FAIR VALUE OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

FAIR VALUE OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

NOTE 6. FAIR VALUE OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

GAAP defines fair value as the amount that would be received from the sale of an asset or paid for the transfer of a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date and establishes a hierarchy for disclosing assets and liabilities measured at fair value based on the inputs used to value them. The fair value hierarchy maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs. Observable inputs are based on market pricing data obtained from sources independent of the Company. Unobservable inputs reflect management’s judgment about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. The fair value hierarchy includes three levels based on the objectivity of the inputs as follows:

● Level I - inputs are quoted prices in active markets as of the measurement date for identical assets and liabilities that the Company has the ability to access. This category includes exchange-traded mutual funds and equity securities;

● Level II - inputs are inputs other than quoted prices included in Level I that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. Level II inputs include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, and inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability, such as interest rates or yield curves, that are observable at commonly quoted intervals; this category includes mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, corporate debt securities, certificates of deposit, commercial paper, U.S. agency and municipal debt securities, U.S. Treasury securities, and derivative contracts; and

● Level III - inputs are unobservable inputs for the asset or liability and include situations where there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability. The measurements are highly subjective.

The availability of observable inputs can vary and is affected by a variety of factors. To the extent that valuation is based on models or inputs that are less observable or unobservable in the market, the determination of fair value requires more judgment. Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised in determining fair value is the greatest for assets or liabilities categorized in Level III.

In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, an investment level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The Company’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment and considers factors specific to the investment.

The following table presents information about the Company’s assets measured at fair value as of the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022.

	Level I		Level II		Level III
December 31, 2023	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets		Significant Other Observable Inputs		Significant Unobservable Inputs		Excluded (a)
Investments in securities, at fair value (cost $7,847,039)	$	7,715,075	$	-	$	-	$	-
W-1 Warrant and Class B Common Stock liability, at fair value		-		-		464,000		-
Investment in limited partnership, at net asset value		-		-		-		348,815
Investment in warrants, at fair value (cost $0)		-		-		62,400		-
Total	$	7,715,075	$	-	$	526,400	$	348,815

	Level I		Level II		Level III
December 31, 2022	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets		Significant Other Observable Inputs		Significant Unobservable Inputs		Excluded (a)
Investments in securities, at fair value (cost $5,802,395)	$	5,860,688	$	-	$	-	$	-
W-1 Warrant and Class B Common Stock liability, at fair value		-		-		576,000		-
Total	$	5,860,688	$	-	$	576,000	$	-

(a) Certain investments that are measured at fair value using the NAV per share (or its equivalent) as a practical expedient have not been classified in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value amounts presented in this table are intended to permit reconciliation of the fair value hierarchy to the amounts presented in the consolidated balance sheets.

Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis

As discussed previously, through Enterprise Diversified, the Company holds Level I investments, among which include shares of CrossingBridge Ultra-Short Duration Fund, CrossingBridge Low Duration High Yield Fund, RiverPark Strategic Income Fund, and CrossingBridge Responsible Credit Fund, which are SEC registered mutual funds for which CBA is the adviser, as well as shares of CrossingBridge Pre-Merger SPAC ETF, which is an ETF also advised by CBA. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, Level I investments held by the Company in investment products advised by CBA totaled $6,520,899 and $4,850,308, respectively. The Company’s remaining Level I investments held as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 includes marketable U.S. fixed income and equity securities. There are no liquidity restrictions in connection with these investments held through Enterprise Diversified.

The Company’s investment in the commodity-based limited partnership is measured using NAV as the practical expedient and is exempt from the fair value hierarchy. The NAV is based on the value of the underlying assets owned by the fund, minus its liabilities, and allocated based on total fund contributions. The Company’s investment in this limited partnership is remeasured to fair value on a recurring basis and realized and unrealized gains and losses are recognized as investment income in the period of adjustment. As of the year ended December 31, 2023, this investment is carried at its reported NAV of $348,815. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we recognized $13,845 of net investment losses related to this investment. No comparable activity exists for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Included as part of the Company’s July 14, 2023 private placement investment through Enterprise Diversified, the Company received 100,000 warrants of the issuer’s public parent company. The warrants are not registered or freely tradable and were not transferrable until after December 15, 2023. Due to these restrictions, the Company did not assign a value to the warrants prior to December 15, 2023. As of December 31, 2023, the warrants are now transferrable, but are still unregistered and contain various other trading restrictions. In order to value these warrants as of December 31, 2023, the Company has applied a marketability discount to similar like-kind warrants of the same company that actively trade on the OTCQX tier of the OTC Market. The Company evaluated similar marketability discounts applied to other OTC traded companies to arrive at a 20% discount rate. By applying the 20% discount rate to the most recent closing price of the comparable freely traded warrants, the Company valued the 100,000 warrants at $62,400 as of December 31, 2023 on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Due to the lack of observable inputs used in the Company’s calculation, the warrants have been classified as a Level III investment. The $62,400 was also recognized as an unrealized gain for the year ended December 31, 2023 on the accompanying consolidated statement of operations.

As discussed previously, pursuant to the Merger Agreement, the Company issued 1,800,000 Class B Common Shares that are mandatorily redeemable upon exercise of the W-1 Warrant. Management has determined that the W-1 Warrant represents an embedded equity-linked feature within the Class B Common Shares, and therefore is valued in conjunction with the Class B Common Shares as a long-term liability on the consolidated balance sheets. The value of the W-1 Warrant and Class B Common Shares is determined using a Black-Scholes pricing model, resulting in a Level III classification. The pricing model considers a variety of inputs at each measurement date including, but not exclusively, a 30-day VWAP of the Company’s closing stock price, the Company’s estimated equity volatility over the remaining warrant term, the warrant exercise price, the Company’s annual rate of dividends, the bond equivalent yield, and remaining term of the W-1 Warrant. Additionally, a discount is applied based on an analysis of the underlying marketability of the Company’s Class A Common Stock with respect to Rule 144 restrictions. This value is remeasured at each reporting date with the change in value flowing through the consolidated statements of operations for the relevant period. The table below represents the relevant inputs used in the value determination as of December 31, 2023 and change in value from the Closing Date to December 31, 2023.

W-1 Warrant and Class B Common Stock
Inputs below are as of December 31, 2023
ENDI Corp. 30-day VWAP closing stock price	$	3.96
Warrant exercise price	$	8.00
Estimated equity volatility over remaining term		32.00	%
ENDI Corp. annual rate of dividends		0.00	%
Bond equivalent yield		3.84	%
Remaining term of W-1 Warrant		3.61
Discount for lack of marketability		14.00	%
August 11, 2022	$	1,476,000
Less: Unrealized gains reported in other income		(900,000	)
December 31, 2022		576,000
Plus: Unrealized losses reported in other income		252,000
March 31, 2023		828,000
Less: Unrealized gains reported in other income		(355,000	)
June 30, 2023		473,000
Plus: Unrealized losses reported in other income		172,000
September 30, 2023		645,000
Less: Unrealized gains reported in other income		(181,000	)
December 31, 2023	$	464,000

Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Non-Recurring Basis

The Company analyzes its intangible assets — goodwill, customer relationships, trade names, investment management agreements, non-compete agreement, and domain names — on an annual basis or more often if events or changes in circumstances indicate potential impairments. No impairments were recorded during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

As discussed previously, the Company entered into a contingent consideration arrangement pursuant to the RiverPark Agreement, which is included on the consolidated balance sheets on December 31, 2023 for $1,427,212, including both the short and long-term portions, as an earn-out liability. Contingent payment obligations related to asset purchases, if estimable and probable of payment, are initially recorded at their estimated value. When the contingency is ultimately resolved, any additional contingent consideration issued or issuable over the amount that was initially recognized as a liability is considered an additional cost of the acquisition. These additional costs would then be allocated to the qualifying assets on a relative fair value basis.

As discussed previously, Enterprise Diversified held a promissory note receivable from Triad DIP Investors, LLC and 847,847 aggregate shares of Triad Guaranty, Inc. common stock. During the three-month period ended March 31, 2023, Enterprise Diversified was issued a second amended and restated promissory note by Triad DIP Investors, LLC and was further notified that Triad had successfully secured a new financing resource that would permit a full repayment of Enterprise Diversified’s promissory note. On April 27, 2023, the Company received repayment of the full historical principal balance and accrued interest related to the amended and restated promissory note receivable, which was greater than the Company’s historical recorded carrying amount of $50,000 as of December 31, 2022. As a result of these developments, the Company recognized $334,400 of other income as a realized gain on collection of the note, which is included on the consolidated statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2023. As of December 31, 2023, the Company attributed no value to its shares of Triad Guaranty, Inc. common stock due to the stocks’ general lack of marketability.