5. Variable Interest Entities

In the normal course of business, the Company is the manager of various types of sponsored investment vehicles, which may be considered variable interest entities (“VIEs”). The Company may from time to time own equity or debt securities or enter into derivatives with the vehicles, each of which are considered variable interests. The Company’s involvement in financing the operations of the VIEs is generally limited to its investments in the entity. The Company consolidates entities when it is determined to be the primary beneficiary (“PB”).

Consolidated VIEs. The Company’s consolidated VIEs include certain sponsored investment funds in which BlackRock has an investment and as the investment manager is deemed to have both the power to direct the most significant activities of the funds and the right to receive benefits (or the obligation to absorb losses) that could potentially be significant to these sponsored investment funds. The assets of these VIEs are not available to creditors of the Company. In addition, the investors in these VIEs have no recourse to the credit of the Company.

Consolidated VIE assets and liabilities are presented after intercompany eliminations in the following table:

	June 30,			December 31,
(in millions)	2017			2016
Assets of consolidated VIEs:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	74		$	84
Investments		1,194			1,008
Other assets		50			63
Total investments and other assets		1,244			1,071
Liabilities of consolidated VIEs		(295	)		(216	)
Noncontrolling interests		(255	)		(207	)
BlackRock's net interests in consolidated VIEs	$	768		$	732

The Company recorded a $33 million and a $66 million nonoperating net gain during the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, related to consolidated VIEs. The net gain attributable to noncontrolling interest was $12 million and $18 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017, respectively, related to consolidated VIEs.

The Company recorded a $13 million and a $15 million nonoperating net gain during the three and six months ended June 30, 2016, respectively, related to consolidated VIEs. The net gain attributable to noncontrolling interest was $3 million and the net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest was $3 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016, respectively, related to consolidated VIEs.

Non-Consolidated VIEs. At June 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company’s carrying value of assets and liabilities included on the condensed consolidated statements of financial condition pertaining to nonconsolidated VIEs and its maximum risk of loss related to VIEs for which it held a variable interest, but for which it was not the PB, was as follows:

(in millions)
At June 30, 2017	Investments		Advisory Fee Receivables		Other Net Assets (Liabilities)			Maximum Risk of Loss⁽¹⁾
Sponsored investment products	$	228	$	12	$	(7	)	$	257
At December 31, 2016
Sponsored investment products	$	171	$	9	$	(8	)	$	197

⁽¹⁾	At both June 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, BlackRock’s maximum risk of loss associated with these VIEs primarily related to BlackRock’s investments and the collection of advisory fee receivables.

The net assets of sponsored investment products that are nonconsolidated VIEs approximated $5 billion and $4 billion at June 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively.