RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

19. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Management Agreement

The Company and the Manager have entered into a management agreement pursuant to which the Company’s management is conducted by the Manager through the authority delegated to it in the Management Agreement and pursuant to the policies established by the Board (the “Externalization”). The management agreement was effective as of July 1, 2013 and was amended on November 5, 2014, amended and restated on April 12, 2016, amended and restated on August 1, 2018, and amended on March 27, 2019 (the management agreement, as amended and restated, is referred to as “Management Agreement”).

Under the Management Agreement, the Manager, subject to the supervision and direction of the Board, is responsible for (i) the selection, purchase and sale of assets for the Company’s investment portfolio; (ii) recommending alternative forms of capital raising; (iii) supervising the Company’s financing and hedging activities; and (iv) day to day management functions. The Manager also performs such other supervisory and management services and activities relating to the Company’s assets and operations as may be appropriate. In exchange for the management services, the Company pays the Manager a monthly management fee, and the Manager is responsible for providing personnel to manage the Company. Prior to the most recent amendment to the Management Agreement, which was executed on March 27, 2019, the Company had paid the Manager a flat monthly management fee equal to 1/12th of 1.05% of Stockholders’ Equity (as defined in the Management Agreement) for its management services. Pursuant to the March 27, 2019 amendment to the Management Agreement, the Company now pays the Manager a monthly management fee for its management services in an amount equal to 1/12th of the sum of (i) 1.05% of Stockholders' Equity (as defined in the Management Agreement) up to $17.28 billion, and (ii) 0.75% of Stockholders' Equity (as defined in the Management Agreement) in excess of $17.28 billion. The Company does not pay the Manager any incentive fees.

For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, the compensation and management fee was $41.2 million and $130.2 million, respectively. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, the compensation and management fee was $46.0 million and $136.1 million, respectively.

Following the unanimous approval of the Company’s independent directors (the “Independent Directors”), in August 2018, the Company began reimbursing the Manager for certain services in connection with the management and operations of the Company and its subsidiaries as permitted under the terms of the Management Agreement. Such reimbursable expenses include the cost for certain legal, tax, accounting and other support and advisory services provided by employees of the Manager to the Company. Pursuant to the Management Agreement, the Company may reimburse the Manager for the cost of such services, provided such costs are no greater than those that would be payable to comparable third party providers. As part of an expense management initiative undertaken by the Manager, expense reimbursement payments were voluntarily waived for the three months ended September 30, 2019. Expense reimbursements and related waivers are routinely reviewed with the Audit Committee of the Board in conformance with established policies. Reimbursement payments to the Manager were $14.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. None of the reimbursement payments are attributable to compensation of the Company’s executive officers.

At September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 the Company had amounts payable to the Manager of $12.7 million and $16.0 million, respectively.

The Management Agreement’s current term ends on December 31, 2019 and will automatically renew for successive two-year terms unless at least two-thirds of the Independent Directors or the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock in their sole discretion elect to terminate the agreement for any or no reason upon 365 days prior written notice (such notice, a “Termination Notice”).

If the Company makes an election to terminate the Management Agreement, the Company may elect to accelerate the termination date (the “Termination Date”) to a date that is between seven and 90 days after the date of the Company’s delivery of a Termination Notice (the “Notice Delivery Date”). If the Company does not make an election to accelerate the Termination Date, then the Manager may elect to accelerate the Termination Date to the date that is 90 days after the Notice Delivery Date. If the Termination Date is accelerated (such date, the “Accelerated Termination Date”) by either the Company or the Manager, in addition to any amounts accrued for the period prior to the Accelerated Termination Date, the Company shall pay the Manager an acceleration fee (the “Acceleration Fee”) in an amount equal to the average annual management fee earned by the Manager during the 24-month period immediately preceding such Accelerated Termination Date multiplied by a fraction with a numerator of 365 minus the number of days from the Notice Delivery Date to the Accelerated Termination Date, and a denominator of 365.

The Management Agreement may also be terminated by the Manager for any reason or no reason upon 365 days prior written notice, or with shorter notice periods by either the Company or the Manager for cause or by the Company in the event of a sale of the Manager that was not pre-approved by the Independent Directors.

The Management Agreement may be amended or modified by agreement between the Company and the Manager.