Company: ADAMM
Filing Date: 2025-02-21
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001273685-25-000028
Chunk: 205

Company: ADAMAS TRUST, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-02-21
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 205
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 REIT requirements may limit our ability to hedge effectively.

The REIT provisions of the Internal Revenue Code substantially limit our ability to hedge our assets and liabilities. Any income that we generate from transactions intended to hedge our interest rate or currency risks will be excluded from gross income for purposes of the REIT 75% and 95% gross income tests if (i) the instrument hedges risk of interest rate or currency fluctuations with respect to indebtedness incurred or to be incurred to carry or acquire real estate assets, (ii) the instrument hedges risk of currency fluctuations with respect to any item of income or gain that would be qualifying income under the REIT 75% or 95% gross income tests, or (iii) the instrument was entered into to “offset” certain instruments described in clauses (i) or (ii) and certain other requirements are satisfied (including proper identification of such instrument under applicable Treasury Regulations). Income from hedging transactions that do not meet these requirements is likely to constitute non-qualifying income for purposes of both the REIT 75% and 95% gross income tests. Our aggregate gross income from non-qualifying hedges, fees, and certain other non-qualifying sources cannot exceed 5% of our annual gross income. As a result, we might have to limit our use of advantageous hedging techniques or implement those hedges through a TRS. Any hedging income earned by a TRS would be subject to U.S. federal, state and local income tax at regular corporate rates. This could increase the cost of our hedging activities or expose us to greater risks associated with changes in interest rates than we would otherwise want to bear.

The failure of certain investments subject to a repurchase agreement to qualify as real estate assets would adversely affect our ability to qualify as a REIT.

We have entered, and intend to continue to enter, into repurchase agreements under which we will nominally sell certain of our investments to a counterparty and simultaneously enter into an agreement to repurchase the sold investments. We believe that for U.S. federal income tax purposes these transactions will be treated as secured debt and we will be treated as the owner of the investments that are the subject of any such agreement notwithstanding that such agreement may transfer record ownership of such investments to the counterparty during the term of the agreement. It is possible, however, that the IRS could successfully assert that we do not own the investments during the term of the repurchase agreement, in which case our ability to continue to qualify as a RE