Investments

The Company has three classifications of investments: investments carried at fair value, investments carried at cost, and equity method investments. See Note 1 for definitions of each classification of investment.

At December 31, 2016 and 2015, investments carried at fair value consisted of:



	2016		2015
	(in thousands)
Taxable bond funds	$	24	$	24
Domestic equity funds	2,787		2,564
International equity funds	96		66
	$	2,907	$	2,654

Investments carried at fair value were acquired under a rabbi trust arrangement related to the Company’s SERP. The Company purchases investments in the trust to mirror the investment elections of participants in the SERP; gains and losses on the investments in the trust are reflected as increases or decreases in the liability owed to the participants. The Company recorded unrealized gains of $143 thousand in 2016 and unrealized losses of $141 thousand and $51 thousand in 2015 and 2014, respectively. Dividends received from the investment totaled $110 thousand, $134 thousand, and $184 thousand during 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Fair values for these investments are determined by quoted market prices (“Level 1 fair values”) for the underlying mutual funds, which may be based upon net asset value.

At December 31, 2016 and 2015, other investments, comprised of equity securities which do not have readily determinable fair values, consist of the following:



	2016		2015
Cost method:	(in thousands)
CoBank	$	6,177	$	4,137
Other – Equity in other telecommunications partners	742		760
	6,919		4,897
Equity method:
Private equity limited partnerships	—		2,624
Other	450		504
	450		3,128
Total other investments	$	7,369	$	8,025

The Company’s investment in CoBank increased $540 thousand and $388 thousand in the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, due to the ongoing patronage earned from the outstanding investment and loan balances the Company has with CoBank. The Company also recorded an additional $1.5 million in CoBank investment as a result of the nTelos acquisition.

During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company received distributions from its investments totaling $2.9 million in cash. During 2016, the Company accepted an offer for the sale of the remaining shares of an equity method investment. Equity method investments had a net gain of $128 thousand in the year ended December 31, 2016.