Equity-Based Compensation

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Share-Based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

EQUITY‑BASED COMPENSATION

2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan

In connection with the IPO, the Company adopted the Moelis & Company 2014 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) to provide additional incentives to selected officers, employees, Managing Directors, non-employee directors, independent contractors, partners, senior advisors and consultants. The Plan provides for the issuance of incentive stock options (“ISOs”), nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights (“SARs”), restricted stock, RSUs, stock bonuses, other stock-based awards (including partnership interests that are exchangeable into stock upon satisfaction of certain conditions) and cash awards.

Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) and other stock-based awards

Pursuant to the Plan and in connection with the Company’s annual compensation process and ongoing hiring process, the Company issues RSUs and other stock-based awards which generally vest over a service life of four to five years. For the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company recognized expense of $28,844 and $28,820, respectively, and $96,767 and $108,824 for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively, in relation to these awards.

The following table summarizes activity related to RSUs for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021.


	Restricted Stock Units
	2022			2021
		Weighted			Weighted
		Average			Average
	Number of	Grant Date		Number of	Grant Date
	Shares	Fair Value		Shares	Fair Value
Unvested Balance at January 1,	8,068,120	$	46.36	8,742,695	$	41.45
Granted	3,086,353		49.66	3,412,066		54.81
Forfeited	(258,621)		48.74	(340,419)		46.74
Vested	(2,995,349)		46.11	(3,845,878)		42.46
Unvested Balance at September 30,	7,900,503	$	47.72	7,968,464	$	46.33

In addition, the Company issues partnership units that are intended to qualify as "profits interest" for U.S. federal income tax purposes ("Partnership Units") that, subject to certain terms and conditions, are exchangeable into shares of Moelis & Company Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis. These Partnership Units are recorded as noncontrolling interests in the Company's condensed consolidated statements of financial condition. Further, these Partnership Units generally vest over a service life of five years, however in certain arrangements the Partnership Units are granted without a service requirement, but do not have exchange rights until the third anniversary of the grant-date. For the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company granted 809,899 and 395,834 Partnership Units with a grant-date fair value of $38,413 and $21,672, respectively.

As of September 30, 2022, the total compensation expense related to unvested RSUs and other stock-based awards not yet recognized was $162,565, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.6 years.