16. EQUITY-BASED COMPENSATION

Restricted Stock Units and Stock Options

On November 2, 2012, the Company’s board of directors adopted the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan.

A total of 1,687,500 shares were originally reserved and available for issuance under the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, 489,549 and 584,679 shares, respectively, were available for grant. The equity interests may be issued in the form of shares of the Company’s Class A common stock and/or Class B units of SLP. (All references to units or interests of SLP refer to Class B units of SLP and accompanying shares of Class B common stock of Silvercrest.)

The purposes of the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan are to (i) align the long-term financial interests of our employees, directors, consultants and advisers with those of our stockholders; (ii) attract and retain those individuals by providing compensation opportunities that are consistent with our compensation philosophy; and (iii) provide incentives to those individuals who contribute significantly to our long-term performance and growth. To accomplish these purposes, the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan provides for the grant of units of SLP. The 2012 Equity Incentive Plan also provides for the grant of stock options, stock appreciation rights, or SARs, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, performance-based stock awards and other stock-based awards (collectively, stock awards) based on our Class A common stock. Awards may be granted to employees, including officers, members, limited partners or partners who are engaged in the business of one or more of our subsidiaries, as well as non-employee directors and consultants.

It is initially anticipated that awards under the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan granted to our employees will be in the form of units of SLP that will not vest until a specified period of time has elapsed, or other vesting conditions have been satisfied as determined by the Compensation Committee of the Company’s board of directors, and which may be forfeited if the vesting conditions are not met. During the period that any vesting restrictions apply, unless otherwise determined by the Compensation Committee, the recipient of the award will be eligible to participate in distributions of income from SLP. In addition, before the vesting conditions have been satisfied, the transferability of such units is generally prohibited and such units will not be eligible to be exchanged for cash or shares of our Class A common stock.

In August 2015, the Company granted 966,510 restricted stock units (“RSUs”) under the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan at a fair value of $13.23 per share to existing Class B unit holders.  These RSUs will vest and settle in the form of Class B units of SLP.  Twenty-five percent of the RSUs granted vest and settle on each of the first, second, third and fourth anniversaries of the grant date.

In May 2016, the Company granted 3,791 RSUs under the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan at a fair value of $13.19 per share to existing Class B unit holders.  These RSUs will vest and settle in the form of Class B units of SLP.  Twenty-five percent of the RSUs granted vest and settle on each of the first, second, third and fourth anniversaries of the grant date.  

In May 2016, the Company granted 3,000 RSUs under the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan at a fair value of $13.19 per share to certain members of the Board of Directors.  These RSUs will vest and settle in the form of Class A shares of Silvercrest.  One hundred percent of the RSUs granted vest and settle on the first anniversary of the grant date.

In May 2016, the Company granted 7,582 RSUs under the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan at a fair value of $13.19 per share to an employee.  These RSUs will vest and settle in the form of Class A shares of Silvercrest.  Twenty-five percent of the RSUs granted vest and settle on each of the first, second, third and fourth anniversaries of the grant date.

In October 2018, the Company granted 105,398 non-qualified stock options (“NQOs”) under the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan to an existing Class B unit holder.  The fair value of the NQOs have been derived using the Black-Scholes method with the following assumptions:  Strike price of $13.97, Risk Free rate of 2.94% (5-year treasury rate), expiration of 5 years and volatility of 32.7%.  Additionally, the calculation of the compensation expense assumes a forfeiture rate of 1.0%, based on historical experience.  These NQOs will vest and settle in the form of Class B units of SLP.  One third of the NQOs will vest and settle on each of the first, second and third anniversaries of the grant date.

In May 2019, the Company granted 60,742 non-qualified stock options (“NQOs”) under the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan to an existing Class B unit holder.  The fair value of the NQOs has been derived using the Black-Scholes method with the following assumptions:  Strike price of $14.54, Risk Free rate of 2.32% (5-year treasury rate), expiration of 5 years and volatility of 34.2%.  Additionally, the calculation of the compensation expense assumes a forfeiture rate of 1.0%, based on historical experience.  These NQOs will vest and become exercisable into of Class B units of SLP.  One third of the NQOs will vest and become exercisable on each of the first, second and third anniversaries of the grant date.

In May 2019, the Company granted 34,388 RSUs under the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan at a fair value of $14.54 per share to an existing Class B unit holder.  These RSUs will vest and settle in the form of Class B shares of SLP.  Twenty-five percent of the RSUs granted vest and settle on each of the first, second, third and fourth anniversaries of the grant date.

A summary of the NQO grants by the Company as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 is presented below:

A summary of the RSU grants by the Company as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 is presented below:

For the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded compensation expense related to such RSUs and NQOs of $2,272 and $3,275, respectively, as part of total compensation expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years then ended.  As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, there was $945 and $2,392, respectively, of unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested awards. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, the unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested awards is expected to be recognized over a period of 1.62 and 1.51 years, respectively.

For the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded total compensation expense related to such Restricted Stock Units and Non-Qualified Options of $2,272 and $3,275, respectively.