5. Auction Rate Securities

Our ARS investments have failed to settle in auctions and are not liquid. In the event we need to access these funds prior to their maturity, we will not be able to do so without a loss of principal, unless redeemed by the issuers or a future auction on these investments is successful. During the three months ended September 30, 2013, none of our ARS investments were redeemed.

As there are currently no active markets for our various failed ARS investments, we have estimated the fair value as of September 30, 2013 using a trinomial discounted cash flow analysis. The analysis considered, among others, the following factors:

•

the collateral underlying the security investments;

•

the creditworthiness of the counterparty;

•

the timing of expected future cash flows;

•

the probability of a successful auction in a future period;

•

the underlying structure of each investment;

•

the present value of future principal and interest payments discounted at rates considered to reflect current market conditions;

•

a consideration of the probabilities of default, passing a future auction, or redemption at par for each period; and

•

estimates of the recovery rates in the event of default for each investment.

When possible, our failed ARS investments were compared to other observable market data or securities with similar characteristics. Our estimate of the fair value of our ARS investments could change materially from period to period based on future market conditions.

Contractual maturities for our ARS investments are generally greater than five years, with fair value of $12.4 million maturing from calendar years 2015 to 2017, $3.1 million maturing from calendar years 2043 to 2045, and $2.0 million having no maturity date. Of our ARS investments, $5.5 million par value are investment grade, and the remaining $18.5 million par value are below investment grade.

The various types of ARS investments we held as of September 30, 2013, including the original cost basis, other-than-temporary impairment included in retained earnings, new cost basis, unrealized gain/(loss), and fair value, consisted of the following (in thousands):


			Other-than-
			temporary
	Original Cost		Impairment in			New Cost		Unrealized			Fair
	Basis		Retained Earnings			Basis		Gain/(Loss)			Value
Student loans	$	3,500	$	(179	)	$	3,321	$	(172	)	$	3,149
Credit linked notes		13,500		(8,352	)(1)		5,148		5,318			10,466
Preferred stock		5,000		(5,000	)		—		2,000			2,000
Municipals		2,000		(83	)		1,917		4			1,921

Total ARS	$	24,000	$	(13,614	)	$	10,386	$	7,150		$	17,536

(1)	Other-than-temporary impairment in retained earnings is partially offset by cumulative accretion of $415,000 on non-current investments. Accretion is reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income and recorded in the condensed consolidated statements of income as non-cash interest income.

The various types of ARS investments we held as of June 30, 2013, including the original cost basis, other-than-temporary impairment included in retained earnings, new cost basis, unrealized gain/(loss), and fair value, consisted of the following (in thousands):


			Other-than-
			temporary
	Original Cost		Impairment in			New Cost		Unrealized			Fair
	Basis		Retained Earnings			Basis		Gain/(Loss)			Value
Student loans	$	3,500	$	(179	)	$	3,321	$	(168	)	$	3,153
Credit linked notes		13,500		(8,571	)(1)		4,929		4,980			9,909
Preferred stock		5,000		(5,000	)		—		2,000			2,000
Municipals		2,000		(83	)		1,917		(10	)		1,907

Total ARS	$	24,000	$	(13,833	)	$	10,167	$	6,802		$	16,969

(1)	Other-than-temporary impairment in retained earnings is partially offset by cumulative accretion of $196,000 on non-current investments. Accretion is reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income and recorded in the condensed consolidated statements of income as non-cash interest income.

The ARS investments in each of the above tables with unrealized losses have been in a continuous unrealized loss position for more than 12 months.

We have accounted for all of our ARS investments as non-current as we are not able to reasonably determine when the ARS markets will recover or be restructured. Based on our ability to access our cash and cash equivalents, our expected operating cash flows, and our other sources of cash, we do not intend to sell the investments, and it is not more likely than not that we will be required to sell the investments before the recovery of the amortized cost basis. We will continue to monitor our ARS investments and evaluate our accounting for these investments quarterly.