11. Equity-based Compensation

The Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc., 2021 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Omnibus Plan”) governs, among other things, the types of awards the Company can grant to employees as equity-based compensation awards. The Omnibus Plan provides for potential grants of the following awards: (i) stock options, (ii) stock appreciation rights, (iii) restricted stock awards, (iv) performance awards, (v) other stock-based awards, (vi) other cash-based awards, and (vii) analogous equity awards made in equity of the LLC.

IPO-Related Awards

As a result of the Organizational Transactions, pre-IPO holders of LLC Units that were granted as incentive awards, which had historically been classified as equity and vested pro rata over five years, were required to exchange their LLC Units for either Restricted Stock or Restricted Common Units. Additionally, Reload Options or Reload Class Incentive Units were issued to employees in order to protect against the dilution of their existing awards upon exchange to the new awards.

Separately, certain employees were granted one or more of the following new awards: (i) Restricted Stock Units (“RSUs”), (ii) Staking Options, (iii) Restricted LLC Units (“RLUs”), or (iv) Staking Class C Incentive Units. The terms of these awards are described below. All awards granted as part of the Organizational Transactions and the IPO are subject to non-linear transfer restrictions for at least the five-year period following the IPO.

Incentive Awards

As part of the Company’s annual compensation process, the Company issues certain employees and directors equity-based compensation awards (“Incentive Awards”). Additionally, the Company offers Incentive Awards to certain new hires. These Incentive Awards typically take the form of (i) RSUs, (ii) RLUs, (iii) Class C Incentive Units, and (iv) Stock Options. The terms of these awards are described below.

Restricted Stock and Restricted Common Units

As part of the Organizational Transactions, certain existing employee unitholders were granted Restricted Stock or Restricted Common Units in exchange for their LLC Units. The Restricted Stock and Restricted Common Units follow the vesting schedule of the LLC Units for which they were exchanged. LLC Units historically vested pro rata over 5 years.

Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)

IPO RSUs

Related to the IPO, the Company granted RSUs to certain employees. The IPO RSUs vest either pro rata over 5 years from the grant date or over 10 years from the grant date, with 10% vesting in each of years 3 through 9 and 30% vesting in year 10.

Incentive RSUs

As part of the Company’s compensation process, the Company issues Incentive RSUs to certain employees. The Incentive RSUs vest either 100% 3 or 5 years from the grant date, pro rata over 3 or 5 years from the grant date, over 5 years from the grant date, with one-third of the grant vesting in each of years 3, 4 and 5, or over 7 years from the grant date, with 20% vesting in each of years 3 through 7.

Stock Options

Reload and Staking Options

As part of the Organizational Transactions and IPO, certain employees were granted Reload Options or Staking Options that entitle the award holder to future purchases of Class A common stock, on a one-for-one basis, at the IPO price of $23.50. The Reload Options vest either 100% 3 years from the grant date or over 5 years from the grant date, with one-third of the grant vesting in each of years 3, 4 and 5. In general, vested Reload Options are exercisable up to the tenth anniversary of the grant date. The Staking Options vest over 10 years from the grant date, with 10% vesting in each of years 3 through 9 and 30% vesting in year 10. In general, vested Staking Options are exercisable up to the eleventh anniversary of the grant date.

Incentive Options

As part of the Company’s compensation process, the Company may issue Incentive Options to certain employees that entitle the award holder to future purchases of Class A common stock, on a one-for-one basis, at the respective exercise prices. The Incentive Options vest over 5 years from the grant date, with one-third of the grant vesting in each of years 3, 4 and 5. In general, vested Incentive Options are exercisable up to the tenth anniversary of the grant date.

1 As the Reload and Staking Options were one-time grants at the IPO, the weighted average exercise price for any movements in these awards will perpetually be $23.50. As such, the values are not presented in the table above.

There were no Incentive Options granted during the years ended December 31, 2021 or 2023.

The use of a valuation model for the Options requires management to make certain assumptions with respect to selected model inputs. Expected volatility was calculated based on the observed volatility for comparable companies. The expected time to maturity was based on the weighted-average vesting terms and contractual terms of the awards. The dividend yield was based on the Company’s expected dividend rate. The risk-free interest rate was based on U.S. Treasury rates commensurate with the expected life of the award.

There were no exercisable Staking, Reload, or Incentive Options as of December 31, 2023.

Restricted LLC Units (RLUs)

IPO RLUs

Related to the IPO, the Company granted RLUs to certain employees that vest either pro rata over 5 years from the grant date or over 10 years from the grant date, with 10% vesting in each of years 3 through 9 and 30% vesting in year 10.

Incentive RLUs

As part of the Company’s compensation process, the Company issues Incentive RLUs to certain employees. The Incentive RLUs vest pro rata over 3 or 5 years from the grant date or over 7 years from the grant date, with 20% vesting in each of years 3 through 7.

Upon vesting, RLUs convert on a one-for-one basis into either LLC Common Units or Class A common stock at the election of the Company.

Class C Incentive Units

Reload and Staking Class C Incentive Units

As part of the Organizational Transactions and IPO, certain employees were granted Reload Class C Incentive Units or Staking Class C Incentive Units, which are profits interests. When the value of Class A common stock exceeds the IPO price of $23.50, vested profits interests may be exchanged for LLC Common Units of equal value. On exchange, the LLC Common Units are immediately redeemed on a one-to-one basis for Class A common stock. The Reload Class C Incentive Units vest either 100% 3 years from the grant date or over 5 years from the grant date, with one-third of the grant vesting in each of years 3, 4 and 5. The Staking Class C Incentive Units vest either pro rata over 5 years from the grant date or over 10 years from the grant date, with 10% vesting in each of years 3 through 9 and 30% vesting in year 10.

Class C Incentive Units

As part of the Company’s compensation process, the Company issues Class C Incentive Units to certain employees, which are profits interests. When the value of the Class A common stock exceeds the participation threshold, vested profits interests may be exchanged for LLC Common Units of equal value. On exchange, the LLC Common Units are immediately redeemed on a one-to-one basis for Class A common stock. The Class C Incentive Units vest over 8 years from the grant date, with 15% vesting in each of years 3 through 7 and 25% vesting in year 8, or over 7 years from the grant date, with 20% vesting in each of years 3 through 7.

1 As the Reload and Staking Class C Incentive Units were one-time grants at the IPO, the weighted average participation threshold for any movements in these awards will perpetually be $23.50. As such, the values are not presented in the table above.

Valuation Considerations

The Restricted Common Units and RLUs, once vested and after delivery of LLC Common Units, are exchangeable into shares of Class A common stock of the Company on a one-to-one basis, which entitles the unitholders to TRA payments resulting from 85% of the tax savings generated by the Company. The various Class C Incentive Units have the same terms as the LLC Common Units, with the exception of their respective participation thresholds. When the price of the Class A common stock exceeds the participation threshold, the Class C Incentive Units can be exchanged for LLC Common Units of equal value and are entitled to the same TRA benefits upon an exchange to Class A common stock. In order to value the Restricted Common Units and Class C Incentive Units the Company is required to make certain assumptions with respect to select model inputs.

Due to the nature of the underlying risks inherent in TRA payments and the uncertainty as to when the participation threshold will be satisfied for the various Class C Incentive Units, the Company uses a Monte Carlo simulation to explicitly model the impact of future stock prices on the size of the amortizable asset, as well as the impact of different levels of taxable income on the timing of the TRA payments, in a risk-neutral framework. The Monte Carlo simulation model uses the following assumptions: the simulated closing stock price, the simulated taxable income, the risk-free interest rate, the expected dividend yield, and the expected volatility and correlation of the Company’s stock price and taxable income. The dividend yield was based on the Company’s expected dividend rate of 0.0%. The risk-free interest rate range of 1.9%-4.0% was based on U.S. Treasury rates commensurate with a term of 30 years. Due to the transfer restrictions on the IPO awards, a discount for lack of marketability was applied based on the term between when each Restricted Common Unit, Staking Class C Incentive Unit, or Reload Class C Incentive Unit vests and when it is released from the transfer restriction. The range of discounts from 6.0%-19.1% were applied on the proportion of value associated with the receipt of Class A common stock upon the exchange of each Restricted Common Unit or Class C Incentive Unit.

Non-Employee Director Stock Grants

The Company grants RSUs (“Director Stock Grants”) to non-employee directors serving as members of the Company’s Board of Directors, with the exception of the one director appointed by Onex in accordance with Onex’s nomination rights who has agreed to forgo any compensation for his service to the Board. The Director Stock Grants are fully vested upon grant. The Company granted 19,698 Director Stock Grants with a weighted-average grant date fair value of $40.86 and 53,159 Director Stock Grants with a weighted-average grant date fair value of $36.30 during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Equity-Based Compensation Expense

The following table includes the equity-based compensation the Company recognized by award type from the view of expense related to pre-IPO and post-IPO awards. The table also presents the unrecognized equity-based compensation expense as of December 31, 2023 in the same view.