Organization and Nature of Operations
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Organization and Nature of Operations

Note 1. Organization and Nature of Operations

Arlington Asset Investment Corp. (“Arlington Asset”) and its consolidated subsidiaries (unless the context otherwise provides, collectively, the “Company”) is an investment firm that focuses primarily on investing in mortgage related assets and residential real estate.  The Company’s investment capital is currently allocated between agency mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”), mortgage servicing right (“MSR”) related assets, credit investments and single-family residential (“SFR”) properties.

The Company’s agency MBS consist of residential mortgage pass-through certificates for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by a U.S. government sponsored enterprise (“GSE”), such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”).  The Company’s MSR related assets represent investments for which the return is based on the economic performance of a pool of specific MSRs.  The Company’s credit investments generally include investments in mortgage loans secured by either residential or commercial real property or MBS collateralized by residential or commercial mortgage loans (“non-agency MBS”) or asset-backed securities (“ABS”) collateralized by residential solar panel loans.  The Company’s SFR investment strategy is to acquire, lease and operate single-family residential homes as rental properties.

The Company is a Virginia corporation. The Company is internally managed and does not have an external investment advisor.

The Company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”). As a REIT, the Company is required to distribute annually 90% of its REIT taxable income (subject to certain adjustments). So long as the Company continues to qualify as a REIT, it will generally not be subject to U.S. Federal or state corporate income taxes on its taxable income that it distributes to its shareholders on a timely basis. At present, it is the Company’s intention to distribute 100% of its taxable income, although the Company will not be required to do so. The Company intends to make distributions of its taxable income within the time limits prescribed by the Internal Revenue Code, which may extend into the subsequent taxable year.