6. 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 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:

	March 31,			December 31,
(in millions)	2018			2017
Assets of consolidated VIEs:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	103		$	144
Investments:
Trading debt securities		769			475
Equity securities at FVTNI		295			440
Other investments		300			312
Carried interest		273			266
Other assets		113			66
Total investments and other assets		1,750			1,559
Liabilities of consolidated VIEs		(425	)		(369	)
Noncontrolling interests		(518	)		(375	)
BlackRock's net interests in consolidated VIEs	$	910		$	959

Net gain (loss) related to consolidated VIEs is presented in the following table:

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
(in millions)	2018		2017

Nonoperating net gain (loss) on consolidated VIEs	$	2	$	33

Net income (loss) attributable to NCI on consolidated VIEs	$	5	$	8

Non-Consolidated VIEs. At March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, 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 March 31, 2018	Investments		Advisory Fee Receivables		Other Net Assets (Liabilities)			Maximum Risk of Loss⁽¹⁾
Sponsored investment products	$	342	$	30	$	(7	)	$	389
At December 31, 2017
Sponsored investment products	$	263	$	15	$	(7	)	$	295

⁽¹⁾	At both March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, 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 $6 billion and $5 billion at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively.