INVESTMENT OPERATIONS | INVESTMENT OPERATIONS Net realized gains (losses) for all other investments are summarized as follows: For The 2018 2017 (Dollars In Thousands) Fixed maturities $ 2,783 $ 9,490 Equity gains and losses (1) (8,738 ) (9 ) Impairments (3,645 ) (5,201 ) Modco trading portfolio (84,709 ) 18,552 Other investments 3,113 (5,192 ) Total realized gains (losses) - investments $ (91,196 ) $ 17,640 (1) Beginning in the three month period ending March 31, 2018, all changes in the fair market value of equity securities are recorded as a realized gains (loss) as a result of the adoption of ASU No. 2016-01. Gross realized gains and gross realized losses on investments available-for-sale (fixed maturities and short-term investments) are as follows: For The 2018 2017 (Dollars In Thousands) Gross realized gains $ 8,049 $ 10,738 Gross realized losses: Impairment losses $ (3,645 ) $ (5,201 ) Other realized losses $ (5,267 ) $ (1,257 ) The chart below summarizes the fair value (proceeds) and the gains (losses) realized on securities the Company sold that were in an unrealized gain position and an unrealized loss position. For The 2018 2017 (Dollars In Thousands) Securities in an unrealized gain position: Fair value (proceeds) $ 142,133 $ 169,134 Gains realized $ 8,049 $ 10,738 Securities in an unrealized loss position (1) : Fair value (proceeds) $ 56,984 $ 12,452 Losses realized $ (5,267 ) $ (1,257 ) (1) The Company made the decision to exit these holdings in conjunction with its overall asset liability management process. The chart below summarizes the realized gains (losses) on equity securities sold during the period and equity securities still held at the reporting date. For The 2018 (Dollars In Thousands) Net gains (losses) recognized during the period on equity securities $ (8,738 ) Less: net gains (losses) recognized on equity securities sold during the period $ (1,702 ) Gains (losses) recognized during the period on equity securities still held $ (7,036 ) The amortized cost and fair value of the Company’s investments classified as available-for-sale are as follows: As of March 31, 2018 Amortized Gross Gross Fair Total OTTI (1) (Dollars In Thousands) Fixed maturities: Residential mortgage-backed securities $ 2,421,346 $ 11,722 $ (47,411 ) $ 2,385,657 $ 14 Commercial mortgage-backed securities 1,869,751 574 (57,586 ) 1,812,739 — Other asset-backed securities 1,238,929 15,376 (9,653 ) 1,244,652 — U.S. government-related securities 1,377,633 168 (50,001 ) 1,327,800 — Other government-related securities 280,677 6,407 (11,626 ) 275,458 — States, municipals, and political subdivisions 1,767,604 6,162 (73,487 ) 1,700,279 — Corporate securities 29,324,542 259,633 (1,185,858 ) 28,398,317 — Redeemable preferred stock 94,362 336 (4,129 ) 90,569 — 38,374,844 300,378 (1,439,751 ) 37,235,471 14 Short-term investments 165,481 — — 165,481 — $ 38,540,325 $ 300,378 $ (1,439,751 ) $ 37,400,952 $ 14 As of December 31, 2017 Amortized Gross Gross Fair Total OTTI (1) (Dollars In Thousands) Fixed maturities: Residential mortgage-backed securities $ 2,321,811 $ 19,412 $ (22,730 ) $ 2,318,493 $ 10 Commercial mortgage-backed securities 1,885,109 4,931 (29,552 ) 1,860,488 — Other asset-backed securities 1,234,376 20,936 (5,763 ) 1,249,549 — U.S. government-related securities 1,255,244 185 (32,177 ) 1,223,252 — Other government-related securities 280,780 9,401 (4,948 ) 285,233 — States, municipals, and political subdivisions 1,770,299 16,959 (45,613 ) 1,741,645 (37 ) Corporate securities 29,446,365 618,582 (527,401 ) 29,537,546 (1 ) Redeemable preferred stock 94,362 232 (3,503 ) 91,091 — 38,288,346 690,638 (671,687 ) 38,307,297 (28 ) Equity securities 696,706 22,319 (8,771 ) 710,254 — Short-term investments 470,883 — — 470,883 — $ 39,455,935 $ 712,957 $ (680,458 ) $ 39,488,434 $ (28 ) (1) These amounts are included in the gross unrealized gains and gross unrealized losses columns above. The fair value of the Company's investments classified as trading are as follows: As of March 31, 2018 As of December 31, 2017 (Dollars In Thousands) Fixed maturities: Residential mortgage-backed securities $ 265,547 $ 259,694 Commercial mortgage-backed securities 146,633 146,804 Other asset-backed securities 129,714 138,097 U.S. government-related securities 37,575 27,234 Other government-related securities 40,368 63,925 States, municipals, and political subdivisions 318,142 326,925 Corporate securities 1,645,899 1,698,183 Redeemable preferred stock 3,264 3,327 2,587,142 2,664,189 Equity securities 5,366 5,244 Short-term investments 70,491 56,261 $ 2,662,999 $ 2,725,694 The amortized cost and fair value of available-for-sale and held-to-maturity fixed maturities as of March 31, 2018 , by expected maturity, are shown below. Expected maturities of securities without a single maturity date are allocated based on estimated rates of prepayment that may differ from actual rates of prepayment. Available-for-sale Held-to-maturity Amortized Cost Fair Value Amortized Cost Fair Value (Dollars In Thousands) Due in one year or less $ 909,921 $ 906,744 $ — $ — Due after one year through five years 7,011,907 6,900,780 — — Due after five years through ten years 6,730,814 6,573,090 — — Due after ten years 23,722,202 22,854,858 2,699,826 2,674,129 $ 38,374,844 $ 37,235,472 $ 2,699,826 $ 2,674,129 The charts below summarizes the Company's other-than-temporary impairments of investments. All of the impairments were related to fixed maturities. For The 2018 Fixed Maturities (Dollars In Thousands) Other-than-temporary impairments $ (691 ) Non-credit impairment losses recorded in other comprehensive income (2,954 ) Net impairment losses recognized in earnings $ (3,645 ) For The 2017 Fixed Maturities (Dollars In Thousands) Other-than-temporary impairments $ (95 ) Non-credit impairment losses recorded in other comprehensive income (5,106 ) Net impairment losses recognized in earnings $ (5,201 ) There were no other-than-temporary impairments related to fixed maturities or equity securities that the Company intended to sell or expected to be required to sell for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 . The following chart is a rollforward of available-for-sale credit losses on fixed maturities held by the Company for which a portion of an other-than-temporary impairment was recognized in other comprehensive income (loss): For The 2018 2017 (Dollars In Thousands) Beginning balance $ 3,268 $ 12,685 Additions for newly impaired securities — — Additions for previously impaired securities — — Reductions for previously impaired securities due to a change in expected cash flows (1,033 ) (12,685 ) Reductions for previously impaired securities that were sold in the current period — — Ending balance $ 2,235 $ — The following table includes the gross unrealized losses and fair value of the Company’s investments that are not deemed to be other-than-temporarily impaired, aggregated by investment category and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position as of March 31, 2018 : Less Than 12 Months 12 Months or More Total Fair Value Unrealized Loss Fair Value Unrealized Loss Fair Value Unrealized Loss (Dollars In Thousands) Residential mortgage-backed securities $ 1,425,844 $ (29,450 ) $ 387,102 $ (17,961 ) $ 1,812,946 $ (47,411 ) Commercial mortgage-backed securities 975,588 (24,006 ) 739,811 (33,580 ) 1,715,399 (57,586 ) Other asset-backed securities 143,917 (1,783 ) 129,840 (7,870 ) 273,757 (9,653 ) U.S. government-related securities 145,876 (3,108 ) 1,054,322 (46,893 ) 1,200,198 (50,001 ) Other government-related securities 90,010 (4,221 ) 112,461 (7,405 ) 202,471 (11,626 ) States, municipalities, and political subdivisions 505,864 (10,768 ) 1,007,246 (62,719 ) 1,513,110 (73,487 ) Corporate securities 12,227,650 (336,016 ) 10,395,469 (849,842 ) 22,623,119 (1,185,858 ) Redeemable preferred stock 57,050 (1,408 ) 22,859 (2,721 ) 79,909 (4,129 ) $ 15,571,799 $ (410,760 ) $ 13,849,110 $ (1,028,991 ) $ 29,420,909 $ (1,439,751 ) RMBS and CMBS had gross unrealized losses greater than twelve months of $18.0 million and $33.6 million , respectively, as of March 31, 2018 . Factors such as the credit enhancement within the deal structure, the average life of the securities, and the performance of the underlying collateral support the recoverability of these investments. The other asset-backed securities had a gross unrealized loss greater than twelve months of $7.9 million as of March 31, 2018 . This category predominately includes student loan backed auction rate securities whose underlying collateral is at least 97% guaranteed by the Federal Family Education Loan Program (“FFELP”). At this time, the Company has no reason to believe that the U.S. Department of Education would not honor the FFELP guarantee, if it were necessary. The U.S. government-related securities and the other government-related securities had gross unrealized losses greater than twelve months of $46.9 million and $7.4 million as of March 31, 2018 , respectively. These declines were related to changes in interest rates. The states, municipalities, and political subdivisions category had gross unrealized losses greater than twelve months of $62.7 million as of March 31, 2018 . These declines were related to changes in interest rates. The corporate securities category had gross unrealized losses greater than twelve months of $849.8 million as of March 31, 2018 . The aggregate decline in market value of these securities was deemed temporary due to positive factors supporting the recoverability of the respective investments. Positive factors considered include credit ratings, the financial health of the issuer, the continued access of the issuer to capital markets, and other pertinent information As of March 31, 2018 , the Company had a total of 2,428 positions that were in an unrealized loss position, but the Company does not consider these unrealized loss positions to be other-than-temporary. This is based on the aggregate factors discussed previously and because the Company has the ability and intent to hold these investments until the fair values recover, and the Company does not intend to sell or expect to be required to sell the securities before recovering the Company’s amortized cost of the securities. The following table includes the gross unrealized losses and fair value of the Company’s investments that are not deemed to be other-than-temporarily impaired, aggregated by investment category and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position as of December 31, 2017 : Less Than 12 Months 12 Months or More Total Fair Value Unrealized Loss Fair Value Unrealized Loss Fair Value Unrealized Loss (Dollars In Thousands) Residential mortgage-backed securities $ 765,641 $ (9,666 ) $ 408,460 $ (13,064 ) $ 1,174,101 $ (22,730 ) Commercial mortgage-backed securities 750,643 (8,521 ) 779,086 (21,031 ) 1,529,729 (29,552 ) Other asset-backed securities 86,506 (322 ) 134,316 (5,441 ) 220,822 (5,763 ) U.S. government-related securities 94,110 (688 ) 1,072,232 (31,489 ) 1,166,342 (32,177 ) Other government-related securities 24,830 (169 ) 115,294 (4,779 ) 140,124 (4,948 ) States, municipalities, and political subdivisions 170,268 (1,738 ) 1,027,747 (43,875 ) 1,198,015 (45,613 ) Corporate securities 5,026,417 (55,649 ) 10,947,027 (471,752 ) 15,973,444 (527,401 ) Redeemable preferred stock 22,048 (1,120 ) 23,197 (2,383 ) 45,245 (3,503 ) Equities 86,194 (1,400 ) 91,195 (7,371 ) 177,389 (8,771 ) $ 7,026,657 $ (79,273 ) $ 14,598,554 $ (601,185 ) $ 21,625,211 $ (680,458 ) RMBS and CMBS had gross unrealized losses greater than twelve months of $13.1 million and $21.0 million , respectively, as of December 31, 2017 . Factors such as the credit enhancement within the deal structure, the average life of the securities, and the performance of the underlying collateral support the recoverability of these investments. The other asset-backed securities had a gross unrealized loss greater than twelve months of $5.4 million as of December 31, 2017 . This category predominately includes student loan backed auction rate securities whose underlying collateral is at least 97% guaranteed by the FFELP. At this time, the Company has no reason to believe that the U.S. Department of Education would not honor the FFELP guarantee, if it were necessary. The U.S. government-related securities and other government-related securities had gross unrealized losses greater than twelve months of $31.5 million and $4.8 million as of December 31, 2017, respectively. These declines were related to changes in interest rates. The states, municipalities, and political subdivisions category had gross unrealized losses greater than twelve months of $43.9 million as of December 31, 2017 . These declines were related to changes in interest rates. The corporate securities category had gross unrealized losses greater than twelve months of $471.8 million as of December 31, 2017 . The aggregate decline in market value of these securities was deemed temporary due to positive factors supporting the recoverability of the respective investments. Positive factors considered include credit ratings, the financial health of the issuer, the continued access of the issuer to capital markets, and other pertinent information. As of March 31, 2018 , the Company had securities in its available-for-sale portfolio which were rated below investment grade of $1.8 billion and had an amortized cost of $1.8 billion . In addition, included in the Company’s trading portfolio, the Company held $217.2 million of securities which were rated below investment grade. Approximately $306.5 million of the available-for-sale and trading securities tha t were below investment grade were not publicly traded. The change in unrealized gains (losses), net of income tax, on fixed matur ities, classified as available-for-sale is summarized as follows: For The 2018 2017 (Dollars In Thousands) Fixed maturities $ (915,075 ) $ 223,348 The amortized cost and fair value of the Company’s investments classified as held-to-maturity as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , are as follows: As of March 31, 2018 Amortized Gross Holding Gross Holding Fair Total OTTI (Dollars In Thousands) Fixed maturities: Securities issued by affiliates: Red Mountain LLC $ 718,826 $ — $ (56,007 ) $ 662,819 $ — Steel City LLC 1,981,000 30,310 — 2,011,310 — $ 2,699,826 $ 30,310 $ (56,007 ) $ 2,674,129 $ — As of December 31, 2017 Amortized Gross Gross Fair Total OTTI (Dollars In Thousands) Fixed maturities: Securities issued by affiliates: Red Mountain LLC $ 704,904 $ — $ (19,163 ) $ 685,741 $ — Steel City LLC 2,014,000 76,586 — 2,090,586 — $ 2,718,904 $ 76,586 $ (19,163 ) $ 2,776,327 $ — During the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 , the Company recorded no other-than-temporary impairments on held-to-maturity securities. The Company’s held-to-maturity securi ties had $30.3 million of gross unrecognized holding gains and $56.0 million of gross unrecognized holding losses by maturity as of March 31, 2018 . The Company does not consider these unrecognized holding losses to be other-than-temporary based on certain positive factors associated with the securities which include credit ratings of the guarantor, financial health of the issuer and guarantor, continued access of the issuer to capital markets and other pertinent information. These held-to-maturity securities are issued by affiliates of the Company which are considered variable interest entities ("VIE's"). The Company is not the primary beneficiary of these entities and thus the securities are not eliminated in consolidation. These securities are collateralized by non-recourse funding obligations issued by captive insurance companies that are affiliates of the Company. The Company’s held-to-maturity securities had $76.6 million of gross unrecognized holding gains and $19.2 million of gross unrecognized holding losses by maturity as of December 31, 2017. The Company does not consider these unrecognized holding losses to be other-than-temporary based on certain positive factors associated with the securities which include credit ratings of the guarantor, financial health of the issuer and guarantor, continued access of the issuer to capital markets and other pertinent information. Variable Interest Entities The Company holds certain investments in entities in which its ownership interests could possibly be considered variable interests under Topic 810 of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standard Codification (“ASC” or “Codification”) (excluding debt and equity securities held as trading, available for sale, or held to maturity). The Company reviews the characteristics of each of these applicable entities and compares those characteristics to applicable criteria to determine whether the entity is a VIE. If the entity is determined to be a VIE, the Company then performs a detailed review to determine whether the interest would be considered a variable interest under the guidance. The Company then performs a qualitative review of all variable interests with the entity and determines whether the Company is the primary beneficiary. ASC 810 provides that an entity is the primary beneficiary of a VIE if the entity has 1) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance, and 2) the obligation to absorb losses of the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE or the right to receive benefits from the entity that could potentially be significant to the VIE. Based on this analysis, the Company had an interest in one wholly owned subsidiary, Red Mountain, LLC ("Red Mountain") as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 , that was determined to be a VIE. The activity most significant to Red Mountain is the issuance of a note in connection with a financing transaction involving Golden Gate V Vermont Captive Insurance Company (“Golden Gate V”) and the Company in which Golden Gate V issued non-recourse funding obligations to Red Mountain and Red Mountain issued the note to Golden Gate V. Credit enhancement on the Red Mountain Note is provided by an unrelated third party. The Company had the power, via its 100% ownership through an affiliate, to direct the activities of the VIE, but did not have the obligation to absorb losses related to the primary risks or sources of variability to the VIE. The variability of loss would be borne primarily by the third party in its function as provider of credit enhancement on the Red Mountain Note. Accordingly, it was determined that the Company is not the primary beneficiary of the VIE. The Company’s risk of loss related to the VIE is limited to its investment of $10,000 . Additionally, the Company has guaranteed Red Mountain’s payment obligation for the credit enhancement fee to the unrelated third party provider. As of March 31, 2018 , no payments have been made or required related to this guarantee. |