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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Basis of Presentation and Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company, and its subsidiaries and have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Consolidation

In the normal course of business, the Company has transactions with various investment entities as discussed in Note 10, "Off Balance Sheet Items." In certain instances, the Company provides investment advisory services to pooled investment vehicles (each, an “Investment Fund”). The Company does not have discretion to make any investment, except for the specific investment for which an Investment Fund was formed. The Company performs an assessment to determine (a) whether the Company’s investments or other interests will absorb portions of a variable interest entity’s expected losses or receive portions of the entity’s expected residual returns and (b) whether the Company’s involvement, through holding interests directly or indirectly in the entity would give it a controlling financial interest. The Company consolidates entities in which it, directly or indirectly, is determined to have a controlling financial interest. Consolidation conclusions are reviewed quarterly to identify whether any reconsideration events have occurred.

Segment Information

The Company operates as a single operating segment and reportable segment. The Company’s chief operating decision maker is its Chief Executive Officer, who reviews financial information presented on a consolidated basis for purposes of making operating decisions, assessing financial performance, allocating resources and evaluating the Company’s financial performance.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Such management estimates include, but are not limited to, collectability of accounts receivable, the fair value of financial assets and liabilities, the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in business combinations, the fair value of consideration paid for business combinations, the useful lives of acquired intangible assets and property and equipment, the impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill, the fair value of warrants, equity awards and share-based compensation expenses, including the determination of the fair value of the Company’s common stock prior to the Business Combination and the derived service period for the awards containing market-based vesting conditions and the valuation of deferred tax assets. These estimates are inherently subjective in nature and, therefore, actual results may differ from the Company’s estimates and assumptions. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and also on assumptions that it believes are reasonable. Further, the Company applies judgment in determining whether, directly or indirectly, it has a controlling financial interest in the Investment Funds, in order to conclude whether any of the Investment Funds must be consolidated.

The Company believes the estimates and assumptions underlying the consolidated financial statements are reasonable and supportable based on the information available as of December 31, 2022. These estimates may change as new events occur and additional information is obtained, and related financial impacts will be recognized in the Company’s consolidated financial statements as soon as those events become known.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received from the sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. When developing fair value measurements, the Company maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs. A financial instrument’s classification within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurements. Three levels of inputs may be used to measure fair value:

Level 1 — Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 — Observable inputs other than quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in inactive markets, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3 — Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

Cash and Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less from the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents consist primarily of bank deposit accounts and investments in money market funds.

Restricted Cash

The Company classifies all cash and cash equivalents that are not available for immediate or general business use as restricted in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. This includes amounts set aside for restrictions of specific agreements. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, restricted cash is comprised of cash held for regulatory purposes for the trust and brokerage-related activities.

Accounts Receivable, Net

Accounts Receivable, NetAccounts receivable consist of amounts billed and currently due from customers, which are subject to collection risk. Under ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, or ASU 2016-13, we estimate our allowance for doubtful accounts using an aging method, disaggregated based on major revenue stream categories as well as other unique revenue stream factors. The allowance for doubtful accounts is maintained at a level that we believe to be sufficient to absorb probable losses over the expected life in our accounts receivable portfolio. The allowance is based on several factors, including continuous assessments of risk characteristics, specific customer events that may impact its ability to meet its financial obligations, and other reasonable and supportable economic characteristics. Accounts receivable are written-off against the allowance for doubtful accounts when collection efforts cease.

Concentration of Credit Risks

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk primarily comprise cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash, payment-dependent notes receivable, and accounts receivable. Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash may, at times, exceed amounts insured by the FDIC and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, respectively. The Company performs periodic evaluations of the relative credit standing of these financial institutions to limit the amount of credit exposure. The Company has not experienced any losses on its deposits of cash and cash equivalents to date.

The Company’s exposure to credit risk associated with its contracts with holders of private company equity (“sellers”) and investors (“buyers”) related to the transfer of private securities is measured on an individual counterparty basis. Concentrations of credit risk can be affected by changes in political, industry or economic factors. To reduce the

potential for risk concentration, the Company’s exposure is monitored in light of changing counterparty and market conditions.

Property and Equipment, Net

Property and equipment are stated at cost net of accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred. When property and equipment are retired or otherwise disposed of, the cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the consolidated balance sheets, and any resulting gain or loss is reflected in the consolidated statements of operations in the period realized.

The estimated useful lives of the Company’s property and equipment are as follows:

Computer equipment

3 years

Furniture and fixtures

5 years

Leasehold improvements

The shorter of remaining lease term or estimated useful life

Internal-use Software, Net

The Company capitalizes certain costs related to software developed for its internal-use. The costs capitalized include development of new software features and functionality and incremental costs related to significant improvement of existing software. Development costs incurred during the preliminary or maintenance project stages are expensed as incurred. Costs incurred during the application development stage are capitalized and amortized using the straight-line method over the useful life of the software, which is typically three years. Amortization begins only when the software becomes ready for its intended use. Costs incurred after the project is substantially completed and is ready for its intended purpose, such as maintenance and training costs, are expensed as incurred, unless related to significantly increasing the functionality of existing software.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company’s long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the asset may not be recoverable. The Company also evaluates the period of depreciation and amortization of long-lived assets to determine whether events or circumstances warrant revised estimates of useful lives. When indicators of impairment are present, the Company determines the recoverability of its long-lived assets by comparing the carrying value of its long-lived assets to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to result from the use of the assets and their eventual disposition. If the estimated future undiscounted cash flows demonstrate the long-lived assets are not recoverable, an impairment loss would be calculated based on the excess of the carrying amounts of the long-lived assets over their fair value.

The Company determined that recent developments in domestic and global economies, including significant market volatilities, interest rate increases, and the decline in the market value of the Company's stock, which commenced prior to December 31, 2022, represent indicators that its long-lived assets may be impaired. Accordingly, the Company carried out an impairment test of its long-lived assets pursuant to ASC 360 - Property, Plant, and Equipment, whereby a quantitative assessment was performed to determine whether its long-lived assets were recoverable. The Company's long-lived assets represent a single group of assets that individually are not independent from the cash flows of other assets. The Company determined that the carrying amount of its long-lived assets did not exceed the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use of these assets, thus, its long-lived assets were recoverable as of December 31, 2022. As a result, no impairment loss was recorded for the long-lived assets.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets, Net

Goodwill represents the excess of the aggregate fair value of the consideration transferred in a business combination over the fair value of the assets acquired, net of liabilities assumed. Goodwill is not amortized but is tested for impairment annually on October 1, or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate the goodwill may be impaired. The Company's annual goodwill impairment test resulted in no goodwill impairment.

Additionally as of December 31, 2022, the Company performed a goodwill impairment test as a result of the events and circumstances previously discussed. The Company has one reporting unit. In determining the fair value of the reporting unit in accordance with ASC 350 - Intangibles - Goodwill and Other, the Company performed a quantitative assessment of goodwill as of December 31, 2022 using the income approach in combination with various sensitivity analysis and reconciliations to market capitalization. The fair value of the reporting unit exceeded its carrying value. As a result, no impairment loss was recorded for goodwill.

In-process research and development (“IPR&D”) assets acquired in a business combination are considered indefinite lived until the completion or abandonment of the associated research and development efforts. Upon conclusion of the relevant research and development project, the Company will amortize the acquired IPR&D over its estimated useful life or expense the acquired IPR&D should the research and development project be unsuccessful with no future alternative use. In September 2021, the Company launched the acquired IPR&D data platform and started to record amortization expense using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the asset.

Acquired intangible assets also consist of identifiable intangible assets, primarily software technology, trade name and customer relationships, resulting from business acquisitions. Finite-lived intangible assets are recorded at fair value on the date of acquisition and are amortized over their estimated useful lives. The Company bases the useful lives and related amortization expense on its estimate of the period that the assets will generate revenues or otherwise be used.

Leases

The Company categorizes leases at their inception or upon modification, if applicable. As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company only has operating leases. For operating leases, the Company recognizes rent and occupancy on a straight-line basis, commencing on the date at which the property becomes available for the Company's use. For leases with a term greater than 12 months, the Company records the related right-of-use assets and operating lease liabilities at the present value of lease payments over the lease term. The Company does not separate lease and non-lease components of contracts for real estate property leases. Variable lease payments for common area maintenance, property taxes and other operating expenses are not included in the measurement of ROU assets and lease liabilities and are expensed as incurred.

The rates implicit on the Company’s leases are not readily determinable. Therefore, the Company estimates its incremental borrowing rate to discount the lease payments based on information available at lease commencement. The Company determines its incremental borrowing rate based on the rate of interest it would have to pay to borrow on a collateralized basis with an equal lease payment amount, over a similar term, and in a similar economic environment.

The Company evaluates its subleases in which it is the sublessor to determine whether it is relieved of the primary obligation under the original lease. If it remains the primary obligor, the Company continues to account for the original lease as it did before the commencement of the sublease and records the sublease income based on the contract terms in other income (expenses), net in the consolidated statements of operations.

Payment-Dependent Notes

Payment-dependent notes receivable and payment-dependent notes payable represent financial instruments that are presented at fair value in the consolidated financial statements in accordance with ASC 825, Fair Value Option for Financial Instruments. The Company enters into separate contracts with equity holders of private companies’ shares (“sellers”) and investors (“buyers”) that enable the transfer of private securities upon a specified event such as an initial public offering, merger, or acquisition involving the underlying company. The Company serves as an intermediary counterparty to both the buyer and the seller and earns transaction fee revenue by facilitating the execution of the transaction.

Contracts with buyers require the Company to facilitate the transfer of a fixed number of shares of the private securities from sellers upon occurrence of a specified event as described above. Buyers are required to pay the selling price for shares purchased (“settlement amounts”) and transaction fee defined in the contracts into a distribution or escrow account upon notice by the Company.

Contracts with sellers require sellers to transfer the same amount and class of shares referenced in the contract between the Company and the corresponding buyers upon the occurrence of a specified event as described above.

When settlement amounts have been determined, and the price and transaction fees are paid by the buyer, payment-dependent notes receivable are recorded for the securities due from the sellers, and payment- dependent notes payable are recorded for the securities owed to the buyers. Amounts recorded at period-end for payment-dependent notes receivable represent the fair value of securities receivable from sellers, for which the securities settlement event has not occurred. Amounts recorded at period-end for payment-dependent notes payable represent the fair value of securities not yet delivered to the buyer. Changes in fair value of payment-dependent notes receivable and payment-dependent notes payable are recorded in other expense in the consolidated statements of operations.

Warrant Liabilities

The Public Warrants, Private Placement Warrants, and Junior Preferred Stock Warrants (see Note 3, 4. and 12) are recognized as derivative liabilities in accordance with ASC 815. Accordingly, the Company recognizes the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjusts the carrying value of the instruments to fair value at each reporting period until they are redeemed, expired or exercised. The Company will continue to adjust the warrant liability for changes in the fair value until the earlier of a) the exercise or expiration of the warrants or b) the redemption of the warrants, at which time the warrants will be reclassified to additional paid-in-capital.

Deferred Offering Costs

Deferred Offering CostsDeferred offering costs consist primarily of accounting, legal, and other fees directly related to the Business Combination.

Revenue Recognition

The Company generates revenue from fees charged for the trading of private placements through its platform, and fees for account and asset management provided to customers. The Company disaggregates revenue by service type, as management believes that this level of disaggregation best depicts how the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows are impacted by economic factors. The Company recognizes revenue pursuant to ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The amount of revenue recognized reflects the consideration that the Company expects to receive in exchange for services. To achieve the core principle of this standard, the Company applied the following five steps:

1.Identification of the contract, or contracts, with the customer;

2.Identification of the performance obligations in the contract;

3.Determination of the transaction price;

4.Allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and

5.Recognition of the revenue when, or as, a performance obligation is satisfied.

Revenue from Contracts with Customers

The Company enters into contracts with customers that can include various services, which are capable of being distinct and accounted for as separate performance obligations. When applicable, an allocation of the transaction fees to the

performance obligations or to the distinct goods or services that form part of a single performance obligation will depend on the individual facts and circumstances of the contract.

All of the Company’s revenues are from contracts with customers. The Company is the principal in its contracts, with the exception of sub-account fees, in which the Company acts as an agent and records revenue from fees earned related to cash balances in customers’ custodial accounts. Each of our significant performance obligations and our application of ASC 606 to our revenue arrangements are discussed in further detail below:

Placement Fees — The Company maintains a trading platform which generates revenues by collecting transaction fees from institutions, individual investors and private equity holders. Placement fees are charged by the Company for meeting the point-in-time performance obligation of executing a private placement on its platform. Placement fee rates are individually negotiated for each transaction and vary depending on the specific facts and circumstance of each agreement. These fees are event-driven and invoiced upon the closing of the transaction outlined in each agreement. These fees may be expressed as a dollar amount per share, a flat dollar amount, or a percentage of the gross transaction proceeds. The Company earns agency placement fees in non-underwritten transactions, such as private placements of equity securities. The Company enters into arrangements with individual accredited customers or pooled investment vehicles to execute private placements in the secondary market. The Company will receive placement fees on these transactions and believes that its trade execution performance obligation is completed upon the placement and consummation of a transaction and, as such, revenue is earned on the transaction date with no further obligation to the customer at that time. The Company acts as a principal and recognizes the placement fee revenue earned for the execution of a trade on a gross basis.

Custodial Administration Fees — The Company generates revenues primarily by performing custodial account administration and maintenance services for its customers. Specifically, the Company charges administration fees for its services in maintaining custodial accounts, including asset-based fees, which are determined by the number and types of assets in these accounts. Additionally, the Company earns fees for opening and terminating accounts, and facilitating transactions, which are assessed at the point of transaction. Account and asset fees are assessed on the first day of the calendar quarter. Cash administration fees are based on cash balances within the custodial accounts and are assessed on the last day of the month. Revenues from custodial administration fees are recognized either over time as underlying performance obligations are met and day-to-day maintenance activities are performed for custodial accounts, or at a point in time upon completion of transactions requested by custodial account holders.

Contract Balances

Contract assets represent amounts for which the Company has recognized revenue for contracts that have not yet been invoiced to our customers. The Company does not have any contract assets as of December 31, 2022 and 2021. Contract liabilities consist of deferred revenue, which relates to amounts invoiced in advance of performance under a revenue contract.

Practical Expedients

In certain arrangements, the Company receives payment from a customer either before or after the performance obligation has been satisfied; however, the contracts do not contain a significant financing component. The Company has applied the practical expedient in ASC 606 and excludes information about a) remaining performance obligations that have an original expected duration of one year or less and b) transaction price allocated to remaining performance obligations if the variable consideration is allocated entirely to a wholly unsatisfied performance obligation.

The Company has also applied the practical expedient in accordance with ASC 340-40, Other Assets and Deferred Costs to expense costs as incurred for costs to obtain a contract with a customer when the amortization period would have been one year or less.

Transaction-Based Expenses

Transaction-Based Expenses Transaction-based expenses represent the fees incurred to support placement activities. These include, but are not limited to, those for fund insurance, fund management, and fund settlement expenses that relates to services provided to the Investment Funds, and external broker fees and transfer fees related to placement and custodial services provided to other brokerage customers to facilitate transactions.

Stock Based Compensation Expense

Share-Based Compensation Expense

The Company recognizes share-based compensation expense for all share-based awards, primarily stock options, restricted stock awards ("RSAs") and restricted stock units ("RSUs"), based on the grant date fair value of the awards and recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the awards, which is generally the award's vesting term. The fair value of stock options is determined by using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the fair value of RSAs and RSUs is based on the closing price of the Company's common stock. Forfeitures are accounted for as they occur.

For certain awards with performance-based and market-based conditions, the Company uses a Monte Carlo simulation to determine the fair value and the derived service period at the grant date and recognizes share-based compensation expense using an accelerated attribution method when it becomes probable that the performance-based condition will be met.

Advertising

AdvertisingAdvertising costs are expensed as incurred and include advertising and trade shows.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method whereby deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on temporary differences between the bases used for financial reporting and income tax reporting purposes. Deferred income taxes are provided based on the enacted tax rates and laws that will be in effect at the time such temporary differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is provided for deferred tax assets if it is more likely than not that the Company will not realize those tax assets through future operations.

The Company utilizes a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount which is more likely than not of being realized and effectively settled. The Company considers many factors when evaluating and estimating the Company’s tax positions and tax benefits, which may require periodic adjustments, and which may not accurately reflect actual outcomes. The Company recognizes interest and penalties on unrecognized tax benefits as a component of provision for income taxes in the consolidated statements of operations.

Foreign Currency

The Company's reporting and functional currency is the U.S. dollar ("USD"). The functional currency of Forge Europe, a fully consolidated subsidiary of the Company, is the Euro ("EUR").

For financial reporting purposes, the financial statements of Forge Europe which are prepared using the EUR, are translated into the Company's reporting currency, USD. Accordingly, foreign currency assets and liabilities are remeasured into USD using the exchange rate on the balance sheet date, except for non-monetary assets and liabilities, which are measured at historical exchange rates. Revenue and expenses are translated using the average exchange rate for the period. Cumulative translation gains and losses are included in accumulated other comprehensive loss.

Comprehensive Loss

Comprehensive LossComprehensive income or loss includes all changes in equity during a period from non-owner sources. Accumulated comprehensive loss, as presented in the consolidated financial statements consists of changes in unrealized gains and losses on foreign currency translation.

Net Loss Per Share Attributable to Common Stockholders

Prior to the Business Combination, the Company computed net loss per share using the two-class method required for participating securities. The two-class method required income attributable to common stockholders for the period to be allocated between common stock and participating securities based upon their respective rights to receive dividends as if all income for the period had been distributed. Upon consummation of the Business Combination, all of the Company's participating securities, in the form of convertible preferred stock, were converted into common stock of the Company as of December 31, 2022. The prior holders of convertible preferred stock had dividend rights in the event of a declaration of a dividend for shares of common stock. However, the participating securities did not contractually require the holders of such stocks to participate in the Company’s losses for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020. Accordingly, net loss for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 was only allocated to the Company’s common stockholders.

The Company’s basic net loss per share is calculated by dividing net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the period, without consideration of potentially dilutive securities. The diluted net loss per share is calculated by giving effect to all potentially dilutive securities outstanding for the period using the treasury share method or the if-converted method based on the nature of such securities. Diluted net loss per share is the same as basic net loss per share in periods when the effects of potentially dilutive shares are anti-dilutive.

Recently Adopted Pronouncements and Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Prior to December 31, 2022, the Company was an emerging growth company ("EGC") under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (“JOBS Act”), and as a result the Company was eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not EGCs. The Company elected to take advantage of the extended transition period for adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards applied to private companies. However, as the Company is now a “large accelerated filer” as defined by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Company no longer qualifies as an EGC as of December 31, 2022. Therefore, the Company is no longer able to take advantage of the extended transition period for adopting new or revised accounting standards.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, with subsequent amendments, Financial Instruments — Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“ASU 2016-13”). ASU 2016-13 requires immediate recognition of management’s estimates of current expected credit losses.

As a result of the Company no longer qualifying as an EGC as of December 31, 2022, the Company adopted ASU 2016-13 in its consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022. The impact of adoption was immaterial to the consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04: Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, which removes step 2 of the quantitative goodwill impairment test. Under the amended guidance, a goodwill impairment charge is recognized for the amount by which the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill. On January 1, 2022, the Company adopted ASU 2017-04 on a prospective basis. The adoption did not have a significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes, which amends the existing guidance relating to the accounting for income taxes. This ASU is intended to simplify the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions to the general principles of accounting for income taxes and to improve the consistent application of GAAP for other areas of accounting for income taxes by clarifying and amending existing guidance. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption

permitted. The Company adopted the guidance on January 1, 2022, and the adoption of this new guidance does not have a material effect on its consolidated financial statements.