Powerhouse real estate investment trust Annaly Capital Management ($15.01 -0.03%) posted a profit of $465.1 million, or $0.46 per share for the fourth quarter of 2012, up from $449.8 million, or $0.45 per share from the third quarter of 2012, but down from $525.3 million, or $0.54 per share, from 2011. 

"In our market, indeed every market, decisions made by policymakers continue to have exceptional influence on pricing and behavior," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Wellington Denahan of Annaly. 

"Nevertheless, as our results demonstrate, we continue to navigate through these uncertain waters to identify attractive relative value opportunities on both sides of our balance sheet. These market conditions are likely to persist, however, as structural imbalances here and abroad continue to affect economic activity. In this environment, we believe that remaining conservative in our management approach is in the best long-term interests of shareholders."

Total reported generally an accepted accounting principle of net income was $700.5 million, or $0.70 per share for 4Q12, up from $445.6 million, or $0.46 per share from the previous year. 

During the quarter, Annaly disposed of $13.2 billion of investment securities, resulting in a realized gain of $122.4 million, up from $10.3 billion of investment securities from the previous year.