Cowen (COWN) S-3/AShelf registration (amended)

This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities that may be offered. Each time securities are offered, we will provide a prospectus supplement and attach it to this prospectus. The prospectus supplement will contain more specific information about the offering and the terms of the securities being offered. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. This prospectus may not be used to offer or sell securities without a prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of the offering.

The securities may be offered and sold on a delayed or continuous basis directly by us, through agents, underwriters or dealers as designated from time to time, through a combination of these methods or any other method as provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. See “Plan of Distribution.” The prospectus supplement will list any agents, underwriters or dealers that may be involved and the compensation they will receive. The prospectus supplement will also show you the total amount of money that we will receive from selling the securities being offered, after the expenses of the offering.

You should carefully read this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement, together with the documents we incorporate by reference, before you invest in any of our securities.

Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “COWN.” On February 22, 2021, the last reported sale price of our common stock on The Nasdaq Global Market was $37.62 per share.

This prospectus is part of registration statements that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) utilizing a “shelf” registration process for the delayed offering and sale of securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. Under this shelf registration process, we may offer and sell, from time to time the common stock, preferred stock, warrants to purchase any such securities and debt securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. This prospectus does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statements as permitted by the rules and regulations of the SEC. For additional information regarding us and the offered securities, please refer to the registration statements. Each time we offer a type, class or series of such securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. We may also add, update or change in a prospectus supplement any information contained in this prospectus. To the extent any statement made in a prospectus supplement or a document incorporated by reference herein after the date hereof is inconsistent with the statements made in this prospectus, the statements made in this prospectus will be deemed modified or superseded by those made in the prospectus supplement or the incorporated document. You should read both this prospectus and any prospectus supplement together with additional information incorporated herein and therein described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information” before you make any investment decision.

You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, in any accompanying prospectus supplement or in any free writing prospectus filed by us with the SEC. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. We are not making an offer of these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement or in any such free writing prospectus is accurate as of any date other than their respective dates. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since the date of this prospectus or of any prospectus supplement, free writing prospectus or document incorporated by reference.

This prospectus and the documents incorporated herein by reference contain certain forward-looking statements that may constitute “forward- looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking terms such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “possible,” “potential,” “intend,” “seek” or “continue,” the negative of these terms and other comparable terminology or similar expressions. In addition, our management may make forward-looking statements to analysts, representatives of the media and others. These forward-looking statements represent only the Company’s beliefs regarding future events (many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond our control) and are predictions only, based on our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In particular, you should consider the risks outlined under Item 1A — “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, and subsequent reports we have filed with the SEC.

Although we believe the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance or achievements. Moreover, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We undertake no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date they are made to conform our prior statements to actual results or revised expectations. Further disclosures that we make on related subjects in our additional filings with the SEC should be consulted.

The Company’s businesses, by their nature, do not produce predictable earnings, and all of the Company’s businesses have in the past been, and may in the future be affected by conditions in the global financial markets and by global economic conditions, such as interest rates, the availability of credit, inflation rates, economic uncertainty, changes in laws, commodity prices, asset prices (including real estate), currency exchange rates and controls and national and international political circumstances (including wars, terrorist acts, protests or security operations). Challenging market conditions have in the past affected and in the future could affect the level and volatility of securities prices and the liquidity and the value of investments in the Company’s investment funds or other investments in which the Company has investments of its own capital, and the Company may not be able to effectively manage its investment management business’s exposure to challenging market conditions. Challenging market conditions have in the past adversely affected and in the future could also adversely affect the Company’s investment banking business as increased volatility and lower stock prices can make companies less likely to conduct transactions.

In addition, global economic conditions and global financial markets remain vulnerable to the potential risks posed by certain events, which could include, among other things, political and financial uncertainty in the United States and the European Union, renewed concern about China’s economy, complications involving terrorism and armed conflicts around the world, or other challenges to global trade or travel, such as have occurred or might occur in the event of a worldwide pandemic such as the COVID-19 pandemic. More generally, because our businesses are closely correlated to the general economic outlook, a significant deterioration in that outlook or realization of certain events would likely have an immediate and significant negative impact on our businesses and overall results of operations.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. The spread of COVID-19 has caused illness, quarantines, cancellation of events and travel, business and school shutdowns, reduction in business activity and financial transactions, labor shortages, supply chain interruptions and overall economic and financial market instability. Impacts to our businesses could include the following:

Any one or more of these developments could cause, contribute to or exacerbate the other risks and uncertainties discussed in this prospectus. Furthermore, such developments may remain prevalent for a significant period of time and may in the future adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations even after the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided.

The occurrence of unforeseen or catastrophic events, including the emergence of a pandemic, such as COVID-19, or other widespread health emergency (or concerns over the possibility of such an emergency), terrorist attacks, extreme terrestrial or solar weather events or other natural disasters, could create, and in the case of COVID-19 have created, and may continue to create, economic and financial disruptions, and in the case of COVID-19 have led to, and other future events could lead to, operational difficulties (including travel limitations) that may impair our ability to manage our businesses.

Our business has traditionally relied on collaboration among our employees. In particular, the trading floor environment in our markets business facilitates idea generation and is more conducive to active trading.

The Company depends on the efforts, skill, reputations and business contacts of its principals and other key senior personnel, the information and investment activity these individuals generate during the normal course of their activities and the synergies among the diverse fields of expertise and knowledge held by the Company’s senior professionals. Accordingly, the Company’s continued success will depend on the continued service of these individuals. Key senior personnel may leave the Company in the future, and we cannot predict the impact that the departure of any key senior personnel will have on our ability to achieve our investment and business objectives. The loss of the services of any of them could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s revenues, net income and cash flows and could harm our ability to maintain or grow assets under management in existing investment funds or raise additional funds in the future. Our senior and other key personnel possess substantial experience and expertise and have strong business relationships with the investors in its investment funds, clients and other members of the business community. As a result, the loss of such personnel could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s businesses and results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Our people are our most valuable resource. Our success depends upon the reputation, judgment, business generation capabilities and project execution skills of our senior professionals. Our employees’ reputations and relationships with our clients are critical elements in obtaining and executing client engagements. The Company may encounter intense competition for qualified employees from other companies inside and outside of their industries. From time to time, the Company has experienced departures of professionals. Losses of key personnel have occurred and may occur in the future. Moreover, if any of our client-facing employees or executive officers were to join an existing competitor or form a competing company, some of our clients could choose to use the services of that competitor instead of the services of the Company.

The success of our businesses is based largely on the quality of our employees and we must continually monitor the market for their services and seek to offer competitive compensation. In challenging market conditions, which occurred in recent years, it may be difficult to pay competitive compensation without the ratio of our compensation and benefits expense to revenues becoming higher. In addition, for our investment professionals whose performance-based compensation represents substantially all of the compensation the professional is entitled to receive in any year, negative performance which results in the professional not being entitled to receive any performance-based compensation could incentivize the professional to join a competitor.

It is not always possible to detect and deter employee misconduct. The precautions that the Company takes to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in all cases, and we may suffer significant reputational harm and financial loss for any misconduct by our employees. The potential harm to the Company’s reputation and to our business caused by such misconduct is impossible to quantify.

There is a risk that the Company’s employees or partners could engage in misconduct that materially adversely affects the Company’s business, including a decrease in returns on its own invested capital. The Company is subject to a number of obligations and standards arising from its businesses. The violation of these obligations and standards by any of the Company’s employees could materially adversely affect the Company and its investors. For instance, the Company’s businesses require that the Company properly deal with confidential information. If the Company’s employees were to improperly use or disclose confidential information, we could suffer serious harm to our reputation, financial position and current and future business relationships. If one of the Company’s employees were to engage in misconduct or were to be accused of such misconduct, the business and reputation of the Company could be materially adversely affected.

The Company has experienced, and we expect the Company to experience in the future, significant periodic variations in its revenues and results of operations. These variations may be attributed in part to the fact that its investment banking revenues are typically earned upon the successful completion of a transaction, the timing of which is uncertain and beyond the Company’s control. In most cases, the Company receives little or no payment for investment banking engagements that do not result in the successful completion of a transaction. As a result, our investment bank business is highly dependent on market conditions as well as the decisions and actions of its clients and interested third parties. For example, a client’s acquisition transaction may be delayed or terminated because of a failure to agree upon final terms with the counterparty, failure to obtain necessary regulatory consents or board or stockholder approvals, failure to secure necessary financing, adverse market conditions or unexpected financial or other problems in the client’s or counterparty’s business. If the parties fail to complete a transaction on which the Company is advising or an offering in which the Company is participating, we will earn little or no revenue from the transaction, and we may incur significant expenses that may not be recouped. This risk may be intensified by the Company’s focus on growth companies in its sectors as the market for securities of these companies has experienced significant variations in the number and size of equity offerings. Many companies initiating the process of an IPO are simultaneously exploring other strategic alternatives, such as a merger and acquisition transaction. The Company’s investment bank revenues would be adversely affected in the event that an IPO for which it is acting as an underwriter is preempted by the company’s sale if the Company is not also engaged as a strategic advisor in such sale. As a result, our investment banking businesses are unlikely to achieve steady and predictable earnings on a quarterly basis.

The Company’s brokerage business accounted for approximately 38.4% of the Company’s revenues during 2019. Along with other firms, the Company has experienced price competition in this business in recent years. In particular, the ability to execute trades electronically and through alternative trading systems has increased the pressure on trading commissions and spreads. We expect to continue to experience competitive pressures in these and other areas in the future as some of our competitors in the investment banking industry seek to obtain market share by competing on the basis of price or use their own capital to facilitate client trading activities. In addition, the Company faces pressure from larger competitors, who

We may be required to provide considerable additional funds with clearing and settlement organizations of which we are members, such as the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) or Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation in the U.S., especially during periods of high market volatility or when we are obligated to clear large notional amounts of securities that are not eligible for settlement through the NSCC’s Continuous Net Settlement system and, consequently, may be subject to higher margin requirements. In addition, regulatory agencies have recently required these clearing and settlement organizations to increase the level of margin deposit requirements, and they may continue to do so in the future. We rely on our excess cash, certain established credit facilities and the use of outsourced clearing arrangements to meet or reduce these demands. While we have historically met requests for additional margin deposits, there is no guarantee that our excess cash and our established credit facilities and clearing arrangements will be sufficient for future needs, particularly if there is an increase in requirements. There is also no guarantee that these established credit facilities will be extended beyond their expiration.

As a clearing member firm of securities clearing houses in the U.S., we are also exposed to clearing member credit risk. Securities clearing houses require member firms to deposit cash and/or government securities to a clearing fund. If a clearing member defaults in its obligations to the clearing house in an amount larger than its own margin and clearing fund deposits, the shortfall is absorbed pro rata from the deposits of the other clearing members. The clearing houses of which we are members also have the authority to assess their members for additional funds if the clearing fund is depleted. A large clearing member default could result in a substantial cost to us if we are required to pay such assessments.

The redemption of investments in the Company’s hedge funds could also adversely affect the revenues of the Company’s investment management business, which are substantially dependent upon its assets under management. If redemptions of investments cause revenues to decline, they would likely have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition. If market conditions, negative performance or other factors cause an increased level of redemption activity returns, it could become more difficult to manage the liquidity requirements of the Company’s hedge funds, making it more difficult or more costly for the Company’s hedge funds to liquidate positions rapidly to meet redemption requests or otherwise. This in turn may negatively impact the Company’s returns on its own invested capital.

In addition to the impact on the market value of assets under management, illiquidity and volatility of the global financial markets could negatively affect the ability of the Company’s investment management business to manage inflows and outflows from the Company’s hedge funds. A number of asset management firms, including the Company’s investment management business, have in the past exercised, and may in the future exercise, their rights to limit, and in some cases, suspend, redemptions from the investment management products they advise. The Company’s investment management business has also negotiated, and may in the future negotiate, with investors or exercise such rights in an attempt to limit redemptions or create a variety of other investor structures to bring assets and liquidity requirements into a more manageable balance. To the extent that the Company’s investment management business has negotiated with investors to limit redemptions, it may be likely that such investors will continue to seek further redemptions in the future. Such actions may have an adverse effect on the ability of the Company’s hedge funds to attract new capital or to develop new investment platforms. Poor performance relative to other asset management firms may result in reduced investments in the Company’s hedge funds and increased redemptions. As a result, investment underperformance would likely have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations and financial condition.

Investments by the Company’s investment funds are subject to certain risks that may result in losses. Decreases to assets under management as a result of investment losses or client redemptions may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s revenues, net income and cash flows and could harm our ability to maintain or grow assets under management in existing investment funds or raise additional funds in the future. Additional risks include the following:

The Company’s businesses are highly dependent on our ability to process, on a daily basis, a large number of transactions across diverse markets, and the transactions that the Company processes have become increasingly complex. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic virtually all of our employees, including those who process our transactions, are working remotely. While we have implemented risk management and contingency plans and taken other precautions with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, such measures may not adequately protect our businesses from the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as remote working environments may be less secure and more susceptible to hacking attacks, including phishing and social engineering attempts that seek to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, if our systems are breached as a result of a cybersecurity attack that takes advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic, our ability to securely process transactions and maintain confidential financial, personal and other information could be adversely affected.

In addition, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including remote working arrangements for employees, may also impact our financial reporting systems and internal control over financial reporting, disclosure controls and procedures, however, to date, these arrangements have not materially affected our ability to maintain our business operations.

Our operations rely extensively on the secure processing, storage and transmission of confidential financial, personal and other information in our computer systems and networks. Although we take protective measures and devote significant resources to maintaining and upgrading our systems and networks with measures such as intrusion and detection prevention systems, monitoring firewalls to safeguard critical business applications and supervising third party providers that have access to our systems, our computer systems, software and networks may be vulnerable to unauthorized access, computer viruses or other malicious code, and other events that could have a security impact. Additionally, if a client’s computer

Our operations rely heavily on the secure processing, storage and transmission of sensitive and confidential financial, personal and other information in our computer systems and networks. There have been several highly publicized cases involving financial services companies reporting the unauthorized disclosure of client or other confidential information in recent years, as well as cyber attacks involving theft, dissemination and destruction of corporate information or other assets, in some cases as a result of failure to follow procedures by employees or contractors or as a result of actions by third parties. Like other financial services firms, we have been the target of attempted cyber attacks. Cyber attacks can originate from a variety of sources, including third parties affiliated with foreign governments, organized crime or terrorist organizations. Third parties may also attempt to place individuals within our firm or induce employees, clients or other users of our systems to disclose sensitive information or provide access to our data, and these types of risks may be difficult to detect or prevent. Although cybersecurity incidents among financial services firms are on the rise, we are not aware of any material losses relating to cyber attacks or other information security breaches. However, the techniques used in these attacks are increasingly sophisticated, change frequently and are often not recognized until launched. Although we seek to maintain a robust suite of authentication and layered information security controls, these controls could fail to detect, mitigate or remediate these risks in a timely manner. Despite our implementation of protective measures and endeavoring to modify them as circumstances warrant, our computer systems, software and networks may be vulnerable to human error, natural disasters, power loss, spam attacks, unauthorized access, distributed denial of service attacks, computer viruses and other malicious code, and other events that could result in significant liability and damage to our reputation, and have an ongoing impact on the security and stability of our operations.

We also rely on numerous third-party service providers to conduct other aspects of our business operations, and we face similar risks relating to them. While we regularly conduct security assessments on these third-party vendors, we cannot be certain that their information security protocols are sufficient to withstand a cyber attack or other security breach. In addition, in order to access our products and services, our customers may use computers and other devices that are beyond our security control systems and processes.

Notwithstanding the precautions we take, if a cyber attack or other information security breach were to occur, this could jeopardize the information we confidentially maintain, or otherwise cause interruptions in our operations or those of our clients and counterparties, exposing us to liability. As attempted attacks continue to evolve in scope and sophistication, we may be required to expend substantial additional resources to modify or enhance our protective measures, to investigate and remediate vulnerabilities or other exposures or to communicate about cyber attacks to our customers. Though we have insurance against some cyber risks and attacks, we may be subject to litigation and financial losses that exceed our policy limits or are not covered under any of our current insurance policies. A technological breakdown could also interfere with our ability to comply with financial reporting and other regulatory requirements, exposing us to potential disciplinary action by regulators. Additionally, the SEC issued guidance in February 2018 stating that, as a public company, we are expected to have controls and procedures that relate to cybersecurity disclosure, and are required to disclose information relating to certain cyber attacks or other information security breaches in disclosures required to be made under the federal securities laws. Further, successful cyber attacks at other large financial institutions or other market participants, whether or not we are affected, could lead to a general loss of customer confidence in financial institutions that could negatively affect us, including

The instruments governing our existing indebtedness require us to comply with certain restrictive covenants and any substantial and sustained downturn in our operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic or other factors may cause us to be in breach of such covenants. If we breach these covenants our ability to incur additional indebtedness would be limited. In addition, to the extent we borrow under our $25 million revolving credit facility a breach of the maintenance covenants under that facility could constitute an event of default and cause our outstanding indebtedness under the revolving credit facility to be declared immediately due and payable. If applicable, such acceleration of our outstanding indebtedness could cause our secured lenders to foreclose against the assets securing their borrowings and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. Any inability to obtain additional liquidity as and when needed, or to maintain compliance with the instruments governing our indebtedness, would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, the current uncertain condition of the capital markets and their actual or perceived effects on our business, financial condition and results of operations, along with the current unfavorable economic environment in the United States and much of the world resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, may increase the likelihood that one or more of the major independent credit agencies would downgrade our credit ratings, which could have a negative effect on our access to capital and the cost of any future debt financing. In addition, the terms of future debt agreements could include more restrictive covenants or require incremental collateral, which may further restrict our business operations.

Market disruptions like those experienced in 2008 have led to an increase in governmental as well as regulatory scrutiny from a variety of regulators, including the SEC, CFTC, FINRA, NFA, U.S. Treasury, the NYSE and state attorneys general. Penalties and fines sought by regulatory authorities have increased substantially over the last several years. In light of current conditions in the global financial markets and the global economy, regulators have increased their focus on the regulation of the financial services industry. The Company may be adversely affected by changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing laws and rules by these governmental authorities and self-regulatory organizations. The Company also may be adversely affected as a result of new or revised legislation or regulations imposed by the SEC, other U.S. or foreign governmental regulatory authorities or self-regulatory organizations that supervise the financial markets. The Company could be fined, prohibited from engaging in some of its business activities or subjected to limitations or conditions on its business activities. In addition, the Company could incur significant expense associated with compliance with any such legislation or regulations or the regulatory and enforcement environment generally. Substantial legal liability or significant regulatory action against the Company could have a material adverse effect on the financial condition and results of operations of the Company or cause significant reputational harm to the Company, which could seriously affect its business prospects.

The activities of certain of the Company’s subsidiaries and affiliates are regulated primarily within the U.S. by the SEC, FINRA, the NFA, the CFTC and other self-regulatory organizations, as well as various state agencies, and are also subject to regulation by other agencies in the various jurisdictions in which they operate and are offered, including the FCA, the European Securities and Markets Authority and the SFC of Hong Kong. Certain legislation proposing greater regulation of the industry is regularly considered by the U.S. Congress — as well as by the governing bodies of non-U.S. jurisdictions — and from time to time adopted as in the case of the Dodd-Frank Act in the U.S. and MiFID II in the EU.

Due to the combination of our investment management and investment banking businesses, we face an increased potential for conflicts of interest, including situations where our services to a particular client or investor or our own interests in our investments conflict with the interests of another client. Such conflicts may also arise if our investment banking businesses have access to material non-public information that may not be shared with our investment management business or vice versa. Additionally, our regulators have the ability to scrutinize our activities for potential conflicts of interest, including through detailed examinations of specific transactions.

Appropriately identifying and dealing with conflicts of interest is complex and difficult, and the willingness of clients to enter into transactions or engagements in which such a conflict might arise may be affected if we fail to identify and appropriately address potential conflicts of interest. In addition, potential or perceived conflicts could give rise to litigation or enforcement actions.

The Company’s investment management business may be adversely affected if new or revised legislation or regulations are enacted, or by changes in the interpretation or enforcement of existing rules and regulations imposed by the SEC, other U.S. or foreign governmental regulatory authorities or self-regulatory organizations that supervise the financial markets and their participants. Such changes could place limitations on the type of investor that can invest in the Company’s investment funds or on the conditions under which such investors may invest. Further, such changes may limit the scope of investing activities that may

If we fail for any reason to comply with the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner, our independent registered public accounting firm may, at that time, issue an adverse report regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Matters impacting our internal controls may cause us to be unable to report our financial information on a timely basis and thereby subject us to adverse regulatory consequences, including sanctions by the SEC or violations of applicable stock exchange listing rules. There could also be a negative reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of investor confidence in us and the reliability of our financial statements. Any such event could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and business, and result in a decline in the price of our Class A common stock.

The Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain several provisions that may make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of the Company, even if such acquisition would be financially beneficial to the Company’s stockholders. These provisions also may delay, prevent or deter a merger, acquisition, tender offer, proxy contest or other transaction that might otherwise result in the Company’s stockholders receiving a premium over the then-current trading price of our common stock. For example, the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes its board of directors to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of “blank check” preferred stock. Without stockholder approval, the board of directors has the authority to attach special rights, including voting and dividend rights, to this preferred stock. With these rights, preferred stockholders could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire the Company. In addition, the Company’s amended and restated bylaws provide for an advance notice procedure with regard to the nomination of candidates for election as directors and with regard to business to be brought before a meeting of stockholders. The Company is also subject to the anti-takeover provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Under these provisions, if anyone becomes an “interested stockholder,” the Company may not enter into a “business combination” with that person for three years without special approval, which could discourage a third party from making a takeover offer and could delay or prevent a change of control. For the purposes of Section 203, “interested stockholder” means, generally, someone owning 15% or more of the Company’s outstanding voting stock or an affiliate of the Company that owned 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock during the past three years, subject to certain exceptions as described in Section 203.

The market for our common stock relies in part on the research and reports that industry or financial analysts publish about us or our business. We do not control these analysts. If any analyst who covers us downgrades our stock or lowers its future stock price targets or estimates of our operating results, our stock price could decline rapidly. Furthermore, if any analyst ceases to cover us, we could lose visibility in the market, which in turn could cause the market price of our securities to decline.

In the future, we may sell additional shares of our common stock to raise capital. In addition, a substantial number of shares of our common stock are reserved for issuance upon vesting of restricted stock units and performance-linked restricted stock units and upon the conversion of the 2022 Convertible Notes. We cannot predict the size of future issuances or the effect, if any, that they may have on the market price for our common stock. The issuance and sale of substantial amounts of common stock, or the

Cowen Inc., a Delaware corporation formed in 2009, is a diversified financial services firm that, together with its consolidated subsidiaries (collectively, “Cowen” or the “Company”), provides investment banking, research, sales and trading, prime brokerage, global clearing, commission management services and investment management through its two business segments: the Operating Company (“Op Co”) and the Asset Company (“Asset Co”).

The Op Co segment consists of four divisions: the Investment Banking division, the Markets division, the Research division and the Cowen Investment Management (“CIM”) division. The Company refers to the Investment Banking division, the Markets division and the Research division combined as its investment banking businesses. Op Co’s investment banking businesses offer advisory and global capital markets origination, domain knowledge-driven research, sales and trading platforms for institutional investors, global clearing, commission management services and also a comprehensive suite of prime brokerage service. Sectors covered by Op Co’s investment banking business include healthcare, technology, media and telecommunications, consumer, industrials, information and technology services, and energy. Op Co’s CIM division includes advisers to investment funds (including private equity structures and privately placed hedge funds) and registered funds.

The Asset Co segment consists of certain of the Company’s private investments, private real estate investments and other legacy investment strategies. The focus of Asset Co is to drive future monetization of the invested capital of the segment.

Our principal executive offices are located at 599 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10022, and our telephone number is (212) 845-7900. Our website address is www.cowen.com. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and you should not consider information contained on our website as part of this prospectus.

Unless we specify otherwise in an accompanying prospectus supplement, we will use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities offered by this prospectus for general corporate purposes, working capital and capital expenditures.

The descriptions of the securities contained in this prospectus, together with the applicable prospectus supplements, summarize all the material terms and provisions of the various types of securities that we may offer under this prospectus. The terms of the offering of securities, the initial offering price and the net proceeds to us will be contained in the prospectus supplement, and other offering material, relating to such offer. We will also include in the prospectus supplement information, where applicable, about material United States (“U.S.”) federal income tax considerations relating to the securities and the securities exchange, if any, on which the securities will be listed.

The following summary describes our common stock and preferred stock and the material provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (our “Certificate of Incorporation”) and our second amended and restated bylaws (our “Bylaws”) and certain provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Because the following is only a summary, it does not contain all of the information that may be important

Subject to certain limited exceptions, unless all accumulated and unpaid dividends for all prior dividend periods on our Series A Preferred Stock have been, or contemporaneously are declared and paid in cash, or declared and a sum sufficient for the payment thereof in cash is set apart for payment, the Company may not, among other things, declare or pay dividends on, make any other distributions on, or redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of our Class A common stock. If dividends on our Series A Preferred Stock are in arrears and unpaid for at least six or more quarterly periods, the holders (voting as a single class) of our outstanding Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to elect two additional directors to our board of directors until paid in full.

In the event of the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, subject to the preferences of the holders of any preferred stock that may be outstanding from time to time, including the preferences of our outstanding Series A Preferred Stock, holders of Class A common stock are entitled to share equally and ratably in the assets available for distribution to our stockholders.

The transfer agent and registrar for our Class A common stock is Computershare Investor Services.

Delaware law provides that no stockholder, including holders of preferred stock, shall be personally liable for our acts and obligations and that our funds and property shall be the only recourse for these acts or obligation.

Cowen Inc. is authorized to issue 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share (referred to herein as our preferred stock). As of September 30, 2020, 120,750 shares of our 5.625% Series A Cumulative Perpetual Convertible Preferred Stock (“Series A Preferred Stock”) were issued and outstanding. Subject to the rights of holders of any outstanding preferred stock, the number of authorized shares of preferred stock may be increased or decreased by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares entitled to vote on such matters, but in no instance can the number of authorized shares be reduced below the number of shares then outstanding.

Except as from time to time as required by law, the holders of Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to voting rights only in the following circumstances. The holders (voting as a single class with each other class or series of preferred stock ranking on parity with the Series A Preferred Stock) of our outstanding Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to vote (i) to authorize, create or issue, or increase the number of authorized or issued shares of any class or series of stock ranking senior to the Series A Preferred Stock, (ii) to reclassify any of the authorized capital stock of the Company into any class or series of stock senior to the Series A Preferred Stock, (iii) to create, authorize or issue any obligation or security convertible into or evidencing the right to purchase any class or series of stock senior to the Series A Preferred Stock, and (iv) to amend, alter or repeal the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation in a manner that adversely affects any right, preference, privilege or voting power of the Series A Preferred Stock. If dividends on our Series A Preferred Stock are in arrears and unpaid for at least six or more quarterly periods, the holders (voting as a single class) of our outstanding Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to elect two additional directors to our board of directors until paid in full.

Each share of Series A Preferred Stock is entitled to dividends at a rate of 5.625% per annum which will be payable, when and if declared by the board of directors of the Company, quarterly, in arrears, on February 15, May 15, August 15 and November 15 of each year. The Company may, at its option, pay dividends in cash, common stock or a combination thereof.

Subject to certain limited exceptions, unless all accumulated and unpaid dividends for all prior dividend periods on our Series A Preferred Stock have been, or contemporaneously are declared and paid in cash, or declared and a sum sufficient for the payment thereof in cash is set apart for payment, the Company may not, among other things, declare or pay dividends on, make any other distributions on, or redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of our Class A common stock. If dividends on our Series A Preferred Stock are in arrears and unpaid for at least six or more quarterly periods, the holders (voting as a single class) of our outstanding Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to elect two additional directors to our board of directors until paid in full.

Upon any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, before any distribution or payment shall be made to the holders of any common stock or any other class or series of our capital stock ranking junior to the Series A Preferred Stock and after payment of or provision for our debts and other liabilities and the liquidation preference of any stock ranking senior to the Series A Preferred Stock, the holders of Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to be paid out of the Company’s assets legally available for distribution to our shareholders a liquidation preference of $1,000 per share of Series A Preferred Stock plus all accumulated and unpaid dividends up to the date of payment. If, upon any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, our available assets are insufficient to pay the full amount of the liquidating distributions on all outstanding Series A Preferred Stock and the corresponding amounts payable on all shares of each other class or series of capital stock ranking on parity with the Series A Preferred Stock, then holders of Series A Preferred Stock and each such other class or series of capital stock ranking on parity with the Series A Preferred Stock will share ratably in any distribution of assets in proportion to the full liquidating distributions to which they would otherwise be respectively entitled.

Each share of Series A Preferred Stock ranks senior to all classes or series of our common stock, but junior to all of our existing and future indebtedness with respect to dividend rights and rights upon the Company’s involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding down.

Each share of Series A Preferred Stock is convertible, at the option of the holder, into a number of shares of our Class A common stock equal to the liquidation preference of $1,000 divided by the conversion rate. The conversion rate as of the date of this prospectus is 38.4881 shares (which equates to $25.98 per share) of our Class A common stock for each share of Series A Preferred Stock. We may elect to convert all outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock into shares of the our Class A common stock, cash or a combination thereof, at our election, in each case, based on the then-applicable conversion rate, if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds 150% of the then-current conversion price on at least 20 trading days (whether or not consecutive) during the period of 30 consecutive trading days (including on the last trading day of such period) immediately prior to such election. At the time of conversion, the conversion rate may be adjusted based on certain events including but not limited to the issuance of cash dividends or Class A common stock as dividends to our Class A common shareholders or a share split or combination.

Delaware law provides that no stockholder, including holders of preferred stock, shall be personally liable for our acts and obligations and that our funds and property shall be the only recourse for these acts or obligation.

Our Certificate of Incorporation and our Bylaws contain provisions, which are summarized below, that may make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of the Company, even if such acquisition would be financially beneficial to the Company’s stockholders. These provisions may also delay, prevent or deter a merger, acquisition, tender offer, proxy contest or other transaction that might otherwise result in the Company’s stockholders receiving a premium over the then-current trading price of our Class A common stock. These provisions are also designed to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with our board of directors, which we believe may result in an improvement of the terms of any

The ability to authorize undesignated preferred stock makes it possible for our board of directors to issue preferred stock with super voting, special approval, dividend or other rights or preferences on a discriminatory basis that could impede the success of any attempt to acquire us. Stockholder approval is not required for our board of directors to authorize the issuance of such preferred stock. These and other provisions may have the effect of deferring, delaying or discouraging hostile takeovers, or changes in control or management of our company.

Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws provide that special meetings of the stockholders may be called at the exclusive request of our board of directors, of the chairman of our board of directors or the Company’s chief executive officer. Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws prohibit the conduct of any business at a special meeting other than as specified in the notice for such meeting at the exclusive request of our board of directors, of the chairman of our board of directors or the Company’s chief executive officer. These provisions may have the effect of deferring, delaying or discouraging hostile takeovers, or changes in control or management of our company.

Our Bylaws has established advance notice procedures with respect to stockholder proposals and the nomination of candidates for election as directors, other than nominations made by or at the direction of the board of directors or a committee of the board of directors. In order for any matter to be “properly brought” before a meeting, a stockholder will have to comply with advance notice requirements and provide us with certain information. Additionally, vacancies and newly created directorships may be filled only by a vote of a majority of the directors then in office, even though less than a quorum, and not by the stockholders. Our Bylaws allow the presiding officer at a meeting of the stockholders to adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of meetings which may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the rules and regulations are not followed. These provisions may also defer, delay or discourage a potential acquiror from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquiror’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company.

Pursuant to Section 228 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, any action required to be taken at any annual or special meeting of the stockholders may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, is signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares of our stock entitled to vote thereon were present and voted, unless our Certificate of Incorporation provides otherwise. Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that any action required or permitted to be taken by our stockholders may be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of our stockholders and may not be effected by consent in writing or electronic transmission by such stockholders.

The following description, together with the additional information we may include in any applicable prospectus supplements, summarizes the material terms and provisions of the warrants that we may offer under this prospectus and the related warrant agreements and warrant certificates. While the terms summarized below will apply generally to any warrants that we may offer, we will describe the particular terms of any series of warrants in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. The terms of any warrants offered under an applicable prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below as set forth therein. Specific warrant agreements will contain additional important terms and provisions and will be incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement, which includes this prospectus.

We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms of the series of warrants, including:

The debt securities of a series will be the direct obligation of Cowen Inc. The debt securities offered hereby, consisting of notes, debentures and other evidences of indebtedness, may be issued from time to time in one or more series pursuant to, in the case of senior debt securities, a senior indenture dated as of October 10, 2014 between us and the trustee, and in the case of subordinated debt securities, a subordinated indenture to be entered into between us and a trustee to be named therein.

Because the following is only a summary of selected provisions of the senior indenture, the subordinated indenture and the debt securities, it does not contain all information that may be important to you. This summary is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the senior indenture, the subordinated

Unless we inform you otherwise in the prospectus supplement, “Senior Indebtedness” will mean all of our indebtedness, including guarantees issued by us, unless the indebtedness states that it is not senior to the subordinated debt securities. In this summary description of the debt securities, unless we state otherwise or the context clearly indicates otherwise, all references to “we,” “us,” “our” and the “Company” refer to Cowen Inc. only and not to any of its subsidiaries.

Neither indenture limits the amount of debt securities that may be issued under that indenture, and neither indenture limits the amount of other unsecured debt or securities that we may issue. We may issue debt securities under the indentures from time to time in one or more series.

We are not obligated to issue all debt securities of one series at the same time and, unless otherwise provided in the prospectus supplement, we may reopen a series, without the consent of the holders of the debt securities of that series, for the issuance of additional debt securities of that series.

When we refer to “debt securities” or a “series of debt securities,” we mean, respectively, debt securities or a series of debt securities issued under the applicable indenture. When we refer to a prospectus supplement, we mean the prospectus supplement describing the specific terms of the applicable debt security. The terms used in a prospectus supplement will have the meanings described in this prospectus, unless otherwise specified.

The senior debt securities will constitute our unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness and will rank equally in right of payment with all of our other unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness and senior in right of payment to all of our subordinated indebtedness outstanding from time to time. The debt securities will be effectively subordinated to, and thus have a junior position to, any secured indebtedness we may have with respect to the assets securing that indebtedness. The subordinated debt securities will constitute our unsecured and subordinated obligations and will rank junior to all of our senior indebtedness and may rank equally with or senior to other subordinated indebtedness we may issue from time to time.

The debt securities will effectively rank junior in right of payment to all liabilities of each of our subsidiaries. Claims of creditors of our subsidiaries generally will have priority with respect to the assets and earnings of such subsidiaries over the claims of our creditors, including holders of any debt securities. Accordingly, any debt securities will be effectively subordinated to creditors, including trade creditors and preferred stockholders, if any, of such subsidiaries.

Unless we inform you otherwise in the prospectus supplement, neither indenture will contain any covenants or other provisions designed to protect holders of the debt securities in the event we participate in a highly leveraged transaction or upon a change of control. In addition, unless we inform you otherwise in the prospectus supplement, the indentures will not contain provisions that give holders of the debt securities the right to require us to repurchase their securities in the event of a decline in our credit rating for any reason, including as a result of a takeover, recapitalization or similar restructuring or otherwise.

When we refer to “the trustee” we mean the applicable trustee serving in such capacity with respect to the debt securities issued under the related indenture. If two or more persons are acting as trustee with respect to different series of debt securities issued under the same indenture, each of those trustees will be a trustee of a trust under that indenture separate and apart from the trust administered by any other trustee. In that case, except as otherwise indicated in this prospectus, any action described in this prospectus to be taken by the trustee may be taken by each of those trustees only with respect to the one or more series of debt securities for which it is trustee.

We may sell the debt securities at a discount, which may be substantial, below their stated principal amount.

These debt securities may bear no interest or interest at a rate that at the time of issuance is below market rates. If we sell these debt securities, we will describe in the prospectus supplement any material U.S. federal income tax consequences and other special considerations.

Holders of a debt security are entitled at any time, however, to bring a lawsuit for the payment of money due on a debt security on or after its stated maturity (or, if a debt security is redeemable, on or after its redemption date).

With respect to subordinated debt securities, all the remedies available upon the occurrence of an event of default under the subordinated debt indenture will be subject to the restrictions on the subordinated debt securities described below under “— Subordination.”

Book-entry and other indirect owners should consult their banks or brokers for information on how to give notice or direction to or make a request for the trustee and how to declare or cancel an acceleration of the maturity.

We are required to deliver to the trustee annually a statement regarding compliance with the indenture. Upon our becoming aware of any default or event of default, we are required within 30 days after the occurrence to deliver to the trustee a statement specifying such default or event of default.

The subordinated debt securities will, to the extent set forth in the subordinated indenture, be subordinate in right of payment to the prior payment in full of all Senior Indebtedness (defined below). In the event of:

then and in any such event the holders of Senior Indebtedness will be entitled to receive payment in full of all amounts due or to become due on or in respect of all Senior Indebtedness, or provision will be made for such payment in cash, before the holders of the subordinated debt securities are entitled to receive or retain any payment on account of principal of, or any premium or interest on, or any additional amounts with respect to, subordinated debt securities, and to that end the holders of Senior Indebtedness will be entitled to receive, for application to the payment thereof, any payment or distribution of any kind or character, whether in cash, property or securities, including any such payment or distribution which may be payable or deliverable by reason of the payment of any other indebtedness of ours being subordinated to the payment of subordinated debt securities, which may be payable or deliverable in respect of subordinated debt securities in any such case, proceeding, dissolution, liquidation or other winding up event.

By reason of such subordination, in the event of our liquidation or insolvency, holders of Senior Indebtedness and holders of other obligations of ours that are not subordinated to Senior Indebtedness may recover more, ratably, than the holders of subordinated debt securities.

The subordination will not affect our obligation, which will be absolute and unconditional, to pay, when due, the principal of and any premium and interest on the subordinated debt securities. In addition, the subordination will not prevent the occurrence of any default under the subordinated indenture.

Subject to the payment in full of all Senior Indebtedness, the rights of the holders of subordinated debt securities will be subrogated to the rights of the holders of Senior Indebtedness to receive payments or distributions of cash, property or securities of ours applicable to such Senior Indebtedness until the principal of, any premium and interest on, and any additional amounts with respect to, subordinated debt securities have been paid in full.

In addition, we must deliver an officers’ certificate and an opinion of counsel to the trustee stating that all conditions precedent to satisfaction and discharge have been satisfied.

New York law will govern the indentures and the debt securities, without regard to conflicts of laws principles thereof.

We may sell our securities at any time after the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part in one or more of the following ways from time to time:

The following table sets forth the expenses expected to be incurred in connection with the issuance and distribution of the securities registered hereby, other than underwriting discounts and commissions. All amounts shown are estimates except the Commission registration fee.

Pursuant to the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), a corporation may indemnify any person in connection with any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than a derivative action by or in the right of such corporation) who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such corporation, or serving at the request of such corporation in such capacity for another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred in connection with such action, suit or proceeding, if such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of such corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful.

The DGCL also permits indemnification by a corporation under similar circumstances for expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such persons in connection with the defense or settlement of a derivative action or suit, except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to such corporation unless the Delaware Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which such court shall deem proper.

To the extent a director, officer, employee or agent is successful in the defense of such an action, suit or proceeding, the corporation is required by the DGCL to indemnify such person for actual and reasonable expenses incurred thereby. Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by such persons in defending any action, suit or proceeding may be paid in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such person to repay such amount if it is ultimately determined that such person is not entitled to be so indemnified.

The DGCL provides that the indemnification described above shall not be deemed exclusive of other indemnification that may be granted by a corporation pursuant to its by-laws, disinterested directors’ vote, stockholders’ vote, agreement or otherwise.

See Exhibit Index attached to this registration statement, which is incorporated by reference herein.