VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS (Details) RSO (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended					12 Months Ended	15 Months Ended			0 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended						3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Oct. 31, 2012 RSO [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 RSO [Member] Entity	Sep. 30, 2013 RSO [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 RSO [Member] Entity	Sep. 30, 2013 RSO [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 RSO [Member]	Jan. 11, 2013 RSO [Member] Lease Equity Appreciation Fund II [Member]	Feb. 15, 2012 RSO [Member] Lease Equity Appreciation Fund II [Member]	Sep. 03, 2011 RSO [Member] Lease Equity Appreciation Fund II [Member]	Jun. 03, 2011 RSO [Member] Lease Equity Appreciation Fund II [Member]	Mar. 05, 2010 RSO [Member] Lease Equity Appreciation Fund II [Member]	Mar. 05, 2011 RSO [Member] Lease Equity Appreciation Fund II [Member]	Jun. 01, 2011 RSO [Member] Lease Equity Appreciation Fund II [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 RSO [Member] Lease Equity Appreciation Fund II [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 RSO [Member] Lease Equity Appreciation Fund II [Member]	Feb. 24, 2011 RSO [Member] Churchill Pacific Asset Management LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 RSO [Member] Churchill Pacific Asset Management LLC [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 RSO [Member] Ledgewood [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 RSO [Member] Ledgewood [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 RSO [Member] Ledgewood [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 RSO [Member] Ledgewood [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Apidos Capital Management LLC [Member] CVC Capital Partners [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Apidos Capital Management LLC [Member] CVC Capital Partners [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Apidos Capital Management LLC [Member] CVC Capital Partners [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Apidos Capital Management LLC [Member] CVC Capital Partners [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Apidos Capital Management LLC [Member] CVC Capital Partners [Member]	May 31, 2013 Apidos Capital Management LLC [Member] CVC Capital Partners [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 LEAF [Member] RSO [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 LEAF [Member] RSO [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 LEAF [Member] RSO [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 LEAF [Member] RSO [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] Investment in CVC Global Opps Fund [Member] RSO [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] Investment in CVC Global Opps Fund [Member] RSO [Member]	Jul. 31, 2013 Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] Investment in CVC Global Opps Fund [Member] RSO [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] Investment in CVC Global Opps Fund [Member] RSO [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] Investment in CVC Global Opps Fund [Member] RSO [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] Investment in CVC Global Opps Fund [Member] RSO [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] LEAF [Member] RSO [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] LEAF [Member] RSO [Member]	Nov. 16, 2011 Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary [Member] LEAF [Member] RSO [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Loans Receivable - Related Party [Member] RSO [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Loans Receivable - Related Party [Member] RSO [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Loans Receivable - Related Party [Member] RSO [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Payments to Acquire Equity Method Investments																																						$ 15,000,000
Investment management fee, percentage																																							1.50%
Revolving credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity															8,000,000.0
Line of credit facility, term (in years)																1 year
Line of credit facility, interest rate during period (in hundredths)														10.00%		12.00%	12.00%
Origination fee with establishment of line of credit facility (in hundredths)															1.00%
Line of credit facility, extension fee percentage (in hundredths)											1.00%	1.00%	1.00%
Repayments of Lines of Credit								1,800,000
Provision for loan loss								(1,739,000)		3,020,000																																			236,000	936,000	0
Line of credit facility, amount outstanding																		3,900,000	5,700,000
Equity in (losses) earnings of unconsolidated entities	620,000	1,384,000	2,298,000	2,528,000		887,000	(535,000)	4,663,000	(888,000)																							13,000	304,000	(859,000)	(32,000)	0	93,000		2,000,000	93,000,000
Investments in unconsolidated entities						60,540,000		60,540,000		69,069,000																										18,200,000			18,200,000		16,200,000	40,200,000	41,000,000	36,300,000
Ownership percentage																				100.00%
Purchase price of acquired entity paid by acquiring entity																				22,500,000
Number of Collateralized Loan Obligation Issuers						5		5
Assets under management, carrying amount																					1,900,000,000
Percentage of subordinated fees the company is entitled to collect																														10.00%
Percentage of incentive fees the company is entitled to collect																														50.00%
Subordinated fees received																										309,000	160,000	1,000,000	515,000
Preferred equity acquired					66.60%
Ownership interests in variable interest entity																															68.30%
Legal fees																						$ 45,000	$ 70,000	$ 202,000	$ 155,000