Investments

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Investments, Debt and Equity Securities [Abstract]

Investments

INVESTMENTS

The following table presents the details of our investments:

	March 31, 2022		December 31, 2021
	(in millions)
Financial investments	$	225	$	208
Equity method investments	$	369	$	363
Equity securities	$	67	$	67

Financial Investments

Financial investments are comprised of trading securities, primarily highly rated European government debt securities, of which $155 million as of March 31, 2022 and $162 million as of December 31, 2021, are assets primarily utilized to meet regulatory capital requirements, mainly for our clearing operations at Nasdaq Clearing.

Equity Method Investments

We record our estimated pro-rata share of earnings or losses each reporting period and record any dividends as a reduction in the investment balance. As of March 31, 2022 and 2021, our equity method investments primarily included our 40.0% equity interest in OCC.

The carrying amounts of our equity method investments are included in other non-current assets in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. No material impairments were recorded for the three months end March 31, 2022 and 2021.

Net income recognized from our equity interest in the earnings and losses of these equity method investments, primarily OCC, was $7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and $57 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021. For the three months ended March 31, 2022, lower equity interest in the earnings of OCC as compared to 2021 was primarily driven by a reduction in the clearing fee rate that OCC charges its customers.

Equity Securities 

The carrying amounts of our equity securities are included in other non-current assets in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. We elected the measurement alternative for substantially all of our equity securities as they do not have a readily determinable fair value. No material adjustments were made to the carrying value of our equity securities for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021. As of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, our equity securities primarily represent various strategic investments made through our corporate venture program as well as investments acquired through various acquisitions.