Other Investments

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2024

Investments, All Other Investments [Abstract]

Other investments at June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023 are summarized in the following table.

Table 12.1 – Components of Other Investments


(In Thousands)	June 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
Servicer advance investments	$	227,363	$	225,345
Strategic investments	59,030		56,107
Excess MSRs	34,754		37,367
MSRs	28,653		24,877

Other	106		234
Total Other Investments	$	349,906	$	343,930

Servicer advance investments

We and a third-party co-investor, through two partnerships (“SA Buyers”) consolidated by us, purchased the outstanding servicer advances and excess MSRs related to portfolios of residential mortgage-backed securitizations serviced by the co-investor. Refer to Note 11 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 for additional information regarding the transactions.

We account for our servicer advance investments at fair value. At June 30, 2024, our servicer advance investments had a fair value of $227 million and were associated with specified pools of residential mortgage loans with an unpaid principal balance of $9.64 billion. The outstanding servicer advance receivables associated with these investments were $176 million at June 30, 2024, which were financed with short-term, non-recourse securitization debt. See Note 17 for additional detail on this debt. The servicer advance receivables were comprised of the following types of advances at June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023.

Table 12.2 – Components of Servicer Advance Receivables


(In Thousands)	June 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
Principal and interest advances	$	57,284	$	60,216
Escrow advances (taxes and insurance advances)	87,137		91,792
Corporate advances	31,207		32,579
Total Servicer Advance Receivables	$	175,628	$	184,587

During the six months ended June 30, 2024, we received $9 million in repayments on our servicer advance investments. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 we recorded $5 million and $10 million of interest income, respectively, through Other interest income, and recorded net market valuation gains of $12 million and $11 million, respectively, through Investment fair value changes, net in our consolidated statements of income.

Excess MSRs

In association with our servicer advance investments described above, we (through our consolidated SA Buyers) invested in excess MSRs associated with the same portfolio of residential mortgage-backed securitizations. Additionally, we own excess MSRs associated with specified pools of multifamily loans. We account for our excess MSRs at fair value and during the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, we recognized $3 million and $7 million, respectively, of interest income through Other interest income and we recorded net market valuation losses of $1 million and $3 million, respectively, through Investment fair value changes, net on our consolidated statements of income.

Mortgage Servicing Rights

We invest in mortgage servicing rights associated with residential mortgage loans and contract with licensed sub-servicers to perform all servicing functions for these loans. The majority of our investments in MSRs were made through the retention of servicing rights associated with the residential jumbo mortgage loans that we acquired and subsequently sold to third parties or to unconsolidated Sequoia securitization entities. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, we retained MSRs associated with loans with an aggregate principal balance of $1 million and $10 million from sales of residential loans to third parties. We hold our MSR investments at our taxable REIT subsidiaries.

We account for our MSRs at fair value. At June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, our MSRs had a fair value of $29 million and $25 million, respectively, and were associated with loans with an aggregate principal balance of $1.95 billion and $2.03 billion, respectively. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, including net market valuation gains and losses on our MSRs, we recorded net income related to our MSRs of $4 million and $8 million, respectively, through Other income on our consolidated statements of income.

Strategic Investments

Strategic investments represent investments we made in companies either through our RWT Horizons venture investment platform or separately at a corporate level. At June 30, 2024, we had made a total of 39 investments in companies through RWT Horizons with a total carrying value of $22 million, as well as eight corporate-level investments with a total carrying value of $37 million. For both the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, we recognized net market valuation losses of $1 million on our strategic investments through Investment fair value changes, net in our consolidated statements of income.

In the second quarter of 2023, we established a joint venture with Oaktree Capital Management to invest in residential investor bridge loans originated by our CoreVest subsidiary. At June 30, 2024, the carrying value of our investment in the joint venture was $6 million. We account for our investment in the joint venture under the equity method of accounting as we have a 20% non-controlling interest, but are deemed to be able to exert significant influence over the affairs of the joint venture. We adjust the carrying value of our equity method investment for our share of earnings or losses, dividends or return of capital on a quarterly basis. For both the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, we recognized net equity method earnings of $0.2 million and $0.3 million, respectively, through Other income, net in our consolidated statements of income.

In the first quarter of 2024, we established a joint venture with CPP Investments to invest in residential investor bridge and term loans originated by us. In June 2024, we made an investment in the joint venture of $1 million. We account for our investment in the joint venture under the equity method of accounting as we have a minority non-controlling interest approximating 20% across both Redwood's direct equity capital contribution to joint venture entities and joint venture co-investments to be held in Redwood's investment portfolio, but we are deemed to be able to exert significant influence over the affairs of the joint venture. We adjust the carrying value of our equity method investment for our share of earnings or losses, dividends or return of capital on a quarterly basis.

See Note 8 for further information on residential bridge loans sold to these joint ventures.