3. Investments

A summary of the carrying value of total investments is as follows:

(in millions)	December 31, 2015		December 31, 2014
Available-for-sale investments	$	44	$	201
Held-to-maturity investments		108		79
Trading investments:
Consolidated sponsored investment funds		700		443
Other equity and debt securities		20		29
Deferred compensation plan mutual funds		65		64
Total trading investments		785		536
Other investments:
Consolidated sponsored investment funds		-		270
Equity method investments		513		633
Deferred compensation plan equity method investments		14		21
Cost method investments⁽¹⁾		95		96
Carried interest		19		85
Total other investments		641		1,105
Total investments	$	1,578	$	1,921

(1)	Amounts primarily include Federal Reserve Bank (“FRB”) Stock.

Available-for-Sale Investments

A summary of the cost and carrying value of investments classified as available-for-sale investments is as follows:

(in millions)			Gross Unrealized					Carrying
	Cost		Gains		Losses			Value
December 31, 2015	$	45	$	2	$	(3	)	$	44

December 31, 2014	$	205	$	5	$	(9	)	$	201

At December 31, 2015 available-for-sale investments primarily included investments in CLOs. At December 31, 2014, available-for-sale investments primarily included seed investment in BlackRock sponsored mutual funds.

A summary of sale activity of available-for-sale securities during 2015, 2014 and 2013 is shown below.

	Year ended December 31,
(in millions)	2015			2014			2013
Sales proceeds	$	36		$	155		$	139
Net realized gain (loss):
Gross realized gains	$	3		$	14		$	20
Gross realized losses		(1	)		(3	)		(1	)
Net realized gain (loss)	$	2		$	11		$	19

Held-to-Maturity Investments

The carrying value of held-to-maturity investments was $108 million and $79 million at December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Held-to-maturity investments included foreign government debt held primarily for regulatory purposes. The amortized cost (carrying value) of these investments approximated fair value. At December 31, 2015, $96 million of these investments mature in one year or less and $12 million mature after five years through ten years.

Trading Investments

A summary of the cost and carrying value of trading investments is as follows:

	December 31, 2015				December 31, 2014
(in millions)	Cost		Carrying Value		Cost		Carrying Value
Trading investments:
Deferred compensation plan mutual funds	$	48	$	65	$	48	$	64
Equity securities/multi-asset mutual funds	294		279			210		239
Debt securities/fixed income mutual funds:
Corporate debt	194		190			109		110
Government debt	202		202			100		103
Asset/mortgage backed debt	49		49			20		20
Total trading investments	$	787	$	785	$	487	$	536

At December 31, 2015, trading investments included $437 million of debt securities and $263 million of equity securities held by consolidated sponsored investment funds accounted for as VREs, $65 million of certain deferred compensation plan mutual fund investments and $20 million of other equity and debt securities.

At December 31, 2014, trading investments included $223 million of debt securities and $220 million of equity securities held by consolidated sponsored investment funds accounted for as VREs, $64 million of certain deferred compensation plan mutual fund investments and $29 million of other equity and debt securities.

Other Investments

A summary of the cost and carrying value of other investments is as follows:

	December 31, 2015				December 31, 2014
(in millions)	Cost		Carrying Value		Cost		Carrying Value
Other investments:
Consolidated sponsored investment funds accounted for as VREs	$	-	$	-	$	268	$	270
Equity method Investments	429		513			518		633
Deferred compensation plan equity method investments	14		14			21		21
Cost method investments:
Federal Reserve Bank stock	93		93			92		92
Other	2		2			4		4
Total cost method investments	95		95			96		96
Carried interest⁽¹⁾		—	19			—		85
Total other investments	$	538	$	641	$	903	$	1,105

(1)	Carried interest related to VREs.

At December 31, 2014, consolidated sponsored investment funds accounted for as VREs include third-party private equity funds, direct investments in private companies and third-party hedge funds held by BlackRock sponsored investment funds.

Equity method investments primarily include BlackRock’s direct investments in certain BlackRock sponsored investment funds. See Note 11, Other Assets, for more information on the Company’s investment in PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (“PennyMac”), which is included in other assets on the consolidated statements of financial condition.

Cost method investments include nonmarketable securities, primarily FRB stock, which is held for regulatory purposes and is restricted from sale. At December 31, 2015 and 2014, there were no indicators of impairment on these investments.

Carried interest represents allocations to BlackRock’s general partner capital accounts from certain funds. These balances are subject to change upon cash distributions, additional allocations or reallocations back to limited partners within the respective funds.