Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Note 2: Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Interim financial information

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared by us under the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for interim financial reporting. These condensed consolidated financial statements are unaudited and, in management’s opinion, include all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments and accruals, necessary for a fair presentation of the consolidated financial position, results of operations, and cash flows for the periods presented. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) have been omitted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes in Part II, Item 8 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of results for a full year.

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash

The following table presents cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash as reported on the consolidated balance sheets and the consolidated statements of cash flows (in thousands):


	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019
Cash and cash equivalents	$	168,198	$	80,820
Cash segregated under federal or other regulations	1,170		5,630
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash	$	169,368	$	86,450

We generally invest our available cash in high-quality marketable investments. These investments include money market funds invested in securities issued by agencies of the U.S. government. We may invest, from time-to-time, in other vehicles, such as debt instruments issued by the U.S. federal government and its agencies, international governments, municipalities and publicly held corporations, as well as commercial paper and insured time deposits with commercial banks. Specific holdings can vary from period to period depending upon our cash requirements. Such investments are reported at fair value on the consolidated balance sheets.

Cash segregated under federal and other regulations is held in a separate bank account for the exclusive benefit of our Wealth Management business clients and is considered restricted cash.

Recently adopted accounting pronouncements

Changes to GAAP are established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) in the form of accounting standards updates (“ASUs”) to the FASB’s Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”). We consider the applicability and impact of all recent ASUs. ASUs not listed below were assessed and determined to be either not applicable or are expected to have minimal impact on our consolidated financial position and results of operations. We have recently adopted the following ASUs:

Measurement of Credit Losses. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“ASU 2016-13”), which changes how entities account for credit losses of financial assets measured at amortized cost. ASU 2016-13 requires financial assets measured at amortized cost to be presented on the balance sheet at the net amount expected to be collected.

The allowance for credit losses is a valuation account that is deducted from the amortized cost basis of the financial asset to present the net carrying value at the amount expected to be collected on the financial asset. ASU 2016-13 replaces the previous “incurred loss” model with a “current expected credit loss” model that requires consideration of a broader range of information to estimate expected credit losses over the lifetime of the financial asset. ASU 2016-13 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including the interim periods within those fiscal years. Entities must apply ASU 2016-13 using a modified-retrospective approach by recording a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which ASU 2016-13 is effective.

We adopted ASU 2016-13 effective January 1, 2020. Our financial assets within the scope of ASU 2016-13 primarily consisted of our commissions receivable and accounts receivable. While we have implemented the current expected credit loss model and assessed the impact of this new model on our in-scope financial assets, the adoption of ASU 2016-13 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements and did not result in a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of January 1, 2020.

Goodwill. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Accounting for Goodwill (“ASU 2017-04”), which simplifies the subsequent measurement of goodwill by eliminating the previously applicable step two from the goodwill impairment test. Under the amended guidance of ASU 2017-04, when required to test goodwill for recoverability, an entity will perform its goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of the reporting unit to its carrying value and recognizing an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying value exceeds the fair value of the reporting unit. ASU 2017-04 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and entities must apply ASU 2017-04 on a prospective basis.

We adopted ASU 2017-04 effective January 1, 2020 and applied this new guidance to the goodwill impairment test we performed as of March 31, 2020. For more information on this impairment test, see “Note 5—Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.”