☒ | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
☐ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
Delaware |
13-4063515 | |
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |
499 Park Avenue, New York, |
10022 | |
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) |
(Zip Code) |
Title of each class |
Trading Symbol(s) |
Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
Class A Common Stock, $0.01 par value |
BGCP |
The Nasdaq Stock Market, LLC |
Large Accelerated Filer | ☒ | Accelerated Filer | ☐ | |||
Non-accelerated Filer | ☐ | Smaller Reporting Company | ☐ | |||
Emerging growth company | ☐ |
Auditor Name: Ernst & Young, LLP |
Auditor Location: New York, New York |
PCAOB ID Number: 42 |
Page |
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3 | ||||||
4 | ||||||
ITEM 10. |
DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE | 4 | ||||
ITEM 11. |
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION | 19 | ||||
ITEM 12. |
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS | 49 | ||||
ITEM 13. |
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE | 54 | ||||
ITEM 14. |
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES | 86 | ||||
PART IV |
OTHER INFORMATION | 86 | ||||
ITEM 15. |
EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES | 86 |
ITEM 10. |
DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE |
Name |
Age |
Director Since |
Biographies | |||
Howard W. Lutnick | 60 | 1999 | Mr. Lutnick is the Chairman of our Board of Directors and our Chief Executive Officer, positions in which he has served from June 1999 to the present. Mr. Lutnick joined Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. (“Cantor”) in 1983 and has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cantor since 1996. Mr. Lutnick also served as President of Cantor from 1991 until 2017. Mr. Lutnick has been Chairman of Newmark Group, Inc. (“Newmark”) since 2016. In addition, Mr. Lutnick also holds offices at and provides services to various other affiliates of Cantor and provides services to our and Newmark’s operating partnerships and subsidiaries, including BGC Partners, L.P. (“BGC U.S. OpCo”), BGC Global Holdings, L.P. (“BGC Global OpCo”), and Newmark Partners, L.P. (“Newmark OpCo”). Mr. Lutnick is also the Chief Executive Officer, President, sole shareholder and a director of CF Group Management, Inc. (“CFGM”), the managing general partner of Cantor. Mr. Lutnick has also been a director of Satellogic, Inc. (“Satellogic”) since January 2022. Mr. Lutnick is a member of the Board of Directors of the Horace Mann School, the Board of Directors of the National September 11 th Memorial & Museum, the Board of Directors of the Partnership for New York City and the Board of Overseers of The Hoover Institution. In addition, Mr. Lutnick also served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CF Finance Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”) from October 2015 until consummation of its business combination with GCM Grosvenor, Inc. (“GCM Grosvenor”), in November 2020, as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CF Finance Acquisition Corp. II, a SPAC, from September 2019 until consummation of its business combination with View, Inc. in March 2021, as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CF Finance Acquisition Corp. III from March 2016 until consummation of its business combination with AEye, Inc., in August 2021, and as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CF Acquisition Corp. V from April 2020 until consummation of its business combination with Satellogic in January 2022. Currently, Mr. Lutnick has served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CF Acquisition Corp. IV since January 2020, CF Acquisition Corp. VI since April 2020, CF Acquisition Corp. VII since July 2020 and CF Acquisition Corp. VIII since July 2020, all of which are SPACS. Additionally, Mr. Lutnick has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of each of Cantor Fitzgerald Income Trust, Inc. (formerly known as Rodin Global Property Trust, Inc.) and Rodin Income Trust, Inc. since February 2017 and as President of Rodin Income Trust, Inc. since January 2018, which are non-traded real estate investment trusts, or REITs. Mr. Lutnick received an undergraduate degree from Haverford College. |
Stephen T. Curwood | 74 | 2009 | Mr. Curwood has been a director of our Company since December 2009. Mr. Curwood has been President of the World Media Foundation, Inc., a non-profit media production company, since 1992 and Senior Managing Director of SENCAP LLC, a New York and New Hampshire-based investment group, since 2005. Mr. Curwood was a Principal in Mamawood (Pty) Ltd, a media holding company based in Johannesburg with investments in South Africa, from 2005 to 2017. He has been a member of the Haverford College Corporation since 2000 and a trustee of the Woods Hole Research Center since 1996. From 1996 to present, Mr. Curwood has been faculty associate of the Harvard University Center for the Environment and has lectured in Environmental Science and Public Policy. From 2017 to present, he has been a Professor of Practice for the University of Massachusetts at Boston School for the Environment. Mr. Curwood was a trustee of Pax World Funds, a $2.5 billion group of investment funds focused on sustainable and socially responsible investments based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, from 2007 until 2009. Mr. Curwood is also currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the New England Aquarium. Mr. Curwood received an. A.B. from Harvard College. | |||
William J. Moran | 80 | 2013 | Mr. Moran has been a director of our Company since June 2013. Mr. Moran retired from JPMorgan Chase & Co. in June 2005, after serving as its Executive Vice President since 1997 and General Auditor since 1992. Mr. Moran previously worked in public accounting for nine years at KPMG LLP, providing financial audit, tax and advisory professional services. He served as a director of eSpeed, Inc., the Company’s predecessor, from December 1999 to November 2005. Mr. Moran served as a member of the Board of Directors and as the Chairman of the Audit Committee of GFI from February 26, 2015 through the closing of our back-end merger with GFI in January 2016. Mr. Moran also served as a director of Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. from 2006 until it was acquired by Banco Santander, S.A. in 2009. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the School of Management of Marist College and as a Trustee of the State University of New York College of Optometry. He previously served on the Board of Directors of The College of Technology and as a director of Lighthouse International. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York Society of Certified Public Accountants, and was a member of the Bank Administration Institute and the Institute of Internal Auditors. Mr. Moran graduated with a B.A., cum laude, from Marist College and a M.B.A. from Columbia University. Mr. Moran also is a Certified Public Accountant. | |||
Linda A. Bell | 63 | 2013 | Dr. Bell has been a director of our Company since July 2013. Dr. Bell has served as the Provost and Dean of the Faculty at Barnard College, Columbia University since 2012, where she is also a Professor of Economics. Prior to joining Barnard, Dr. Bell was the Provost and John B. Hurford Professor of Economics at Haverford College from 2007 and 2012 and a member of the faculty since 1992. Prior to her tenure at Haverford, Dr. Bell held visiting faculty appointments at Stanford University, the University of California, San Diego, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Administration at Princeton University, and has taught at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. Dr. Bell has also served as a research fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn, Germany since 2003, and as a senior consultant for the labor practice group of the National Economic Research Associates since 2006. Dr. Bell holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University. |
David P. Richards | 69 | 2017 | Mr. Richards has been a director of our Company since December 2017. Mr. Richards is the Chairman of Prodrive Holdings Ltd., a British motorsport and advanced engineering group, a position in which he has served since the firm’s founding in 1984. He previously served as Chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd., a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, from 2007 until 2013, and as a non-executive director of BGC European GP Limited from May 2009 until June 2017. Mr. Richards currently serves in the role of Chairman of the UK governing body of the Motor Sports Association. Mr. Richards has been a director of Phytome Life Sciences, a U.K. plant-based medical research company since August 2019. In January 2022, Mr. Richards became a non-executive director of Raw Charging Group Limited, a U.K. electric vehicle charging company focused on distributing smart charging infrastructure to business customers in the U.K. and Europe. In the 2005 Queen’s New Year’s Honours, Mr. Richards was made a Commander of the British Empire, CBE, for his services to motorsport. Mr Richards attended Brynhyfryd School in North Wales followed by five years of articles with a Liverpool firm of chartered accountants. He holds honorary doctorates and fellowships from the Universities of Wales, Coventry, Warwick and Cranfield. | |||
Arthur U. Mbanefo | 55 | 2021 | Mr. Mbanefo has been a director of our Company since October 2021. Since February 2020, Mr. Mbanefo has been the Chief Investment Officer and Head of Principal Business and Asset Management for ORIX Corporation USA, the U.S. subsidiary of ORIX Corporation, a publicly owned, Tokyo-based international financial services company. In that role, he is responsible for managing the active investment, underwriting and allocation of assets of ORIX Corporation USA and has oversight for all principal business and asset management. In addition, he is responsible for adding new strategies, businesses and assets for ORIX Corporation USA. Mr. Mbanefo previously served as the Managing Partner of Phoenix Merchant Partners LP, a merchant banking and private credit business, from September 2019 until February 2020. Mr. Mbanefo also served as the Chief Investment Officer of Barclays Bank PLC from March 2017 until June 2019 where he was responsible for all the investment of the balance sheet of Barclays Bank PLC across corporate and investment banking, markets, pension and asset management, cards and payments. Prior to this role, he was a Head of Markets at Barclays from September 2015 to February 2017 and a Managing Director at the firm in various market leadership roles from May 2009 to September 2015. Prior to Barclays, Mr. Mbanefo served as Chief Investment Officer and Chief Executive Officer of two alternative investment management firms. In addition, he is an advisory board member of the non-profit, Room to Read, in both London and New York and is a member of the Provost Board of Villanova University. Mr. Mbanefo graduated with a BSc with Honours from Loughborough University. Mr. Mbanefo also is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and is Series 7 and Series 24 certified. |
Skills and Experience |
Bell |
Curwood |
Lutnick |
Moran |
Richards |
Mbanefo |
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Business Operations |
X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||||||||||
Finance/Accounting |
X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||||||||||
Risk Management |
X | X | X | X | ||||||||||||||||||||
Global Business |
X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||||||||||
Human Capital Management |
X | X | X | X | ||||||||||||||||||||
M&A |
X | X | X | |||||||||||||||||||||
Other Public Company Board Service and Governance |
X | X | X | |||||||||||||||||||||
Environmental |
X | X | X | X | ||||||||||||||||||||
Global Financial Markets |
X | X | X | X | X | |||||||||||||||||||
Brokerage |
X | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Regulatory |
X | X | X | |||||||||||||||||||||
Innovation and Strategy |
X | X | X | X | X | |||||||||||||||||||
Ethics and Integrity |
X | X | X | X | X | X | ||||||||||||||||||
Senior Leadership/CEO |
X | X | X | X | X | |||||||||||||||||||
Technology/Information Security |
X | X | X | X |
• | Independence of a substantial majority of the members of the Board; |
• | Only independent directors serve on each committee; |
• | Annual independence review of independent outside directors; |
• | Diverse array of personal characteristics and professional experience of the Board, with independent directors consisting of 20% women and 40% persons of color; |
• | Consideration of factors including diversity of gender, age, ethnicity, skills, experience and geographic background in considering director candidates; |
• | Strict ethical and other criteria for membership on the Board; |
• | Annual election of each member of the Board – we do not have a classified (“staggered”) Board; |
• | Annual evaluation of the performance of our Chief Executive Officer; |
• | Procedures for establishing and disseminating agendas and materials for meetings of the Board and its committees in advance; |
• | Periodic executive sessions of independent directors; |
• | Detailed processes and review of all related party transactions and required approval by independent directors; |
• | Access of the Board and its committees to management and to retain outside independent advisors; |
• | Prohibitions against trading while in possession of material, non-public information; |
• | Prohibitions against hedging; |
• | The ability of our Board to require the resignation of a director who fails to obtain a majority vote for election; |
• | No stockholder rights plan or other “poison pill” or similar anti-takeover device; |
• | A prohibition on personal loans to directors and executive officers; |
• | Requirement for directors to inform the Board of changes in their principal job responsibilities; |
• | Limits on the service of directors and executive officers on other public company boards; |
• | Director orientation and continuing education; |
• | Annual self-assessments of the performance of our Board and its committees and individual directors; and |
• | Annual review of our corporate governance policies and practices; |
• | Strict procedures and enforcement of our ethical standards and our conflict of interest policies, including our robust whistleblower policy – completely confidential and with a whistleblower hotline available 24/7; |
• | Diversified mix of cash and short- and long- term equity awards designed to be highly retentive and risk-appropriate, and to align the interests of our executive officers with those of our stockholders; |
• | Executive officers holding much of their personal net worth in our and our affiliates’ equity; |
• | Robust global annual review and oversight of Code of Ethics responses; |
• | Succession planning and management development of executive officers and potential senior managers having significant responsibility for business areas; |
• | Annual stockholder say-on-pay votes; |
• | Annual ratification of the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm; and |
• | Board-level ESG Committee. |
Board Size: |
||||||||||||||||
Total Number of Directors |
6 | |||||||||||||||
Gender: |
Male |
Female |
Non-Binary |
Gender Undisclosed |
||||||||||||
Number of directors based on gender identity |
5 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
Number of directors who identify in any of the categories below: |
||||||||||||||||
African American or Black |
1 | |||||||||||||||
Alaskan Native or American Indian |
||||||||||||||||
Asian |
||||||||||||||||
Hispanic or Latinx |
||||||||||||||||
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander |
||||||||||||||||
White |
3 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
Two or More Races or Ethnicities |
1 | |||||||||||||||
LGBTQ+ |
||||||||||||||||
Undisclosed |
ITEM 11. |
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION |
• | pre-tax or after-tax net income; |
• | pre-tax or after-tax operating income; |
• | gross revenue; |
• | profit margin; |
• | stock price, dividends and/or total stockholder return; |
• | cash flow(s); |
• | market share; |
• | pre-tax or after-tax earnings per share; |
• | pre-tax or after-tax operating earnings per share; |
• | expenses; |
• | return on equity; or |
• | strategic business criteria, consisting of one or more objectives based upon meeting specific revenue, market penetration, or geographic business expansion goals, cost targets and goals relating to acquisitions or dispositions. |
• | Mr. Lutnick’s 2021 award consisted of an aggregate BGC bonus of $11,000,000 paid $2,000,000 in current cash compensation and $9,000,000 in a long-term partnership award represented by 1,280,088 non-exchangeable BGC Holdings PSUs and 689,278 non-exchangeable BGC Holdings PPSUs. This long-term unit award aligns Mr. Lutnick’s compensation with the Company’s earnings and, over time, in the event such units become exchangeable, its stock performance with respect to the PSUs. The bonus for Mr. Lutnick is the same as Mr. Lutnick was awarded with respect to calendar year 2020. The Committee focused on Mr. Lutnick’s efforts during the continuing pandemic and the results of our business in making the same award as the prior year. |
• | Mr. Merkel’s BGC bonus of $750,000 for 2021 was all paid in a long-term partnership award represented by 86,605 non-exchangeable BGC Holdings NPSU-CVs and 86,605 non-exchangeable BGC Holdings NPPSU-CVs. The BGC standalone bonus for 2021 awarded to Mr. Merkel equaled his prior year’s allocated bonus. In awarding Mr. Merkel a 2021 bonus under the Incentive Plan, the Committee considered his role in managing legal and regulatory issues during the year and overall leadership of the Company’s complex business, legal and regulatory matters in 2021. |
• | Mr. Windeatt’s 2021 bonus of £1,200,000 ($1,565,760 as of March 14, 2022) was paid (i) £220,000 in current cash compensation; (ii) £688,000 in a long-term partnership award represented by 25,234 non-exchangeable BGC Holdings NLPU-CVs and 22,378 non-exchangeable BGC Holdings NPLPU-CVs, as well as 103,812 BGC Holdings LPU-NEWs, and 55,899 BGC Holdings PLPU-NEWs, as described below, which shall have certain exchange rights beginning March 14, 2024 upon certain terms and conditions; and (iii) £292,000 representing 20% of a previously issued grant award to Mr. Windeatt in connection with his contract extension on November 5, 2020, represented by 91,685 non-exchangeable BGC Holdings LPUs and 49,369 non-exchangeable BGC Holdings PLPUs at $2.84 per unit. In determining the specific 2021 Incentive Plan bonus for Mr. Windeatt, the Committee considered his responsibilities and duties and the Company’s financial performance. These exchange rights, accordingly, tie Mr. Windeatt’s compensation directly to stock performance over time and serve as a retention feature over the same period. Mr. Windeatt’s total compensation for 2021 was the same as the prior year. |
• | Mr. Bisgay’s aggregate 2021 award of $1,250,000 was paid $750,000 in current cash compensation and $500,000 in a long-term partnership award represented by 57,737 non-exchangeable BGC Holdings NPSU-CVs and 57,737 non-exchangeable BGC Holdings NPPSU-CVs. In determining the specific 2021 Incentive Plan bonus for Mr. Bisgay, the Committee noted his responsibilities and duties with respect to financial reporting and treasury matters and the Company’s financial performance. |
THE COMPENSATION COMMITTEE |
Stephen T. Curwood |
Linda A. Bell |
William J. Moran |
David P. Richards |
Arthur U. Mbanefo |
(a) Name and Principal Position |
(b) Year |
(c) Salary($) |
(d) Bonus ($) |
(e) Equity Awards (Related to Prior Periods) ($)(2) |
(f) Option Awards ($) |
(g) Non- Equity Incentive Plan Compensation ($)(3) |
(h) Change in Pension Value and Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Earnings ($) |
(i) All Other Compensation ($) |
(j) Total ($) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Howard W. Lutnick, |
2021 | (1) | 1,000,000 | — | 7,831,243 | — | 11,000,000 | — | — | 19,831,243 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chairman of the Board of |
2020 | (1) | 1,000,000 | — | — | — | 11,000,000 | — | — | 12,000,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Directors and Chief Executive Officer |
2019 | (1) | 1,000,000 | — | — | — | 10,750,000 | — | — | 11,750,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stephen M. Merkel, |
2021 | (1) | 1,000,000 | — | — | — | 750,000 | — | — | 1,750,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Executive Vice President |
2020 | (1) | 1,000,000 | — | 530,400 | — | 750,000 | — | — | 2,280,400 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
and General Counsel |
2019 | (1) | 1,000,000 | — | 1,096,054 | — | 750,000 | — | — | 2,846,054 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sean A. Windeatt,. |
2021 | (1) | 782,880 | — | 334,695 | — | 1,565,760 | — | — | 2,683,335 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chief Operating Officer(4) |
2020 | (1) | 685,000 | — | 378,319 | — | 1,781,000 | — | — | 2,844,319 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2019 | (1) | 616,056 | — | — | — | 1,550,764 | — | — | 2,166,820 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Steven Bisgay, |
2021 | (1) | 750,000 | — | — | — | 1,250,000 | — | — | 2,000,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chief Financial Officer |
2020 | (1) | 750,000 | — | — | — | 1,250,000 | — | — | 2,000,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shaun D. Lynn, |
2020 | (1) | 1,000,000 | — | 764,237 | — | 2,500,000 | — | — | 4,264,237 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former President |
2019 | (1) | 1,000,000 | — | — | — | 3,000,000 | — | — | 4,000,000 |
(1) | The awards represented in column (g) for 2021 for Mr. Lutnick were made on December 21, 2021 and reflected a stock price of $4.57 per share, and for Mr. Merkel, Mr. Windeatt and Mr. Bisgay, the awards represented in column (g) for 2021 were made on March 14, 2022 and reflected a stock price of $4.33 per share. The awards represented in column (g) for 2020 were made on April 8, 2021 and reflected a stock price of $5.38 per share. The awards represented in column (g) for 2019 were made on March 2, 2020 and reflected a stock price of $4.84 per share. |
(2) | The 2021 amount under column (e) for Mr. Lutnick of $7,831,243 represents: the aggregate fair value of the redemption of 1,713,620 BGC Holdings PSUs for zero; and (ii) the issuance of 1,713,620 shares of BGC Class A common stock at $4.57 per share. These shares were issued to Mr. Lutnick in connection with his December 2021 monetization of long-term incentive awards originally issued to Mr. Lutnick in 2016 in the form of NPSUs, which were not previously included in column (g) at full notional value. Mr. Lutnick has not sold these shares. |
(3) | The amounts in column (g) reflect the bonus awards to the named executive officers under our Incentive Plan. |
(4) | For 2021, Mr. Windeatt’s base salary was £600,000, and, the $782,880 base salary reflected in the table was calculated using an exchange rate of 1.30, which was the exchange rate in effect as of March 14, 2022. For 2020, Mr. Windeatt’s base salary was £500,000, and the $685,000 base salary reflected in the table was calculated using an exchange rate of 1.37, the exchange rate in effect as of April 8, 2021. For 2019, Mr. Windeatt’s base salary was £500,000, effective March 1, 2019. For January and February 2019, Mr. Windeatt’s salary was based on his 2018 annual rate of £400,000. Mr. Windeatt therefore received approximately £483,333 in salary for 2019. The $616,056 salary reflected in the table was calculated using an exchange rate of 1.2746, the exchange rate in effect as of March 2, 2020. For 2018, Mr. Windeatt’s base salary was £400,000, and the $522,280 base salary reflected in the table was calculated using an exchange rate of 1.3057, the exchange rate in effect as of February 22, 2019. |
(a) |
(b) |
(c) |
(d) |
(e) |
(f) |
(g) |
(h) |
(i) |
(j) |
(k) |
(l) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Estimated Possible Payouts Under Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards |
Estimated Future Payouts Under Equity Incentive Plan Awards |
All Other Grant Awards: Number of Shares of Stock or Units (#)(2) |
All Other Option Awards: Number of Securities Underlying Options (#) |
Exercise or Base Price of Option Awards ($/Sh) |
Grant Date Fair Value of Stock and Option Awards ($)(2) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name |
Grant Date |
Threshold ($) |
Target ($) |
Maximum ($)(1) |
Threshold (#) |
Target (#) |
Maximum (#) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Howard W. Lutnick |
1/1/21 | — | — | 25,000,000 | — | — | — | 1,713,620 | — | — | 7,831,243 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stephen M. Merkel |
1/1/21 | — | — | 25,000,000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sean A. Windeatt |
1/1/21 | — | — | 25,000,000 | — | — | — | 62,211 | — | — | 334,695 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Steven Bisgay |
1/1/21 | — | — | 25,000,000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
(1) | The amounts in column (e) reflect the maximum possible individual payment under our Incentive Plan. During 2021, there were no specific minimum and target levels under the Incentive Plan. The $25,000,000 maximum amount was the maximum annual amount available for payment to any one executive officer under the Incentive Plan for 2021, and our Compensation Committee retained negative discretion to award less than this amount. Actual amounts paid to each named executive officer for 2021 are set forth in column (g) of the Summary Compensation Table. |
(2) | The amounts in columns (i) and (l) reflect aggregate grants under the Incentive Plan for Messrs. Lutnick and Windeatt for 2021. For Mr. Lutnick, the fair value of $7,831,243 represents the aggregate fair value of: (i) the redemption of 1,713,620 BGC Holdings PSUs for zero; and (ii) the issuance of 1,713,620 shares of BGC Class A common stock at $4.57 per share. For Mr. Windeatt, the fair value of $334,695 represents the aggregate fair value of 62,211 exchangeable LPUs held by Mr. Windeatt, repurchased by the Company at a price of $5.38 per unit, for an aggregate of $334,695. |
Option Awards |
Grant Awards |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(a) Name |
(b) Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options/ Exchangeable Units Exercisable/ Exchangeable (#)(1) |
(c) Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options/ Exchangeable Units Unexercisable/ Unexchangeable (#)(2) |
(d) Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Unearned Options (#) |
(e) Option Exercise Price ($)(1) |
(f) Option Expiration Date |
(g) Number of Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested (#) |
(h) Market Value of Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested |
(i) Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Number of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested (#) |
(j) Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Market or Payout Value of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested ($) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Howard W. Lutnick |
520,380 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stephen M. Merkel |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sean A. Windeatt |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Steven Bisgay |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shaun D. Lynn |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
(1) | Column (b) represents 520,380 exchangeable BGC Holdings PSUs held by Mr. Lutnick as of December 31, 2021. These exchangeable BGC Holdings units may be exchanged at any time on a 1:1 basis for shares of BGC’s Class A common stock. As of December 31, 2021, the closing market price of a share of our Class A common stock was $4.65. Column (b) does not include 1,474,930 BGC Holdings HDUs held by Mr. Lutnick as a result of converting units with HDU conversion rights. |
(2) | Column (c) does not include 69,073 non-exchangeable BGC Holdings PLPU-NEWs, and 45,736 BGC Holdings PLPUs held by Mr. Windeatt as of December 31, 2021, 39,788 non-exchangeable BGC Holdings PPSUs held by Mr. Bisgay because they did not represent a right to acquire shares of our Class A common stock. |
Name |
Base Salary ($) |
Bonus ($) |
Vesting of Equity Compensation ($)(1) |
Welfare Benefit Continuation ($) |
Tax Gross- Up Payment ($)(2) |
Total ($) |
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Howard W. Lutnick |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termination of Employment |
2,000,000 | 22,000,000 | — | 100,998 | — | 24,100,998 | ||||||||||||||||||
Extension of Employment |
1,000,000 | 11,000,000 | — | 100,998 | — | 12,100,998 | ||||||||||||||||||
Stephen M. Merkel |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termination of Employment |
2,000,000 | 1,500,000 | — | 110,798 | — | 3,610,798 | ||||||||||||||||||
Extension of Employment |
1,000,000 | 750,000 | — | 110,798 | — | 1,860,798 | ||||||||||||||||||
Sean A. Windeatt |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termination of Employment |
1,565,760 | (3) | 3,131,520 | (3) | — | 16,103 | — | 4,713,383 | ||||||||||||||||
Extension of Employment |
782,880 | (3) | 1,565,760 | (3) | — | — | — | 2,348,640 |
(1) | Upon a change in control at December 31, 2021, Messrs. Lutnick, and Merkel would have had the right to receive (i) replacement of any partnership units ineligible for exchange rights with new partnership units eligible for such exchange rights, (ii) grants of immediately exchangeable exchange rights (into stock or cash, as applicable) with respect to any non-exchangeable limited partnership units (including those replacement units described in clause (i)); and (iii) the immediate lapse of any restrictions on transferability of any shares of restricted stock held by them at such time. Upon a change in control at December 31, 2021, Mr. Windeatt would have the right to receive (ii) and (iii) above. |
(2) | Mr. Lutnick is also entitled to a tax gross-up for excess parachute payments, if any, that would be due in respect of the impact a change in control would have on certain of his outstanding partnership units as stated in footnote (1). The aggregate tax-gross up payment upon a termination of employment in connection with a change of control is $41,149,903 when calculated based upon the equity compensation in footnote (1), base salary, bonus, and welfare benefit continuation as of December 31, 2021. The aggregate tax-gross up payment upon an extension of employment in connection with a change of control is $31,874,182 when calculated based upon the equity compensation in footnote (1), base salary, bonus, and welfare benefit continuation as of December 31, 2021. |
(3) | For 2021, Mr. Windeatt received £600,000 in salary and his bonus was £1,200,000. The $782,880 salary and $1,565,760 bonus reflected in the table were calculated using an exchange rate of 1.30480, the exchange rate in effect as of March 14, 2022. |
• | the annual total compensation of the median employee of the Company (other than the CEO) was $125,232; |
• | the annual total compensation of the CEO, as reported in the Summary Compensation Table, was $19,831,243; and |
• | the ratio of the annual total compensation of the CEO to the median employee of the Company was approximately 158 to 1. |
(a) Name (1) |
(b) Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($) |
(c) Stock Awards ($)(2) |
(d) Option Awards ($)(3) |
(e) Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation ($) |
(f) Change in Pension Value and Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Earnings ($) |
(g) All Other Compensation ($) |
(h) Total ($) |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Stephen T. Curwood |
250,000 | 50,000 | — | — | — | — | 300,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Director |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
William J. Moran |
260,000 | 50,000 | — | — | — | — | 310,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Director |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Linda A. Bell |
246,250 | 50,000 | — | — | — | — | 296,250 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Director |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
David P Richards |
235,000 | 50,000 | — | — | — | — | 285,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Director |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arthur U. Mbanefo |
47,000 | 120,000 | — | — | — | — | 167,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Director |
(1) | Howard W. Lutnick, our Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, is not included in this table as he is an employee of our Company and thus received no compensation for his services as director. The compensation received by Mr. Lutnick as an employee of our Company is shown in the Summary Compensation Table. Table includes compensation paid with respect to 2021, including payments for 2021 that were made in January 2022. Compensation for Arthur U. Mbanefo began on October 5, 2021 when he was elected to the Board. |
(2) | Reflects the grant date fair value of RSUs granted on November 22, 2021 to each of Messrs. Curwood, Moran, Richards and Mbanefo and Dr. Bell. More information with respect to the calculation of these amounts is included in the footnotes to our consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K. In 2021, each of Messrs. Curwood, Moran, Richards and Mbanefo and Dr. Bell was granted 10,661 RSUs. As of December 31, 2021, Messrs. Curwood, Moran and Richards and Dr. Bell each had 19,372 RSUs outstanding, and Mr. Mbanefo had 23,482 RSUs outstanding. |
(3) | No options were granted to non-employee directors in 2021. As of December 31, 2021, none of the non-employee directors had any options outstanding. |
Class B Common Stock |
Class A Common Stock |
|||||||||||||||
Name: |
Shares |
% |
Shares |
% |
||||||||||||
5% Beneficial Owners(1): |
||||||||||||||||
Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P.(2) |
68,736,148 | (3) | 98.9 | (4) | 101,894,623(5) | 23.7 | (6) | |||||||||
CF Group Management, Inc. |
69,497,800 | (7) | 100.0 | (4) | 104,867,147(8) | 24.3 | (9) | |||||||||
The Vanguard Group |
— | — | 29,795,094 | 9.1 | ||||||||||||
BlackRock, Inc. |
— | — | 23,498,900 | 7.2 | ||||||||||||
Executive Officers and Directors(1): |
||||||||||||||||
Executive Officers |
||||||||||||||||
Howard W. Lutnick |
69,497,800 | (10) | 100.0 | (4) | 130,932,341(11) | 29.4 | (12) | |||||||||
Stephen M. Merkel |
— | — | 135,556(13) | * | ||||||||||||
Steven Bisgay |
— | — | 1,503(14) | * | ||||||||||||
Sean A. Windeatt |
— | — | — | * | ||||||||||||
Directors |
||||||||||||||||
Stephen T. Curwood |
— | — | 48,289(15) | * | ||||||||||||
William J. Moran |
— | — | 82,303(16) | * |
Linda A. Bell |
— | — | 24,555(17) | * | ||||||||||||
David P. Richards |
— | — | 30,250(18) | * | ||||||||||||
Arthur U. Mbanefo |
— | — | — | * | ||||||||||||
All executive officers and directors as a group (9 persons) |
69,497,800 | 100.0 | 131,254,797 | 29.5 | (19) |
* | Less than 1% and percentages are based on 326,563,378 shares of our Class A common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2022. |
(1) | Based upon information supplied by directors, executive officers and 5% beneficial owners in filings under Sections 13(d) and 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). |
(2) | Cantor has pledged to a financial institution, pursuant to a Put and Pledge Agreement, dated as of July 21, 2017, 10,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock in connection with a loan program established for certain employees and partners of Cantor and its affiliates. On November 23, 2018, those Class A shares were converted into 10,000,000 shares of our Class B common stock and remain pledged in connection with the partner loan program. |
(3) | Consists of (i) 45,122,728 shares of our Class B common stock held directly and (ii) 23,613,420 shares of our Class B common stock acquirable upon exchange of 23,613,420 BGC Holdings exchangeable limited partnership interests. These exchangeable limited partnership interests held by Cantor are exchangeable with us at any time for shares of our Class B common stock (or, at Cantor’s option, or if there are no additional authorized but unissued shares of our Class B common stock, our Class A common stock) on a one-for-one basis (subject to customary anti- dilution adjustments). |
(4) | Percentage based on (i) 45,884,380 shares of our Class B common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2022, and (ii) 23,613,420 shares of our Class B common stock acquirable upon exchange of 23,613,420 BGC Holdings exchangeable limited partnership interests held by Cantor. |
(5) | Consists of (i) 45,122,728 shares of our Class A common stock acquirable upon conversion of 45,122,728 shares of our Class B common stock, and (ii) 56,771,895 shares of our Class A common stock acquirable upon exchange of 56,771,895 BGC Holdings exchangeable limited partnership interests. These amounts include an aggregate of 15,756,625 distribution rights shares consisting of (A) 13,999,105 April 2008 distribution rights shares and (B) 1,757,520 February 2012 distribution rights shares, which may generally be issued to certain Cantor partners upon request, or are scheduled to be distributed within 60 days of March 31, 2022. |
(6) | Percentage based on (i) 326,563,378 shares of our Class A common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2022, (ii) 45,884,380 shares of our Class A common stock acquirable upon conversion of 45,884,380 shares of our Class B common stock, and (iii) 56,771,895 shares of our Class A common stock acquirable upon exchange of 56,771,895 BGC Holdings exchangeable limited partnership interests. |
(7) | Consists of (i) 761,652 shares of our Class B common stock held by CFGM, (ii) 45,122,728 shares of our Class B common stock held by Cantor, and (iii) 23,613,420 shares of our Class B common stock acquirable upon exchange by Cantor of 23,613,420 BGC Holdings exchangeable limited partnership interests. CFGM is the managing general partner of Cantor. |
(8) | Consists of (i) 761,652 shares of our Class A common stock acquirable upon conversion of 761,652 shares of our Class B common stock held by CFGM, (ii) 2,050,197 April 2008 distribution rights shares held by CFGM, receipt of which has been deferred, (iii) 160,675 February 2012 distribution rights shares, receipt of which has been deferred, (iv) 45,122,728 shares of our Class A common stock acquirable upon conversion of 45,122,728 shares of our Class B common stock held by Cantor, and (v) 56,771,895 shares of our Class A common stock acquirable upon exchange of 56,771,895 BGC Holdings exchangeable limited partnership interests. These amounts include an aggregate of 15,756,625 distribution rights shares consisting of (A) 13,999,105 April 2008 distribution rights shares and (B) 1,757,520 February 2012 distribution rights shares, which may generally be issued to such partners upon request, or are scheduled to be distributed within 60 days of March 31, 2022. |
(9) | Percentage based on (i) 326,563,378 shares of our Class A common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2022, (ii) 45,884,380 shares of our Class A common stock acquirable upon conversion of 45,884,380 shares of our Class B common stock, (iii) 56,771,895 shares of our Class A common stock acquirable upon exchange of 56,771,895 BGC Holdings exchangeable limited partnership interests, (iv) 2,050,197 April 2008 distribution rights shares held by CFGM, receipt of which has been deferred, and (v) 160,675 February 2012 distribution rights shares held by CFGM, receipt of which has been deferred. |
(10) | Consists of (i) 761,652 shares of our Class B common stock held by CFGM, (ii) 45,122,728 shares of our Class B common stock held by Cantor, and (iii) 23,613,420 shares of our Class B common stock acquirable upon exchange by Cantor of 23,613,420 BGC Holdings exchangeable limited partnership interests. Mr. Lutnick is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CFGM and also the trustee of an entity that is the sole shareholder of CFGM. CFGM is the managing general partner of Cantor. |
(11) | Mr. Lutnick’s holdings consist of: |
(i) | 5,033,338 shares of our Class A common stock held directly; |
(ii) | 601,973 of our Class A common stock held in Mr. Lutnick’s 401(k) account (as of March 31, 2022); |
(iii) | 6,168,459 shares of our Class A common stock held in various trust, retirement and custodial accounts consisting of (A) 3,514,349 shares held in Mr. Lutnick’s personal asset trust, of which he is the sole trustee, (B) 1,000,000 shares held in Mr. Lutnick’s GRAT I account, of which he is the sole trustee, (C) 774,149 shares held by a trust for the benefit of descendants of Mr. Lutnick and his immediate family (the “Trust”), of which Mr. Lutnick’s wife is one of two trustees and Mr. Lutnick has limited powers to remove and replace such trustees, (D) 285,612 shares held in a Keogh retirement account for Mr. Lutnick, (E) 539,221 shares held by trust accounts for the benefit of Mr. Lutnick and members of his immediate family, (F) 34,035 shares held in other retirement accounts, (G) 20,078 shares held in custodial accounts for the benefit of certain members of Mr. Lutnick’s family under the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act, and (H) 1,015 shares of Class A common stock held in other retirement accounts for the benefit of Mr. Lutnick’s spouse; |
(iv) | 761,652 shares of our Class A common stock acquirable upon conversion of 761,652 shares of our Class B common stock held by CFGM; |
(v) | 45,122,728 shares of our Class A common stock acquirable upon conversion of 45,122,728 shares of our Class B common stock held by Cantor; |
(vi) | 56,771,895 shares of our Class A common stock acquirable upon exchange of 56,771,895 BGC Holdings exchangeable limited partnership interests held by Cantor; |
(vii) | 7,742,325 April 2008 distribution rights shares acquirable by Mr. Lutnick, receipt of which has been deferred; |
(viii) | 1,231,396 February 2012 distribution rights shares acquirable by Mr. Lutnick, receipt of which has been deferred; |
(ix) | 2,050,197 April 2008 distribution rights shares acquirable by CFGM, receipt of which has been deferred; |
(x) | 160,675 February 2012 distribution rights shares acquirable by CFGM, receipt of which has been deferred; |
(xi) | 1,610,182 April 2008 distribution rights shares acquirable by the Trust, receipt of which has been deferred; |
(xii) | 2,048,000 April 2008 distribution rights shares acquirable by KBCR, by virtue of Mr. Lutnick being the managing member of KBCR, which is a non-managing General Partner of Cantor, receipt of which has been deferred; |
(xiii) | 287,967 February 2012 distribution rights shares acquirable by KBCR, receipt of which has been deferred; |
(xiv) | 161,842 April 2008 distribution rights shares acquirable by LFA, receipt of which has been deferred; |
(xv) | 16,193 February 2012 distribution rights shares acquirable by LFA, receipt of which has been deferred; |
(xvi) | 600,938 shares of our Class A common stock owned of record by KBCR; |
(xvii) | 42,201 shares of our Class A common stock owned of record by LFA; and |
(xviii) | 520,380 shares of our Class A common stock acquirable upon exchange of 520,380 BGC Holdings exchangeable limited partnership units. |
(12) | Percentage based on (i) 326,563,378 shares of BGC Partners Class A common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2022, (ii) 45,884,380 shares of BGC Partners Class B common stock outstanding, (iii) 56,771,895 shares of BGC Partners Class A common stock acquirable upon exchange of 56,771,895 BGC Holdings exchangeable limited partnership interests held by Cantor, (iv) 7,742,325 April 2008 distribution rights shares acquirable by Mr. Lutnick, receipt of which has been deferred; (v) 1,231,396 February 2012 distribution rights shares acquirable by Mr. Lutnick, receipt of which has been deferred; (vi) 2,050,197 April 2008 distribution rights shares acquirable by CFGM, receipt of which has been deferred, (vii) 160,675 February 2012 distribution rights shares acquirable by CFGM, receipt of which has been deferred, (viii) 1,610,182 shares of BGC Partners Class A common stock receivable by pursuant to April 2008 distribution rights shares held by a trust for the benefit of Mr. Lutnick’ s family, receipt of which has been deferred, (ix) 2,048,000 shares of BGC Partners Class A common stock receivable pursuant to April 2008 distribution rights shares held by KBCR, receipt of which has been deferred, (x) 287,967 February 2012 distribution rights shares acquirable by KBCR, receipt of which has been deferred, (xi) 161,842 April 2008 distribution rights shares acquirable by LFA, receipt of which has been deferred, (xii) 16,193 February 2012 distribution rights shares acquirable by LFA, receipt of which has been deferred, and (xiii) 520,380 shares of our Class A common stock acquirable upon exchange of 520,380 BGC Holdings exchangeable limited partnership units. |
(13) | Mr. Merkel’s holdings consist of (i) 90,366 shares of our Class A common stock held directly; (ii) 38,932 shares of our Class A common stock held in Mr. Merkel’s 401(k) account (as of March 31, 2022) and (ii) 6,258 shares of Class A common stock held in trusts for the benefit of Mr. Merkel’s immediate family, of which Mr. Merkel’s spouse is the sole trustee. |
(14) | Mr. Bisgay’s holdings consist of 1,503 shares of our Class A common stock held directly. |
(15) | Mr. Curwood’s holdings consist of 48,289 shares of our Class A common stock held directly. |
(16) | Mr. Moran’s holdings consist of 82,303 shares of our Class A common stock held directly. |
(17) | Ms. Bell’s holdings consist of 24,555 shares of our Class A common stock held directly. |
(18) | Mr. Richards’ holdings consist of 30,250 shares of our Class A common stock held directly. |
(19) | Percentage based on (i) 326,563,378 shares of our Class A common stock outstanding, (ii) 45,884,380 shares of our Class A common stock acquirable upon conversion of 45,884,380 shares of our Class B common stock outstanding, (iii) 56,771,895 shares of our Class A common stock acquirable upon exchange of 56,771,895 BGC Holdings exchangeable limited partnership interests held by Cantor, (iv) 15,756,625 distribution rights shares, receipt of which has been deferred, and (v) 520,380 shares of our Class A common stock acquirable upon exchange of 520,380 BGC Holdings exchangeable limited partnership units. |
Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding restricted stock units, options, warrants and rights (a) |
Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights (b) |
Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a)) (c) |
||||||||||
Equity Plan (approved by security holders) |
13,335,623 | $ | 4.01 | 164,486,382 | ||||||||
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders |
— | — | — | |||||||||
Total |
13,335,623 | $ | 4.01 | 164,486,382 |
• | the principal corporate transactions pursuant to which the BGC Group transferred to Newmark, Newmark Holdings and Newmark OpCo and their respective subsidiaries (the “Newmark Group”) the assets and liabilities of BGC, BGC Holdings, and BGC U.S. OpCo, and their respective subsidiaries (the “BGC Group”) relating to BGC’s Real Estate Services business, including BGC’s interests in both BPF and Real Estate LP; |
• | the proportional distribution in the Separation of interests in Newmark Holdings to holders of interests in BGC Holdings; |
• | the IPO and certain pre-IPO contributions of assets by BGC Partners to Newmark in exchange for additional shares thereof; |
• | the assumption and repayment of indebtedness by the BGC Group and the Newmark Group, as further described below; |
• | the Spin-Off, including the termination of certain arrangements between the BGC Group and the Newmark Group immediately prior thereto; |
• | the BGC Holdings distribution; |
• | indemnities by and among the BGC Group, the Newmark Group and Cantor and each of their respective directors, officers, general partners, managers and employees, from and against all liabilities with respect to liabilities retained or assumed by the BGC Group or the Newmark Group, as applicable, and/or resulting from breaches of the agreement; and |
• | future access to information, records and personnel necessary or appropriate to comply with regulatory requests or inquiries, for the preparation of financial statements or tax returns, or to conduct litigation. |
• | an apportionment of the existing economic attributes (including, among others, capital accounts and post-termination payments) of each BGC Holdings limited partnership unit outstanding immediately prior to the Separation (a “legacy BGC Holdings unit”) between such legacy BGC Holdings unit and the 0.4545 of a Newmark Holdings limited partnership unit issued in the Separation in respect of such legacy BGC Holdings unit (a “legacy Newmark Holdings unit”), based on the relative value of BGC and Newmark as of after the Newmark IPO; and |
• | a right of the employer of a partner (whether it be Newmark or BGC) to determine whether to grant exchangeability with respect to legacy BGC Holdings units or legacy Newmark Holdings units held by such partner. |
• | a general partnership interest, which is held indirectly by us; |
• | BGC Holdings exchangeable limited partnership interests, which are held by Cantor; |
• | BGC Holdings founding partner interests, which are limited partnership interests held by founding partners; |
• | BGC Holdings REU and AREU interests, which are limited partnership interests held by REU and AREU partners; |
• | a special voting limited partnership interest, which is held by us and which entitles us to remove and appoint the general partner of BGC Holdings; |
• | BGC Holdings working partner interests held by working partners; |
• | BGC Holdings RPU and ARPU interests, which are types of working partner interests held by RPU and ARPU partners; |
• | BGC Holdings PSI, PSE, APSI, PSU, APSU, HDUs, U.K. LPUs and N Units, which are types of working partner interests held by PSI, PSE, APSI, PSU, APSU, HDU, U.K. LPU and N Unit partners. HDUs are LPUs with capital accounts, which are liability awards recorded in “Accrued compensation” in our consolidated statements of financial condition. N Units are Non-distributing partnership units that may not be allocated any item of profit or loss and may not be made exchangeable into shares of our Class A common stock. Which units may include NREUs, NPREUs, NLPUs, NPLPUs, NPSUs, and NPPSUs. Certain of these non-distribution-earning units become distribution earning units at the rate of 20% a year if certain employment conditions are met (internally designated by a “-CV” (e.g., NPSU-CVs, NPPSU-CVs); |
• | Certain BGC LPUs and New PLPUs which are not entitled to distributions while non-exchangeable and that have certain employment-related conditions to exchangeability; and |
• | Preferred Units (“Preferred Units”), which are working partner units that may be awarded to holders of, or contemporaneous with the grant of, PSUs, PSIs, PSEs, LPUs, REUs, RPUs and AREUs and which carry the same name as the underlying unit, with the insertion of an additional “P” to designate them as Preferred Units. |
• | pursuant to the BGC separation, or as otherwise contemplated by the BGC separation agreement or the BGC Holdings limited partnership agreement; |
• | to Cantor and members of the Cantor group, in connection with a reinvestment in BGC Holdings; |
• | with respect to BGC Holdings founding/working partner interests, to an eligible recipient, which means any limited partner or member of the Cantor group or any affiliate, employee or partner thereof, in each case as directed by a BGC Holdings exchangeable limited partner majority in interest (provided that such person or entity is not primarily engaged in a business that competes with BGC Holdings or its subsidiaries); |
• | as otherwise agreed by us, as general partner, and a BGC Holdings exchangeable limited partner interest majority in interest; |
• | pursuant to the Participation Plan; |
• | to any then-current founding/working partner or limited partnership unit holder pursuant to the BGC Holdings limited partnership agreement; |
• | to any BGC Holdings partner in connection with a conversion of an issued unit and interest into a different class or type of unit and interest; and |
• | to Cantor in the event of a termination or bankruptcy of a founding/working partner or limited partnership unit holder or the redemption of a founding/working partner interest or limited partnership unit pursuant to the BGC Holdings limited partnership agreement. |
• | If the legacy BGC Holdings units and legacy Newmark Holdings unit are held by an employee of the BGC group providing services solely to the BGC group, then BGC Partners shall make such determination; |
• | If the legacy BGC Holdings units and legacy Newmark Holdings unit are held by an employee of the Newmark group providing services solely to the Newmark group, then Newmark shall make such determination; and |
• | If the legacy BGC Holdings units and legacy Newmark Holdings unit are held by an employee of the BGC group, the Newmark group or the Cantor group providing services to both the BGC group and the Newmark group, then BGC Partners shall make such determination to the extent that the grant of the exchange right relates to compensation for services by such employee to the BGC group, and Newmark shall make such determination to the extent that the grant of the exchange right relates to compensation for services by such employee to the Newmark group. Grants of exchangeability may be made at any time in the discretion of the relevant service recipient, and future grant practices may differ from prior practices, including without limitation in connection with performance achievement, changes in incentive arrangements, accounting principles, and tax laws (including deductibility of compensation) and other applicable laws. |
• | with respect to partners who are members of the Cantor group and the founding/working partners, on or prior to each estimated tax due date (the 15th day of each April, June, September and December in the case of a partner that is not an individual, and the 15th day of each April, June, September and January in the case of a partner who is an individual), such partner’s estimated proportionate quarterly tax distribution for such fiscal quarter; and |
• | as promptly as practicable after the end of each fiscal quarter, an amount equal to the excess, if any, of (a) the net positive cumulative amount allocated to such partner’s capital account pursuant to the BGC Holdings limited partnership agreement, over (b) the amount of any prior distributions to such partner. |
• | breach a founding/working partner’s or limited partnership unit holder’s, as the case may be, duty of loyalty to BGC Holdings, through the four-year period following the date on which such partner ceases, for any reason, to be a founding/working partner or limited partnership unit holder; |
• | engage in any activity of the nature set forth in clause (1) of the definition of the competitive activity (as defined below) through the two-year period following the date on which such partner ceases for any reason to be a founding/working partner or limited partnership unit holder; |
• | engage in any activity of the nature set forth in clauses (2) through (5) of the definition of competitive activity (as defined below) or take any action that results directly or indirectly in revenues or other benefit for that founding/working partner or limited partnership unit holder or any third party that is or could be considered to be engaged in any activity of the nature set forth in clauses (2) through (5) of the definition of competitive activity, except as otherwise agreed to in writing by BGC Holdings general partner, in its sole and absolute discretion, for the one-year period following the date on which such partner ceases, for any reason, to be a founding/working partner or limited partnership unit holder; |
• | make or participate in the making of (including through the applicable partner’s or any of his, her or its affiliates, respective agents or representatives) any comments to the media (print, broadcast, electronic or otherwise) that are disparaging regarding BGC Partners or the senior executive officers of BGC Partners or are otherwise contrary to the interests of BGC Partners as determined by the BGC Holdings general partner in its sole and absolute discretion, for the four-year period following the date on which such partner ceases, for any reason, to be a founding/working partner or a limited partnership unit holder, as the case may be; |
• | except as permitted with respect to corporate opportunities and fiduciary duties in the BGC Holdings limited partnership agreement (see “—Corporate Opportunity; Fiduciary Duty” below) take advantage of, or provide another person with the opportunity to take advantage of, a BGC Partners “corporate opportunity” (as such term would apply to BGC Holdings if it were a corporation) including opportunities related to intellectual property, which for this purpose requires granting BGC Partners a right of first refusal to acquire any assets, stock or other ownership interest in a business being sold by any partner or affiliate of such partner if an investment in such business would constitute a “corporate opportunity” (as such term would apply to BGC Holdings if it were a corporation), that has not been presented to and rejected by BGC Partners or that BGC Partners rejects but reserves for possible further action by BGC Partners in writing, unless otherwise consented to by BGC Holdings general partner in writing in its sole and absolute discretion, for a four-year period following the date on which such partner ceases, for any reason, to be a founding/working partner or a limited partnership unit holder, as the case may be; or |
• | otherwise take any action to harm, that harms or that reasonably could be expected to harm, BGC Partners for a four-year period following the date on which a founding/working partner or a limited partnership unit holder, as the case may be, ceases, for any reason, to be a founding/working partner or a limited partnership unit holder, as the case may be, including any breach of its confidentiality obligations. |
(1) | directly or indirectly, or by action in concert with others, solicits, induces, or influences, or attempts to solicit, induce or influence, any other partner, employee or consultant of Cantor, BGC Partners or any member of the Ca |