Brafman Lester Raymond 4

What Happened

• Lester Raymond Brafman, CEO of Cohen & Co Inc., redeemed 501,455 membership units of the company's Operating LLC on Feb 3, 2026. The units were redeemed for cash at $1.951 per unit, for aggregate proceeds of $978,338.07. The Form 4 reports this as an exercise/conversion of a derivative (code M) and the units were disposed to fund tax liabilities related to recent vesting.

Key Details

• Transaction date and price: 2026-02-03 — 501,455 units redeemed at $1.951 each; total $978,338.07.
• Purpose / footnote: Redemption was to fund tax liabilities tied to the vesting (on Jan 31, 2026) of 611,000 Units and 40,000 restricted shares granted under the company’s 2020 Long-Term Incentive Plan.
• Conversion terms: Under the Operating LLC agreement, Units may be redeemed for cash or, at the company’s option, one share of Cohen & Co common stock for every ten Units.
• Shares owned after transaction: Not specified in the filing.
• Timeliness: Transaction reported on a Form 4 filed Feb 5, 2026 for a Feb 3 transaction — appears timely (Form 4s are typically due within two business days).

Context

• This was a routine cash redemption to cover tax withholding from recently vested awards, not an open-market sale of common stock. The Form 4 characterizes it as a derivative exercise/conversion (code M). Such tax-driven redemptions are common following vesting and do not necessarily indicate the insider’s market view.