Note 6. Investments

ARRIS’s investments consisted of the following (in thousands):


	As of December 31, 2017		As of December 31, 2016
Current Assets:
Available-for-sale securities	$	23,874	$	115,553
Noncurrent Assets:
Available-for-sale securities		5,718		15,391
Equity method investments		22,021		22,688
Cost method investments		10,092		6,841
Other investments		33,251		28,012

Total classified as non-current assets		71,082		72,932

Total	$	94,956	$	188,485

Available-for-sale securities — ARRIS’s investments in debt and marketable equity securities are categorized as available-for-sale and are carried at fair value. Realized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are included in net income. Unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are included in our Consolidated Balance Sheet as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).

The amortized costs and fair value of available-for-sale securities were as follows (in thousands):


	December 31, 2017									December 31, 2016
	Amortized Costs		Gross Unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized Losses			Fair Value		Amortized Costs		Gross Unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized Losses			Fair Value
Certificates of deposit (non-U.S.)	$	12,809	$	—	$	—		$	12,809	$	87,372	$	—	$	—		$	87,372
Corporate bonds		11,003		86		(24	)		11,065		34,175		35		(77	)		34,133
Short-term bond fund		—		—		—			—		5,046		69		(69	)		5,046
Corporate obligations		13		—		—			13		3		—		—			3
Money markets		38		—		—			38		54		—		—			54
Mutual funds		65		14		—			79		94		28		(21	)		101
Other investments		4,941		744		(97	)		5,588		4,192		530		(487	)		4,235

Total	$	28,869	$	844	$	(121	)	$	29,592	$	130,936	$	662	$	(654	)	$	130,944

The following table represents the breakdown of the available-for-sale investments with gross realized losses and the duration that those losses had been unrealized (in thousands):


	December 31, 2017
	Less than 12 months					12 months or more				Total
	Fair Value		Unrealized Losses			Fair Value		Unrealized Losses		Fair Value		Unrealized Losses
Certificates of deposit (non-U.S.)	$	12,809	$	—		$	—	$	—	$	12,809	$	—
Corporate bonds		11,065		(24	)		—		—		11,065		(24	)
Corporate obligations		13		—			—		—		13		—
Money markets		38		—			—		—		38		—
Mutual funds		79		—			—		—		79		—
Other investments		5,588		(97	)		—		—		5,588		(97	)

Total	$	29,592	$	(121	)	$	—	$	—	$	29,592	$	(121	)


	December 31, 2016
	Less than 12 months					12 months or more				Total
	Fair Value		Unrealized Losses			Fair Value		Unrealized Losses		Fair Value		Unrealized Losses
Certificates of deposit (non-U.S.)	$	87,372	$	—		$	—	$	—	$	87,372	$	—
Corporate bonds		34,133		(77	)		—		—		34,133		(77	)
Short-term bond fund		5,046		(69	)		—		—		5,046		(69	)
Corporate obligations		3		—			—		—		3		—
Money markets		54		—			—		—		54		—
Mutual funds		101		(21	)		—		—		101		(21	)
Other investments		4,235		(487	)		—		—		4,235		(487	)

Total	$	130,944	$	(654	)	$	—	$	—	$	130,944	$	(654	)

As of December 31, 2017, for fixed income securities that were in unrealized loss positions, the Company has determined that (i) it does not have the intent to sell any of these investments, and (ii) it is not more likely than not that it will be required to sell any of these investments before recovery of the entire amortized cost basis.

The sale and/or maturity of available-for-sale securities resulted in the following activity (in thousands):


	Years Ended December 31,
	2017		2016		2015
Proceeds from sales	$	165,301	$	25,932	$	157,965
Gross gains		16		33		305
Gross losses		—		—		(452	)

The contractual maturities of the Company’s available-for-sale securities as of December 31, 2017 are shown below. Actual maturities may differ from contractual maturities because the issuers of the securities may have the right to prepay obligations without prepayment penalties (in thousands):


	December 31, 2017
	Amortized Cost		Fair Value
Within 1 year	$	23,812	$	23,874
After 1 year through 5 years		—		—
After 5 years through 10 years		—		—
After 10 years		5,057		5,718

Total	$	28,869	$	29,592

Equity method investments — ARRIS owns certain investments in limited liability companies and partnerships that are accounted for using the equity method as the Company has significant influence over operating and financial policies of the investee companies. These investments are recorded at $22.0 million and $22.7 million as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

The following table summarizes the ownership structure and ownership percentage of the non-consolidated investments as of December 31, 2017, accounted for using the equity method.


Name of Investee	Ownership Structure	% Ownership
MPEG LA	Limited Liability Company	8.4%
Music Choice	Limited Liability Partnership	18.2%
Conditional Access Licensing (“CAL”)	Limited Liability Company	49.0%
Combined Conditional Access Development (“CCAD”)	Limited Liability Company	50.0%

ARRIS owns investments in two limited liability corporations whereby the investees were determined to be variable interest entities and ARRIS is not the primary beneficiary, as ARRIS does not have the power to direct the activities of the investee that most significantly impact its economic performance. The limited liability corporations are a licensing and a research and development company. The purpose of the limited liability corporations is to develop, deploy, license, support, and to gain market acceptance for certain technologies that reside in a cable plant or in a cable device. Subject to agreement on annual statements of work, the Company has provided to one of the ventures, engineering services per year approximating 20% to 30% of the approved venture budget. During 2017, the Company made funding contributions to the investment of $15.6 million. No further funding is planned for 2018 and beyond.

Cost method investments — ARRIS holds cost method investments in certain private companies. Due to the fact the investments are in private companies, the Company is exempt from estimating the fair value on an interim and annual basis. It is impractical to estimate the fair value since the quoted market price is not available. Furthermore, the cost of obtaining an independent valuation appears excessive considering the materiality of the investments to the Company. However, ARRIS is required to estimate the fair value if there has been an identifiable event or change in circumstance that may have a significant adverse effect on the fair value of the investment.

Other investments — ARRIS holds investments in certain life insurance contracts. The Company determined the fair value to be the amount that could be realized under the insurance contract as of each reporting period. The changes in the fair value of these contracts are included in net income.

Other-Than-Temporary Investment Impairments — ARRIS evaluates its investments for any other-than-temporary impairment on a quarterly basis considering all available evidence, including changes in general market conditions, specific industry and individual entity data, the financial condition and the near-term prospects of the entity issuing the security, and the Company’s ability and intent to hold the investment until recovery.

For the year ended December 31, 2017, ARRIS concluded that one private company had indicators of impairment, as the cost basis exceeded the fair value of the investment, resulting in other-than-temporary impairment charge of $2.8 million. For the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company concluded that two private companies had indicators of impairment, as the cost basis exceeded the fair value of the investments, resulting in other-than-temporary impairment charges of $12.3 million. These charges are reflected in the Consolidated Statements of Income.

Classification of securities as current or non-current is dependent upon management’s intended holding period, the security’s maturity date and liquidity consideration based on market conditions. If management intends to hold the securities for longer than one year as of the balance sheet date, they are classified as non-current.