Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Organization and Operations

v3.20.4
Organization and Operations
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Organization and Operations [Abstract]  
Organization and Operations Organization and Operations
Two Harbors Investment Corp. is a Maryland corporation that, through its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively, the Company), invests in and manages Agency residential mortgage-backed securities, or Agency RMBS, mortgage servicing rights, or MSR, and other financial assets. The investment portfolio as a whole is managed by the Company’s Chief Investment Officer and resources are allocated and financial performance is assessed on a consolidated basis. The Company’s common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol “TWO”.
The Company was incorporated on May 21, 2009, and commenced operations as a publicly traded company on October 28, 2009, upon completion of a merger with Capitol Acquisition Corp., or Capitol, which became a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of the Company as a result of the merger.
The Company has elected to be treated as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, as defined under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As long as the Company continues to comply with a number of requirements under federal tax law and maintains its qualification as a REIT, the Company generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income taxes to the extent that the Company distributes its taxable income to its stockholders on an annual basis and does not engage in prohibited transactions. However, certain activities that the Company may perform may cause it to earn income which will not be qualifying income for REIT purposes. The Company has designated certain of its subsidiaries as taxable REIT subsidiaries, or TRSs, as defined in the Code, to engage in such activities.
In the first quarter of 2020, the Company experienced unprecedented market conditions as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, including unusually significant spread widening in both Agency RMBS and non-Agency securities. In response, the Company focused its efforts on raising excess liquidity and de-risking its portfolio. On March 25, 2020, the Company sold substantially all of its non-Agency securities in order to eliminate the risks posed by continued margin calls and ongoing funding concerns associated with the significant spread widening on these assets. During the first quarter, the Company also sold approximately one-third of its Agency RMBS in order to reduce risk and raise cash to establish a strong defensive liquidity position to weather potential ongoing economic and market instability. Since then, the Company has focused on the composition of its Agency RMBS and MSR portfolio, deploying risk as the market entered a period of stabilization and asset price recovery. Going forward, management expects the Company’s capital to be fully allocated to its strategy of pairing Agency RMBS and MSR.
Through August 14, 2020, the Company was externally managed and advised by PRCM Advisers LLC, a subsidiary of Pine River Capital Management L.P., under the terms of a Management Agreement between the Company and PRCM Advisers. The Company terminated the Management Agreement effective August 14, 2020 for “cause” in accordance with Section 15(a) thereof. On August 15, 2020, the Company completed its transition to self-management and directly hired the senior management team and other personnel who had historically provided services to the Company.