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Variable Interest Entities
9 Months Ended
Aug. 31, 2025
Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures [Abstract]  
Variable Interest Entities Note 10. Variable Interest Entities
VIEs are entities in which equity investors lack the characteristics
of a controlling financial interest. VIEs are consolidated by the
primary beneficiary. The primary beneficiary is the party who has
both (1) the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most
significantly impact the entity’s economic performance and (2)
an obligation to absorb losses of the entity or a right to receive
benefits from the entity that could potentially be significant to the
entity.
Our variable interests in VIEs include debt and equity interests,
commitments, guarantees and certain fees. Our involvement with
VIEs arises primarily from:
Purchases of securities in connection with our trading and
secondary market making activities;
Retained interests held as a result of securitization activities;
Acting as placement agent and/or underwriter in connection
with client-sponsored securitizations;
Financing of agency and non-agency mortgage-backed and
other asset-backed securities;
Acting as servicer for a fee to automobile loan financing
vehicles;
Warehouse funding arrangements for client-sponsored
consumer and mortgage loan vehicles and CLOs through
participation agreements, forward sale agreements, reverse
repurchase agreements, and revolving loan and note
commitments; and
Loans to, investments in and fees from various investment
vehicles.
We determine whether we are the primary beneficiary of a VIE
upon our initial involvement with the VIE and we reassess
whether we are the primary beneficiary of a VIE on an ongoing
basis. Our determination of whether we are the primary
beneficiary of a VIE is based upon the facts and circumstances
for each VIE and requires judgment. Our considerations in
determining the VIE’s most significant activities and whether we
have power to direct those activities include, but are not limited
to, the VIE’s purpose and design and the risks passed through to
investors, the voting interests of the VIE, management, service
and/or other agreements of the VIE, involvement in the VIE’s
initial design and the existence of explicit or implicit financial
guarantees. In situations where we have determined that the
power over the VIE’s significant activities is shared, we assess
whether we are the party with the power over the most significant
activities. If we are the party with the power over the most
significant activities, we meet the “power” criteria of the primary
beneficiary. If we do not have the power over the most significant
activities or we determine that decisions require consent of each
sharing party, we do not meet the “power” criteria of the primary
beneficiary.
We assess our variable interests in a VIE both individually and in
aggregate to determine whether we have an obligation to absorb
losses of or a right to receive benefits from the VIE that could
potentially be significant to the VIE. The determination of whether
our variable interest is significant to the VIE requires judgment. In
determining the significance of our variable interest, we consider
the terms, characteristics and size of the variable interests, the
design and characteristics of the VIE, our involvement in the VIE
and our market-making activities related to the variable interests.
Consolidated VIEs:
August 31, 2025 (1)
$ in millions
Secured
Funding
Vehicles
Other
Cash ...................................................................................
$
$2.1
Financial instruments owned ........................................
64.5
Securities purchased under agreements to resell (2)
3,196.0
Receivables from brokers (3) .........................................
22.2
Other receivables .............................................................
1.7
3.0
Other assets (4) ...............................................................
87.6
Total assets ......................................................................
$3,197.7
$179.4
Financial instruments sold, not yet purchased ...........
$
$6.5
Other secured financings (5) .........................................
3,195.8
25.7
Other liabilities (6) ...........................................................
6.2
28.9
Long-term debt ................................................................
70.1
Total liabilities .................................................................
$3,202.0
$131.2
November 30, 2024 (1)
$ in millions
Secured
Funding
Vehicles
Other
Cash ...................................................................................
$
$1.6
Financial instruments owned .........................................
40.0
Securities purchased under agreements to resell (2)
2,829.7
Receivables from brokers (3) .........................................
23.5
Other receivables .............................................................
3.0
Other assets (4) ...............................................................
90.3
Total assets ......................................................................
$2,829.7
$158.4
Financial instruments sold, not yet purchased ...........
$
$7.6
Other secured financings (5) .........................................
2,823.0
26.1
Other liabilities (6) ...........................................................
6.7
23.1
Long-term debt ................................................................
70.1
Total liabilities .................................................................
$2,829.7
$126.9
(1)Assets and liabilities are presented prior to consolidation and thus a portion of
these assets and liabilities are eliminated in consolidation.
(2)Securities purchased under agreements to resell primarily represent amounts
due under collateralized transactions from related consolidated entities, which
are all eliminated in consolidation.
(3)$0.5 million and $1.5 million of receivables from brokers at August 31, 2025
and November 30, 2024, respectively, are with related consolidated entities,
which are eliminated in consolidation.
(4)$3.3 million and $3.4 million of the other assets at August 31, 2025 and
November 30, 2024, respectively, represent intercompany receivables with
related consolidated entities, which are eliminated in consolidation.
(5)$713.5 million and $719.0 million of the other secured financings at
August 31, 2025 and November 30, 2024, respectively, are with related
consolidated entities and are eliminated in consolidation.
(6)$27.6 million and $22.0 million of the other liabilities amounts at August 31,
2025 and November 30, 2024, respectively, are with related consolidated
entities, which are eliminated in consolidation.
Secured Funding Vehicles. We are the primary beneficiary of
asset-backed financing vehicles to which we sell agency and non-
agency residential and commercial mortgage loans, and asset-
backed securities pursuant to the terms of a master repurchase
agreement. Our variable interests in these vehicles consist of our
collateral margin maintenance obligations under the master
repurchase agreement, which we manage, and retained interests
in securities issued. The assets of these VIEs consist of reverse
repurchase agreements, which are available for the benefit of the
vehicle’s debt holders. In addition, we also from time to time
securitize other financial instruments and own variable interests
in the securitization vehicles to the extent that we consolidate
such vehicles.
Other. We are the primary beneficiary of certain investment
vehicles that we manage for external investors and certain
investment vehicles set up for the benefit of our employees as
well as investment vehicles managed by third parties where we
have a controlling financial interest. The assets of these VIEs
consist primarily of equity securities and broker receivables. Our
variable interests in these vehicles consist of equity securities,
management and performance fees and revenue share. The
creditors of these VIEs do not have recourse to our general credit
and each such VIE’s assets are not available to satisfy any other
debt.
We are the primary beneficiary of a real estate syndication entity
that develops multi-family residential property and manages the
property. The assets of the VIE consist primarily of real estate
and its liabilities primarily consist of accrued expenses and long-
term debt secured by the real estate property. Our variable
interest in the VIE primarily consists of our limited liability
company interest, a sponsor promote and development and
asset management fees for managing the project.
We are the primary beneficiary of special purpose vehicles that
hold risk retention notes issued as part of unsecured loan asset-
backed transactions. Our variable interest in the VIEs primarily
consists of our ownership of certificates issued by the VIEs.
Nonconsolidated VIEs
August 31, 2025
Carrying Amount
Maximum
Exposure to
Loss
VIE Assets
$ in millions
Assets
Liabilities
CLOs ......................................
$716.9
$41.3
$7,295.8
$15,893.2
Asset-backed vehicles ........
987.4
1,249.7
4,917.3
Related party private equity
vehicles ............................
3.9
15.0
51.0
Other investment vehicles ..
1,468.4
1,850.2
28,117.2
Total .......................................
$3,176.6
$41.3
$10,410.7
$48,978.7
November 30, 2024
Carrying Amount
Maximum
Exposure to
Loss
VIE Assets
$ in millions
Assets
Liabilities
CLOs ......................................
$951.8
$26.5
$6,511.1
$14,872.4
Asset-backed vehicles ........
827.4
946.3
4,266.7
Related party private equity
vehicles ............................
3.7
14.0
34.4
Other investment vehicles ..
1,107.8
1,365.8
19,064.1
Total .......................................
$2,890.7
$26.5
$8,837.2
$38,237.6
Our maximum exposure to loss often differs from the carrying
value of the variable interests. The maximum exposure to loss is
dependent on the nature of our variable interests in the VIEs and
is limited to the notional amounts of certain loan and equity
commitments and guarantees. Our maximum exposure to loss
does not include the offsetting benefit of any financial
instruments that may be utilized to hedge the risks associated
with our variable interests and is not reduced by the amount of
collateral held as part of a transaction with a VIE.
Collateralized Loan Obligations. Assets collateralizing the CLOs
include bank loans, participation interests, sub-investment grade
and senior secured U.S. loans, and senior secured Euro-
denominated corporate leveraged loans and bonds. We
underwrite securities issued in CLO transactions on behalf of
sponsors and provide advisory services to the sponsors. We may
also sell corporate loans to the CLOs. Our variable interests in
connection with CLOs where we have been involved in providing
underwriting and/or advisory services consist of the following:
Forward sale agreements whereby we commit to sell, at a fixed
price, corporate loans and ownership interests in an entity
holding such corporate loans to CLOs;
Warehouse funding arrangements in the form of:
Participation interests in corporate loans held by CLOs and
commitments to fund such participation interests;
Reverse repurchase agreements with collateral margin
maintenance obligations and commitments to fund such
reverse repurchase agreements; and
Senior and subordinated notes issued in connection with
CLO warehousing activities.
Trading positions in securities issued in CLO transactions; and
Investments in variable funding notes issued by CLOs.
Asset-Backed Vehicles. We provide financing and lending related
services to certain client-sponsored VIEs in the form of revolving
funding note agreements, revolving credit facilities, forward
purchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements. We
also may transfer originated corporate loans to certain VIEs and
hold subordinated interests issued by the vehicle. The underlying
assets, which are collateralizing the vehicles, are primarily
composed of unsecured consumer loans, mortgage loans and
corporate loans. In addition, we may provide structuring and
advisory services and act as an underwriter or placement agent
for securities issued by the vehicles. We do not control the
activities of these entities.
Related Party Private Equity Vehicles. We have committed to
invest in private equity funds, which are in the process of being
fully liquidated (the “JCP Funds”, including JCP Fund V (refer to
Note 11, Investments for further information)), managed by
Jefferies Capital Partners, LLC (the “JCP Manager”). Additionally,
we have committed to invest in the general partners of the JCP
Funds (the “JCP General Partners”) and the JCP Manager. Our
variable interests in the JCP Funds, JCP General Partners and
JCP Manager (collectively, the “JCP Entities”) consist of equity
interests that, in total, provide us with limited and general partner
investment returns of the JCP Funds, a portion of the carried
interest earned by the JCP General Partners and a portion of the
management fees earned by the JCP Manager. At both
August 31, 2025 and November 30, 2024, our total equity
commitment in the JCP Entities was $133.0 million, of which
$123.2 million had been funded. The carrying value of our equity
investments in the JCP Entities was $3.3 million and $3.2 million
at August 31, 2025 and November 30, 2024, respectively. Our
exposure to loss is limited to the total of our carrying value and
unfunded equity commitment. The assets of the JCP Entities
primarily consist of private equity and equity related investments.
At both August 31, 2025 and November 30, 2024, we had also
committed to invest $1.0 million, of which $0.6 million was
funded in a private equity fund managed by us for the benefit of
our employees. The carrying value of our equity was $0.6 million
and $0.5 million at August 31, 2025 and November 30, 2024,
respectively.
Other Investment Vehicles. At August 31, 2025 and November 30,
2024, we had equity commitments to invest $1.77 billion and
$1.43 billion, respectively, in various other investment vehicles, of
which $1.39 billion and $1.17 billion was funded, respectively.
The carrying value of our equity investments was $1.47 billion
and $1.11 billion at August 31, 2025 and November 30, 2024,
respectively. Our exposure to loss is limited to the total of our
carrying value and unfunded equity commitment. These
investment vehicles have assets primarily consisting of private
and public equity investments, debt instruments, trade and
insurance claims and various oil and gas assets.
Mortgage-Backed and Other Asset-Backed Secured Funding
Vehicles. In connection with our secondary trading and market-
making activities, we buy and sell agency and non-agency
mortgage-backed securities and other asset-backed securities,
which are issued by third-party securitization SPEs and are
generally considered variable interests in VIEs. Securities issued
by securitization SPEs are backed by residential mortgage loans,
U.S. agency collateralized mortgage obligations, commercial
mortgage loans, CDOs and CLOs and other consumer loans, such
as installment receivables, automobile loans and student loans.
These securities are accounted for at fair value and included in
Financial instruments owned. We have no other involvement with
the related SPEs and therefore do not consolidate these entities.
We also engage in underwriting, placement and structuring
activities for third-party-sponsored securitization trusts generally
through agency (Fannie Mae, Federal Home Loan Mortgage
Corporation (“Freddie Mac”) or Ginnie Mae) or non-agency-
sponsored SPEs and may purchase loans or mortgage-backed
securities from third-parties that are subsequently transferred
into the securitization trusts. The securitizations are backed by
residential and commercial mortgage, home equity and
automobile loans. We do not consolidate agency-sponsored
securitizations as we do not have the power to direct the
activities of the SPEs that most significantly impact their
economic performance. Further, we are not the servicer of non-
agency-sponsored securitizations and therefore do not have
power to direct the most significant activities of the SPEs and
accordingly, do not consolidate these entities. We may retain
unsold senior and/or subordinated interests at the time of
securitization in the form of securities issued by the SPEs.
At August 31, 2025 and November 30, 2024, we held $1.16 billion
and $1.84 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities,
respectively, and $189.8 million and $201.1 million of non-agency
mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities, respectively,
as a result of our secondary trading and market-making activities,
and underwriting, placement and structuring activities. Our
maximum exposure to loss on these securities is limited to the
carrying value of our investments in these securities. These
mortgage-backed and other asset-backed secured funding
vehicles discussed are not included in the above table containing
information about our variable interests in nonconsolidated VIEs.