Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (“Annaly”) is a leading diversified capital manager that invests in and finances residential and commercial assets. Annaly's principal business objective is to generate net income for distribution to its stockholders and to preserve capital through prudent selection of investments and continuous management of its portfolio. With approximately $100 billion in assets, our portfolio includes securities, loans and equity in both the residential and commercial markets. Annaly has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for federal income tax purposes. Annaly is a vehicle for long-term asset ownership. We use our capital, coupled with various structured financing products to invest in assets in both commercial and residential markets, earning the spread between the yield on our investments and the cost of our borrowings and hedging activities.