CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Sep. 30, 2010	Jun. 30, 2010	Mar. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009	Sep. 30, 2009
ASSETS
Cash	$ 19,393	$ 24,455	$ 28,553	$ 16,495	$ 14,530	$ 11,243	$ 9,164	$ 7,324	$ 8,409	$ 26,197
Restricted cash		20,257
Receivables from managed entities and related parties, net	34,418	52,117
Investments in commercial finance, net		192,012			0
Investments in real estate, net	19,149	19,942
Investment securities, at fair value	7,030	2,732
Investments in unconsolidated entities	12,993	12,710
Assets of consolidated variable interest entities (VIE) - RSO (see Note 26):
Investment securities, at fair value	7,030	2,732
Total assets of consolidated VIE - RSO	727	944
Property and equipment, net	2,732	6,998
Total assets	2,644,263	2,636,985	2,499,477	2,289,368	2,143,064	234,253
Liabilities:
Payables to managed entities and related parties	4,349	1,010
Borrowings	21,343	214,054
Liabilities of consolidated VIE - RSO (see Note 26):
Total liabilities of consolidated VIE - RSO	189	300	1,962,603	1,751,483
Total liabilities	1,907,007	2,108,287	1,962,603	1,751,483	1,603,461
Commitments and contingencies
Equity:
Preferred stock, $1.00 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized; none outstanding	0	0	0	0	0
Common stock, $.01 par value, 49,000,000 shares authorized; 29,866,664 and 28,779,998 shares issued (including nonvested restricted stock of 403,195 and 649,007), respectively	294	281	281	281	274
Additional paid-in capital	285,844	281,686	281,372	280,906	282,062
Accumulated deficit	(25,857)	(49,054)	(44,892)	(43,805)	(34,298)
Treasury stock, at cost; 9,756,955 and 9,126,966 shares, respectively	(102,457)	(98,954)	(98,874)	(99,085)	(99,245)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(2,226)	(2,369)	(1,709)	(1,653)	(1,773)	(2,599)
Total stockholders’ equity	155,598	131,590	136,178	136,644	147,020
Total equity	737,256	528,698	536,874	537,885	539,603	461,193				140,141
Liabilities and equity	2,644,263	2,636,985	2,499,477	2,289,368	2,143,064
RAI [Member]
ASSETS
Cash	19,393	24,455	28,553	16,495	14,530
Restricted cash	642	20,257	17,767	21,446	5,401
Receivables	3,554	1,981	1,115	1,138	622
Receivables from managed entities and related parties, net	34,418	52,117	54,485	57,833	60,401
Investments in commercial finance, net	0	192,012	164,977	145,961	22,286
Investments in real estate, net	19,149	19,942	18,307	28,555	28,502
Investment securities, at fair value	7,030	2,732	3,159	3,332	3,678
Investments in unconsolidated loan manager (see Notes 1 and 9)	36,356	0	12,256	12,861
Investments in unconsolidated entities	12,993	12,710	12,256	12,861	14,387
Assets of consolidated variable interest entities (VIE) - RSO (see Note 26):
Investment securities, at fair value	7,030	2,732	3,159	3,332	3,678
Property and equipment, net	2,732	6,998	7,104	7,304	8,324
Deferred tax assets, net	27,770	43,915	39,784	39,989	36,625
Goodwill	0	7,969	7,969	7,969	7,969
Other assets	3,776	14,662	13,386	7,594	5,411
Liabilities:
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	23,042	40,887	39,545	34,409	30,348
Payables to managed entities and related parties	4,349	1,010	0	136	184
Borrowings	21,343	214,054	188,128	178,938	63,701
Liabilities of consolidated VIE - RSO (see Note 26):
Commitments and contingencies
Equity:
Preferred stock, $1.00 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized; none outstanding	0	0
Common stock, $.01 par value, 49,000,000 shares authorized; 29,866,664 and 28,779,998 shares issued (including nonvested restricted stock of 403,195 and 649,007), respectively	294	281
Additional paid-in capital	285,844	281,686
Accumulated deficit	(25,857)	(49,054)
Treasury stock, at cost; 9,756,955 and 9,126,966 shares, respectively	(102,457)	(98,954)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(2,226)	(2,369)
Total stockholders’ equity	155,598	131,590
Noncontrolling interests	208	(1,269)	(870)	(335)	(3,474)
Total equity	737,256	528,698
Liabilities and equity	2,644,263	2,636,985
RSO [Member]
ASSETS
Investment securities, at fair value	256,433	179,539	175,375	158,927	182,778
Assets of consolidated variable interest entities (VIE) - RSO (see Note 26):
Cash and cash equivalents (including restricted cash)	179,390	185,922	177,412	235,795	221,138
Investment securities, at fair value	256,433	179,539	175,375	158,927	182,778
Loans	1,849,321	1,776,109	1,682,252	1,465,053	1,486,549
Investments in real estate and consolidated entities	120,706	60,056	59,295	42,480	11,233
Other assets - RSO	70,600	35,609	36,281	36,636	33,230
Total assets of consolidated VIE - RSO	2,476,450	2,237,235	2,130,615	1,938,891	1,934,928
Liabilities of consolidated VIE - RSO (see Note 26):
Borrowings	1,785,600	1,794,083	1,549,674	1,473,202	1,463,701
Other liabilities	72,673	58,253	184,845	64,387	45,116
Total liabilities of consolidated VIE - RSO	1,858,273	1,852,336
Total liabilities			1,734,519	1,537,589	1,508,817
Equity:
Noncontrolling interests	$ 581,450	$ 398,377	$ 401,566	$ 401,576	$ 396,057