Company: COHN
Filing Date: 2025-03-12
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001437749-25-007158
Chunk: 1223

Company: Cohen & Co Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-03-12
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 1223
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 addition, investors may claim breaches of collateral management agreements, which could lead to our termination as collateral manager under such agreements.

﻿Following the start of the financial crisis in 2007, the volume of claims and amount of damages claimed in litigation and regulatory proceedings against financial advisors and asset managers increased. With respect to the asset management business, we make investment decisions on behalf of our clients that could result in, and in some instances in the past have resulted in, substantial losses. In addition, as a manager, we are responsible for clients’ compliance with regulatory requirements. Investment decisions we make on behalf of clients could cause such clients to fail to comply with regulatory requirements and could result in substantial losses. Although our management agreements generally include broad indemnities and provisions designed to limit our exposure to legal claims relating to our services, these provisions may not protect us or may not be enforced in all cases.

﻿In addition, we are exposed to risks of litigation or investigation relating to transactions which present conflicts of interest that are not properly addressed. In such actions, we could be obligated to bear legal, settlement and other costs (which may be in excess of available insurance coverage). Also, with a workforce consisting of many very highly paid professionals, we may face the risk of lawsuits relating to claims for compensation, which may individually or in the aggregate be significant in amount. Similarly, certain corporate events, such as a reduction in our workforce or employee separations, could also result in additional litigation or arbitration. In addition, as a public company, we are subject to the risk of investigation or litigation by regulators or our public stockholders arising from an array of possible claims, including investor dissatisfaction with the performance of our business or our share price, allegations of misconduct by our officers and directors or claims that we inappropriately dealt with conflicts of interest or investment allocations. In addition, we may incur significant expenses in defending claims, even those without merit. If any claims brought against us result in a finding of substantial legal liability and/or require us to incur all or a portion of the costs arising out of litigation or investigation, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. Such litigation or investigation, whether resolved in our favor or not or ultimately settled, could cause significant reputational harm, which could seriously harm our business.

In our Investment Management business, we make investment decisions on behalf of our clients that could result in substantial losses. This also may subject us to the risk of legal liability or actions alleging negligent misconduct, breach of fiduciary