St. Nicholas puts holidays on ice

Saint Nicholas — Nicholas Schorsch, that is — is putting the holidays on ice.
In an email to American Realty Capital employees from Mr. Schorsch last Tuesday, he informed ARC staff that the company’s holiday party was on hold and will be pushed into 2015.
Mr. Schorsch is the chief executive and chairman of nontraded real estate investment trust sponsor ARC; he also controls other nontraded REIT related companies.
(More: The Schorsch empire)
“As you know, we ordinarily throw our holiday party in January,” according to the email from Mr. Schorsch. “This year, however, we have decided to move the celebration to warmer times, likely May or June.”
“We have not yet decided on a venue for the event, but rest assured, as always, it will be memorable,” according to the email, a copy of which was obtained by InvestmentNews. “We will keep you advised of our plans as we get closer to the date.”
The email was signed by Mr. Schorsch and his three partners at ARC: Bill Kahane, Mike Weil and Peter Budko.
Andrew Backman, a spokesman for ARC, said the email was accurate but declined to comment as to the specifics of why the holiday party was delayed.
Wall Street has a history of canceling holiday celebrations for fear of drawing criticism during stressful times. In an attempt to keep a low profile, The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in 2009 told its employees it would not host a corporate Christmas party; the investment bank also prohibited its employees from funding their own parties.
ARC and RCS Capital Corp., the broker-dealer holding company of which Mr. Schorsch is executive chairman, have faced intense scrutiny since a related company, American Realty Capital Properties Inc., at the end of October revealed a $23 million accounting error over the first half of the year that was intentionally not corrected.
“It sounds like they are trying to be appropriate and not send the wrong message to the market and employees internally,” said Alois Pirker, research director for the Aite Group’s wealth management practice.
“They’re being cautious,” Mr. Pirker said. “One could read into it that they are going through a serious phase right now, after they had lots of good news with the broker-dealer acquisitions and the consolidation they are experiencing. But lately it’s been a roller coaster ride for them.”
ARC’s decision to delay a holiday celebration goes against the grain of broader corporate trends. According to a survey of almost 100 human resources professionals, 89% said their companies are planning holiday or year-end parties this year. That is up from 82% in 2012 and 68% from 2011, according to Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc., a global outsourcing consultant.