Acquisition and Transition Costs and Special Charges, Including Business Realignment Costs

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Business Combinations [Abstract]

Acquisition and Transition Costs and Special Charges, Including Business Realignment Costs [Text Block]

Acquisition and Transition Costs and Special Charges, Including Business Realignment Costs

Acquisition and Transition Costs

The Company recognized $562, $1,013 and $21 for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively, as Acquisition and Transition Costs incurred in connection with acquisitions, divestitures, and other ongoing business development initiatives. These costs are primarily comprised of professional fees for legal and other services, including costs in 2020 associated with the sale of the ECB business.

Special Charges, Including Business Realignment Costs

The Company recognized $46,645 for the year ended December 31, 2020, as Special Charges, Including Business Realignment Costs, including expenses of $41,669 primarily for separation and transition benefits for certain employees terminated as a result of the Company's review of its operations, described below, $3,320 related to the acceleration of depreciation expense for leasehold improvements and certain other fixed assets in conjunction with the expansion of the Company's headquarters in New York and the Company's business realignment initiatives, and $1,656 for charges related to the impairment of assets resulting from the wind-down of the Company's businesses in Mexico. See Note 5 for further information.

In 2020, the Company completed a review of its operations focused on markets, sectors and people which delivered lower levels of productivity in an effort to attain greater flexibility of operations and better position itself for future growth. This

review, which began in the fourth quarter of 2019, generated reductions of 8% of the Company's headcount. In conjunction with the employment reductions, the Company incurred costs (including costs related to the acceleration of deferred compensation) of $41,669 and $2,850 for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, which has been recorded in Special Charges, Including Business Realignment Costs.

The Company recognized $10,141 for the year ended December 31, 2019, as Special Charges, Including Business Realignment Costs, including expenses of $4,370 related to the acceleration of depreciation expense for leasehold improvements in conjunction with the expansion of the Company's headquarters in New York, a charge of $2,921 associated with the impairment of goodwill in the Company's Institutional Asset Management reporting unit and separation and transition benefits for certain employees terminated as a result of the Company's review of its operations of $2,850 (described above).

The Company recognized $5,012 for the year ended December 31, 2018, as Special Charges, Including Business Realignment Costs, related to separation benefits and costs for the termination of certain contracts associated with closing the Company's agency trading platform in the U.K. and separation benefits and related charges associated with the Company's businesses in Mexico, as well as the acceleration of depreciation expense for leasehold improvements in conjunction with the expansion of the Company's headquarters in New York.