Historical income tax expense consisted solely of New York state and local income taxes; prior to our initial public offering, we were exempt from federal income taxes due to our status as an S-corporation. However, upon our conversion from an S-corporation to C-corporation status on August 16, 2004, we became subject to U.S. Federal and certain state and local income taxes. We recorded an income tax expense of $5.1 million in the three months ended March 31, 2005, compared with an income tax expense of $0.8 million in the three months ended March 31, 2004.
Our investment advisory business does not require us to maintain significant capital balances. Our current financial condition is highly liquid, with the majority of our assets comprised of cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities. Our cash flows are generally created as a result of the operating activities of our business segments, with advisory and administrative fees a significant contributor.
Cash, cash equivalents, accounts receivable and marketable securities available-for-sale were 72% and 71% of total assets as of March 31, 2005 and December 31, 2004, respectively. Working capital was $105.0 million at March 31, 2005, compared with $103.1 million at December 31, 2004.
Cash and cash equivalents decreased by $3.1 million in the first three months of 2005, with $16.9 million provided by operating activities. Cash of $15.9 million was used in investing activities, primarily for the purchase of $27.0 million of marketable securities, $0.2 million of which were in mutual funds sponsored by us, partially offset by proceeds from sales and maturities of marketable securities. Cash of $4.0 million was used in financing activities, primarily for dividends paid to stockholders.
Cash and cash equivalents increased by $1.0 million in the first three months of 2004, with $14.1 million provided by operating activities. Cash of $0.4 million was used in investing activities, primarily for the purchase of marketable securities. Cash of $12.7 million was used in financing activities, primarily related to S-corporation cash distributions made to shareholders and offering costs paid pursuant to our initial public offering.
It is our policy to continuously monitor and evaluate the adequacy of our capital. We have consistently maintained net capital in excess of the regulatory requirements for our broker-dealers, as prescribed by the SEC. At March 31, 2005, our regulatory net capital exceeded the minimum requirement by $7.5 million. The SEC’s Uniform Net Capital Rule 15c3-1 imposes certain requirements that may have the effect of prohibiting a broker-dealer from distributing or withdrawing capital and requiring prior notice to the SEC for certain withdrawals of capital. We believe that our cash flows from operations will be more than adequate to meet our anticipated capital requirements and debt and other obligations as they become due.
We have contractual obligations to make future payments in connection with our non-cancelable operating lease agreements for office space, long-term debt on aircraft, and capital
leases for office equipment. The following summarizes our contractual obligations as of March 31, 2005:
| | Contractual Obligations |
| | 2005 | | 2006 | | 2007 | | 2008 | | 2009 | | 2010 and after | | Total |
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Operating leases | | $ | 1,120 | | $ | 3,340 | | $ | 3,340 | | $ | 2,071 | | $ | 2,071 | | $ | 9,165 | | $ | 21,107 |
Long-term debt | | | 78 | | | 1,121 | | | 440 | | | – | | | – | | | – | | | 1,639 |
Capital lease obligations, net | | | 42 | | | 58 | | | 46 | | | 9 | | | – | | | – | | | 155 |
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Total Contractual Obligations | | $ | 1,240 | | $ | 4,519 | | $ | 3,826 | | $ | 2,080 | | $ | 2,071 | | $ | 9,165 | | $ | 22,901 |
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Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not invest in any off-balance sheet vehicles that provide liquidity, capital resources, market or credit risk support, or engage in any leasing activities that expose us to any liability that is not reflected in our consolidated financial statements.
Recent Development
We have established an office in Hong Kong, which will support our global real estate securities investment management activities as well as those of our affiliate, Houlihan Rovers, S.A. In 2005, we expect to incur approximately $0.7 million of expenses associated with this office.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of our condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under current circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily available from other sources. We evaluate our estimates on an ongoing basis. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
A thorough understanding of our accounting policies is essential when reviewing our reported results of operations and our financial position. Our management considers the following accounting policies critical to an informed review of our consolidated financial statements. For a summary of these and additional accounting policies, see the notes to the annual audited consolidated financial statements on our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004.
Investments
Management determines the appropriate classification of its investments at the time of purchase and re-evaluates such determination at each statement of financial condition date. Marketable securities classified as available-for-sale have historically consisted of open and closed-end mutual funds sponsored by us. Subsequent to our initial public offering, we also invested in debt and preferred instruments and have classified these investments as marketable securities available-for-sale. These investments are carried at fair value based on quoted market prices, with unrealized gains and losses, net of tax, reported in accumulated other comprehensive income.
Deferred Commissions
Deferred commissions consist of commissions paid in advance to broker-dealers in connection with the sale of certain shares of open-end load mutual funds sponsored by us and are capitalized and amortized over a period not to exceed six years.
Investment Advisory and Administration Fees
We earn revenue from asset management services provided to our proprietary open-end and closed-end mutual funds and to institutional separate accounts. This revenue is based on the net assets of each client’s portfolio and is earned pursuant to the terms of the underlying contract and is charged in arrears on a monthly or quarterly basis. We also earn revenue from administration fees paid by certain sponsored open-end and closed-end mutual funds, based on the average daily net assets of such funds. We recognize this revenue as we earn such fees.
Distribution and Service Fee Revenue
Distribution and service fee revenue is recognized as the services are performed, generally based on contractually-predetermined percentages of the average daily net assets of the open-end load funds. Distribution and service fee revenue is recorded gross of any third-party distribution and service arrangements; the expenses associated with these third-party distribution and service arrangements are recorded in distribution and service fee expenses.
Portfolio Consulting Fees
We earn revenue for various portfolio consulting services provided to clients, as well as for providing a license to use its name. This revenue is recognized pursuant to the terms of individual agreements and is based on the net assets of the clients’ funds.
New Accounting Pronouncements
In December 2004, the FASB issued the revised Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (“SFAS No. 123”), which requires public companies to recognize the cost resulting from all share-based transactions in their financial statements. SFAS No. 123 eliminates the ability to account for share-based compensation using the intrinsic value method under Accounting Principles Board Opinion (“APB”) 25. The adoption of the revised SFAS No. 123 did not materially impact our unaudited condensed consolidated statement of financial position or results of operations.
In September 2004, The Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) reached a consensus on Issue 04-10, “Determining Whether to Aggregate Operating Segments That Do Not Meet the Quantitative Thresholds.” This EITF requires that individual operating segments that do not meet the quantitative thresholds set forth in SFAS No. 131, “Disclosure about Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information,” for separate reporting may be aggregated only if the segments meet certain requirements. These requirements are applicable for fiscal years ending after October 13, 2004. The adoption of EITF 04-10 did not materially impact our identified segments.
Forward-Looking Statements
This report and other documents filed by us contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which reflect our current views with respect to, among other things, our operations and financial performance. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “outlook,” “believes,” “expects,” “potential,” “continues,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “predicts,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “anticipates” or the negative versions of these words or other comparable words. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties.
Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. We believe that these factors include, but are not limited to, those described in the “Risk Factors” section of the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, which is accessible on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at http://www.sec.gov and on Cohen & Steers’ website at cohenandsteers.com. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included in this report. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
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ITEM 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
In the normal course of our business, we are exposed to the risk of interest rate, securities market and general economic fluctuations which may have an adverse impact on the value of our marketable securities. We had invested approximately $77.3 million of the net proceeds received from our initial public offering in debt and preferred instruments as of March 31, 2005. We had a total cost basis of approximately $5.7 million and $6.4 million invested in our sponsored equity funds as of March 31, 2005 and December 31, 2004, respectively.
In addition, a significant majority of our revenue—approximately 80% and 72% in the three months ended March 31, 2005 and 2004, respectively—is derived from investment advisory agreements with our clients. Under these agreements, the investment advisory and administration fees we receive are typically based on the market value of the assets we manage. Accordingly, a decline in the prices of securities generally, and real estate securities in particular, may cause our revenue and income to decline by:
| • | causing the value of the assets we manage to decrease, which would result in lower investment advisory and administration fees; or |
| • | causing our clients to withdraw funds in favor of investments that they perceive as offering greater opportunity or lower risk, which would also result in lower investment advisory and administration fees. |
In addition, market conditions may preclude us from increasing the assets we manage in closed-end mutual funds. A significant portion of our recent growth in the assets we manage has resulted from public offerings of the shares of closed-end mutual funds. The market conditions for these offerings may not be as favorable in the future, which could adversely impact our ability to grow the assets we manage and realize higher fee revenue associated with such growth.
The returns for REIT common stocks have demonstrated little correlation with interest rates over longer periods of time. However, an increase in interest rates could have a negative impact on the valuation of REITs and other securities in our clients’ portfolios, which could reduce our revenue. In addition, an increase in interest rates could negatively impact our ability to increase open-end mutual fund assets and to offer new mutual funds.
ITEM 4. Controls and Procedures
Based on their evaluation as of a date as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, our co-chief executive officers and chief financial officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms.
There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the three months ended March 31, 2005 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
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PART II-OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
As previously disclosed, on October 11, 2004, our Compensation Committee canceled 404,971 fully vested RSUs previously granted to an employee who resigned from Cohen & Steers, due to such employee’s violation of the non-competition covenants relating to the RSUs. On October 29, 2004, this former employee filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the State of New York against Cohen & Steers, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Cohen & Steers Capital Management, Inc., challenging the forfeiture of these RSUs. On November 18, 2004, we filed a motion to dismiss this action and on April 1, 2005, the court granted our motion to dismiss. On April 21, 2005, the former employee filed a Notice of Appeal appealing the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss the matter to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, First Department.
Item 5. Other Information
Compensation of Directors
On May 9, 2005, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company revised the compensation paid to outside directors of the Company. Each outside director now receives an annual retainer of $70,000, forty percent of which is payable quarterly in cash and sixty percent of which is payable quarterly in restricted stock units, and $1,500 for each Board or committee meeting attended by such director. The restricted stock units are granted under the Cohen & Steers, Inc. 2004 Stock Incentive Plan and are 100% vested on the date of grant. In general, the shares of common stock underlying the restricted stock units granted to a director will be delivered to the director on the third anniversary of the date of grant. Dividends on these restricted stock units are accrued and will be paid in cash on the delivery date of the shares of common stock underlying such restricted stock units. In addition, the chair of the Audit Committee receives an additional annual retainer of $12,500, the chair of the Compensation Committee receives an additional annual retainer of $7,500 and the chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee receives an additional annual retainer of $5,000. Outside directors receive no compensation from Cohen & Steers other than compensation as directors of the Company.
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Item 6. Exhibits
Exhibit No. | | Description |
| | |
3.1 | | | Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant (1) |
3.1 | | | Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant (1) |
3.2 | | | Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant (1) |
4.1 | | | Specimen Common Stock Certificate (1) |
4.2 | | | Form of Registration Rights Agreement among the Registrant, Martin Cohen, Robert H. Steers, The Martin Cohen 1998 Family Trust and Robert H. Steers Family Trust (1) |
31.1 | | | Certification of the co-Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (filed herewith). |
31.2 | | | Certification of the co-Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (filed herewith). |
31.3 | | | Certification of the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (filed herewith). |
32.1 | | | Certification of the co-Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (furnished herewith). |
32.2 | | | Certification of the co-Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (furnished herewith). |
32.3 | | | Certification of the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (furnished herewith). |
| | | (1) | Incorporated by Reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-114027), as amended, originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 30, 2004. |
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SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
Date: May 16, 2005 | | | Cohen & Steers, Inc. |
| | | /s/ Martin Cohen
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| | | Name: Martin Cohen Title: Co-Chief Executive Officer |
Date: May 16, 2005 | | | Cohen & Steers, Inc. |
| | | /s/ Victor M. Gomez
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| | | Name: Victor M. Gomez Title: Chief Accounting Officer |
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