| Stock-Based Awards |
17. Stock-Based Awards On July 15, 2022, the Company’s stockholders approved the 2022 Equity Plan under which the Company may issue up to 16,000,000 shares of common stock (less one share for every share granted under the 2016 Equity Plan since March 31, 2022 and inclusive of shares available under the 2016 Equity Plan as of March 31, 2022) in the form of stock options and other stock-based awards. The Company grants equity awards to employees and directors, which include restricted stock awards (“RSAs”), restricted stock units (“RSUs”), including deferred RSUs to non-employee directors, performance-based restricted stock units (“PRSUs”) and stock options. Certain awards described below are subject to acceleration under certain conditions. | Stock options: | Generally issued for terms of ten years and may vest after at least one year of service and have an exercise price equal to the Company’s stock price on the grant date. The Company estimates the fair value of stock options (when granted) using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. | | RSAs/RSUs: | Awards are valued based on the Company’s stock price on grant date and generally vest ratably, on an annual basis, over three years. For non-employee directors, such awards generally vest on the one-year anniversary of the grant date. | | Deferred RSUs: | Awards are valued based on the Company’s stock price on grant date and generally vest on the one-year anniversary of the grant date. The awards are issued pursuant to the Company’s Non-Employee Director Deferred Compensation Program and are settled based on timing elected by the recipient in advance. | | PRSUs: | These awards cliff vest three years from the grant date and contain a market condition whereby the number of PRSUs ultimately vesting is tied to how the Company’s total shareholder return (“TSR”) compares to a peer group of other publicly traded asset managers over the three-year period. A Monte Carlo simulation is used to value these awards. | The number of PRSUs vesting ranges from 0% to 200% of the target number of PRSUs granted, as follows: | · | If the relative TSR is below the 25th percentile, then 0% of the target number of PRSUs granted will vest; | | · | If the relative TSR is at the 25th percentile, then 50% of the target number of PRSUs granted will vest; | | · | If the relative TSR is above the 25th percentile, then linear scaling is applied such that the percent of the target number of PRSUs vesting is 100% at the 50th percentile and capped at 200% of the target number of PRSUs granted for performance at the 85th percentile; and | | · | If the Company’s TSR is negative, the target number of PRSUs vesting is capped at 100% regardless of the relative TSR percentile. | Stock-based compensation expense was $8,431 and $6,238, respectively, during the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025. A summary of unrecognized stock-based compensation expense and average remaining vesting period is as follows: | | | March 31, 2026 | | | | Unrecognized Stock-Based
Compensation | | Weighted-Average Remaining Vesting Period (Years) | | Employees and directors | | $ | 37,647 | | | | 1.75 | | A summary of stock-based compensation award activity (shares) during the three months ended March 31, 2026 is as follows: | | | RSA | | RSU | | PRSU | | Balance at January 1, 2026 | | | 4,372,897 | | | | 279,549 | | | | 1,427,859 | | | Granted | | | 1,012,575 | | | | 73,115 | | | | 254,042 | (1) | | Vested | | | (2,209,591 | ) | | | (69,169 | ) | | | (601,468 | )(2) | | Forfeited | | | (31,834 | ) | | | — | | | | — | | | Stock dividends accrued | | | — | | | | 255 | | | | 1,537 | | | Balance at March 31, 2026 | | | 3,144,047 | | | | 283,750 | (3) | | | 1,081,970 | | | (1) | Represents the target number of PRSUs granted and outstanding. The number of PRSUs that ultimately vest ranges from 0% to 200% of this amount. A Monte-Carlo simulation was used to value these awards using the following assumptions for the Company and the peer group: (i) beginning 90-day average stock prices; (ii) valuation date stock prices; (iii) historical stock price volatilities ranging from 21.84% to 34.34% (average 28.77%); (iv) correlation coefficients based upon the price data used to calculate the historical volatilities; (v) a risk free interest rate of 3.64%; and (vi) an expected dividend yield of 0.00%. | | (2) | The payout on PRSUs vesting in January 2026 was 199%. | | (3) | Includes 99,785 deferred RSUs that have vested. | |