Investments

The following table presents the details of our investments:



	September 30, 2018		December 31, 2017
	(in millions)
Trading securities	$	202	$	221
Available-for-sale investment securities	—		14
Financial investments, at fair value	$	202	$	235

Equity method investments	$	131	$	131
Equity securities	$	76	$	152

Financial Investments, at Fair Value

Trading Securities

Trading securities, which are included in financial investments, at fair value in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, are primarily comprised of highly rated European government debt securities, of which $174 million as of September 30, 2018 and $160 million as of December 31, 2017, are assets utilized to meet regulatory capital requirements, primarily for our clearing operations at Nasdaq Clearing.

Available-for-Sale Investment Securities

As of December 31, 2017, available-for-sale investment securities, which are included in financial investments, at fair value in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, were primarily comprised of commercial paper debt securities. As of December 31, 2017, the cumulative unrealized gains and losses on these securities were immaterial.

Equity Method Investments

As of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, our equity method investments primarily included equity interests in OCC and EuroCCP N.V.

The carrying amounts of our equity method investments are included in other non-current assets in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Net income recognized from our equity interest in the earnings and losses of these equity method investments was $6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018, $4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017, $13 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018, and $10 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.

Capital Contribution to OCC

In March 2015, OCC implemented a capital plan under which the options exchanges that are OCC’s stockholders contributed $150 million of new equity capital to OCC, committed to make future replenishment capital contributions under certain circumstances, and received commitments regarding future dividend payments and related matters. See “Other Commitments,” of Note 16, “Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees,” for further discussion of our commitment to make future replenishment capital contributions. Nasdaq and ISE each contributed $30 million of new equity capital under the OCC capital plan. OCC adopted specific policies with respect to fees, customer refunds and stockholder dividends, which envision an annual dividend equal to the portion of OCC’s after-tax income that exceeds OCC’s capital requirements after payment of refunds to OCC’s clearing members (such refunds are generally 50% of the portion of OCC’s pre-tax income that exceeds OCC’s capital requirements). In February 2016, the SEC approved the OCC capital plan and certain industry participants appealed that approval in the Federal Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals denied a requested stay, permitting OCC to pay a dividend which Nasdaq received in February 2016. In August 2017, the Court of Appeals remanded the case to the SEC for further examination of the record and an independent assessment by the SEC of the evidence OCC submitted. The Court directed that the SEC approval of the OCC capital plan remain in place during the SEC’s examination unless the SEC determined not to preserve it. The SEC has allowed OCC to preserve the capital plan, and in September 2018 and 2017, OCC disbursed annual dividends. Nasdaq, as the owner of two shares, received $13 million in 2018 and $10 million in 2017. There has been no final ruling by the SEC at this time, and there is no deadline for the SEC to issue its ruling.

Equity Securities

The carrying amounts of our equity securities are included in other non-current assets in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. As of September 30, 2018, our equity securities primarily represent our 5% ownership interest in LCH. As of December 31, 2017, our equity securities primarily represented our 5% ownership in Borsa Istanbul and our 5% ownership interest in LCH. For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, no impairment charges were recorded on our equity securities and there were no upward or downward adjustments recorded.

The Borsa Istanbul shares, which were issued to us in the first quarter of 2014, were part of the consideration received under a market technology agreement. This investment had a carrying amount of $75 million which was guaranteed to us via a put option negotiated as part of the market technology agreement. During the second quarter of 2018, we exercised the put option and we expect to receive cash consideration in installments through 2022.

In October 2018, we entered into an agreement to sell our ownership interest in LCH. See “Sale of Equity Security,” of Note 19, “Subsequent Events,” for further discussion.