Related Party Transactions

12 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2015

Related Party Transactions [Abstract]

Related Party Transactions

Note 3-Related Party Transactions:

Investment Management (overview):

On December 23, 2010, the Company deconsolidated its asset management and mutual fund distribution businesses and its interest in these businesses was restructured as a non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM.  Accordingly, the Company no longer reports this operation as a separate business segment, although it still maintains a significant interest in the cash flows generated by this business and will receive non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests going forward, as discussed below.

Total assets in the Value Line Funds managed and/or distributed by EAM at April 30, 2015, were $2.40 billion, which is $46 million, or 2.0%, above total assets of $2.35 billion in the Value Line Funds managed by EAM at April 30, 2014.

In January 2015, the Value Line VIP Equity Advantage Fund was launched.  The fund is an open end fund that invests primarily in a basket of closed-end funds.  The fund is exclusively available in the Guardian Pro Series Variable Annuities.  EAM partnered with Worthington Capital Management, a $2 billion Memphis based investment adviser, to create and launch the Worthington Value Line Equity Advantage Fund which started in February 2015.  The fund, similar to VIP, uses a proprietary model created by Worthington, EAM, and Value Line Publishing LLC, to identify which closed end funds to hold in the portfolio and is available in the retail and RIA (registered investment advisers) channels.   In March 2015, Value Line Larger Companies Fund was renamed Value Line Larger Companies Focused Fund and Value Line Fund was renamed Value Line Mid Cap Focused Fund.  The names were changed to emphasize both portfolios focus on high conviction ideas in the large cap and mid cap securities, respectively.  In March 2015, Reich & Tang announced it will be liquidating the Daily Income Fund in July 2015.  EAM changed its money market option to the Federated Government Obligations Fund which was added as an option for the direct Value Line Funds’ shareholders to exchange into and is now available in place of the Daily Income Fund.

The Company’s non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM entitle it to receive quarterly distributions in a range of 41% to 55% of EAM’s revenues (excluding distribution revenues) from EAM’s mutual fund and separate account business and at least 90% of the Company’s 50% interest in the residual profits of EAM which are payable each fiscal quarter under the provisions of the EAM Trust Agreement. Value Line’s percent share of EAM’s revenues calculated each fiscal quarter was 49.18%, 49.63%, 49.80% and 49.87% during the first, second, third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2015, respectively, and 46.66%, 47.27%, 47.91% and 48.66% during the first, second, third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2014, respectively.

The non-voting revenues and 90% of the Company’s non-voting profits interests due from EAM to the Company are payable each fiscal quarter under the provisions of the EAM Trust Agreement.  The distributable amounts earned through the balance sheet date, which is included in the Investment in EAM Trust on the Consolidated Balance Sheets, and not yet paid, were $1,951,000 and $1,887,000 at April 30, 2015 and April 30, 2014, respectively.

EAM Trust - VLI’s non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests:

The Company holds non-voting revenues and non-voting profits interests in EAM which entitle the Company to receive from EAM an amount ranging from 41% to 55% of EAM’s investment management fee revenues from its mutual fund and separate accounts business.  EAM currently has no separately managed account clients.  The Company recorded income from its non-voting revenues interest and its non-voting profits interests in EAM as follows:

	Fiscal Years Ended April 30,
($ in thousands)	2015		2014		2013
Non-voting revenues interest in EAM	$	7,346	$	6,767	$	5,781
Non-voting profits interest in EAM		624		732		479
	$	7,970	$	7,499	$	6,260

Transactions with Parent:

During the fiscal years ended April 30, 2015 and April 30, 2014, the Company was reimbursed $171,000 and $220,000, respectively for payments it made on behalf of and services it provided to AB&Co.   There were no receivables due from the Parent at April 30, 2015 or April 30, 2014.

The Company is a party to a tax-sharing arrangement with the Parent which allocates the tax liabilities of the two Companies between them.  For the years ended April 30, 2015, 2014, and 2013, the Company made  payments to the Parent for federal income tax amounting to $3,366,000, $2,254,000, and $1,877,000, respectively.

From time to time, the Parent has purchased additional shares of common stock of the Company in the market when and as the Parent has determined it to be appropriate.  The Parent may make additional purchases of common stock of the Company from time to time in the future. As of April 30, 2015, the Parent owned 88% of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Company.