v3.20.4
Investments
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Investments Debt And Equity Securities [Abstract]  
Investments

5. Investments

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

 

(in millions)

 

December 31,

2020

 

 

December 31,

2019

 

Debt securities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Held-to-maturity investments

 

$

310

 

 

$

249

 

Trading securities

 

 

1,964

 

 

 

1,249

 

Total debt securities

 

 

2,274

 

 

 

1,498

 

Equity securities at FVTNI

 

 

2,317

 

 

 

1,926

 

Equity method investments(1)

 

 

1,081

 

 

 

943

 

Bank loans

 

 

248

 

 

 

204

 

Federal Reserve Bank stock(2)

 

 

94

 

 

 

93

 

Carried interest(3)

 

 

627

 

 

 

528

 

Other investments(4)

 

 

278

 

 

 

297

 

Total investments

 

$

6,919

 

 

$

5,489

 

 

(1)

Equity method investments primarily include BlackRock’s direct investments in certain BlackRock sponsored investment funds.

(2)

At both December 31, 2020 and 2019, there were no indicators of impairment of Federal Reserve Bank stock, which is held for regulatory purposes and is restricted from sale.  

(3)

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

(4)

Other investments include BlackRock’s investments in nonmarketable equity securities, which are measured at cost, adjusted for observable price changes and private equity and real asset investments of consolidated sponsored investment products measured at fair value.

 

Available-for-Sale Investments

A summary of sale activity of available-for-sale during 2020, 2019 and 2018 is shown below.

 

 

 

Year ended December 31,

 

(in millions)

 

2020

 

 

2019

 

 

2018

 

Sales proceeds

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

173

 

Net realized gain (loss):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross realized gains

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

Gross realized losses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net realized gain (loss)

 

$

 

 

$

 

 

$

 

There were no available-for-sale investments at both December 31, 2020 and 2019.

 

Held-to-Maturity Investments

The carrying value of held-to-maturity investments was $310 million and $249 million at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Held-to-maturity investments included certain investments in BlackRock sponsored CLOs and foreign government debt held primarily for regulatory purposes. The amortized cost (carrying value) of these investments approximated fair value (primarily a Level 2 input). At December 31, 2020, $11 million of these investments mature between one year to five years, $169 million of these investments mature between five years to ten years and $130 million mature after ten years.

Trading Debt Securities and Equity Securities at FVTNI

A summary of the cost and carrying value of trading debt securities and equity securities at FVTNI is as follows:

 

 

 

December 31, 2020

 

 

December 31, 2019

 

(in millions)

 

Cost

 

 

Carrying

Value

 

 

Cost

 

 

Carrying

Value

 

Trading debt securities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Corporate debt

 

$

1,591

 

 

$

1,641

 

 

$

822

 

 

$

844

 

Government debt

 

 

203

 

 

 

210

 

 

 

268

 

 

 

269

 

Asset/mortgage backed debt

 

 

132

 

 

 

113

 

 

 

141

 

 

 

136

 

Total trading debt securities

 

$

1,926

 

 

$

1,964

 

 

$

1,231

 

 

$

1,249

 

Equity securities at FVTNI:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equity securities/mutual funds

 

$

2,055

 

 

$

2,317

 

 

$

1,769

 

 

$

1,926

 

Total equity securities at FVTNI

 

$

2,055

 

 

$

2,317

 

 

$

1,769

 

 

$

1,926