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Organization and Investment Objective
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2013
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Organization and Investment Objective
Organization and Investment Objective
Ellington Residential Mortgage REIT ("EARN") was formed as a Maryland real estate investment trust on August 2, 2012, and commenced operations on September 25, 2012. EARN conducts its business through its wholly owned subsidiaries, EARN OP GP LLC (the "General Partner") and Ellington Residential Mortgage LP (the "Operating Partnership"), which were formed as a Delaware limited liability company and a Delaware limited partnership, respectively, on July 31, 2012 and commenced operations on September 25, 2012.
The Operating Partnership conducts its business of acquiring, investing in, and managing residential mortgage-related and real estate-related assets through its wholly owned subsidiaries, EARN Securities LLC, EARN TRS LLC, EARN Mortgage LLC, and EARN CMO LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of EARN Mortgage LLC, which were each formed as Delaware limited liability companies on July 31, 2012 and commenced operations on September 25, 2012.
EARN, the General Partner, the Operating Partnership, and their consolidated subsidiaries are hereafter defined as the "Company."
The Company acquires and manages Agency and non-Agency, both investment grade and non-investment grade, residential mortgage-backed securities ("RMBS"), including Agency pools and Agency and non-Agency collateralized mortgage obligations ("CMOs"). Collectively, all of these asset types are referred to as real estate securities. The Company may also acquire and manage mortgage servicing rights, residential whole mortgage loans, and other mortgage- and real estate-related assets. The Company may also invest in other instruments including, but not limited to, forward-settling To Be Announced Agency pass-through certificates ("TBAs"), interest rate swaps and swaptions, U.S. Treasury securities, Eurodollar and U.S. Treasury futures, and cash equivalents. The Company's targeted investments may range from unrated (first loss) securities to AAA senior securities, and as of March 31, 2013, substantially all investments have some credit risk component.
Ellington Residential Mortgage Management LLC (the "Manager") serves as the Manager to the Company pursuant to the terms of the Amended and Restated Management Agreement effective as of September 24, 2012 (the "Management Agreement"). The Manager is an affiliate of Ellington Management Group, L.L.C. ("EMG"), an investment management firm that is registered as an investment adviser. In accordance with the terms of the Management Agreement and Services Agreement, as discussed in Note 7, the Manager is responsible for administering the Company's business activities and day-to-day operations of the Company and performs certain services, subject to oversight by the Board of Trustees.
The Company has not elected and does not intend to elect to be taxed as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), for the period September 25, 2012 (Commencement of Operations) through December 31, 2012 or for the short taxable period January 1, 2013 through April 30, 2013. The Company made the election to be taxed as a corporation effective for the short taxable period May 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013. The Company intends to make the election to be taxed as a REIT when it files its tax return for the short taxable period May 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013.