HENNESSY ADVISORS INC - Annual Report: 2020 (Form 10-K)

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 10-K

 

 

 

☒	ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2020

or

 

☐	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Transition Period From                      to                     

Commission File Number 001-36423

 

 

HENNESSY ADVISORS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

California		68-0176227
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(IRS Employer Identification No.)
7250 Redwood Blvd., Suite 200 Novato, California		94945
(Address of principal executive office)		(Zip code)

(415) 899-1555

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

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

 

Title of each class		Trading symbol		Name of each exchange on which registered
Common stock, no par value		HNNA		The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC

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  ☒

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  ☒

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  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted 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 such files).     Yes  ☒    No  ☐

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

 

Large accelerated filer		☐		Accelerated filer		☐
Non-accelerated filer		☒		Smaller reporting company		☒
				Emerging growth company		☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.  ☐

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

The aggregate market value of Common Stock held by non-affiliates (as affiliates are defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act) of the registrant, based on the closing price of $7.59 on March 31, 2020, was $31,480,717.

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date:

As of November 27, 2020, there were 7,357,201 shares of Common Stock (no par value) issued and outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:

Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for its 2021 annual meeting of stockholders will be, when filed, incorporated by reference in Part III, Items 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14.

 

 

 

HENNESSY ADVISORS, INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

PART I
Item 1		Business			1
Item 1A		Risk Factors			20
Item 2		Properties			29
Item 3		Legal Proceedings			29
Item 4		Mine Safety Disclosures			29
Part II
Item 5		Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities			29
Item 7		Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations			30
Item 8		Financial Statements and Supplementary Data			39
Item 9		Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure			59
Item 9A		Controls and Procedures			59
Item 9B		Other Information			59
Part III
Item 10		Directors, Executive Officers, and Corporate Governance			59
Item 11		Executive Compensation			60
Item 12		Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters			60
Item 13		Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence			61
Item 14		Principal Accountant Fees and Services			61
Part IV
Item 15		Exhibit and Financial Statement Schedules			62
Item 16		Form 10-K Summary			65
		Signatures			66

 

i

PART I

 

ITEM 1.

BUSINESS

GENERAL

Hennessy Advisors, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a publicly traded investment management firm whose primary business activity is managing, servicing, and marketing a family of open-end mutual funds branded as the Hennessy Funds. We are committed to providing superior service to investors and employing a consistent and disciplined approach to investing based on a buy-and-hold philosophy that rejects the idea of market timing. Our goal is to provide products that investors can have confidence in, knowing their money is invested as promised and with their best interests in mind. Our firm was founded on these principles over 30 years ago, and the same principles guide us today.

We earn revenues primarily by providing investment advisory services to the Hennessy Funds and secondarily by providing shareholder services to shareholders of the Hennessy Funds. Investment advisory services include managing the composition of each fund’s portfolio (including the purchase, retention, and disposition of portfolio securities in accordance with each fund’s investment objectives, policies, and restrictions), monitoring each fund’s compliance with its investment restrictions and federal securities laws, monitoring the liquidity of each fund, reviewing each fund’s investment performance, overseeing the selection and continued employment of sub-advisors and monitoring such sub-advisors’ adherence to the fund’s investment objectives, policies, and restrictions, monitoring and overseeing other service providers, maintaining in-house marketing and distribution departments, preparing and distributing regulatory reports, and monitoring and overseeing distribution through third-party financial intermediaries. Shareholder services include maintaining a toll-free number that the current investors in the Hennessy Funds may call to ask questions about the funds or their accounts or to get help with processing exchange and redemption requests or changing account options. The fees we receive for investment advisory and shareholder services are calculated as a percentage of the average daily net asset values of the Hennessy Funds. Accordingly, our total revenue increases or decreases as our average assets under management rises or falls. The percentage amount of the investment advisory fees varies from fund to fund, but the percentage amount of the shareholder service fees is consistent across all funds.

We have delegated the day-to-day portfolio management responsibilities to sub-advisors, subject to our oversight, for some of the Hennessy Funds. In exchange for these sub-advisory services, we pay each sub-advisor a fee out of our own assets, which is calculated as a percentage of the average daily net asset values of the sub-advised funds. Accordingly, the sub-advisory fees we pay increase or decrease as our average assets under management in our sub-advised funds increases or decreases, respectively.

Our average assets under management for fiscal year 2020 was $4.1 billion, and our total assets under management as of the end of fiscal year 2020 was $3.6 billion. Although our total AUM has fluctuated up and down throughout our history, it was 851% higher as of the end of fiscal year 2020 than our total AUM of $375 million as of the end of fiscal year 2002, which was our first fiscal year as a public company.

Our business strategy centers on (i) organic growth through our marketing, sales, and distribution efforts and (ii) growth through strategic purchases of management-related assets.

HISTORICAL CALENDAR YEAR TIMELINE

 

1989		In February, we were founded as a California corporation under our previous name, Edward J. Hennessy, Inc., and registered as a broker-dealer with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
1996		In March, we launched our first mutual fund, the Hennessy Balanced Fund.
1998		In October, we launched our second mutual fund, the Hennessy Total Return Fund.
2000		In June, we successfully completed our first asset purchase by purchasing the assets related to the management of two funds previously managed by Netfolio, Inc. (“Netfolio”) and changed the fund names to the Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund and the Hennessy Cornerstone Value Fund. The amount of the purchased assets as of the closing date totaled approximately $197 million.

 

1

2002		In May, we successfully completed a self-underwritten initial public offering of our stock by raising $5.7 million at an offering price of $1.98 (HNNA.OB) and changed our firm name to Hennessy Advisors, Inc. Our total assets under management at the time of our initial public offering was approximately $358 million.
2003		In September, we purchased the assets related to the management of a fund previously managed by SYM Financial Corporation and reorganized the assets of such fund into the newly created Hennessy Cornerstone Mid Cap 30 Fund. The amount of the purchased assets as of the closing date was approximately $35 million.
2004		In March, we purchased the assets related to the management of five funds previously managed by Lindner Asset Management, Inc. and reorganized the assets of such funds into four of our existing Hennessy Funds. The amount of the purchased assets as of the closing date totaled approximately $301 million.
2005		In July, we purchased the assets related to the management of a fund previously managed by Landis Associates LLC and changed the fund name to the Hennessy Cornerstone Growth, Series II Fund. The amount of the purchased assets as of the closing date was approximately $299 million.
2007		In November, we launched the Hennessy Micro Cap Growth Fund, LLC, a non-registered private pooled investment fund.
2009		In March, we purchased the assets related to the management of two funds previously managed by RBC Global Asset Management (U.S.) Inc. and reorganized the assets of such funds into the newly created Hennessy Cornerstone Large Growth Fund and the Hennessy Large Value Fund. In conjunction with the completion of the transaction, RBC Global Asset Management (U.S.) Inc. became the sub-advisor to the Hennessy Large Value Fund. The amount of the purchased assets as of the closing date totaled approximately $158 million.   In September, we purchased the assets related to the management of two funds previously managed by SPARX Investment & Research, USA, Inc. and sub-advised by SPARX Asset Management Co., Ltd. and changed the fund names to the Hennessy Japan Fund and the Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund. In conjunction with the completion of the transaction, SPARX Asset Management Co., Ltd. became the sub-advisor to both funds. The amount of the purchased assets as of the closing date totaled approximately $74 million.
2011		In October, we reorganized the assets of the Hennessy Cornerstone Growth, Series II Fund into the Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund.
2012		In October, we purchased the assets related to the management of 10 funds previously managed by FBR Fund Advisers (the “FBR Funds”). We reorganized the assets of three of the FBR Funds into existing Hennessy Funds and reorganized the assets of the seven other FBR Funds into newly created series of the Hennessy Funds. In conjunction with the completion of the transaction, Broad Run Investment Management, LLC became the sub-advisor to the Hennessy Focus Fund, FCI Advisors became the sub-advisor to the Hennessy Equity and Income Fund (fixed income allocation) and the Hennessy Core Bond Fund, and The London Company of Virginia, LLC became the sub-advisor to the Hennessy Equity and Income Fund (equity allocation). The amount of the purchased assets as of the closing date was approximately $2.2 billion.   In December, we closed the Hennessy Micro Cap Growth Fund, LLC.
2014		In April, our common stock began trading on The NASDAQ Capital Market.

 

2

2015		In September, we completed a self-tender offer, under which we repurchased 1,500,000 shares of our common stock at $16.67 per share.   In June, we launched Institutional Class shares for the Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund and the Hennessy Large Cap Financial Fund.
2016		In September, we purchased the assets related to the management of two funds previously managed by Westport Advisers, LLC and reorganized the assets of such funds into the Hennessy Cornerstone Mid Cap 30 Fund. The amount of the purchased assets as of the closing date totaled approximately $435 million.
2017		In February, we liquidated the Hennessy Core Bond Fund and reorganized the Hennessy Large Value Fund into the Hennessy Cornerstone Value Fund. Additionally, for the Hennessy Technology Fund, we implemented changes to the investment strategy and the portfolio management team.   In March, we launched Institutional Class shares for the Hennessy Gas Utility Fund.   In December, we purchased the assets related to the management of two funds previously managed by Rainier Investment Management, LLC (“Rainier”) and reorganized the assets of such funds into the Hennessy Cornerstone Large Growth Fund and the Hennessy Cornerstone Mid Cap 30 Fund. The amount of the purchased assets as of the closing date totaled approximately $122 million.
2018		In January, we purchased the assets related to the management of a third fund previously managed by Rainier and reorganized the assets of such fund into the Hennessy Cornerstone Mid Cap 30 Fund. The amount of the purchased assets as of the closing date totaled approximately $253 million.   In October, we purchased the assets related to the management of the two funds previously managed by BP Capital Fund Services, LLC and reorganized the assets of such funds into the newly created Hennessy BP Energy Fund and the Hennessy BP Midstream Fund. In connection with the transaction, BP Capital Fund Services, LLC became the sub-adviser to both funds. The amount of the purchased assets as of the closing date totaled approximately $200 million.
2019		During the year, we repurchased an aggregate of 560,734 shares of our common stock pursuant to our stock buyback program.
2020		In the first three months of the year, we repurchased an aggregate of 206,109 shares of our common stock pursuant to our stock buyback program.

 

3

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Investment Strategies of the Hennessy Funds

We manage 16 mutual funds, each of which is categorized as a Domestic Equity, Multi-Asset, or Sector and Specialty product. Shares of the funds generally are available for purchase only by U.S. residents and, in certain circumstances, U.S. citizens living abroad.

 

The Hennessy Funds Family
Domestic Equity		Multi-Asset		Sector and Specialty
Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund		Hennessy Total Return Fund		Hennessy BP Energy Fund
Hennessy Focus Fund		Hennessy Equity and Income Fund		Hennessy BP Midstream Fund
Hennessy Cornerstone Mid Cap 30 Fund		Hennessy Balanced Fund		Hennessy Gas Utility Fund
Hennessy Cornerstone Large Growth Fund				Hennessy Japan Fund
Hennessy Cornerstone Value Fund				Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund
				Hennessy Large Cap Financial Fund
				Hennessy Small Cap Financial Fund
				Hennessy Technology Fund

Domestic Equity Funds

Five of the Hennessy Funds are categorized as Domestic Equity products. Of those five funds, four utilize a quantitative investment strategy and one is actively managed, and they all employ consistent and disciplined approaches to investing. Following is a brief description of the investment objectives and principal investment strategies of the Hennessy Funds in the Domestic Equity product category:

 

•

Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund (Investor Class symbol HFCGX; Institutional Class symbol HICGX). The Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund seeks long-term growth of capital by investing in growth-oriented common stocks using a quantitative formula. From the investable common stocks of public companies in the S&P Capital IQ Database with market capitalizations exceeding $175 million, this fund invests in the 50 common stocks with the highest one-year price appreciation that also have price-to-sales ratios below 1.5, higher annual earnings than in the previous year, and positive stock price appreciation over the prior three-month and six-month periods.

 

•

Hennessy Focus Fund (Investor Class symbol HFCSX; Institutional Class symbol HFCIX). The Hennessy Focus Fund seeks capital appreciation by maintaining a highly concentrated portfolio of approximately 20 companies whose valuations in the market are modest, that earn higher than average economic returns, that are well managed, and that have ample opportunity to reinvest excess profits at above-average rates. This fund’s holdings are conviction-weighted, with 60-80% of its assets typically concentrated in what the portfolio managers believe to be the fund’s top 10 investments.

 

•

Hennessy Cornerstone Mid Cap 30 Fund (Investor Class symbol HFMDX; Institutional Class symbol HIMDX). The Hennessy Cornerstone Mid Cap 30 Fund seeks long-term growth of capital by investing in mid-cap growth-oriented common stocks using a quantitative formula. From the investable common stocks of public companies in the S&P Capital IQ Database with market capitalizations between $1 billion and $10 billion, this fund invests in the 30 common stocks with the highest one-year price appreciation that also have price-to-sales ratios below 1.5, higher annual earnings than in the previous year, and positive stock price appreciation over the prior three-month and six-month periods.

 

4

•

Hennessy Cornerstone Large Growth Fund (Investor Class symbol HFLGX; Institutional Class symbol HILGX). The Hennessy Cornerstone Large Growth Fund seeks long-term growth of capital by investing in growth-oriented common stocks of larger companies using a quantitative formula. From the investable common stocks of public companies in the S&P Capital IQ Database, this fund invests in the 50 stocks that meet the following criteria, in the specified order: (1) above-average market capitalization; (2) a price-to-cash-flow ratio less than the median of the remaining securities; (3) positive total capital; and (4) the highest one-year return on total capital.

 

•

Hennessy Cornerstone Value Fund (Investor Class symbol HFCVX; Institutional Class symbol HICVX). The Hennessy Cornerstone Value Fund seeks total return, consisting of capital appreciation and current income, by investing in larger, dividend-paying common stocks using a quantitative formula. From the investable common stocks of public companies in the S&P Capital IQ Database, this fund invests in the 50 stocks with the highest dividend yield that also have above-average market capitalizations, above-average number of shares outstanding, 12-month sales that are 50% greater than the average, and above-average cash flows.

Multi-Asset Funds

Three of the Hennessy Funds are categorized as Multi-Asset products. Of those three funds, two utilize a quantitative investment strategy and one is actively managed. These funds follow a more conservative investment strategy focused on generating income and providing an alternative to mutual funds containing only equity stocks. Following is a brief description of the investment objectives and principal investment strategies of the Hennessy Funds in the Multi-Asset product category:

 

•

Hennessy Total Return Fund (Investor Class symbol HDOGX). The Hennessy Total Return Fund seeks total return, consisting of capital appreciation and current income, by investing approximately 50% of its assets in the 10 highest dividend-yielding common stocks of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (known as the “Dogs of the Dow”) in roughly equal dollar amounts and the remaining 50% of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities with a maturity of less than one year. This fund then utilizes a borrowing strategy that allows the fund’s performance to approximate what it would be if the fund had an asset allocation of roughly 75% Dogs of the Dow stocks and 25% U.S. Treasury securities.

 

•

Hennessy Equity and Income Fund (Investor Class symbol HEIFX; Institutional Class symbol HEIIX). The Hennessy Equity and Income Fund seeks income and long-term capital growth with reduced volatility of returns by investing approximately 60% of its assets in common stock, preferred stock, and convertible securities and approximately 40% of its assets in high-quality corporate, agency, and government bonds.

 

•

Hennessy Balanced Fund (Investor Class symbol HBFBX). The Hennessy Balanced Fund seeks a combination of capital appreciation and current income by investing approximately 50% of its assets in roughly equal dollar amounts in the Dogs of the Dow stocks but limits exposure to market risk and volatility by investing approximately 50% of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities with a maturity of less than one year.

Sector and Specialty Funds

Eight of the Hennessy Funds are categorized as Sector and Specialty products. Of those eight funds, one is designed as an index fund and the other seven are actively managed, and each focuses on a niche sector of the stock market. Following is a brief description of the investment objectives and principal investment strategies of the Hennessy Funds in the Sector and Specialty product category:

 

•

Hennessy BP Energy Fund (Investor Class symbol HNRGX; Institutional Class symbol HNRIX). The Hennessy BP Energy Fund seeks total return by investing in companies operating in the United States in a capacity related to the supply, transportation, production, transmission, or demand of energy, also known as the energy value chain. The portfolio managers use a proprietary research and investment process that involves fundamental and quantitative analysis of various macroeconomic and commodity price and other factors to select this fund’s investments and determine the weighting of each investment.

 

5

•

Hennessy BP Midstream Fund (Investor Class symbol HMSFX; Institutional Class symbol HMSIX). The Hennessy BP Midstream Fund seeks capital appreciation through distribution growth and current income by investing in midstream energy infrastructure companies, including master limited partnerships, that own and operate assets used in the transporting, storing, gathering, processing, distributing, or marketing of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil, refined products, coal, or electricity or that provide energy-related equipment and services. The portfolio managers combine a top-down deductive reasoning approach with a detailed bottom-up analysis of individual companies.

 

•

Hennessy Gas Utility Fund (Investor Class symbol GASFX; Institutional Class symbol HGASX). The Hennessy Gas Utility Fund seeks income and capital appreciation by investing in companies that are members of the American Gas Association (“AGA”) in approximately the same percentage as the percentage weighting of such company in the AGA Stock Index. The AGA Stock Index is a capitalization-weighted index that consists of publicly traded member companies of the AGA whose securities are traded on a U.S. stock exchange. The index is adjusted monthly for the percentage of natural gas assets on each company’s balance sheet.

 

•

Hennessy Japan Fund (Investor Class symbol HJPNX; Institutional Class symbol HJPIX). The Hennessy Japan Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in equity securities of Japanese companies. Using in-depth analysis and on-site research, the portfolio managers focus on stocks with a potential “value gap” by screening for companies that they believe have strong businesses and management and are trading at attractive prices. The portfolio managers limit the portfolio to what they consider to be their best ideas and maintain a concentrated number of holdings.

 

•

Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund (Investor Class symbol HJPSX; Institutional Class symbol HJSIX). The Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in equity securities of smaller Japanese companies, typically considered to be companies with market capitalizations in the bottom 20% of all publicly traded Japanese companies. Using in-depth analysis and on-site research, the portfolio managers focus on stocks with a potential “value gap” by screening for small-cap companies that the portfolio managers believe have strong businesses and management and are trading at attractive prices. The portfolio managers limit the portfolio to what they consider to be their best ideas and is unconstrained by its benchmarks.

 

•

Hennessy Large Cap Financial Fund (Investor Class symbol HLFNX; Institutional Class symbol HILFX). The Hennessy Large Cap Financial Fund seeks capital appreciation by investing in securities of large-cap companies principally engaged in the business of providing financial services, including information technology companies that are primarily engaged in providing products or services to financial services companies.

 

•

Hennessy Small Cap Financial Fund (Investor Class symbol HSFNX; Institutional Class symbol HISFX). The Hennessy Small Cap Financial Fund seeks capital appreciation by investing in securities of small-cap companies principally engaged in the business of providing financial services.

 

•

Hennessy Technology Fund (Investor Class symbol HTECX; Institutional Class symbol HTCIX). The Hennessy Technology Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in securities of companies principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacturing, or distributing of products or services in the technology industry. From the investable common stocks of public companies in the S&P Capital IQ Database with market capitalizations exceeding $175 million, this fund invests in approximately 60 stocks (weighted equally by dollar amount) that the portfolio managers believe demonstrate sector-leading cash flows and profits, a history of delivering returns in excess of cost of capital, attractive relative valuations, ability to generate cash, attractive balance sheet risk profiles, and prospects for sustainable profitability.

 

6

Historical Investment Performance of the Hennessy Funds

The following table presents the average annualized returns for each Hennessy Fund and its relevant benchmark indices for the one-year, three-year, five-year, and ten-year (or since inception for Hennessy Funds that commenced operations less than ten years ago) periods ended September 30, 2020.

Returns are presented net of all expenses borne by mutual fund shareholders, but are not net of fees waived or expenses borne by the Company. The past investment performance of the Hennessy Funds is no guarantee of future performance, and all of the Hennessy Funds have experienced negative performance over various periods in the past and may do so again in the future.

 

Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund		One Year				Three Years				Five Years				Ten Years
Institutional Class Share—HICGX			5.93	%			-1.70	%			3.18	%			8.74	%
Investor Class Share—HFCGX			5.66	%			-2.03	%			2.86	%			8.42	%
Russell 2000® Index (1)			0.39	%			1.77	%			8.00	%			9.85	%
S&P 500® Index (2)			15.15	%			12.28	%			14.15	%			13.74	%
Hennessy Focus Fund*		One Year				Three Years				Five Years				Ten Years
Institutional Class Share—HFCIX			0.68	%			7.14	%			9.15	%			12.20	%
Investor Class Share—HFCSX			0.31	%			6.75	%			8.75	%			11.84	%
Russell 3000® Index (3)			15.00	%			11.65	%			13.69	%			13.48	%
Russell Midcap® Growth Index (4)			23.23	%			16.23	%			15.53	%			14.55	%
Hennessy Cornerstone Mid Cap 30 Fund		One Year				Three Years				Five Years				Ten Years
Institutional Class Share—HIMDX			12.18	%			0.78	%			2.97	%			9.68	%
Investor Class Share—HFMDX			11.70	%			0.42	%			2.61	%			9.31	%
Russell Midcap® Index (5)			15.00	%			11.65	%			13.69	%			13.48	%
S&P 500® Index (2)			15.15	%			12.28	%			14.15	%			13.74	%
Hennessy Cornerstone Large Growth Fund		One Year				Three Years				Five Years				Ten Years
Institutional Class Share—HILGX			5.74	%			6.65	%			9.36	%			10.46	%
Investor Class Share—HFLGX			5.44	%			6.33	%			9.06	%			10.19	%
Russell 1000® Index (6)			16.01	%			12.38	%			14.09	%			13.76	%
S&P 500® Index (2)			15.15	%			12.28	%			14.15	%			13.74	%
Hennessy Cornerstone Value Fund		One Year				Three Years				Five Years				Ten Years
Institutional Class Share—HICVX			-13.00	%			-1.76	%			5.65	%			7.41	%
Investor Class Share—HFCVX			-13.16	%			-1.95	%			5.41	%			7.17	%
Russell 1000® Value Index (7)			-5.03	%			2.63	%			7.66	%			9.95	%
S&P 500® Index (2)			15.15	%			12.28	%			14.15	%			13.74	%
Hennessy Total Return Fund		One Year				Three Years				Five Years				Ten Years
Investor Class Share—HDOGX			-9.54	%			0.89	%			5.91	%			6.92	%
75/25 Blended DJIA/Treasury Index (8)			5.08	%			8.17	%			10.92	%			9.74	%
Dow Jones Industrial Average (9)			5.70	%			9.98	%			14.02	%			12.69	%

 

7

Hennessy Equity and Income Fund*		One Year				Three Years				Five Years				Ten Years
Institutional Class Share—HEIIX			7.00	%			6.39	%			7.48	%			8.27	%
Investor Class Share—HEIFX			6.61	%			5.98	%			7.07	%			7.91	%
Blended Balanced Index (10)			12.21	%			9.49	%			10.03	%			9.53	%
S&P 500® Index (2)			15.15	%			12.28	%			14.15	%			13.74	%
Hennessy Balanced Fund		One Year				Three Years				Five Years				Ten Years
Investor Class Share—HBFBX			-6.18	%			0.91	%			4.43	%			4.53	%
50/50 Blended DJIA/Treasury Index (11)			4.79	%			6.46	%			7.93	%			6.90	%
Dow Jones Industrial Average (9)			5.70	%			9.98	%			14.02	%			12.69	%
														Since Inception
Hennessy BP Energy Fund*		One Year				Three Years				Five Years				(12/31/13)
Institutional Class Share—HNRIX			-42.44	%			-24.08	%			-10.55	%			-11.63	%
Investor Class Share—HNRGX			-42.54	%			-24.27	%			-10.80	%			-11.84	%
S&P 500® Energy Index (12)			-45.24	%			-20.42	%			-9.70	%			-11.58	%
S&P 500® Index (2)			15.15	%			12.28	%			14.15	%			11.52	%
														Since Inception
Hennessy BP Midstream Fund*		One Year				Three Years				Five Years				(12/31/13)
Institutional Class Share—HMSIX**			-46.24	%			-22.04	%			-11.40	%			-11.27	%
Investor Class Share—HMSFX			-46.40	%			-22.24	%			-11.63	%			-11.49	%
Alerian MLP Index (13)			-48.35	%			-20.75	%			-11.58	%			-11.58	%
S&P 500® Index (2)			15.15	%			12.28	%			14.15	%			13.74	%
Hennessy Gas Utility Fund*		One Year				Three Years				Five Years				Ten Years
Institutional Class Share—HGASX**			-14.90	%			-0.58	%			4.18	%			8.88	%
Investor Class Share—GASFX			-15.16	%			-0.91	%			3.93	%			8.75	%
AGA Stock Index (14)			-14.26	%			0.27	%			5.22	%			9.66	%
S&P 500® Index (2)			15.15	%			12.28	%			14.15	%			13.74	%
Hennessy Japan Fund		One Year				Three Years				Five Years				Ten Years
Institutional Class Share—HJPIX			20.51	%			11.54	%			15.25	%			13.57	%
Investor Class Share—HJPNX			20.00	%			11.08	%			14.80	%			13.19	%
Russell/Nomura Total MarketTM Index (15)			7.36	%			3.69	%			8.13	%			6.84	%
Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX) (16)			7.38	%			3.59	%			7.94	%			6.81	%

 

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Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund		One Year				Three Years				Five Years				Ten Years
Institutional Class Share—HJSIX**			8.87	%			5.48	%			12.46	%			13.06	%
Investor Class Share—HJPSX			8.45	%			5.05	%			12.10	%			12.85	%
Russell/Nomura Small CapTM Index (17)			7.49	%			1.37	%			8.68	%			8.62	%
Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX) (16)			7.38	%			3.59	%			7.94	%			6.81	%
Hennessy Large Cap Financial Fund*		One Year				Three Years				Five Years				Ten Years
Institutional Class Share—HILFX**			7.37	%			6.90	%			10.46	%			9.95	%
Investor Class Share—HLFNX			7.07	%			6.57	%			10.05	%			9.74	%
Russell 1000® Index Financials (18)			-6.48	%			4.65	%			9.85	%			11.13	%
Russell 1000® Index (7)			-5.03	%			2.63	%			7.66	%			9.95	%
Hennessy Small Cap Financial Fund*		One Year				Three Years				Five Years				Ten Years
Institutional Class Share—HISFX			-28.25	%			-12.59	%			-1.60	%			4.27	%
Investor Class Share—HSFNX			-28.38	%			-12.87	%			-1.94	%			3.95	%
Russell 2000® Index Financials (19)			-23.05	%			-6.76	%			2.85	%			7.84	%
Russell 2000® Index (1)			0.39	%			1.77	%			8.00	%			9.85	%
Hennessy Technology Fund*		One Year				Three Years				Five Years				Ten Years
Institutional Class Share—HTCIX**			16.87	%			14.59	%			14.48	%			10.17	%
Investor Class Share—HTECX			16.56	%			14.31	%			14.15	%			9.87	%
NASDAQ Composite Index (20)			40.96	%			21.05	%			20.63	%			18.15	%
S&P 500® Index (2)			15.15	%			12.28	%			14.15	%			13.74	%

 

*	Performance information from prior to the date that we acquired the assets related to the management of the fund is included because the previous investment manager managed the fund using a similar investment strategy.

**	Performance shown for periods prior to the inception of Institutional Class shares represents the performance of Investor Class shares of the fund and includes expenses that are not applicable to, and are higher than, those of Institutional Class shares.

(1)	The Russell 2000® Index comprises the smallest 2,000 companies in the Russell 3000® Index based on market capitalization, representing approximately 8% of the Russell 3000® Index in terms of total market capitalization.

(2)	The S&P 500® Index is a capitalization-weighted index that is designed to represent the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks across all major industries.

(3)	The Russell 3000® Index comprises the 3,000 largest U.S. companies based on market capitalization, representing approximately 98% of the investable U.S. equities market.

(4)	The Russell Midcap® Growth Index comprises approximately 65% of the total market value of the Russell Midcap® Index and includes companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values.

(5)	The Russell Midcap® Index comprises approximately 800 of the smallest securities of the Russell 1000® Index based on a combination of market capitalization and current index membership.

(6)	The Russell 1000® Index comprises the 1,000 largest companies in the Russell 3000® Index based on market capitalization.

 

9

(7)	The Russell 1000® Value Index comprises those Russell 1000® companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth value.

(8)	The 75/25 Blended DJIA/Treasury Index consists of 75% common stocks represented by the Dow Jones Industrial Average and 25% short-duration Treasury securities represented by the ICE BofAML U.S. 3-Month Treasury Bill Index, which comprises U.S. Treasury securities maturing in three months.

(9)	The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted average of 30 significant stocks traded on the NYSE or The NASDAQ Stock Market.

(10)

The Blended Balanced Index consists of 60% common stocks represented by the S&P 500® Index and 40% bonds represented by the Bloomberg Barclays Intermediate U.S. Government/Credit Index, which measures the performance of U.S. dollar-denominated Treasury securities and government-related and investment-grade corporate securities that have $250 million or more of outstanding face value, are fixed rate and non-convertible, and have remaining maturities of greater than or equal to one year and less than 10 years.

(11)	The 50/50 Blended DJIA/Treasury Index consists of 50% common stocks represented by the Dow Jones Industrial Average and 50% short-duration Treasury securities represented by the ICE BofAML 1-Year U.S. Treasury Note Index, which comprises U.S. Treasury securities maturing in approximately one year.

(12)	The S&P 500® Energy Index comprises those companies included in the S&P 500® that are classified in the Energy sector.

(13)	The Alerian MLP Index comprises companies that earn a majority of their cash flow from midstream activities involving energy commodities.

(14)	The AGA Stock Index is a capitalization-weighted index consisting of publicly traded members of the American Gas Association whose securities are traded on a U.S. stock exchange.

(15)	The Russell/Nomura Total Market™ Index contains the top 98% of all stocks listed on Japan’s stock exchanges and registered on Japan’s over-the-counter market based on market capitalization.

(16)	The Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX) is a market capitalization-weighted index of all of the companies listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

(17)	The Russell/Nomura Small Cap™ Index contains the bottom 15% of the Russell/Nomura Total Market™ Index based on market capitalization.

(18)	The Russell 1000® Index Financials is a subset of the Russell 1000® Index that measures the performance of the securities classified in the financials sector of the large-cap U.S. equity market.

(19)	The Russell 2000® Index Financials is a subset of the Russell 2000® Index that measures the performance of the securities classified in the financials sector of the small-cap U.S. equity market.

(20)	The NASDAQ Composite Index comprises all common stocks listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market.

Investors cannot invest directly in an index. Performance data for an index does not reflect any deductions for fees, expenses, or taxes.    

Frank Russell Company (“Russell”) is the source and owner of the trademarks, service marks, and copyrights related to the Russell Indexes. Russell^® is a trademark of Frank Russell Company. Neither Russell nor its licensors accept any liability for any errors or omissions in the Russell Indexes or Russell ratings or underlying data, and no party may rely on any Russell Indexes or Russell ratings or underlying data contained in this communication. No further distribution of Russell data is permitted without Russell’s express written consent. Russell does not promote, sponsor, or endorse the content of this communication.

Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC is the source and owner of the S&P^® and S&P 500^® trademarks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is the property of the Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. is not affiliated with the Hennessy Funds or its investment advisor. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. has not participated in any way in the creation of the Hennessy Funds or in the selection of stocks included in the Hennessy Funds and has not approved any information included in this communication.

 

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The Alerian MLP Index is a servicemark of GKD Index Partners. LLC d/b/a Alerian (“Alerian”), and its use is granted under a license from Alerian. Alerian makes no express or implied warranties, representations, or promises regarding the originality, merchantability, suitability, or fitness for a particular purpose or use with respect to the Alerian indices. No party may rely on, and Alerian does not accept any liability for any errors, omissions, interruptions, or defects in, the Alerian indices or underlying data.

Development of New Investment Strategies and Expanding Our Product Offerings

We develop new investment strategies and expand our product offerings by identifying client needs and reviewing asset allocation tables to determine where we can augment our family of mutual funds. Once we identify an attractive market segment, we select one of the following methods to initiate the new strategy:

 

•

We screen the appropriate universe of stocks with a set of parameters that we believe identifies stocks that will produce higher long-term returns with lower associated risk than their relative indices, and we then introduce the new investment strategy into the marketplace by opening and directly marketing a new mutual fund;

 

•

We purchase the assets related to the management of an existing mutual fund that we then manage ourselves;

 

•

We purchase the assets related to the management of an existing mutual fund and then engage the existing portfolio managers or strategic firm to act as a sub-advisor to manage the fund; or

 

•

We purchase the assets related to the management of an existing mutual fund and then employ the existing portfolio management team to manage the fund.

ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT, SOURCES OF REVENUES, AND 12B-1 PLANS

We earn revenues primarily by providing investment advisory services to the Hennessy Funds and secondarily by providing shareholder services to shareholders of the Hennessy Funds. The fees we receive for these services are calculated as a percentage of the average daily net asset values of the Hennessy Funds. In addition, the sub-advisory fees that we pay are also calculated as a percentage of the average daily net asset values of the sub-advised Hennessy Funds. The amount of our assets under management fluctuates as a result of organic inflows (purchases of shares of the Hennessy Funds by new or existing shareholders), acquisition inflows, outflows (redemptions of shares of the Hennessy Funds by shareholders), and market appreciation or depreciation.

The following table summarizes our assets under management:

 

		Fiscal Years Ended September 30,
		2020				2019				2018
		(In thousands)
Beginning assets under management		$	4,873,839			$	6,197,617			$	6,612,812
Acquisition inflows			—				194,948				374,361
Organic inflows			571,195				825,541				1,193,270
Redemptions			(1,771,127	)			(2,374,734	)			(2,376,180	)
Market appreciation (depreciation)			(109,310	)			30,467				393,354
Ending assets under management		$	3,564,597			$	4,873,839			$	6,197,617

As stated above, the amount of fees we receive for providing investment advisory and shareholder services increases or decreases as our average assets under management rises or falls.

 

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The following table summarizes our sources of revenues, net of sub-advisory fees:

 

		Fiscal Years Ended September 30,
		2020				2019				2018
		(In thousands)
Investment advisory fees		$	30,831			$	39,357			$	50,235
Shareholder service fees			2,558				3,358				4,355
Subtotal			33,389				42,715				54,590
Sub-advisory fees			(7,573	)			(9,228	)			(10,461	)
Revenue, net of sub-advisory fees		$	25,816			$	33,487			$	44,129

Investment Advisory Agreements and Fees

We provide investment advisory services to the Hennessy Funds pursuant to investment advisory agreements with Hennessy Funds Trust. Our provision of investment advisory services to the Hennessy Funds is subject to the oversight of the Board of Trustees of Hennessy Funds Trust (the “Funds’ Board of Trustees”) and must be in accordance with the applicable Hennessy Fund’s investment advisory agreement, Prospectus, and Statement of Additional Information. The services that we provide to each Hennessy Fund pursuant to these investment advisory agreements include, among other things, the following:

 

•

acting as portfolio manager for the fund or overseeing the sub-advisor acting as portfolio manager for the fund, which includes managing the composition of the fund’s portfolio (including the purchase, retention, and disposition of portfolio securities in accordance with the fund’s investment objectives, policies, and restrictions), seeking best execution for the fund’s portfolio, managing the use of soft dollars for the fund, and managing proxy voting for the fund;

 

•

performing a daily reconciliation of portfolio positions and cash for the fund;

 

•

monitoring the liquidity of the fund;

 

•

monitoring the fund’s compliance with its investment objectives and restrictions and federal securities laws;

 

•

monitoring compliance with federal securities laws, maintaining a compliance program (including a code of ethics), conducting ongoing reviews of the compliance programs of the fund’s service providers (including any sub-advisor), conducting on-site visits to the fund’s service providers (including any sub-advisor) as feasible, monitoring incidents of abusive trading practices, reviewing fund expense accruals, payments, and fixed expense ratios, evaluating insurance providers for fidelity bond, D&O/E&O insurance, and cybersecurity insurance coverage, managing regulatory examination compliance and responses, conducting employee compliance training, reviewing reports provided by service providers, and maintaining books and records;

 

•

if applicable, overseeing the selection and continued employment of the fund’s sub-advisor, reviewing the fund’s investment performance, and monitoring the sub-advisor’s adherence to the fund’s investment objectives, policies, and restrictions;

 

•

overseeing service providers that provide accounting, administration, distribution, transfer agency, custodial, sales, marketing, public relations, audit, information technology, and legal services to the fund;

 

•

maintaining in-house marketing and distribution departments on behalf of the fund;

 

•

preparing or directing the preparation of all regulatory filings for the fund, including writing and annually updating the fund’s prospectus and related documents;

 

12

•

preparing or reviewing a written summary of the fund’s performance during the most recent 12-month period for each annual report of the fund;

 

•

monitoring and overseeing the accessibility of the fund on third-party platforms;

 

•

paying the incentive compensation of the fund’s compliance officers and employing other staff such as legal, marketing, national accounts, distribution, sales, administrative, and trading oversight personnel, as well as management executives;

 

•

providing a quarterly compliance certification to the Funds’ Board of Trustees; and

 

•

preparing or reviewing materials for the Funds’ Board of Trustees, presenting to or leading discussions with the Funds’ Board of Trustees, preparing or reviewing all meeting minutes, and arranging for training and education of the Funds’ Board of Trustees.

The investment advisory agreements also provide that we are responsible for performing any ordinary clerical and bookkeeping services needed by the Hennessy Funds that are not provided by the funds’ custodian, administrator, or transfer agent. The Funds’ Board of Trustees comprises three trustees who are not interested persons of the Hennessy Funds (the “disinterested trustees”) and Neil J. Hennessy, who is our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of our Board of Directors. Under the Investment Company Act of 1940, a majority of the trustees must be disinterested trustees, and the disinterested trustees must approve entering into and continuing our investment advisory agreements. The disinterested trustees also have sole responsibility for selecting and nominating other disinterested trustees.

In exchange for the services described above, we receive an investment advisory fee from each Hennessy Fund that is calculated as a percentage of such fund’s average daily net asset value. As of the end of fiscal year 2020, the percentages of each fund’s assets used to calculate the annual investment advisory fees payable to us are as follows:

 

Hennessy Fund (All Class Shares)		Investment Advisory Fee (as a % of fund assets)
Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund			0.74	%
Hennessy Focus Fund			0.90	%
Hennessy Cornerstone Mid Cap 30 Fund			0.74	%
Hennessy Cornerstone Large Growth Fund			0.74	%
Hennessy Cornerstone Value Fund			0.74	%
Hennessy Total Return Fund			0.60	%
Hennessy Equity and Income Fund			0.80	%
Hennessy Balanced Fund			0.60	%
Hennessy BP Energy Fund			1.25	%
Hennessy BP Midstream Fund			1.10	%
Hennessy Gas Utility Fund			0.40	%
Hennessy Japan Fund			0.80	%
Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund			0.80	%
Hennessy Large Cap Financial Fund			0.90	%
Hennessy Small Cap Financial Fund			0.90	%
Hennessy Technology Fund			0.74	%

We waived a portion of our fees with respect to (i) the Hennessy Cornerstone Large Growth Fund through the expiration of the expense limitation agreement on November 30, 2019, (ii) the Hennessy BP Energy Fund during the second half of fiscal year 2020, and (iii) the Hennessy BP Midstream Fund and the Hennessy Technology Fund throughout fiscal year 2020, in each case to comply with contractual expense ratio limitations. The fee waivers are calculated daily by the Hennessy Funds’ accountants at U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, reviewed by management, and then charged to expense monthly as offsets to our revenues. Each waived fee is then deducted from investment advisory fee income and reduces the aggregate amount of advisory fees we receive from such fund in the subsequent month. To date, we have only waived fees based on contractual obligations, but we have the ability to waive fees at our discretion. Any decision to waive fees would apply only on a going-forward basis.

 

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Our investment advisory agreements must be renewed annually (except in limited circumstances) by (a) the Funds’ Board of Trustees or the vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the applicable Hennessy Fund and (b) the vote of a majority of the disinterested trustees. If an investment advisory agreement is not renewed, it terminates automatically. There are two additional circumstances in which an investment advisory agreement would terminate. First, an investment advisory agreement automatically terminates if we assign it to another advisor (assignment includes “indirect assignment,” which is the transfer of our common stock in sufficient quantities deemed to constitute a controlling block). Second, an investment advisory agreement may be terminated prior to its expiration upon 60 days’ written notice by either the applicable Hennessy Fund or us.

Sub-Advisory Agreements and Fees

We have delegated the day-to-day portfolio management responsibilities to sub-advisors, subject to our oversight, for some of the Hennessy Funds. In each case, the sub-advisor entity or the individuals working at the sub-advisor entity is the same entity or are the same individuals who advised the fund prior to our purchase of the assets related to the management of such fund. The provision of sub-advisory services must be in accordance with the applicable Hennessy Fund’s sub-advisory agreement, Prospectus, and Statement of Additional Information. The services that each sub-advisor provides to the applicable Hennessy Fund pursuant to the terms of the sub-advisory agreement include, among other things, the following:

 

•

acting as portfolio manager for the fund, which includes managing the composition of the fund’s portfolio (including the purchase, retention, and disposition of portfolio securities in accordance with the fund’s investment objectives, policies, and restrictions), seeking best execution for the fund’s portfolio, managing the use of soft dollars for the fund, and managing proxy voting for the fund;

 

•

ensuring that its compliance programs include policies and procedures relevant to the fund and the sub-advisor’s duties as a portfolio manager to the fund;

 

•

for each annual report of the fund, preparing a written summary of the fund’s performance during the most recent 12-month period; and

 

•

providing a quarterly certification to Funds’ Board of Trustees regarding trading and allocation practices, supervisory matters, the sub-advisor’s compliance program (including its code of ethics), compliance with the fund’s policies, and general firm updates.

 

14

In exchange for sub-advisory services, we pay sub-advisory fees to the sub-advisors out of our own assets. Sub-advisory fees are calculated as a percentage of the applicable fund’s average daily net asset value. The following table lists each of our sub-advised funds, the sub-advisor for such fund, and the percentage used to calculate the annual sub-advisory fees payable by us to such fund’s sub-advisor as of the end of fiscal year 2020:

 

Hennessy Fund (All Class Shares)		Sub-Advisor		Sub-Advisory Fee (As a % of Fund Assets)
Hennessy Focus Fund		Broad Run Investment Management, LLC			0.29%
Hennessy Equity and Income Fund		FCI Advisors (fixed income allocation)			0.27%
		The London Company of Virginia, LLC (equity allocation)		0.33%
Hennessy BP Energy Fund		BP Capital Fund Advisors, LLC			0.40%
Hennessy BP Midstream Fund		BP Capital Fund Advisors, LLC			0.40%
Hennessy Japan Fund		SPARX Asset Management Co., Ltd.			$0-$500 million: Above $500 million-$1 billion: Above $1 billion:			0.35% 0.40% 0.42%
Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund		SPARX Asset Management Co., Ltd.			$0-$500 million: Above $500 million-$1 billion: Above $1 billion:			0.35% 0.40% 0.42%

The sub-advisory agreements must be renewed annually in the same manner as the investment advisory agreements and are subject to the same termination provisions.

Shareholder Servicing Agreements and Fees

Pursuant to a shareholder servicing agreement with Hennessy Funds Trust, we provide shareholder services to shareholders of the Hennessy Funds including, among other things, maintaining a toll-free number that the current investors in the Hennessy Funds may call to ask questions about the funds or their accounts or to get help with processing exchange and redemption requests or changing account options. In exchange for these services, we receive a shareholder service fee from each Hennessy Fund of 0.10% of the average daily net assets of such fund’s Investor Class shares.

The shareholder servicing agreement must be renewed annually by the Funds’ Board of Trustees, including the vote of a majority of the disinterested trustees. If the shareholder servicing agreement is not renewed, it terminates automatically. In addition, the shareholder servicing agreement may be terminated prior to its expiration upon 60 days’ written notice by Hennessy Funds Trust or us.

12b-1 Plans

All of the Hennessy Funds have adopted a 12b-1 plan. These plans are named after Rule 12b-1 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, which permits a mutual fund to adopt a plan that allows the fund to collect fees to use to make payments to third parties in connection with the distribution of fund shares. Amounts paid under a plan may be spent on any activities or expenses primarily intended to result in sale of shares of the fund, including, but not limited to (i) advertising, (ii) compensation paid to financial institutions, broker-dealers, and others for sales and marketing, (iii) shareholder accounting servicing, (iv) printing and mailing prospectuses to possible new shareholders, and (v) printing and mailing sales literature. A mutual fund may also employ a distributor to distribute and market fund shares and then use 12b-1 fees to pay the distributor for expenses relating to telephone use, overhead, employing employees who engage in or support the distribution of the fund shares, printing prospectuses and other reports for possible new shareholders, advertising, and preparing and distributing sales literature.

 

15

The 12b-1 fee for each Hennessy Fund is 0.15% of the average daily net assets of such fund’s Investor Class shares.

CUSTODIAL, DISTRIBUTION, AND BROKERAGE ARRANGEMENTS

We use independent third parties for custody and distribution of our assets under management.

All trades for the Hennessy Funds are executed by independent brokerage firms following our direction or the direction of our sub-advisors. When selecting brokers, we and our sub-advisors are required to seek best execution. Although there is no single statutory definition, Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) releases and other legal guidelines make clear that this duty requires us to seek “the most advantageous terms reasonably available under the circumstances for a customer’s account.” The lowest possible commission, while important, is not the sole determinative factor. We and our sub-advisors also consider factors such as order size and market depth, availability of competing markets and liquidity, trading characteristics of the security, financial responsibility of the broker-dealer, and the broker’s ability to address current market conditions.

Currently, we participate in soft dollar arrangements with one of our brokers. This means we receive research reports and real-time electronic research to assist us in trading and managing the Hennessy Funds. Under these soft dollar arrangements, the Hennessy Funds pay brokerage commissions for securities trades at the regular market rate, and some or all of the value of those commissions is received by us in the form of research or other services that benefit the Hennessy Funds. We believe our soft dollar arrangements comply with SEC guidance regarding soft dollars.

LICENSE AGREEMENT

Our ability to use the names and formulaic investment strategies of the Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund and the Hennessy Cornerstone Value Fund are governed by the terms and conditions of a license agreement, dated as of April 10, 2000, with Netfolio. Under the license agreement, Netfolio granted us a perpetual, paid-up, royalty-free, exclusive license to use certain trademarks, such as “Strategy Indexing,” “Cornerstone Growth,” and “Cornerstone Value,” as well as the formula investment strategies used by the Hennessy Cornerstone Growth Fund and the Hennessy Cornerstone Value Fund. All of our advertising, marketing, promotional, and other materials incorporating or referring to the trademarks are subject to the prior written approval of Netfolio, except that we do not need Netfolio’s prior written approval to use the trademarks in a manner that is not substantially unchanged from any prior use by Netfolio in its own business or from any prior use by us previously approved by Netfolio. We have the right to assign the license to another person or entity if the assignee agrees in writing to be bound by the terms of the license agreement. There are no ongoing licensing fees associated with this license agreement, and Netfolio does not have any contractual rights to terminate the license agreement.

BUSINESS STRATEGY

From the time we launched our first mutual fund in 1996, we have consistently pursued a growth strategy centered on organic growth through our marketing, sales, and distribution efforts and growth through strategic purchases of management-related assets. The implementation of this business strategy is described below.

 

•

Seeking to deliver strong investment performance of the Hennessy Funds

One of the most effective ways we can grow the assets of the Hennessy Funds is by delivering strong investment performance, which we believe should:

 

•

result in an increase in the value of existing assets of the Hennessy Funds;

 

•

encourage more investors to buy shares of the Hennessy Funds and decrease the number of investors who redeem their shares and leave the Hennessy Funds; and

 

•

motivate current investors to invest additional money in the Hennessy Funds.

 

16

•

Utilizing our branding and marketing campaign to attract assets

We believe we can attract investors to the Hennessy Funds by effectively marketing our consistent and disciplined approach to investing based on a buy-and-hold philosophy that rejects the idea of market timing. We offer quantitative funds, actively managed funds, and income-generating funds. We believe our quantitative funds will attract investors who want to understand exactly how their investments are managed and who favor statistical analysis and empirical evidence as the basis for investment decisions. We also believe that our actively managed funds will attract investors who appreciate a fundamental, hands-on investment management approach and talented portfolio managers. Finally, we believe our more conservative, income-generating funds will attract investors seeking alternatives to mutual funds invested entirely in equities.

We run a comprehensive and far-reaching public relations program designed to disseminate our message to a wide variety of potential investors through frequent television appearances, radio spots, feature articles, and print media mentions. We have partnered with an industry-leading public relations firm, SunStar Strategic, to proactively promote the Hennessy Funds to national financial media. This public relations program has consistently resulted in the Hennessy Funds being mentioned an average of once every two to three days in national print and broadcast media such as CNBC, Fox News, Bloomberg radio and TV, The Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger, and Barron’s, among others. To facilitate our presence in the media, we utilize LiveStudio, an in-house studio providing a direct link to media broadcasts, at our office in Novato, California. We have several spokespeople who help us expand our public relations program and provide comprehensive media coverage of our products, including Neil J. Hennessy, who is our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of our Board of Directors and President, Chief Investment Officer, and a Portfolio Manager of the Hennessy Funds, Portfolio Managers David Ellison, Ryan Kelley, and Josh Wein, as well as the Portfolio Managers at our sub-advisors.

We maintain and regularly update a robust website and social media presence. Our core marketing efforts include targeted outreach to both current and prospective investors in the Hennessy Funds, including financial advisors and retail investors. Our content marketing includes overall market and sector-specific thought leadership, promotional investment ideas, fund updates, and commentary from our portfolio managers, as well as feature news articles and broadcast appearances. We attend select investment advisor trade shows and strategic industry-related conferences, and we seek opportunities to moderate or speak on industry-related panels. In the last half of our fiscal year, we participated in these activities via videoconference or teleconference.

 

•

Expanding our distribution network to additional distribution platforms

Investors may purchase shares of the Hennessy Funds through financial intermediaries, including mutual fund supermarkets, national wirehouses and broker-dealers, independent and regional broker-dealers, and registered investment advisors, or directly from the Hennessy Funds.

Mutual fund supermarkets, such as Schwab, Fidelity, TD Ameritrade, and Pershing, generally offer funds of many different investment companies to investors in exchange for a services fee paid by the applicable fund or that fund’s investment advisor. The ability to purchase various mutual funds in a single location is very attractive to investors, and the majority of our $3.6 billion of assets under management as of the end of fiscal year 2020 was held at mutual fund supermarkets. Additionally, we continually seek opportunities to form new relationships with financial intermediaries to make our no-load mutual funds even more accessible to investors. We oversee distribution of the Hennessy Funds through all financial intermediaries.

Investors may also purchase shares of the Hennessy Funds directly through the Hennessy Funds website or by calling us or U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, the Hennessy Funds’ administrator.

 

•

Increasing our current base of financial advisors and investment professionals

Investment professionals generally have access to a wide variety of investment products they may recommend to their investors. A recommendation by an investment professional to an investor to buy one of the Hennessy Funds may greatly influence that investor. Thus, we believe that expanding our current base of investment professionals who utilize no-load funds for their investors will help us increase our assets under management, which will in turn increase our revenues.

 

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Securing participation on the platforms of national full-service firms

We continually strive to develop relationships with national full-service firms that permit their investment professionals to offer no-load funds to their investors as a way to increase the amount of assets that we manage, which will in turn increase our revenues.

 

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Pursuing strategic purchases of management agreements for additional mutual funds

A primary component of our growth strategy is to selectively pursue strategic purchases of the assets related to the management of additional mutual funds. We believe the regulatory burden imposed upon the mutual fund industry, along with increased competition, has compressed the margins of smaller to mid-sized mutual fund managers, making those managers more receptive to an asset purchase. The long-term trend toward lower fees has made it more challenging to identify accretive asset purchases, but we believe that we are well positioned to move quickly once we identify any attractive purchase targets from the increasingly large supply of potential targets.

Through our asset purchase strategy, we have completed 10 purchases of the assets related to the management of mutual funds over a 20-year period, integrating $4.3 billion in net assets of 30 different mutual funds into the Hennessy Funds family. We completed our most recent asset purchase on October 26, 2018, when we purchased the assets related to the management of the BP Capital TwinLine Energy Fund and the BP Capital TwinLine MLP Fund (together, the “BP Funds”). This asset purchase added nearly $200 million to our assets under management. Upon completion of the transaction, the assets related to the management of the BP Funds were reorganized into two new series of Hennessy Funds Trust called the Hennessy BP Energy Fund and the Hennessy BP Midstream Fund, respectively. In connection with the transaction, BP Capital Fund Advisors, LLC, the investment advisor to the BP Funds, became the sub-advisor to the Hennessy BP Energy Fund and the Hennessy BP Midstream Fund.

 

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Delivering strong, high-quality financial results.

We seek to maintain a strong financial position and to manage our investment advisory business to meet the highest regulatory, ethical, and business standards and to maintain continuity of service to all of the investors in the Hennessy Funds.

COMPETITION

The investment advisory industry is highly competitive, with new competitors continually entering the industry. We compete directly with numerous global and U.S. investment managers, commercial banks, savings and loans associations, brokerage and investment banking firms, broker-dealers, insurance companies, and other financial institutions that often provide investment products with similar features and objectives to those we offer. These institutions range from small boutique firms to large financial services complexes. We are considered a small investment advisory company. Many competing companies are part of larger financial services companies that conduct business in more markets and have greater marketing, financial, technical, research, and distribution resources and other capabilities than we do. Most of the larger firms offer a broader range of financial services to the same retail and institutional investors we seek to serve. These factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage, and we can give no assurance that our strategies and efforts to maintain and enhance our current investor relationships, as well as to create new ones, will be successful. To grow our business, we must be able to compete effectively for assets under management. Key competitive factors include:

 

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the investment performance of the Hennessy Funds;

 

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the expense ratios of the Hennessy Funds;

 

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the array of our product offerings;

 

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industry rankings of the Hennessy Funds;

 

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the quality of our services;

 

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our ability to further develop and market our brand;

 

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our commitment to placing the interests of investors first; and

 

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our general business reputation.

Increased competition could reduce the demand for our products and services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Competition is an important risk that our business faces and should be considered along with other risk factors that we discuss in Item 1A, “Risk Factors.”

REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT

We are subject to an increasing number of extensive and complex federal and state laws and regulations intended to protect shareholders of mutual funds and investors of registered investment advisors. We believe we are in compliance in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations.

We are registered as an investment advisor with the SEC and, therefore, must comply with the requirements of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and related SEC regulations. Such requirements relate to, among other things, fiduciary duties to investors, transactions with investors, compliance program effectiveness, solicitation arrangements, conflicts of interest, advertising, recordkeeping and reporting, disclosure, and anti-fraud matters.

We manage accounts for the Hennessy Funds on a discretionary basis, meaning that we have the authority to buy and sell securities for each portfolio, select broker-dealers to execute trades, and negotiate brokerage commission rates. In connection with certain of these transactions, we receive soft dollar credits from broker-dealers that have the effect of reducing certain of our expenses. All of our soft dollar arrangements are intended to be within the safe harbor provided by Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). If our ability to use soft dollars were reduced or eliminated as a result of the implementation of statutory amendments or new regulations, our operating expenses would increase.

Our mutual funds are registered with the SEC under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which imposes additional obligations on both the Hennessy Funds and us, as the advisor to the Hennessy Funds, including detailed operational requirements. While we exercise broad discretion over the day-to-day management of the business, affairs, and investment portfolios of the Hennessy Funds, our operations are subject to oversight and management by the Funds’ Board of Trustees. The responsibilities of the Funds’ Board of Trustees include, among other things, annually approving the continuation of our investment advisory agreements and shareholder servicing agreement with the Hennessy Funds and our sub-advisory agreements with the sub-advisors to the Hennessy Funds, approving other service providers, determining the method of valuing assets, and monitoring transactions involving affiliates. The Investment Company Act of 1940 also imposes on us a fiduciary duty with respect to receiving investment advisory fees. That fiduciary duty may be enforced by the SEC, by administrative action, or through litigation initiated by investors in the Hennessy Funds pursuant to a private right of action.

The SEC is authorized to institute proceedings and impose sanctions for violations of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, ranging from fines and censures to the suspension of individual employees to termination of our registration as an investment advisor. A violation of applicable law or regulations could also subject us, our directors, and our employees to civil actions brought by private parties. We believe we are in compliance in all material respects with all applicable SEC requirements.

EMPLOYEES

As of the end of fiscal year 2020, we had 21 employees, 19 of whom were full-time employees. Our 21 employees had an average tenure of 11 years as of the end of fiscal year 2020. We have historically experienced very low employee turnover, which we attribute to our focus on competitive compensation, a friendly and flexible office environment, and fostering close-knit working relationships among our team members. In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have maintained open lines of communication with employees, including by holding remote office-wide meetings, trainings, and events. Further, over 50% of our employees are women, and with an executive team that is 50% women and 25% minority, we believe we have created an environment in which all team members can be successful and supported.

 

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Our executive officers are (i) Neil J. Hennessy, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of our Board of Directors, (ii) Teresa M. Nilsen, President, Chief Operating Officer, Secretary, and a member of our Board of Directors, (iii) Kathryn R. Fahy, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, and (iv) Daniel B. Steadman, Executive Vice President and a member of our Board of Directors. In addition to our executive officers’ responsibilities at Hennessy Advisors, Inc., (a) Mr. Hennessy is President, Chief Investment Officer, and a Portfolio Manager of the Hennessy Funds and is a member of the Funds’ Board of Trustees, (b) Ms. Nilsen is an Executive Vice President and Treasurer of the Hennessy Funds, (c) Ms. Fahy is Vice President, Assistant Treasurer, and Assistant Secretary of the Hennessy Funds, and (d) Mr. Steadman is an Executive Vice President and Secretary of the Hennessy Funds.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

We make available free of charge through a link on our website, www.hennessyadvisors.com, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and, if applicable, amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. We are not including the information contained on our website as part of, or incorporating it by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

ITEM 1A.

RISK FACTORS

We face many risks and uncertainties, many of which are inherent in the financial services industry and the investment advisory business. Investors should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all of the other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, in evaluating us and our common stock. Our business, results of operations, financial condition, and stock price could be materially adversely affected by any of the risks we face, including those described below.

RISKS RELATING TO OUR ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT

Volatility in and disruption of the capital markets and changes in the economy may significantly affect our revenues.

The securities markets are inherently volatile and may be affected by factors beyond our control, including global economic conditions, industry trends, interest and inflation rate fluctuations, and other factors that are difficult to predict. Because our assets under management is largely concentrated in equity products, our results are particularly susceptible to downturns in the equity markets. We derive all of our operating revenues from investment advisory fees and shareholder service fees paid to us by the Hennessy Funds. These fees are calculated as a percentage of the average daily net asset value of the Hennessy Funds. Accordingly, our revenues increase or decrease as our average assets under management increases or decreases, which is affected by market appreciation or depreciation and purchases and redemptions of shares of the Hennessy Funds.

Investors in the Hennessy Funds can redeem their investments at any time and for any reason, including poor investment performance and volatile equity markets. A decline in our assets under management adversely affects our revenues.

Investors in the Hennessy Funds may redeem their investments at any time and for any reason without prior notice. Success in the investment advisory and mutual fund business is largely dependent on investment performance, as well as client servicing and distribution. If the Hennessy Funds perform poorly compared to the mutual funds of other investment advisory firms, we may experience a decrease in purchases of shares and an increase in redemptions of shares of the Hennessy Funds. Further, sharp declines in the stock market, such as those experienced during our fiscal year 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, may also cause increases in redemptions of shares of the Hennessy Funds. Such redemptions reduce our assets under management and adversely affect our revenues.

 

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had, and is expected to continue to have, an adverse impact on our business and financial performance.

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted global commercial activity and contributed to significant volatility in global equity and debt markets. Initially, national, state, and local governments reacted to the pandemic by instituting quarantines and stay-at-home orders, prohibiting certain travel, and closing offices, businesses, schools, retail stores, and other public venues. Some such restrictions remain in place. Furthermore, many businesses have implemented additional precautionary measures, and many individuals have opted to continue to limit their own economic and social activities, in each case above and beyond any restrictions imposed on them by law. As a result, supply chains and economic activity have been disrupted, with a particularly adverse impact on the transportation, hospitality, tourism, and entertainment industries. The duration of the pandemic’s effects remain uncertain and difficult to assess.

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted, and may continue to adversely impact, the value and performance of the Hennessy Funds’ assets under management and the Hennessy Funds’ ability to source and manage investments, which has resulted in, and may continue to result in, declines in the Company’s revenues.

Adverse opinions of the Hennessy Funds by third parties, including rating agencies or industry analysts, could decrease new investments in, or accelerate redemptions from, the Hennessy Funds, which would adversely affect our revenues.

The Hennessy Funds are rated, ranked, and assessed by independent third parties, including rating agencies, industry analysts, distribution partners, and industry periodicals. These ratings, rankings, and assessments often influence the investment decisions of investors, but they can be affected by a number of factors that are not under our direct control and may change frequently. For example, a ranking agency like Morningstar may change its ranking designs and methodology, which could result in a decrease in the ratings of the Hennessy Funds without any action on our part. If the Hennessy Funds received an adverse rating, ranking, or assessment from a third party, it could result in an increase in the withdrawal of assets from the Hennessy Funds by existing investors and the inability to attract additional investments into the Hennessy Funds from existing and new investors, thereby reducing our assets under management and adversely affecting our revenues.

The failure or negative performance of products offered by competitors may have a negative impact on the Hennessy Funds within such similar product type, irrespective of our fund performance.

Many competitors offer similar products to the Hennessy Funds, and the failure or negative performance of competitors’ products could lead to a loss of confidence in the corresponding products in the Hennessy Funds lineup, irrespective of the performance of the Hennessy Funds. Any loss of confidence in a product type could lead to redemptions in the Hennessy Fund within such product type, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

RISKS RELATING TO OUR BUSINESS MODEL AND OPERATIONS

We derive a substantial portion of our revenues from a limited number of the Hennessy Funds.

For the past several years, approximately two-thirds of our assets under management has been concentrated in three of our funds. During fiscal year 2020, our average assets under management was concentrated in the following three funds: (i) the Hennessy Focus Fund (34% of average assets under management); (ii) the Hennessy Gas Utility Fund (17% of average assets under management); and (iii) the Hennessy Japan Fund (16% of average assets under management). Consequently, our revenues followed a similar pattern of concentration: (a) the Hennessy Focus Fund (42% of total revenue); (b) the Hennessy Japan Fund (16% of total revenue); and (c) the Hennessy Gas Utility Fund (10% of total revenue). As a result, our operating results are particularly dependent upon the performance of a very small number funds and our ability to maintain and grow assets under management in these funds. If any of these funds were to experience a significant increase in redemptions for any reason, our assets under management would be reduced, adversely affecting our revenues.

 

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We utilize unaffiliated sub-advisors to manage the portfolio composition of certain of the Hennessy Funds, and any matters that have an adverse impact on their businesses or any change in our relationships with our sub-advisors could lead to a reduction in assets under management, which would adversely affect our revenues.

We utilize unaffiliated sub-advisors to manage the portfolio composition of some of the Hennessy Funds. Although we perform due diligence on our sub-advisors, we do not manage their day-to-day business activities. Our financial condition and profitability may be adversely affected by situations that are specific to such sub-advisors, such as disruption of their operations, their exposure to disciplinary action, or reputational harm to them.

We periodically negotiate the terms and conditions of these sub-advisory relationships, and there can be no assurance that such terms will remain acceptable to us or our sub-advisors. These relationships may also be terminated by us or the applicable sub-advisor upon short notice without penalty. An interruption or termination of our sub-advisory relationships could affect our ability to market our sub-advised funds and result in a reduction in assets under management, which would adversely affect our revenues.

We depend on key personnel to manage our business, and the loss of any key person’s services, combined with our inability to identify and retain a suitable replacement for such person, could materially adversely affect us. Additionally, the cost to retain our key personnel could put pressure on our operating margins.

Our success is largely dependent on the skills, experience, and performance of our key personnel. The business acumen, investment advisory expertise, and business relationships of our key personnel are critical elements in operating and expanding our business. Financial services professionals are in high demand, and we face significant competition for qualified employees. The loss of services of any of our key personnel for any reason, combined with our inability to identify and retain a suitable replacement for such person, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Moreover, in order to retain key personnel, we may be required to increase compensation to such individuals, resulting in additional expense.

We depend on third-party investment professionals and the distribution channels they utilize to market the Hennessy Funds.

Our primary source of distribution of the Hennessy Funds is through intermediaries that include national, regional, and independent broker-dealers, financial planners, and registered investment advisors. Our success is highly dependent on access to these various distribution channels. We cannot guarantee we will be able to retain access to these channels at similar pricing or at all. Increasing competition for these distribution channels could cause our distribution costs to rise, which could have a material adverse effect on our net income. These distribution intermediaries generally can terminate their relationships with us on short notice. Mergers and other corporate transactions among distributors also may affect our distribution relationships. Moreover, regulations have led to significant shifts in distributors’ business models and more limited product offerings, which has resulted in reduced distribution of certain of the Hennessy Funds, and additional regulations could lead to further adverse changes. Our lack of access to these distribution channels material adversely affects our business because investment professionals may opt not to distribute the Hennessy Funds if we are no longer participants on the platforms of firms that permit their investment professionals to utilize no-load funds for their investors. Either of these events could cause the net assets of the Hennessy Funds to decline, which would decrease our revenues and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

In addition, these intermediaries generally offer their customers a broad array of investment products that are in addition to, and compete with, the Hennessy Funds. The intermediaries or their customers may favor competing investment products over the Hennessy Funds. To the extent that current or future intermediaries or their customers prefer to do business with our competitors, our market share, revenues, and net income could decline.

Management contracts purchased by us are currently classified as an indefinite-life asset subject to impairment analysis. The impairment analysis is based on subjective criteria, and an impairment loss could be recorded.

The management contracts we have purchased, an $80.6 million asset on the balance sheet as of the end of fiscal year 2020, are considered an intangible asset with an indefinite useful life. Management reviews the indefinite life classification of our management contracts asset each reporting period. If the management contracts asset is ever reclassified as an asset with a definite life, we would begin amortizing the management contracts over their remaining useful life. If the management contracts asset continues to be classified as an indefinite-life asset, we will continue to periodically review the carrying value to determine if any impairment has occurred. The impairment analysis is based on anticipated future cash flows, which are calculated based on assets under management. Although the management contracts asset is not currently impaired, there is always a possibility of impairment in the future, which could require us to write off all or a portion of the asset. A write-off, depending on the amount, could have operational risks and could have a significant impact on the value of our equity and our earnings per share.

 

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We may be required to forego all or a portion of our fees under our investment advisory agreements with the Hennessy Funds.

On an annual basis, the Funds’ Board of Trustees must assess the reasonableness of our investment advisory fees. While the Funds’ Board of Trustees has found our investment advisory fees to be reasonable in the past, we cannot guarantee that it will continue to do so. Additionally, we regularly analyze the expense ratios of the Hennessy Funds and have the right to waive fees to compete with other mutual funds with lower expense ratios (although in the past we have only waived fees based on contractual obligations). Any waiver of or reduction in fees would cause our revenues to decline and could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Any fee waiver would apply only on a going-forward basis.

The Hennessy Japan Fund and the Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund invest in the Japanese stock market in yen, which involves foreign exchange and economic uncertainties.

The Hennessy Japan Fund and the Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund are invested in securities listed on the Japanese stock market, which exposes these funds to risks that are not typically associated with an investment in a U.S. issuer. The values of these funds fluctuate with changes in the value of the Japanese yen versus the U.S. dollar. Investments in Japanese securities also expose these funds to the economic uncertainties affecting Japan. Japanese financial accounting standards and practices may differ, and there may be less information on Japanese companies available publicly. If these circumstances result in a reduction in the total assets of the Hennessy Japan Fund and the Hennessy Japan Small Cap Fund, our assets under management would be reduced, which would adversely affect our revenues.

We utilize quantitative investment strategies for some of the Hennessy Funds that require us to invest in specific portfolios of securities and hold these positions for a specified period of time regardless of performance.

Our formula-driven funds adhere to quantitative investment strategies, and the portfolios of stocks held by such funds are rescreened and rebalanced at designated times in accordance with such investment strategies. Adhering to our investment strategies regardless of any adverse developments that may arise could result in substantial losses to the formula-driven Hennessy Funds if, for example, the stocks selected for a fund are experiencing financial difficulty or are out of favor with investors in a given period This could, in theory, result in relatively low performance of the formula-driven Hennessy Funds and adversely affect the net assets of such Hennessy Funds. A decrease in the net assets of the Hennessy Funds would adversely affect our revenues.

We pursue strategic asset purchases as part of our regular business strategy, and such acquisitions involve inherent risks that could adversely affect our operating results and financial condition and potentially dilute the holdings of current shareholders.

As part of our regular business strategy, we pursue strategic purchases of the assets related to the management of additional mutual funds. This strategy is accompanied by risks including, among others, the possibility of the following:

 

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the potential unavailability of attractive acquisition opportunities;

 

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a high level of competition from other companies that may have greater financial resources than we do;

 

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our inability to value potential asset purchases accurately and negotiate acceptable purchase terms;

 

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our inability to obtain quorum and secure enough affirmative votes to gain approval of the proposed fund reorganization from the target fund’s shareholders;

 

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the loss of mutual fund assets paid for in an asset purchase through redemptions by shareholders of the mutual funds involved in the asset purchase;

 

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higher than anticipated asset purchase expenses;

 

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our inability to successfully integrate and maintain adequate infrastructure to support business growth;

 

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increasing our leverage;

 

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the potential diversion of our management’s time and attention;

 

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dilution to our shareholders if we fund an asset purchase in whole or in part with our common stock; and

 

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adverse effects on our earnings if purchased intangible assets become impaired.

While we seek to mitigate these risks through, among other things, due diligence and indemnification provisions, these or other risk-mitigating measures that we put in place may not be sufficient to address these risks. If one or more of these risks occur, we may be unable to successfully complete a purchase of management-related assets (thereby requiring us to write off any related expenses), we may experience an impairment of our management contract asset, we may receive negative publicity or suffer other negative impacts on our reputation, and we may not achieve the expected return on investment. Any of these results could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our investment advisory and shareholder servicing agreements can be terminated on short notice, are not freely assignable, and must be renewed annually; the loss of such agreements would reduce our revenues.

We generate all of our operating revenues from the investment advisory and shareholder servicing agreements with the Hennessy Funds. These agreements may be terminated without penalty on 60 days’ notice and may not be assigned without the consent of investors in the Hennessy Funds. In addition, they each must be renewed annually by the Funds’ Board of Trustees (or, in the case of our investment advisory agreements, by the vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the applicable Hennessy Fund), including a majority of the disinterested trustees. The termination or non-renewal of these agreements, or the renegotiation of the terms of these agreements in a manner detrimental to us, could result in a substantial reduction in revenues, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

RISKS RELATING TO OUR INDUSTRY

Investor behavior is influenced by short-term investment performance of mutual funds.

Investor behavior may be based on many factors, including short-term investment performance. Poor short-term performance of the Hennessy Funds, irrespective of longer—term success, could potentially lead to a decrease in purchases of shares of the Hennessy Funds and an increase in redemptions, thereby reducing our assets under management and adversely affecting our revenues.

Assets invested through third-party intermediaries have a risk of redemption, which could reduce our revenues.

Third-party intermediaries are attractive to investors because of the ease of accessibility to a variety of funds, but this may cause the investments to be more sensitive to fluctuations in performance, especially in the short-term. If we were unable to retain the assets of the Hennessy Funds held through third-party intermediaries, our assets under management would be reduced. As a result, our revenues could decline and our business, results of operations, and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

 

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We face intense competition in attracting investors and retaining net assets in the Hennessy Funds.

The investment advisory industry is intensely competitive, and new participants are continually entering the industry. We compete directly with numerous global and U.S. investment advisors, commercial banks, savings and loan associations, brokerage and investment banking firms, broker-dealers, insurance companies, and other financial institutions that often provide investment products with similar features and objectives to those we offer. These institutions range from small boutique firms to large financial services complexes. We are considered a small investment advisory company. Many competing companies are part of larger financial services companies that conduct business in more markets and have greater marketing, financial, technical, research, and distribution resources and other capabilities than we do. Most of the larger firms offer a broader range of financial services to the same retail and institutional investors that we seek to serve. If we are unable to attract investors and retain net assets in the Hennessy Funds due to increased competition, our revenues could decline and we could experience a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

For more information regarding competitive factors, see the “Competition” subheading in Item 1, “Business.”

Market consolidation and industry trends could negatively impact our business.

In recent years, there have been several instances of industry consolidation in both the distribution and investment management areas. Further consolidation may occur in these areas in the future. The increasing size and market influence of certain distributors of our products and of certain direct competitors may have a negative impact on our ability to compete at the same levels of profitability in the future. Additionally, the market environment in recent years has led some investors to increasingly favor lower–fee, passive products. As a result, investment advisors that emphasize passive products have gained, and may continue to gain, market share from active managers like us. While we cannot predict how much market share these competitors will gain, we believe there will always be demand for good active management.

Industry trends and market pressure to lower our investment advisory fees could reduce our profit margin.

Our profits are highly dependent on the fees we are able to charge to the Hennessy Funds for investment advisory services. To the extent we are forced to compete on the basis of the investment advisory fees we charge to the Hennessy Funds, we may not be able to maintain our current fee structures. We have historically competed primarily on the performance of the Hennessy Funds and not on the level of our investment advisory fees relative to those of our competitors. In recent years, however, there has been a trend toward lower fees in the investment advisory industry. To maintain our fee structures in a competitive environment, we must be able to provide our mutual fund investors with investment returns and service that will adequately compensate them for investing in our mutual funds with our current fee structures. We may not succeed in maintaining our current fee structures, and fee reductions on existing or future business could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Higher insurance premiums and increased insurance coverage risks could increase our costs and reduce our profitability.

We carry insurance in amounts and under terms that we believe are appropriate, but we cannot guarantee that our insurance policies will cover all liabilities and losses to which we may be exposed or, if covered, that such liabilities and losses will not exceed insurance coverage limits or that our insurers will remain solvent and meet their obligations. In addition, insurance premiums and required retentions have increased in recent years and may continue to do so.

We are subject to regulatory and governmental inquiries and civil litigation. An adverse outcome of any such proceeding could involve substantial financial penalties. Various claims may also arise against us in the ordinary course of business, such as employment-related claims. There has been increased incidence of litigation and regulatory investigations in the financial services industry in recent years, including customer claims and class action suits alleging substantial monetary damages. Certain insurance coverage may not be available or may be prohibitively expensive in future periods. As our insurance policies come up for renewal, we may need to assume higher deductibles or co-insurance liabilities, or pay higher premiums, which would increase our expenses and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

 

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We are highly dependent on various software applications and other technologies, as well as on third parties who utilize various software applications and other technologies, for our business to function properly and to safeguard confidential information; any significant limitation, failure, or security breach could adversely affect our operations.

We use software and related technologies throughout our business and also utilize third-party vendors who use software and related technologies to provide services to us and the Hennessy Funds. Although we take protective measures (including striving to understand the protective measures taken by our third-party vendors) and endeavor to modify such protective measures as circumstances warrant, we may experience system delays and interruptions as a result of natural disasters, power failures, acts of war, third-party failures, or other unexpected events. We cannot predict with certainty all of the adverse effects that could result from the failure to efficiently address and resolve these delays and interruptions.

We could also be subject to losses if we fail to properly safeguard sensitive and confidential and proprietary information that we and our third-party vendors store and transmit as part of our normal business operations. Although we take protective measures, the security of our and our vendors’ computer systems, software, and networks may be vulnerable to hacking, breaches, unauthorized access, misuse, computer viruses, or other malicious code, as well as to other events that could have a security impact, such as an employee or vendor inadvertently or intentionally causing us to release confidential or proprietary information. Additionally, although we take precautions to password protect and encrypt our laptops and other mobile electronic hardware, if such hardware is stolen, misplaced, or left unattended, it may become vulnerable to hacking or other unauthorized use, creating a possible security risk and resulting in potentially costly actions.

There have been a number of highly publicized cases in recent years involving financial services and consumer-based companies reporting the unauthorized disclosure of client or customer information, as well as cyber-attacks involving the dissemination, theft, and destruction of corporate information or other assets, as a result of employees’ or contractors’ failure to follow procedures or as a result of actions by third parties, including actions by terrorist organizations and hostile foreign governments. We, the Hennessy Funds, and our third-party vendors may be vulnerable to such unauthorized disclosures and cyber-attacks. Our increased use of mobile and cloud technologies could heighten these and other operational risks, and any failure by mobile technology and cloud service providers to adequately safeguard their systems and prevent cyber-attacks could disrupt our operations and result in misappropriation, corruption, or loss of confidential or proprietary information.

If any of these events were to occur, we could suffer a financial loss, a disruption of our business, liability to the Hennessy Funds and their investors, regulatory intervention, or reputational damage, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. We also may be required to expend significant additional resources to modify our protective measures or to investigate and remediate vulnerabilities or other exposures.

Finally, cybersecurity and data privacy have become high priorities for regulators, and many jurisdictions are enacting laws and regulations in these areas. One such law is the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, which took effect in 2020. Enactment of new privacy laws or regulations could, among other things, result in additional costs of compliance or litigation. In addition, while we strive to comply with the relevant laws and regulations, any failure to comply could result in regulatory investigations and penalties as well as negative publicity, which could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

We are exposed to legal risk and litigation, which could increase our expenses and reduce our profitability.

In recent years, the volume of claims and amount of damages claimed in litigation and regulatory proceedings against the financial services industry have been increasing. While we strive to conduct our business in accordance with the highest ethical standards, we nevertheless remain exposed to litigation risk. We could be sued by many different parties, including, by way of example, investors in the Hennessy Funds, our own shareholders, our employees, or regulators. Lawsuits or investigations that we may become involved in could be very expensive and highly damaging to our reputation, even if the underlying claims are without merit.

In addition, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act amended the Exchange Act to compensate and protect whistleblowers who voluntarily provide original information to the SEC and establishes a fund to be used to pay whistleblowers who will be entitled to receive a payment equal to between 10% and 30% of certain monetary sanctions imposed in a successful government action resulting from the information provided by the whistleblower. According to a recent annual report to Congress on the Dodd-Frank Whistleblower Program, whistleblower claims have increased significantly since the enactment of these provisions. Addressing such claims could generate significant expenses and take up significant management time, even if such claims are frivolous or without merit.

 

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Our business is extensively regulated, which increases our costs of doing business, and our failure to comply with regulatory requirements may harm our financial condition.

Our business is subject to extensive regulation in the United States, particularly by the SEC. We are subject to regulation under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Exchange Act, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and various other statutes. The laws to which we are subject are designed primarily to protect investors in the Hennessy Funds as opposed to our shareholders. In addition to an increased number of applicable laws, the mutual fund industry has undergone increased scrutiny by the SEC and state regulators in recent years, resulting in numerous enforcement actions and sweep examinations. Increased regulation has increased our costs in managing the Hennessy Funds, and we could continue to experience higher costs if new laws require us to spend more time, hire additional personnel, or buy new technology to comply effectively. Any change in law could also have a material adverse effect on us by limiting the sources of our revenues and increasing our costs. In addition to securities regulations, our business also may be materially adversely affected by other types of laws and policies. For example, the amount of net assets in the Hennessy Funds in a given time period could be affected by existing and proposed tax legislation or the interest rate policies of the Federal Reserve Board.

In recent years, we have been affected by changes in law such as the U.S. Department of Labor fiduciary rule, which significantly expanded the class of advisers and the scope of investment advice that are subject to fiduciary standards, and the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest (“Regulation BI”), which requires broker-dealers to act in the retail customer’s best interest and not place the broker-dealer’s interests ahead of the retail customer’s interests. Both the fiduciary rule and Regulation BI caused financial advisers and broker-dealers to make significant operational changes, including, in some cases, removing one or more of the Hennessy Funds from their platforms. This resulted in fewer purchases of shares and increased redemptions of shares of the Hennessy Funds, and the effects of such regulations may persist even if they are ultimately replaced, retracted, or overturned. For example, while the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a mandate vacating the fiduciary rule in its entirety in June 2018, many companies had already implemented a number of business and compliance initiatives in order to change their distribution methods and operations in response to the rule, and most of these companies did not halt these initiatives following the court’s ruling.

Although we strive to conduct our business in accordance with applicable law, if we were found to have violated an applicable law, we could be subject to fines, suspensions of personnel, or other sanctions, including revocation of our registration as an investment advisor. If a sanction were imposed against us or our personnel, even if only for a small monetary amount, the adverse publicity related to such a sanction could harm our reputation, result in redemptions by investors in the Hennessy Funds, and impede our ability to attract new investors, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Changes to U.S. or state tax laws, our failure to adequately comply with U.S. or state tax laws, or the outcome of any audits or regulatory disputes with respect to our compliance with U.S. or state tax laws could adversely affect us.

Changes to U.S. or state tax law could be enacted in the future that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Further, we are subject to potential tax audits in various jurisdictions and in such event, tax authorities may disagree with certain positions we have taken and assess penalties or additional taxes. While we assess regularly the likely outcomes of these potential audits, there can be no assurance that we will accurately predict the outcome of a potential audit, and an audit could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

 

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Our investment advisory agreements require us to adhere to the investment policies and strategies of the Hennessy Funds; any failure to comply with such requirements could result in claims, losses, or regulatory sanctions.

Our investment advisory agreements with the Hennessy Funds contain contractual provisions that require us to comply with the investment policies and strategies of the Hennessy Funds when we provide our investment advisory services. We are also required to comply with numerous investment, asset valuation, distribution, and tax requirements under applicable law and regulations. Any allegation of a failure to adhere to these requirements could result in investor claims, reputational damage, withdrawal of assets, and potential regulatory sanctions, any of which could negatively impact our revenues and earnings. We have implemented procedures and utilize the services of experienced administrators, accountants, and lawyers to assist in satisfying these requirements, but there can be no assurance that these precautions will protect us from potential liabilities.

We may need to raise additional capital to fund new business initiatives, and resources may not be available to us in sufficient amounts or on acceptable terms, which could have an adverse impact on our business.

Our ability to meet our future cash needs is dependent upon our ability to generate cash. Although we have been successful in generating sufficient cash in the past, we may not be successful in the future. We may need to raise additional capital to fund new business initiatives, and financing may not be available to us in sufficient amounts, on acceptable terms, or at all. Our ability to access bank financing or capital markets efficiently depends on a number of factors, including the state of credit and equity markets, interest rates, and credit spreads. If we are unable to access sufficient capital on acceptable terms, our business could be adversely impacted.

Failure to establish adequate controls and risk management policies, as well as circumvention of established controls and policies by employees, could harm us by impairing our ability to attract and retain investors in the Hennessy Funds and by subjecting us to significant legal liability, regulatory scrutiny, and reputational harm.

Our reputation is critical to attracting and retaining investors in the Hennessy Funds. In recent years, there have been a number of highly publicized cases involving fraud, conflicts of interest, or other misconduct by individuals in the financial services industry. We have extensive controls and risk management policies to monitor and manage risks, but we cannot be certain that such controls and policies will successfully identify and manage internal and external risks. Further, although we strive to conduct our business in accordance with the highest ethical standards and emphasize the importance of doing so to our employees, there is a risk that our employees could engage in misconduct that adversely affects our business. For example, if an employee were to engage in, or be accused of engaging in, illegal or suspicious activity (such as improper trading, disclosure of confidential information, or breach of fiduciary duties), we could be subject to regulatory sanctions and suffer serious harm to our reputation, financial position, and ability to maintain and grow the number of investors in the Hennessy Funds.

The historical performance of the Hennessy Funds should not be considered indicative of the future results of the Hennessy Funds or of any returns expected on our common stock.

The historical performance of the Hennessy Funds is relevant to returns on our common stock only insofar as the fees we have earned in the past and may earn in the future, which are based on average assets under management, may impact the performance of our common stock. Positive performance of the Hennessy Funds typically increases our revenues, which in turn could positively affect our business, and poor performance typically reduces our revenues, which in turn could adversely affect our business. However, the historical and potential future returns of the Hennessy Funds are not directly linked to returns on our common stock, such that positive performance of the Hennessy Funds will not necessarily result in positive returns on our common stock and poor performance of the Hennessy Funds will not necessary result in negative returns on our common stock. Moreover, the historical performance of the Hennessy Funds should not be considered indicative of the future results that should be expected from such funds.

 

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RISKS RELATING TO OUR COMMON STOCK

Ownership of a large percentage of our common stock is concentrated with a small number of shareholders, which could increase the volatility in our stock trading and significantly affect our share price and causes us to experience limited trading volume in our securities.

We have a limited number of shareholders, and a large percentage of our common stock is held by an even fewer number of shareholders. If our larger shareholders were to decide to liquidate their ownership positions, it could cause significant fluctuations in the share price of our common stock. Having a limited number of shareholders also causes us to experience limited trading volume in our securities.

We intend to pay regular dividends to our shareholders, but our ability to do so is subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors.

We have consistently paid dividends each year since 2005, but the declaration, amount, and payment of dividends to our shareholders by us are subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors takes into account general economic and business conditions, our strategic plans, our financial results and condition, any contractual, legal, and regulatory restrictions on our payment of dividends, and such other factors as our Board of Directors deems relevant to determining whether to declare dividends and the amount of such dividends.

 

ITEM 2.

PROPERTIES.

Our principal executive office is located at 7250 Redwood Boulevard, Suite 200, Novato, California 94945, where we occupy approximately 13,728 square feet and have the right to use all common areas. We also lease office space in Austin, Texas, Boston, Massachusetts, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. We consider these arrangements to be suitable and adequate for the management and operations of our business. We do not own any real property.

 

ITEM 3.

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

None.

 

ITEM 4.

MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.

Not applicable.

PART II

 

ITEM 5.

MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS, AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Our common stock trades on The NASDAQ Capital Market under the stock symbol “HNNA.”

We have paid regular cash dividends to our shareholders and intend to continue to do so, although the declaration of a dividend is always subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors.

As of the end of fiscal year 2020, we had 126 holders of record of our common stock. In addition to the 126 holders of record, there were 43 brokerage firm accounts that represent 1,554 additional individual shareholders for a total of 1,680 shareholders.

The equity compensation plan information required by Item 201(d) of Regulation S-K is set forth in the “Equity Compensation Plan Information” subheading under Item 12, “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.”

PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS

We repurchased 270,896 shares of our common stock pursuant to the stock buyback program during fiscal year 2020. A total of 596,368 shares remains available for repurchase under the stock buyback program. We temporarily suspended repurchases under the stock buyback program as of March 24, 2020.

 

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We also repurchased shares underlying vested restricted stock units (“RSUs”) from employees to satisfy tax withholding obligations arising in connection with the vesting of RSUs. The stock repurchases are presented in the following table for the three months ended September 30, 2020:

 

Period		Total Number of Shares Purchased				Average Price Paid per Share				Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs				Maximum Number of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs (1)
July 1-31, 2020			—			$	—				—				596,368
August 1-31, 2020			—				—				—				596,368
September 1-30, 2020 (2)			34,887				9.01				—				596,368
Total			34,887			$	9.01				—				596,368

(1)

We are authorized to purchase a maximum of 1,500,000 shares under our stock buyback program. We announced the stock buyback program in August 2010, and the program has no expiration date. We did not repurchase any shares pursuant to the stock buyback program during the three months ended September 30, 2020.

(2)	The shares repurchased in September 2020 were not completed pursuant to a plan or program and are therefore not subject to a maximum per plan or program.

 

ITEM 7.

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This report contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the securities laws, for which we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “assume,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “project,” “continue,” “seek,” and similar expressions, as well as statements in the future tense. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events, based on information currently available to us. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at which, or means by which, such performance or results will be achieved.

Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including those described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Unforeseen developments could cause actual performance or results to differ substantially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Management does not assume responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of these forward-looking statements. There is no regulation requiring an update of any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this report to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations.

Our business activities are affected by many factors, including, without limitation, redemptions by mutual fund shareholders, taxes, general economic and business conditions, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, movement of interest rates, competitive conditions, industry regulation, and fluctuations in the stock market, many of which are beyond the control of our management. Further, the business and regulatory environments in which we operate remain complex, uncertain, and subject to change. We expect that regulatory requirements and developments will cause us to incur additional administrative and compliance costs. Notwithstanding the variability in our economic and regulatory environments, we remain focused on the investment performance of the Hennessy Funds and on providing high-quality customer service to investors.

Our business strategy centers on (i) the identification, completion, and integration of future acquisitions and (ii) organic growth, through both the retention of the mutual fund assets we currently manage and the generation of inflows into the mutual funds we manage. The success of our business strategy may be influenced by the factors discussed in Item 1A, “Risk Factors.” All statements regarding our business strategy, as well as statements regarding market trends and risks and assumptions about changes in the marketplace, are forward-looking by their nature.

 

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OUR CONTINUING RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

In mid-March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we invoked our business continuity plan to ensure a smooth transition to remote work for our employees. We have continued to effectively operate the Company and remain committed to providing the same high level of services to the 16 Hennessy Funds and their shareholders. Further, we have undertaken various initiatives to ensure our continuing success in the work-from-home environment and to look forward to our employees’ returning to the office, including the following:

 

•

Regularly engaging with key partners and service providers to garner assurance regarding their ability to continue to provide high-quality services to us and to the Hennessy Funds;

 

•

Strengthening our digital marketing and public relations, including by expanding our online presence and speaking on and moderating panels at virtual industry-related conferences;

 

•

Keeping open lines of communication with our employees as they work from home to help ensure seamless operations, productive interactions, and early identification of issues;

 

•

Creating a thorough return-to-work plan and training all employees on such plan to prepare for their eventual return to in-office work; and

 

•

Maintaining effective governance and internal controls in a remote work setting.

Given the dynamic nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects, we will continue to revise our approach to these initiatives and take any additional actions we deem appropriate to meet the needs of our employees, our partners, and the Hennessy Funds and their shareholders. While we cannot reasonably estimate the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic or its ultimate impact on our business and revenues, we believe we have positioned ourselves as best as possible to emerge from the current crisis prepared for long-term growth.

OVERVIEW

Our primary business activity is providing investment advisory services to a family of open-end mutual funds branded as the Hennessy Funds. We manage 10 of the 16 Hennessy Funds internally. For the remaining six funds, we have delegated the day-to-day portfolio management responsibilities to sub-advisors, subject to our oversight. We oversee the selection and continued employment of each sub-advisor, review each fund’s investment performance, and monitor each sub-advisor’s adherence to each applicable fund’s investment objectives, policies, and restrictions. In addition, we conduct ongoing reviews of the compliance programs of sub-advisors and make on-site visits to sub-advisors, as feasible. Our secondary business activity is providing shareholder services to shareholders of the Hennessy Funds.

We derive our operating revenues from investment advisory fees and shareholder service fees paid to us by the Hennessy Funds. These fees are calculated as a percentage of the average daily net assets in each Hennessy Fund. The percentage amount of the investment advisory fees varies by fund. The percentage amount of the shareholder service fees is consistent across all funds, but shareholder service fees are charged on Investor Class shares only. The dollar amount of the fees we receive fluctuates with changes in the average net asset value of each Hennessy Fund, which is affected by each fund’s investment performance, purchases and redemptions of shares, general market conditions, and the success of our marketing, sales, and public relations efforts.

U.S. equities had positive performance for the 12 months ended September 30, 2020, with the S&P 500^® Index returning 15.15% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average returning 5.70% for the period (on a total return basis). It should be noted that during the same period, where large market capitalization stocks outperformed smaller ones, over half of the S&P 500’s return for the period was comprised of only three stocks – Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon. During the recent quarter ended September 30, 2020, equity prices continued their advance with the S&P 500^® Index up 8.93% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 8.22%. After an initial sharp selloff in equities earlier this year, investor panic over COVID-19 appears to have subsided somewhat, perhaps due to increased optimism about the prospect of FDA approval of a COVID-19 vaccine in the next several months. In addition, low interest rates, and the expectation that they will remain low for the foreseeable future, have provided a tailwind to equity prices. Despite a difficult labor market, recent trends appear to show promise as the unemployment rate has declined significantly. After peaking at 14.7% in April, the unemployment rate declined to 7.9% in September.

 

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Long-term U.S. bonds rallied strongly during the 12 months ended September 30, 2020, as the Federal Reserve acted quickly in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic to attempt to bring stability to financial markets. Further, the Federal Reserve has indicated that it is highly unlikely that it will raise rates in the next few years. With the unemployment rate still elevated from its 2019 lows and inflation in check, investors appear to take solace in the idea that the Federal Reserve stands ready to support the market given the tools it has at its disposal.

The Japanese equity market rose 7.38% (in U.S. dollar terms) over the 12 months ended September 30, 2020, as measured by the Tokyo Stock Price Index. Investors appeared heartened by the recent trend in COVID-19 cases in the country and the prospect of a broader economic rebound in Asia. The replacement of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with his close ally Yoshihide Suga suggests that economic growth will continue to be the government’s priority.

Against this backdrop, 9 of the 16 Hennessy Funds posted positive returns for the one-year period ended September 30, 2020. The longer-term performance numbers remain strong, with 13 of the Hennessy Funds posting positive returns for the five-year period ended September 30, 2020, and all 14 Hennessy Funds with at least 10 years of operating history posting positive returns for the 10-year period ended September 30, 2020.

As always, we are committed to providing superior service to investors and employing a consistent and disciplined approach to investing based on a buy-and-hold philosophy that rejects the idea of market timing. Our goal is to provide products that investors can have confidence in, knowing their money is invested as promised and with their best interests in mind. Accordingly, we continually seek new and improved ways to support investors in the Hennessy Funds, including by providing thought leadership and other resources to help them navigate through this unprecedented market disruption due to the pandemic. We operate a robust and leading-edge marketing automation and customer relationship management (CRM) system, with a database of over 100,000 financial advisors in addition to retail investors. We utilize this technology both to retain assets and to drive new purchases into the Hennessy Funds. We employ a comprehensive marketing and sales program consisting of content, digital, social media, and traditional marketing initiatives and proactive meetings. In addition, our consistent annual public relations campaign has resulted in the Hennessy brand name appearing on TV, radio, print, or online media on average once every two to three days.

We provide service to nearly 180,000 mutual fund accounts nationwide, including accounts held by shareholders who employ financial advisors to assist them with investing and retail shareholders who invest directly with us. We serve approximately 16,000 financial advisors who utilize the Hennessy Funds on behalf of their clients, including 800 advisors who purchased one of our Funds for the first time during fiscal year 2020. Approximately 17% of such advisors owns two or more Hennessy Funds, and nearly 550 advisors hold a position of over $500,000, demonstrating strong brand loyalty.

Total assets under management as of the end of fiscal year 2020 was $3.6 billion, a decrease of $1.3 billion, or 26.9%, compared to the end of fiscal year 2019. The decrease in total assets during fiscal year 2020 was primarily attributable to net outflows from the Hennessy Funds, but it was further impacted by market depreciation in the quarter ended March 31, 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The following table illustrates the changes in our assets under management over the past three years:

 

		Fiscal Years Ended September 30,
		2020				2019				2018
		(In thousands)
Beginning assets under management		$	4,873,839			$	6,197,617			$	6,612,812
Acquisition inflows			—				194,948				374,361
Organic inflows			571,195				825,541				1,193,270
Redemptions			(1,771,127	)			(2,374,734	)			(2,376,180	)
Market appreciation (depreciation)			(109,310	)			30,467				393,354
Ending assets under management		$	3,564,597			$	4,873,839			$	6,197,617

 

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As stated above, the fees we receive for providing investment advisory and shareholder service are based on average assets under management. The following table shows average assets under management by share class over the past three years:

 

		Fiscal Years Ended September 30,
		2020				2019				2018
		(In thousands)
Average assets under management—Investor Class		$	2,556,875			$	3,357,813			$	4,354,765
Average assets under management—Institutional Class			1,541,529				1,826,929				2,295,791
Total		$	4,098,404			$	5,184,742			$	6,650,556

The principal asset on our balance sheet, management contracts, represents the capitalized costs incurred in connection with the purchase of the assets related to the management of mutual funds. As of the end of fiscal year 2020, this asset had a net balance of $80.6 million, unchanged since the end of fiscal year 2019.

The principal liability on our balance sheet has historically been bank debt. However, on March 26, 2020, we prepaid in full all principal, accrued interest, and costs and expenses outstanding under our term loan agreement. The aggregate prepayment amount was $15.4 million. As a result of this prepayment, as of September 30, 2020, the principal liability on our balance sheet is the deferred tax liability of $11.5 million generated due to the continued write off of our management contracts asset for tax purposes, which creates a book-to-tax difference.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following table sets forth items in our statements of income as dollar amounts and as percentages of total revenue:

 

		Fiscal Years Ended September 30,
		2020								2019
		Amounts				Percent of Total Revenue				Amounts				Percent of Total Revenue
		(In thousands, except percentages)
Revenue
Investment advisory fees		$	30,831				92.3	%		$	39,357				92.1	%
Shareholder service fees			2,558				7.7				3,358				7.9
Total revenue			33,389				100.0				42,715				100.0
Operating expenses
Compensation and benefits			8,820				26.4				10,933				25.6
General and administrative			4,961				14.9				5,796				13.6
Mutual fund distribution			477				1.4				512				1.2
Sub-advisory fees			7,573				22.7				9,228				21.6
Depreciation			239				0.7				225				0.5
Total operating expenses			22,070				66.1				26,694				62.5
Operating income			11,319				33.9				16,021				37.5
Interest expense			447				1.3				1,084				2.5
Other income			(89	)			(0.2	)			(338	)			(0.8	)
Income before income tax expense			10,961				32.8				15,275				35.8
Income tax expense			3,120				9.3				4,244				10.0
Net income		$	7,841				23.5	%		$	11,031				25.8	%

Revenues – Investment Advisory Fees and Shareholder Service Fees

Total revenue comprises investment advisory fees and shareholder service fees. Comparing fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2019, total revenue decreased by 21.8%, from $42.7 million to $33.4 million, investment advisory fees decreased by 21.7%, from $39.4 million to $30.8 million, and shareholder service fees decreased by 23.8%, from $3.4 million to $2.6 million.

 

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The decrease in investment advisory fees was mainly due to decreased average daily net assets of the Hennessy Funds, which was primarily attributable to net outflows. In addition, market depreciation that largely resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on our total assets under management in the quarter ended March 31, 2020, which put additional downward pressure on our average assets under management for the remainder of our fiscal year 2020.

The decrease in shareholder service fees was due to a decrease in the average daily net assets held in Investor Class shares of the Hennessy Funds for the same reasons described in the paragraph above. Assets held in Investor Class shares of the Hennessy Funds are subject to a shareholder service fee, whereas assets held in Institutional Class shares of the Hennessy Funds are not subject to a service fee.

We collect investment advisory fees from each Hennessy Fund at differing annual rates. These annual rates range between 0.40% and 1.25% of average daily net assets. Average daily net assets of the Hennessy Funds for fiscal year 2020 was $4.1 billion, which represents a decrease of $1.1 billion, or 21.0%, compared to fiscal year 2019. The Hennessy Fund with the largest average daily net assets for fiscal year 2020 was the Hennessy Focus Fund, with $1.4 billion. We collect an investment advisory fee from the Hennessy Focus Fund at an annual rate of 0.90% of average daily net assets. However, we pay a sub-advisory fee at an annual rate of 0.29% to the fund’s sub-advisor, which reduces the net operating profit contribution of the fund to our financial operations. The Hennessy Fund with the second largest average daily assets for fiscal year 2020 was the Hennessy Gas Utility Fund, with $0.7 billion. We collect an investment advisory fee from the Hennessy Gas Utility Fund at an annual rate of 0.40% of average daily net assets.

Total assets under management as of the end of fiscal year 2020 was $3.6 billion, a decrease of $1.3 billion, or 26.9%, compared to the end of fiscal year 2019. The decrease was attributable primarily to net outflows from the Hennessy Funds and secondarily to market depreciation that largely resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Hennessy Funds, like many actively managed U.S. mutual funds, experienced net outflows this year. The Hennessy Balanced Fund, with $0.5 million in net inflows, was the only Hennessy Fund with net inflows for fiscal year 2020.

The Hennessy Funds with the three largest amounts of net outflows were as follows:

 

Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2020
Fund Name		Amount
Hennessy Focus Fund		$(562) million
Hennessy Gas Utility Fund		$(214) million
Hennessy Mid Cap 30 Fund		$(88) million

Redemptions as a percentage of assets under management decreased from an average of 3.7% per month during fiscal year 2019 to an average of 3.6% per month during fiscal year 2020.

Operating Expenses

Comparing fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2020, total operating expenses decreased by 17.3%, from $26.7 million to $22.1 million, due to decreases in all expense categories other than depreciation expense, which moderately increased. Although the dollar value decreased, operating expenses as a percentage of total revenue increased 3.6 percentage points to 66.1% because our fixed costs did not decrease with decreasing revenue.

Compensation and Benefits Expense: Comparing fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2020, compensation and benefits expense decreased by 19.3%, from $10.9 million to $8.8 million, due primarily to a decrease in incentive-based compensation and secondarily to temporary 25% salary reductions taken voluntarily by our executive officers for the period from May 1, 2020, through September 30, 2020. Although the dollar value decreased, compensation and benefits expense as a percentage of total revenue increased 0.8 percentage points to 26.4% because our fixed salary and benefits costs did not decrease with decreasing revenue (other than the temporary voluntary salary reductions taken by our executive officers).

 

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General and Administrative Expense: Comparing fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2020, general and administrative expense decreased by 14.4%, from $5.8 million to $5.0 million, due mainly to decreased travel and conference-related expense. Although the dollar value decreased, general and administrative expense as a percentage of total revenue increased 1.3 percentage points to 14.9% because our fixed costs did not decrease with decreasing revenue.

Mutual Fund Distribution Expense: Mutual fund distribution expense consists of fees paid to various financial institutions that offer the Hennessy Funds as potential investments to their clients. When the Hennessy Funds are purchased through one of these financial institutions, the institution typically charges an asset-based fee, which is recorded in “mutual fund distribution expense” in our statement of operations to the extent paid by us. When the Hennessy Funds are purchased directly, we do not incur any such expense. These fees generally increase or decrease in line with the net assets of the Hennessy Funds held through these financial institutions, which are affected by inflows, outflows, and fund performance.

Comparing fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2020, mutual fund distribution expense decreased by 6.8%, from $0.51 million to $0.48 million, due to lower average daily net assets of the Hennessy Funds held at financial institutions, which was driven in large part by significant market depreciation in the quarter ended March 31, 2020, that primarily resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the dollar value decreased, mutual fund distribution expense as a percentage of total revenue increased 0.2 percentage points to 1.4%.

Sub-Advisory Fees Expense: Comparing fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2020, sub-advisory fees expense decreased by 17.9%, from $9.2 million to $7.6 million, due to decreased average daily net assets held in the sub-advised Hennessy Funds. Although the dollar value of sub-advisory fees expense decreased, as a percentage of total revenue, sub-advisory fees expense increased 1.1 percentage points to 22.7% due to a greater decrease in average daily net assets held by the Hennessy Funds that we internally manage than in average daily net assets of the sub-advised Hennessy Funds.

Depreciation Expense: Comparing fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2020, depreciation expense increased by 6.2% from $0.23 million to $0.24 million as a result of a higher fixed assets purchase base. As a percentage of total revenue, depreciation expense increased 0.2 percentage points to 0.7%.

Interest Expense

Comparing fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2020, interest expense decreased by 58.8%, from $1.1 million to $0.4 million, due primarily to a decrease in our principal loan balance, which we repaid in full on March 26, 2020.

Income Tax Expense

Comparing fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2020, income tax expense decreased by 26.5%, from $4.2 million to $3.1 million, due primarily to lower net operating income in the current period, offset slightly by a higher effective income tax rate that resulted from paying income taxes to a greater number of states.

Net Income

Comparing fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2020, net income decreased by 28.9%, from $11.0 million to $7.8 million, primarily due to lower net operating income in the current period, and secondarily due to the higher effective income tax rate discussed above.

OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS

We do not have, and have not had, any off-balance sheet arrangements.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

We continually review our capital requirements to ensure that we have funding available to support our business model. Management anticipates that cash and other liquid assets on hand as of the end of fiscal year 2020 will be sufficient to meet our capital requirements for at least one year from the issuance date of this report. To the extent that liquid resources and cash provided by operations are not adequate to meet long-term capital requirements, management plans to raise additional capital by either, or both, seeking bank financing or accessing the capital markets. There can be no assurance that we will be able to raise additional capital.

 

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Our total assets under management as of the end of fiscal year 2020 was $3.6 billion, a decrease of $1.3 billion, or 26.9%, from the end of fiscal year 2019. The primary sources of our revenues, liquidity, and cash flow are our investment advisory fees and shareholder service fees, which are based on, and generated by, our average assets under management. Our average assets under management for fiscal year 2020 was $4.1 billion. As of the end of fiscal year 2020, we had cash and cash equivalents of $10.0 million.

The following table summarizes key financial data relating to our liquidity and use of cash:

 

		Fiscal Years Ended September 30,
		2020				2019
		(In thousands)
Net cash provided by operating activities		$	10,623			$	14,392
Net cash used in investing activities			(882	)			(1,974	)
Net cash used in financing activities			(24,473	)			(13,126	)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents		$	(14,732	)		$	(708	)

Comparing fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2020, cash provided by operating activities decreased $3.8 million due mainly to decreased operating income.

Comparing fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2020, cash used for investing activities decreased $1.1 million because the first payment for the purchase of the assets related to the management of the BP Funds in fiscal year 2019 was larger than the second payment for such assets in fiscal year 2020.

Comparing fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2020, cash used for financing activities increased $11.3 million, which represents the difference between the repayment in full of our term loan during fiscal year 2020 compared to the aggregate amount of the regular payments made on our term loan during fiscal year 2019.

Dividend Payments. We have consistently paid dividends each year since 2005. Our quarterly dividend rate remained constant during fiscal year 2020, and dividend payments totaled $4.0 million. During fiscal year 2019, our Board of Directors increased the quarterly dividend rate twice, (i) from $0.10 per share to $0.11 per share in October 2018 and (ii) from $0.11 per share to $0.1375 per share in August 2019. Dividend payments for fiscal year 2019 totaled $3.5 million.

Our Bank Loan. On March 26, 2020, we prepaid in full all principal, accrued interest, and costs and expenses outstanding under our term loan agreement with U.S. Bank National Association. The aggregate prepayment amount of $15.4 million was funded by cash on hand, and we did not incur any prepayment penalties. Under the term loan agreement, interest was calculated based on the one-month LIBOR rate plus a margin that ranged from 2.25% to 2.75% depending on our ratio of consolidated debt to consolidated EBITDA. Prior to repayment, certain debt issuance costs were capitalized and netted against the underlying loan balance and were then amortized over the term of the loan. Upon repayment, the unamortized debt issuance costs were charged to interest expense.

Prior to its termination, we were obligated under the term loan agreement to make monthly payments of $364,583 plus interest, the final installment of which would have been due on May 9, 2022.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Our financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, which require the use of estimates, judgments, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the periods presented. These accounting policies, methods, and estimates are an integral part of the financial statements prepared by management and are based upon management’s current judgments. Those judgments are normally based on knowledge and experience with regard to past and current events and assumptions about future events. Certain accounting policies, methods, and estimates are particularly sensitive because of their significance to the financial statements and because future events affecting them may differ markedly from management’s current judgment. Described below are the accounting policies that we believe are most critical to understanding our results of operations and financial position.

 

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Our operating revenues consist of contractual investment advisory and shareholder service fees. We earn our investment advisory fees through portfolio management of the Hennessy Funds, and we earn our shareholder service fees by assisting investors in purchases, sales, distribution, and customer service. These fee revenues are earned and calculated daily by the Hennessy Funds’ accountants. In accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) guidance on revenue recognition, we recognize fee revenues monthly. Our contractual agreements provide persuasive evidence that an arrangement exists with fixed and determinable fees, and the services are rendered daily. The collectability is probable as the fees are received from the Hennessy Funds in the month subsequent to the month in which the services are provided.

The management contracts we have purchased are considered intangible assets with an indefinite life and we account for them in accordance with Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2012-02, “Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment,” as amended. Pursuant to ASU No. 2012-02, an entity first assesses qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform a quantitative impairment test in accordance with Subtopic 350-30, “Intangibles — Goodwill and Other — General Intangibles Other than Goodwill.” The more-likely-than-not threshold is defined as having a likelihood of more than 50 percent. If an entity determines that it is more likely than not that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired, then it must conduct an impairment analysis. We were able to forego the annual impairment analysis for fiscal year 2020 as the more-likely-than-not threshold was not met as of the end of fiscal year 2020.

The costs related to our purchase of the assets related to the management of mutual funds are capitalized as incurred. The costs are defined as an intangible asset per the FASB standard “Intangibles – Goodwill and Other.” The acquisition costs include legal fees, fees for soliciting shareholder approval, and a percent of asset costs to purchase the management contracts. The amounts are included in the management contracts asset, totaling $80.6 million as of the end of fiscal year 2020.

RECENTLY ISSUED AND ADOPTED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842),” as amended, which requires lessees to recognize leases on the balance sheet and disclose key information about leasing arrangements. The new standard establishes a right-of-use model that requires a lessee to recognize a right-of-use asset and lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with a term longer than 12 months. Leases must be classified as finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern and classification of expense recognition in the income statement. All of our leases are operating leases. We adopted the new standard on October 1, 2019, using the modified retrospective method and the transition relief guidance provided by the FASB in ASU No. 2018-11, “Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements.” As a result, we did not update financial information or provide disclosures required under the new standard for dates and periods prior to October 1, 2019. In addition, we adopted the FASB’s lessee practical expedient option to combine lease and non-lease components for all asset classes and elected, as an accounting policy, not to recognize right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for leases with terms of 12 months or less. Non-lease components are fixed costs, such as electricity or common area maintenance, that can be included in rent payments but are not a part of the underlying asset being capitalized. There were no such fixed costs associated with our capitalized right of use asset, so this election did not impact our financial statements. Upon adoption of ASU 2016-02, we recorded $0.7 million in right-of-use assets (which is net of $0.1 million in deferred rent outstanding just before adoption) and $0.8 million in lease liabilities.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-13, “Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework – Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement.” This update eliminates such disclosures as the amount of and reasons for transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy and adds new disclosure requirements for Level 3 measurements. It is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 (our fiscal year 2021), with early adoption permitted for any eliminated or modified disclosures. We are currently evaluating the impact of adopting this update, but do not expect it to have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, or related disclosures.

 

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There have been no other significant changes to our critical accounting policies and estimates during fiscal year 2020.

 

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ITEM 8.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

Index to Financial Statements:

 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm			40
Balance Sheets			41
Statements of Income			42
Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity			43
Statements of Cash Flows			44
Notes to Financial Statements			45

 

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Stockholders and Board of Directors

of Hennessy Advisors, Inc.:

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Hennessy Advisors, Inc. (the “Company”) as of September 30, 2020 and 2019, and the related statements of income, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended September 30, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of September 30, 2020 and 2019, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended September 30, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Explanatory Paragraph – Change in Accounting Principle

As discussed in Note 15 to the financial statements, the Company changed its method of accounting for leases in 2019 due to the adoption of ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), as amended, effective October 1, 2019, using the modified retrospective approach.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal controls over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

/s/ Marcum LLP

Marcum LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2004.

Costa Mesa, CA

December 1, 2020

 

40

Hennessy Advisors, Inc.

Balance Sheets

(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)

 

		September 30,				September 30,
		2020				2019
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents		$	9,955			$	24,687
Investments in marketable securities, at fair value			9				9
Investment fee income receivable			2,403				3,291
Prepaid expenses			637				633
Other accounts receivable			378				392
Total current assets			13,382				29,012
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $1,618 and $1,379, respectively			294				361
Operating lease right-of-use asset			276				—
Management contracts			80,643				80,643
Other assets			191				192
Total assets		$	94,786			$	110,208
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities
Accrued liabilities and accounts payable		$	3,813			$	5,538
Accrued purchase consideration payable			—				710
Operating lease liability			330				—
Income taxes payable			949				672
Deferred rent			—				116
Current portion of long-term debt, net of debt issuance costs			—				4,327
Total current liabilities			5,092				11,363
Long-term debt, net of debt issuance costs and current portion			—				13,048
Deferred income tax liability, net			11,516				10,269
Total liabilities			16,608				34,680
Commitments and contingencies (Note 10)
Stockholders’ equity
Common stock, no par value, 22,500,000 shares authorized; 7,356,822 shares issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2020, and 7,527,040 as of September 30, 2019			18,705				17,673
Retained earnings			59,473				57,855
Total stockholders’ equity			78,178				75,528
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity		$	94,786			$	110,208

See Accompanying Notes to Financial Statements

 

41

Hennessy Advisors, Inc.

Statements of Income

(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)

 

		Fiscal Years Ended September 30,
		2020				2019
Revenue
Investment advisory fees		$	30,831			$	39,357
Shareholder service fees			2,558				3,358
Total revenue			33,389				42,715
Operating expenses
Compensation and benefits			8,820				10,933
General and administrative			4,961				5,796
Mutual fund distribution			477				512
Sub-advisory fees			7,573				9,228
Depreciation			239				225
Total operating expenses			22,070				26,694
Net operating income			11,319				16,021
Interest expense			447				1,084
Other income			(89	)			(338	)
Income before income tax expense			10,961				15,275
Income tax expense			3,120				4,244
Net income		$	7,841			$	11,031
Earnings per share
Basic		$	1.07			$	1.42
Diluted		$	1.06			$	1.42
Weighted average shares outstanding
Basic			7,352,495				7,757,785
Diluted			7,378,729				7,771,561
Cash dividends declared per share		$	0.55			$	0.47

See Accompanying Notes to Financial Statements

 

42

Hennessy Advisors, Inc.

Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity

Fiscal Years Ended September 30, 2020 and 2019

(In thousands, except share data)

 

		Common Stock								Retained				Total Stockholders’
		Shares				Amount				Earnings				Equity
Balance at September 30, 2018			7,897,145			$	16,783			$	54,197			$	70,980
Net income			—				—				11,031				11,031
Dividends paid			—				—				(3,598	)			(3,598	)
Employee and director restricted stock vested			155,844				—				—				—
Repurchase of vested employee restricted stock for tax withholding			(37,621	)			(393	)			(5	)			(398	)
Shares issued for auto-investments pursuant to the 2018 Dividend Reinvestment and Stock Purchase Plan			1,881				20				—				20
Shares issued for dividend reinvestment pursuant to the 2018 Dividend Reinvestment and Stock Purchase Plan			5,738				59				—				59
Shares repurchased pursuant to a stock buyback program			(495,947	)			(980	)			(3,770	)			(4,750	)
Stock-based compensation			—				2,212				—				2,212
Employee restricted stock forfeiture			—				(28	)			—				(28	)
Balance at September 30, 2019			7,527,040			$	17,673			$	57,855			$	75,528
Net income			—				—				7,841				7,841
Dividends paid			—				—				(4,040	)			(4,040	)
Employee and director restricted stock vested			125,750				—				—				—
Repurchase of vested employee restricted stock for tax withholding			(34,887	)			(311	)			(3	)			(314	)
Shares issued for auto-investments pursuant to the 2018 Dividend Reinvestment and Stock Purchase Plan			2,065				22				—				22
Shares issued for dividend reinvestment pursuant to the 2018 Dividend Reinvestment and Stock Purchase Plan			7,750				73				—				73
Shares repurchased pursuant to a stock buyback program			(270,896	)			(534	)			(2,180	)			(2,714	)
Stock-based compensation			—				1,782				—				1,782
Balance at September 30, 2020			7,356,822			$	18,705			$	59,473			$	78,178

See Accompanying Notes to Financial Statements

 

43

Hennessy Advisors, Inc.

Statements of Cash Flows

(In thousands)

 

		Fiscal Years Ended September 30,
		2020				2019
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income		$	7,841			$	11,031
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities
Depreciation			239				225
Change in right-of-use asset and operating lease liability			(62	)			—
Deferred income taxes			1,247				1,304
Stock-based compensation			1,782				2,212
Interest expense associated with debt issuance cost			125				106
Employee restricted stock forfeiture			—				(28	)
Change in operating assets and liabilities
Investment fee income receivable			888				968
Prepaid expenses			(4	)			35
Other accounts receivable			14				21
Other assets			1				(1	)
Accrued liabilities and accounts payable			(1,725	)			(1,545	)
Income taxes payable			277				114
Deferred rent			—				(50	)
Net cash provided by operating activities			10,623				14,392
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchases of property and equipment			(172	)			(204	)
Payments related to management contracts			(710	)			(1,770	)
Net cash used in investing activities			(882	)			(1,974	)
Cash flows from financing activities
Principal payments on bank loan			(17,500	)			(4,375	)
Payment of debt issuance costs on bank loan amendment			—				(84	)
Shares repurchased pursuant to stock buyback program			(2,714	)			(4,750	)
Repurchase of vested employee restricted stock for tax withholding			(314	)			(398	)
Proceeds from shares issued pursuant to the 2018 Dividend Reinvestment and
Stock Repurchase Plan			22				20
Dividend payments			(3,967	)			(3,539	)
Net cash used in financing activities			(24,473	)			(13,126	)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents			(14,732	)			(708	)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period			24,687				25,395
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period		$	9,955			$	24,687
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information
Cash paid for income taxes		$	1,596			$	3,085
Cash paid for interest		$	381			$	999
Purchase consideration payable		$	—			$	710

See Accompanying Notes to Financial Statements

 

44