Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Our primary exposure to market risk is related to our role as general partner or investment adviser to our investment funds and the sensitivity to movements in the fair value of their investments, including the effect on management fees, performance income and investment income. Uncertainty with respect to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced uncertainty in the financial markets, and the effects of this uncertainty could materially impact our market risks, including those listed below. For additional information concerning the COVID-19 pandemic and its potential impact on our business and our operating results, see Item 1A. "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Market Risk

The market price of investments may significantly fluctuate during the period of investment. Investments may decline in value due to factors affecting securities markets generally or particular industries represented in the securities markets. The value of an investment may decline due to general market conditions, which are not specifically related to such investment, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investor sentiment generally. It may also decline due to factors that affect a particular industry or industries, such as labor shortages or increased production costs and competitive conditions within an industry.

Our credit orientation has been a central tenet of our business across our debt and equity investment strategies. We believe the combination of high-quality proprietary information flow and a consistent, rigorous approach to managing investments across our strategies has been, and we believe will continue to be, a major driver of our strong risk-adjusted returns and the stability and predictability of our income.

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Credit Risk

We are party to agreements providing for various financial services and transactions that contain an element of risk in the event that the counterparties are unable to meet the terms of such agreements. In such agreements, we depend on the counterparty to make payment or otherwise perform. We generally endeavor to minimize our risk of exposure by limiting to reputable financial institutions the counterparties with which we enter into financial transactions. In other circumstances, availability of financing from financial institutions may be uncertain due to market events, and we may not be able to access these financing markets.

In the ordinary course of business, we may extend loans to our funds or guarantee credit facilities held by our funds and could be subject to risk of loss or repayment if our funds do not perform.

Certain of our funds’ investments include lower-rated and comparable quality unrated distressed investments and other instruments. These issuers can be more sensitive to adverse market conditions, such as a recession or increasing interest rates, as compared to higher rated issuers. We seek to minimize risk exposure by subjecting each prospective investment to our rigorous, credit-oriented investment approach.

At September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, we had cash balances with financial institutions in excess of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insured limits. We seek to mitigate this exposure by monitoring the credit standing of these financial institutions.

There have been no material changes in our market risks for the nine months ended September 30, 2021. For additional information on our market risks, refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, which is accessible on the SEC's website at sec.gov.