 include the historical operations of Cohen Brothers (or its predecessors) from January 1, 2007 through to December 16, 2009 and the combined operations of the combined company from December 17, 2009 through to December 31, 2011.

You should read this selected financial data together with the more detailed information contained in our consolidated financial statements and related notes and “Item 7 — Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” beginning on page 55.

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On January 13, 2011, the Company and the Operating LLC completed its acquisition of JVB. JVB is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Operating LLC. The effective date of the merger transaction with JVB for accounting purposes was January 1, 2011.

On May 31, 2011, the Operating LLC, and PrinceRidge completed the transaction contemplated by the Contribution Agreement dated April 19, 2011, by and among the Operating LLC and PrinceRidge. The Operating LLC contributed $45,000 which was comprised of cash, amounts payable, and all of the equity ownership interests in Cohen & Company Capital Markets, LLC (“CCCM”), a broker-dealer comprising a substantial part of the Operating LLC’s capital markets segment, to PrinceRidge in exchange for an approximate 70% interest (consisting of equity and profit interests) in PrinceRidge. PrinceRidge operates a FINRA regulated broker-dealer, The PrinceRidge Group LLC (“TPRG”) in addition to CCCM. The transaction was subject to final FINRA approval which was received on October 19, 2011. The effective date of the merger transaction with PrinceRidge for accounting purposes was June 1, 2011. CCCM was merged into TPRG in 2012.

See notes 1 and 4 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Equity compensation and tax gross up expense: The Company compensates its employees through the issuance of equity based compensation. See note 22 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition, in certain cases, we have paid an additional cash bonus to the employees receiving equity-based compensation to compensate them for their personal income tax liability incurred from receiving the non-cash compensation, which is referred to herein as gross-up bonus or gross-up expense. This gross-up expense is included in compensation and benefits in the statements of operations. During the first quarter of 2006, we issued 2.1 million (retroactively adjusted for the Merger conversion ratio of 0.57372) restricted membership units, in total, to three members of our executive team. At the time of grant, we estimated these units to have an average per unit value of $6.48 (retroactively adjusted for the Merger conversion ratio of 0.57372). These grants vested in the fourth quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2007. As of the first vesting date on December 31, 2006, we estimated that the value of these units had increased to an average per unit value of $29.56 (retroactively adjusted for the Merger conversion ratio of 0.57372). This resulted in approximately $61,173 in equity-based compensation expense over the vesting period of which $20,394 was recognized prior to January 1, 2007. We recognized expense of $40,392 and $387 in 2007 and 2008, respectively, based on the vesting schedule. In addition, all of the tax gross-up expenses recorded by us in 2007 related to payments to these three individuals.

Retention bonus: In January 2009, we implemented the 2009 Senior Managers’ Cash Bonus Retention Plan (the “Retention Plan”). Pursuant to the Retention Plan, we entered into retention arrangements with certain of our employees to ensure their continued service through the completion of the Merger with AFN. We paid an amount to each employee that by the terms of the retention arrangement vested over the period from January 1, 2009 to the earlier of the effectiveness of the Merger with AFN or September 30, 2009. The total amount paid under these retention agreements was approximately $12.4 million and was expensed over the contractual nine month vesting period. If an employee who received a payment under this plan voluntarily resigned or was terminated for cause prior to September 30, 2009, the employee was obligated to repay any unvested amount to us.

Severance: From time to time, the Company pays employees severance when they are terminated without cause. These routine severance payments are included within cash compensation in the table above. In 2011, the Company incurred $3,000 of severance expense for cash compensation owed to our former president, as a result of an amendment of his employment agreement during the first half of 2011.

During the third quarter of 2010, we determined that an impairment charge should be recorded related to the goodwill allocated to Cira SCM. For the annual impairment test of Cira SCM, we first estimated the current fair value of the Cira SCM reporting unit. This fair value was compared to the book value of the goodwill, and if the fair value was less, then the goodwill was deemed impaired. We determined the fair value of the Cira SCM reporting unit using a discounted cash flow analysis. During the year ended December 31, 2010, we recognized an impairment charge of $5,607. The charge was included in the consolidated statements of operations as impairment of goodwill and was reflected as component of operating expenses. See note 13 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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For the year ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, “weighted average common shares/membership units outstanding — diluted” includes unrestricted Operating LLC membership units of 5,269,323 and 5,283,556, respectively, that are convertible into shares of IFMI Common Stock. The Operating LLC membership units not held by IFMI (that is, those held by the non-controlling interest for the year ended December 31, 2011 and 2010) may be redeemed and exchanged into shares of IFMI on a one-to-one basis. These units are not included in the computation of basic earnings per share. These units enter into the computation of diluted net income (loss) per common share when the effect is dilutive using the if-converted method.

Due to the net loss attributable to IFMI for the year ended December 31, 2011, the weighted average shares calculation excluded the effect of certain equity instruments. Had these amounts been included, the weighted average shares amount would have increased by 17,424 shares.

For the year ended December 31, 2009, the weighted average shares calculation excluded the effect of 229,720 unrestricted Operating LLC membership units exchangeable into IFMI shares because these equity instruments were anti-dilutive.

See note 26 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. On a regular basis, we evaluate these estimates, including fair value of financial instruments. These estimates are based on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

All amounts in this disclosure are in thousands (except share and per share data) unless otherwise noted.

Overview

We are an investment firm specializing in credit-related fixed income investments. We began operations, through our predecessors, in 1999 as an investment firm focused on small and mid-cap banks, but have grown over the past years into a more diversified fixed income specialty investment firm. We are organized into three business segments: Capital Markets, Asset Management, and Principal Investing.

We generate our revenue by segment primarily through:

Capital Markets:

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Asset Management:

Principal Investing:

Business Environment

Our business is materially affected by economic conditions in the financial markets, political conditions, and broad trends in business and finance, changes in volume and price levels of securities transactions, and changes in interest rates, all of which can affect our profitability, and all of which are unpredictable and are beyond our control. These factors may affect the financial decisions made by investors, including their level of participation in the financial markets. Severe market fluctuations or weak economic conditions could continue reduce our trading volume and revenues and adversely affect our profitability.

A portion of our revenues is generated from net trading activity. We engage in proprietary trading for our own account, provide securities financing for our customers, as well as execute “riskless” trades with a customer order in hand resulting in limited market risk to us. The inventory of securities held for our own account as well as held to facilitate customer trades and our market making activities are sensitive to market movements.

A portion of our revenues is generated from new issue and advisory engagements. The fees charged and volume of these engagements are sensitive to the overall business environment.

A portion of our revenues is generated from management fees. Our ability to charge management fees and the amount of those fees is dependent upon the underlying investment performance and stability of the investment vehicles. If these types of investments do not provide attractive returns to investors, the demand for such instruments will likely fall, thereby reducing our opportunity to earn new management fees or maintain existing management fees. 97% of our existing assets under management are CDOs. The creation of CDOs and permanent capital vehicles has depended upon a vibrant securitization market. Since 2008, volumes within the securitization market have dropped significantly and not recovered. We have been unable to complete a new securitization since 2008.

A portion of our revenues is generated from principal investing activities. Therefore, our revenues are impacted by the underlying operating results of these investments. As of December 31, 2011, we had $42,772 of other investments, at fair value representing our principal investment portfolio. Of this amount, $42,261, or 99%, is comprised of investments in three separate investment funds and permanent capital vehicles: Star Asia, EuroDekania, and Tiptree. Furthermore, the investment in Star Asia is our largest single principal investment and, as of December 31, 2011, has a fair value of $37,358, representing 87% of the total amount of other investments, at fair value. Star Asia seeks to invest in Asian commercial real estate structured finance products, including CMBS, corporate debt of REITs and real estate operating companies, whole loans, mezzanine loans, and other commercial real estate fixed income investments. Therefore, our results of operations and financial condition will be significantly impacted by the financial results of these investments and, in the case of Star Asia, the Japanese real estate market in general. Our investment in Star Asia and our principal investing revenue was impacted by the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster in Japan that occurred during the first quarter of 2011. See “—Year Ended December 31, 2011 compared to the Year Ended December 2010 — Revenues — Principal Transactions and Other Income” below.

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Margin Pressures in Corporate Bond Brokerage Business

Performance in the financial services industry in which we operate is highly correlated to the overall strength of the economy and financial market activity. Overall market conditions are a product of many factors, which are beyond our control and can be unpredictable. These factors may affect the financial decisions made by investors, including the level of participation in the financial markets. In turn, these decisions may affect our business results. With respect to financial market activity, our profitability is sensitive to a variety of factors, including the volatility of the equity and fixed income markets, the level and shape of the various yield curves, and the volume and value of trading in securities.

During 2010 and 2011, both margins and volumes in certain products and markets within the corporate bond brokerage business decreased materially as competition increased and general market activity has declined. Further, we expect that competition will continue to increase over time, resulting in continued margin pressure.

Our response to this margin compression has included: (i) building a diversified securitized product trading platform; (ii) building out our European capital markets business; (iii) acquiring new product lines, such as the acquisition of JVB and PrinceRidge (see discussion below), and (iv) monitoring our fixed costs. During the third quarter of 2011, the Company implemented significant cost savings initiatives. These initiatives included the elimination of duplicative costs that arose with the PrinceRidge transaction as well as net reductions in overall costs to address adverse market conditions. The initiatives included: termination of staff, reductions in compensation and benefits of remaining staff, savings related to the sublease and termination of duplicative leases, termination of or reduction in pricing of subscriptions, reduction in board of directors fees, and reduction in insurance premiums. However, there can be no certainty that these efforts will be sufficient. If insufficient, we will likely see a continued decline in profitability.

Recent Legislation Affecting the Financial Services Industry

On July 21, 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) was signed into law. The Dodd-Frank Act contains a variety of provisions designed to regulate financial markets, including credit and derivative transactions. Many aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act are subject to rulemaking that will take effect over the next several years, thus making it difficult to assess the impact on the financial industry, including us, at this time. The Dodd-Frank Act establishes new and enhanced compensation and corporate governance oversight for the financial services industry, provides a specific framework for payment, clearing and settlement regulation, and empowers the SEC to adopt regulations requiring new fiduciary duties and other more stringent regulation of broker-dealers, investment companies and investment advisers. We will continue to monitor all applicable developments in the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act and expect to adapt successfully to any new applicable legislative and regulatory requirements.

Recent Events or Transactions

Acquisition of JVB

On January 13, 2011, we completed the acquisition of JVB. JVB is an investment firm specializing in the wholesale distribution of fixed income securities. JVB operates a FINRA regulated broker-dealer. As contemplated by the Purchase Agreement, the sellers sold all of the outstanding equity interests in JVB to the Operating LLC and, as a result, JVB is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Operating LLC. Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, the transaction was effective as of January 1, 2011. See note 4 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

PrinceRidge

On April 19, 2011, we completed the transactions contemplated by the Contribution Agreement, whereby we acquired an approximate 70% interest in PrinceRidge. PrinceRidge is a fixed income focused financial

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services firm. PrinceRidge operates TPRG, a FINRA regulated broker-dealer. Pursuant to the agreement of the parties, the transaction was effective as of May 31, 2011. We contributed $45,000 which was comprised of cash, amounts receivable, and the equity ownership interests in Cohen & Company Capital Markets, LLC (“CCCM”), a broker-dealer comprising a substantial part of our capital markets segment, to PrinceRidge in exchange for an approximate 70% interest (consisting of equity and profit interests) in PrinceRidge. JVB was not contributed into PrinceRidge and remains wholly owned by the Operating LLC. The transaction was subject to final FINRA approval which was received on October 19, 2011. See Note 4 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. On February 8, 2012, FINRA approved the merger between TPRG and CCCM. On February 17, 2012, PrinceRidge effected the merger.

Exchange Offer of Contingent Convertible Senior Notes Due 2027

On June 20, 2011, we commenced an offer to exchange (the “Exchange Offer”), at the election of each holder, any and all of our outstanding 7.625% contingent convertible senior notes due 2027 (the “Old Notes”). Under the terms and subject to the conditions of the Exchange Offer, for each validly tendered and accepted $1 principal amount of the Old Notes, an eligible holder received $1 principal amount of a new series of 10.50% contingent convertible senior notes due 2027 (the “New Notes”). The Exchange Offer expired on July 19, 2011. The purpose of the Exchange Offer was to improve our financial flexibility by extending the first date at which holders of the Old Notes can require us to repurchase the Old Notes from May 15, 2012 to May 15, 2014.

In July 2011, $7,621 aggregate principal amount of the Old Notes were tendered for exchange pursuant to the Exchange Offer, representing approximately 39% of the principal amount of the Old Notes outstanding. In accordance with the terms of the Exchange Offer, we issued $7,621 aggregate principal amount of New Notes in exchange for the $7,621 aggregate principal amount of the Old Notes that were tendered. We also paid in cash all accrued and unpaid interest on the Old Notes tendered and accepted in the Exchange Offer to, but not including, the settlement date. Effective in October 2011, we completed a privately negotiated exchange of $500 in aggregate principal balance of Old Notes. The terms of this exchange were the same as the Exchange Offer which was completed in July 2011.

See note 19 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K

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Consolidated Results of Operations

The following section provides a comparative discussion of our consolidated results of operations for the specified periods. The period-to-period comparisons of financial results are not necessarily indicative of future results.

Year Ended December 31, 2011 compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2010

The following table sets forth information regarding our consolidated results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2011 and 2010.

INSTITUTIONAL FINANCIAL MARKETS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Dollars in Thousands)

(Unaudited)