Investments:

Investments include our share of unconsolidated joint ventures, nonmarketable securities and marketable equity securities. The following table details our investment balances at December 31, 2015 and 2014 (in thousands).



	December 31,
	2015		2014
Joint ventures^(a)	$	430,952	$	169,891
Nonmarketable securities	208		177
Marketable equity securities	24,257		23,974
Total	$	455,417	$	194,042


(a)	Balance at December 31, 2015 excludes our investment in Magnifin Magnesiaprodukte GmbH & Co. KG (“Magnifin”), which is included in Assets held for sale. Refer to Note 3, “Divestitures.”

Our ownership positions in significant unconsolidated investments are shown below:



		December 31,
		2015		2014		2013
*	Windfield Holdings Pty Ltd - a joint venture with Sichuan Tianqi Lithium Industries, Inc., that mines lithium ore and produces lithium concentrate	49	%	—	%	—	%
*	Nippon Aluminum Alkyls - a joint venture with Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. that produces aluminum alkyls	50	%	50	%	50	%
*	Magnifin Magnesiaprodukte GmbH & Co. KG - a joint venture with Radex Heraklith Industriebeteiligung AG that produces specialty magnesium hydroxide products	50	%	50	%	50	%
*	Nippon Ketjen Company Limited - a joint venture with Sumitomo Metal Mining Company Limited that produces refinery catalysts	50	%	50	%	50	%
*	Eurecat S.A. - a joint venture with IFP Investissements for refinery catalysts regeneration services	50	%	50	%	50	%
*	Fábrica Carioca de Catalisadores S.A. - a joint venture with Petrobras Quimica S.A. - PETROQUISA that produces catalysts and includes catalysts research and product development activities	50	%	50	%	50	%

Our investment in the significant unconsolidated joint ventures above, including Magnifin, amounted to $402.6 million and $148.3 million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, and the amount included in Equity in net income of unconsolidated investments (net of tax) in the consolidated statements of income totaled $25.4 million, $34.7 million and $32.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. As further described in Note 25, “Segment and Geographic Area Information,” Equity in net income of unconsolidated investments (net of tax) for the year ended December 31, 2015 was reduced by $27.1 million related to the utilization of the inventory markup to fair value in connection with the acquisition of Rockwood. Undistributed earnings attributable to our significant unconsolidated investments represented approximately $105.9 million and $107.8 million of our consolidated retained earnings at December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. All of the unconsolidated joint ventures in which we have investments are private companies and accordingly do not have a quoted market price available.

The following summary lists our assets, liabilities and results of operations for our significant unconsolidated joint ventures presented herein (in thousands):



	December 31,
	2015		2014
Summary of Balance Sheet Information:
Current assets	$	331,630	$	226,392
Noncurrent assets	935,790		181,343
Total assets	$	1,267,420	$	407,735

Current liabilities	$	106,966	$	74,242
Noncurrent liabilities	339,604		63,585
Total liabilities	$	446,570	$	137,827



	Year Ended December 31,
	2015		2014		2013
Summary of Statements of Income Information:
Net sales	$	560,376	$	499,394	$	499,941
Gross profit	$	253,569	$	164,063	$	168,898
Income before income taxes	$	157,501	$	101,983	$	101,680
Net income	$	111,491	$	71,466	$	71,322

We have evaluated each of the unconsolidated investments pursuant to current accounting guidance and none qualify for consolidation. Dividends received from our significant unconsolidated investments were $58.1 million, $39.6 million and $20.1 million in 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

At December 31, 2015 and 2014, the carrying amount of our investments in unconsolidated joint ventures exceeded the amount of underlying equity in net assets by approximately $11.5 million and $7.0 million, respectively. These amounts represent the differences between the value of certain assets of the joint ventures and our related valuation on a U.S. GAAP basis. As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, $0.8 million and $1.0 million, respectively, remained to be amortized over the remaining useful lives of the assets with the balance of the difference representing primarily our share of the joint ventures’ goodwill.

The Company holds a 49% equity interest in Windfield Holdings Pty Ltd (“Windfield”), which we acquired in the Rockwood acquisition. With regards to the Company’s ownership in Windfield, the parties share risks and benefits disproportionate to their voting interests. As a result, the Company considers Windfield to be a variable interest entity (“VIE”). However, the Company does not consolidate Windfield as it is not the primary beneficiary. The carrying amount of our 49% equity interest in Windfield, which is our most significant VIE, was $280.2 million at December 31, 2015. The Company’s aggregate net investment in all other entities which it considers to be VIE’s for which the Company is not the primary beneficiary was $27.6 million and $6.2 million at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. Our unconsolidated VIE’s are reported in Investments in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company does not guarantee debt for, or have other financial support obligations to, these entities, and its maximum exposure to loss in connection with its continuing involvement with these entities is limited to the carrying value of the investments. Included in the consolidated statement of cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2015, is a return of capital from Windfield of $98.0 million.

Assets of the Benefit Protection Trust, in conjunction with our EDCP, are accounted for as trading securities in accordance with authoritative accounting guidance. The assets of the Trust consist primarily of mutual fund investments and are marked-to-market on a monthly basis through the consolidated statements of income. As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, these marketable securities amounted to $21.6 million and $22.2 million, respectively.

At December 31, 2015 and 2014, loans receivable from our 50%-owned joint venture, Saudi Organometallic Chemicals Company (“SOCC”), totaled approximately $30.0 million and are included in Other assets in the consolidated balance sheets. Interest on these loans is based on either the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) or Saudi Arabia Inter-Bank Offered Rate (“SAIBOR”), plus a margin of 1.275%, per annum. Principal repayments on amounts outstanding under this arrangement are required as mutually agreed upon by the joint venture partners, but with any outstanding balances due in full no later than December 31, 2021.