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Organization and Nature of Operations	12 Months Ended
Organization and Nature of Operations	Dec. 31, 2011
Organization and Nature of Operations [Abstract]
Organization and Nature of Operations	Note 1. Organization and Nature of Operations: Arlington Asset Investment Corp. (the Company or AAIC), formerly known as Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc. (FBR Group), is a Virginia corporation. The Company acquires and holds mortgage-related and other assets. The Company's portfolio consists primarily of agency-backed mortgage-backed securities (agency-backed MBS) and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (private-label MBS).