Note 21 - Related Party Transactions

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Notes to Financial Statements

Related Party Transactions Disclosure [Text Block]

21.

Related Party Transactions

The Company earns base management fees and incentive fees from serving as investment advisor for various entities, including corporations, partnerships

limited liability companies, and offshore investment companies. The Company also owns an investment in some of such affiliated entities. As of

December 31, 2019

and

2018

,

the aggregate fair value of the Company’s investments in the affiliated entities for which the Company serves as the investment advisor was

$17.3

million and

$18.6

million, respectively, which consisted of investments in hedge and other private funds of

$8.6

 

million for both periods and an investment in HCC common stock of

$8.7

 million and

$10.0

million, respectively. Base management fees earnedfrom these affiliated entities were

$6.5

million and

$12.7

million for the years ended

December 31, 2019

and

2018

. Also, the Company earned incentive fees of

$0.9

 million and

$6.4

million, from these affiliated entities for the years ended 

December 31, 2019

and

2018

, 

respectively.

On

September 19, 2017

,

the Company made a loan to a registered investment adviser of

$3.4

million, at an interest rate of

15%

per year. In

October

2018

,

the Company sold

30%

of the loan, or

$1.0

 million, to an affiliate. As of

December 31, 2019

and

December 31, 2018

, the Company’s portion of the outstanding loan balance to this entity was 

$2.4

million. The Company determined the fair value of the loan was

$2.4

 million and

$2.3

million as of

December 31, 2019

and

December 31, 2018

, respectively, using the bid price.

On

January 9, 2018,

an affiliate purchased a

$0.8

million note from the Company. As of

December 31, 2019

,

the carrying value of the note payable w

as

$0.8

million.

On

January 9, 2018,

the Company sold a

30%

subscription into an investment series held by a subsidiary to an affiliate. The transaction resulted in the admission of the affiliate into the limited liability company subsidiary as a non-controlling member. The Company recorded

$0.5

 m

illion and as capital attributable to non-controlling interest upon execution as of

December 31, 2019

. The Company has allocated income on the investment based on the affiliate's pro-rata share of ownership of the investment series of

 

$56

 t

housand and

$57

thousand for the years ended

December 31, 2019

and 2018, respectively.