Stock-Based Compensation Plans and Employee Benefits

On May 22, 2014, the Company's shareholders approved the 2013 Performance Incentive Plan ("iPIP") which is designed to provide, primarily to senior executives and select professionals engaged in the Company's investment activities, long-term compensation which has a direct relationship to the realized returns on investments included in the plan. In 2014, the Company granted 83 iPIP points for the initial 2013-2014 investment pool. All decisions regarding the granting of points under iPIP are made at the discretion of the Board of Directors or a committee of the Board of Directors. The fair value of points are determined using a model that forecasts the Company's projected investment performance. The payout of iPIP is based on the amount of invested capital, investment performance and the Company's total shareholder return, or TSR, as compared to the average TSR of the NAREIT All REIT Index and the Russell 2000 Index during the relevant performance period for the investments in each pool. The Company, as well as any companies not included in each index at the beginning and end of the performance period, are excluded from calculation of the performance of such index. Point holders will not receive a distribution until the Company has received a full return of its capital plus a preferred return distribution, which is based on a preferred return hurdle rate of 9% per annum. Subject to certain vesting and employment requirements, point holders will be paid a combination of cash and stock. iPIP is a liability-classified award which will be remeasured each reporting period at fair value until the awards are settled. Compensation costs relating to iPIP are included in "General and administrative" on the Company's Consolidated Statements of Operations.

The Company's shareholders approved the Company's 2009 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the "2009 LTIP") which is designed to provide incentive compensation for officers, key employees, directors and advisors of the Company. The 2009 LTIP provides for awards of stock options, shares of restricted stock, phantom shares, restricted stock units, dividend equivalent rights and other share-based performance awards. A maximum of 8,000,000 shares of Common Stock may be awarded under the 2009 LTIP, plus up to an additional 500,000 shares to the extent that a corresponding number of equity awards previously granted under the Company's 1996 Long-Term Incentive Plan expire or are canceled or forfeited. All awards under the 2009 LTIP are made at the discretion of the Board of Directors or a committee of the Board of Directors.

The Company's 2006 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the "2006 LTIP") is designed to provide equity-based incentive compensation for officers, key employees, directors, consultants and advisors of the Company. The 2006 LTIP provides for awards of stock options, shares of restricted stock, phantom shares, dividend equivalent rights and other share-based performance awards. A maximum of 4,550,000 shares of Common Stock may be subject to awards under the 2006 LTIP provided that the number of shares of Common Stock reserved for grants of options designated as incentive stock options is 1.0 million, subject to certain anti-dilution provisions in the 2006 LTIP. All awards under this Plan are at the discretion of the Board of Directors or a committee of the Board of Directors.

As of December 31, 2014, an aggregate of 4.0 million shares remain available for issuance pursuant to future awards under the Company's 2006 and 2009 Long-Term Incentive Plans.

The Company's 2007 Incentive Compensation Plan ("Incentive Plan") was approved and adopted by the Board of Directors in 2007 in order to establish performance goals for selected officers and other key employees and to determine bonuses that will be awarded to those officers and other key employees based on the extent to which they achieve those performance goals. Equity-based awards may be made under the Incentive Plan, subject to the terms of the Company's equity incentive plans.

Stock-Based Compensation—The Company recorded stock-based compensation expense of $13.3 million, $19.3 million and $15.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012 in "General and administrative" on the Company's Consolidated Statements of Operations. As of December 31, 2014, there was $2.2 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to all unvested restricted stock units that are expected to be recognized over a weighted average remaining vesting/service period of 1.42 years. As of December 31, 2014, approximately $8.7 million of stock-based compensation was included in "Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities" on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Restricted Stock Units

Changes in non-vested restricted stock units, or Units, during the year ended December 31, 2014 were as follows ($ in thousands, except per share amounts):



	Number of Shares		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Per Share		Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Non-vested at December 31, 2013	2,779		$	5.85	$	39,659
Granted	306		$	15.31
Vested	(2,757	)	$	6.09
Forfeited	(8	)	$	15.69
Non-vested at December 31, 2014	320		$	12.57	$	4,367

The total fair value of Units vested during the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012 was $39.2 million, $31.6 million and $29.1 million, respectively.

2014 Activity—During the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company issued a total of 1,369,809 shares of our Common Stock to employees, net of statutory minimum required tax withholdings, upon the vesting of 2,757,427 Units that were previously granted. These vested Units were primarily comprised of the following:


•	1,696,053 service-based Units granted to certain employees in 2008 that vested in January 2014;


•	80,000 service-based Units granted to certain employees in 2011 and 2013 that vested in 2014; and


•	600,000 service-based Units granted to the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in October 2011 that vested in June 2014.

•

381,374 of performance-based Units, granted on February 1, 2013. The Units vested based on the Company's total shareholder return, or TSR, measured over a performance period ending on the vesting date of December 31, 2014. Under the terms of these Units, vesting ranged from 0% to 200% of the target amount of the awards, depending on the Company's TSR performance relative to the NAREIT All REITs Index (one-half of the target amount of the award) and the Russell 2000 Index (one-half of the target amount of the award) during the performance period. The Company and any companies not included in the index at the beginning and end of the performance period were excluded from calculation of the performance of such index. Based on the Company's TSR performance, the Units vested in an amount equal to 195.5% of the target amount of the original awards of 195,076 Units resulting in an additional 186,298 shares granted.

During the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company granted new stock-based compensation awards to certain employees in the form of long-term incentive awards, comprised of the following:

•

Effective January 10, 2014, the Company granted 67,637 service-based Units representing the right to receive an equivalent number of shares of our Common Stock (after deducting shares for minimum required statutory withholdings) if and when the Units vest. The Units will cliff vest in one installment on December 31, 2016, if the employee remains employed by the Company on the vesting date, subject to certain accelerated vesting rights. Dividends will accrue as and when dividends are declared by the Company on shares of its Common Stock, but will not be paid unless and until the Units vest and are settled. As of December 31, 2014, 64,552 of such service-based Units were outstanding.

•

Effective January 10, 2014, the Company granted 51,726 target amount of performance-based Units based on the Company's TSR measured over a performance period ending on December 31, 2016, which is the date the awards cliff vest. Vesting will range from 0% to 200% of the target amount of the award, depending on the Company's TSR performance relative to the NAREIT All REITs Index (one-half of the target amount of the award) and the Russell 2000 Index (one-half of the target amount of the award) during the performance period. The Company, as well as any companies not included in each index at the beginning and end of the performance period, are excluded from calculation of the performance of such index. To the extent Units vest based on the Company's TSR performance, holders will receive an equivalent number of shares of our Common Stock (after deducting shares for minimum required statutory withholdings), if the employee remains employed by the Company on the vesting date, subject to certain accelerated vesting rights. Dividends will accrue as and when dividends are declared by the Company on shares of its Common Stock, but will not be paid unless and until the Units vest and are settled. The fair values of the performance-based Units were determined by utilizing a Monte Carlo model to simulate a range of possible future stock prices for the Company's Common Stock. The assumptions used to estimate the fair value of these performance-based awards were 0.76% for risk-free interest rate and 44.84% for expected stock price volatility. As of December 31, 2014, 50,116 of such performance-based Units were outstanding.

As of December 31, 2014, the Company had the following additional stock-based compensation awards outstanding:

•

194,582 service-based Units, granted on February 1, 2013, representing the right to receive an equivalent number of shares of the Company's Common Stock (after deducting shares for minimum required statutory withholdings) if and when the Units vest. The Units will cliff vest in one installment on February 1, 2016, three years from the grant date, if the employee remains employed by the Company on the vesting date, subject to certain accelerated vesting rights. Dividends will accrue as and when dividends are declared by the Company on shares of its Common Stock, but will not be paid unless and until the Units vest and are settled.

•

10,666 service-based Units granted on various dates to employees with an original vesting term of three years. Upon vesting of these units, holders will receive shares of the Company's Common Stock in the amount of the vested units, net of statutory minimum required tax withholdings. Dividends will accrue as and when dividends are declared by the Company on shares of its Common Stock, but will not be paid unless and until the Units vest and are settled.

Restricted Shares

•

During the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company granted 235,414 shares of our Common Stock to certain employees as part of annual incentive awards that included a mix of cash and equity awards. The weighted average grant date fair value per share of these awards was $14.89 and the total fair value was $3.5 million. The shares are fully-vested and 132,653 shares were issued net of statutory minimum required tax withholdings. The employees are restricted from selling these shares for up to two years from the date of grant.

Directors' Awards—Non-employee directors are awarded common stock equivalents, or CSEs, or restricted shares at the time of the annual shareholders' meeting in consideration for their services on the Company's Board of Directors. The CSEs and restricted shares generally vest at the time of the next annual shareholders meeting and pay dividends in an amount equal to the dividends paid on an equivalent number of shares of the Company's Common Stock from the date of grant, as and when dividends are paid on the Common Stock.

During the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company awarded a total of 8,602 CSEs and 39,570 restricted shares to non-employee Directors pursuant to the Company's Non-Employee Directors Deferral Plan, at a fair value per share of $14.46 at the time of grant. In addition, during the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company issued 55,076 shares of our Common Stock to a former director in settlement of previously vested CSE awards granted under the Non-Employee Directors Deferral Plan. As of December 31, 2014, a total of 278,471 CSEs and restricted shares of our Common Stock granted to members of the Company's Board of Directors remained outstanding under such Plan, with an aggregate intrinsic value of $3.8 million.

401(k) Plan—The Company has a savings and retirement plan (the "401(k) Plan"), which is a voluntary, defined contribution plan. All employees are eligible to participate in the 401(k) Plan following completion of three months of continuous service with the Company. Each participant may contribute on a pretax basis up to the maximum percentage of compensation and dollar amount permissible under Section 402(g) of the Internal Revenue Code not to exceed the limits of Code Sections 401(k), 404 and 415. At the discretion of the Board of Directors, the Company may make matching contributions on the participant's behalf of up to 50% of the first 10% of the participant's annual compensation. The Company made gross contributions of $0.9 million each year for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012.