accordingly , our segment revenues primarily consist of fund management and related advisory fees , performance fees ( consisting of incentive fees and carried interest allocations ) , investment income , including realized and unrealized gains on our investments in our funds and other trading securities , as well as interest and other income . our segment expenses primarily consist of compensation and benefits expenses , including salaries , bonuses , performance payment arrangements , and equity-based compensation excluding awards granted in our initial public offering or in connection with 94 acquisitions and strategic investments , and general and administrative expenses . while our segment expenses include depreciation and interest expense , our segment expenses exclude acquisition-related charges and amortization of intangibles and impairment . refer to note 16 to the consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on form 10-k for more information on the differences between our financial results reported pursuant to u.s. gaap and our financial results for segment reporting purposes . trends affecting our business expectations for global economic growth remained strong through the fourth quarter of 2017 and into early 2018 , with particular optimism surrounding the outlook for growth in the eurozone . our proprietary portfolio of industrial and manufacturing related indicators remained steady at or near six-year highs during the fourth quarter and into early 2018. as 2017 drew to a close , inflation continued to fall short of central bank targets . in the u.s. , the core pce price index ( the federal reserve 's preferred measure of core inflation ) rose by 1.5 % in the twelve months ended december 2017 , unchanged from november and still well below the federal reserve 's 2 % target . our proprietary portfolio data similarly lacked signs of inflationary pressure , a phenomenon we believe is almost entirely driven by weakness in construction activity . during the fourth quarter of 2017 , eurozone core inflation rose more sluggishly than in the third quarter of 2017 , with year-on-year rates of 0.9 % observed in each month of the fourth quarter . on the other hand , u.s. bond market inflation expectations continue to rise , as the 10-year breakeven rate recently reached 2.1 % . the u.s. dollar declined nearly 10 % against global currencies in 2017 , the largest annual decline in more than 10-years . during 2017 , the euro appreciated 12 % against the u.s. dollar . stronger real global growth , relatively low longer-term interest rates , and the passage of tax reform pushed global equity markets to record highs in 2017. the msci world index advanced 20 % in 2017 and 5 % in the fourth quarter alone , while the s & p 500 rose 19 % over the calendar year and 6 % in the fourth quarter of 2017. underlying earnings growth at the companies comprising the s & p 500 has supported the upward movement of the markets . estimated total 2017 earnings growth for the s & p 500 is 13.4 % , the highest annual rate since 2011. as has been the case throughout the year , companies with greater global exposure have been driving this trend . as of mid-december 2017 , s & p 500 companies with a concentration of at least 50 % of sales outside the u.s. experienced earnings growth of approximately 15 % , compared to approximately 7 % for companies with a greater domestic focus . after strong recent performance pushing global market multiples to multi-year highs , during early february 2018 , the markets experienced a heightened level of volatility in connection with a sell-off . the u.s. 10-year treasury yield ended 2017 at around 2.4 % and has risen to more than 2.8 % in the first two weeks of february 2018. while the yield curve continued to flatten through most of january , it has recently shown signs of steepening , with the credit spread between the 10-year and two-year treasury yields rising to nearly 0.7 % as of february 7 , 2018. credit spreads on b-rated corporate credit ticked up slightly to 370 basis points in the fourth quarter - well below long-run averages - while the trailing high-yield default rate continued to hover around 2.3 % ( measured globally ) . sustained low interest rates and the availability of financing has continued to support valuation multiples near all-time highs , though rising inflation expectations and the repricing of risk may slow the pace of gains . our overall carry fund portfolio appreciated by 5 % during the fourth quarter and was up 20 % for 2017. in the fourth quarter , our corporate private equity funds appreciated by 8 % ( 32 % for the full year ) , our real asset funds appreciated by 4 % ( 19 % for the full year ) and our global credit carry funds appreciated by 1 % for the quarter ( 11 % for the full year ) . appreciation in investment solutions was 3 % in the fourth quarter and 10 % for the full-year , negatively impacted by the strength of the euro relative to the u.s. dollar as alpinvest funds are primarily denominated in euros , with significant underlying usd-denominated investments . our private carry fund portfolio appreciated by 6 % and our public carry fund portfolio appreciated by 9 % during the fourth quarter , each excluding investment solutions . the continued appreciation across our portfolio was aided by market tailwinds in 2017 as described above . however , with market valuation levels at all-time highs , increasing volatility and the potential for upward movement in interest rates , it will be difficult for the public markets to generate the same level of appreciation in 2018 as observed in 2017 and , accordingly , it will be difficult for our portfolio to do the same as well . story_separator_special_tag we use the term “ realized net performance fees ” to refer to realized performance fees from our funds , net of the portion allocated to our investment professionals , if any , and certain tax expenses associated with carried interest attributable to certain partners and employees , which are reflected as realized performance fee related compensation expense . see “ — non-gaap financial measures ” for the amount of realized and unrealized performance fees recognized each period . see “ — segment analysis ” for the realized and unrealized performance fees by segment and related discussion for each period . fair value measurement . u.s. gaap establishes a hierarchal disclosure framework which ranks the observability of market price inputs used in measuring financial instruments at fair value . the observability of inputs is impacted by a number of factors , including the type of financial instrument , the characteristics specific to the financial instrument and the state of the marketplace , including the existence and transparency of transactions between market participants . financial instruments with readily available quoted prices , or for which fair value can be measured from quoted prices in active markets , will generally have a higher degree of market price observability and a lesser degree of judgment applied in determining fair value . the table below summarizes the valuation of investments and other financial instruments included within our aum , by segment and fair value hierarchy levels , as of december 31 , 2017 ( amounts in millions ) : replace_table_token_8_th investment income , interest , and other income . investment income , interest , and other income represent the unrealized and realized gains and losses on our principal investments , including our investments in carlyle funds that are not consolidated , our equity method investments and other principal investments , as well as any interest and other income . investment income ( loss ) also includes the related amortization of the basis difference between the carrying value of our investment and our share of the underlying net assets of the investee , as well as the compensation expense associated with compensatory arrangements provided by us to employees of our equity method investee , as it relates to our investments in ngp . realized investment income ( loss ) is recorded when we redeem all or a portion of our investment or when we receive or are due cash income , such as dividends or distributions . a realized investment loss is also recorded when an investment is deemed to be worthless . unrealized investment income ( loss ) results from changes in the fair value of the underlying investment , as well as the reversal of previously recognized unrealized gains ( losses ) at the time an investment is realized . interest and other income of consolidated funds . interest and other income of consolidated funds primarily represents the interest earned on clo assets . the consolidated funds are not the same entities in all periods presented . the consolidated funds in future periods may change due to changes in fund terms , formation of new funds , and terminations of funds . 99 revenue of a real estate vie . revenue of a real estate vie consists of revenue generated by urbplan , which primarily is revenue earned for land development services using the completed contract method and investment income earned on urbplan 's investments . under the completed contract method of revenue recognition , revenue is not recognized until the period in which the land development services contract is completed , which can cause volatility from period to period based on which contracts are completed . urbplan was deconsolidated from the partnership 's financial results during 2017 as a result of the partnership disposing of its interests in urbplan in a transaction in which a third party acquired operational control and all of the economic interests in urbplan ( see note 15 to the consolidated financial statements ) . net investment gains of consolidated funds . net investment gains of consolidated funds measures the change in the difference in fair value between the assets and the liabilities of the consolidated funds . a gain ( loss ) indicates that the fair value of the assets of the consolidated funds appreciated more ( less ) , or depreciated less ( more ) , than the fair value of the liabilities of the consolidated funds . a gain or loss is not necessarily indicative of the investment performance of the consolidated funds and does not impact the management or incentive fees received by carlyle for its management of the consolidated funds . the portion of the net investment gains ( losses ) of consolidated funds attributable to the limited partner investors is allocated to non-controlling interests . therefore a gain or loss is not expected to have a material impact on the revenues or profitability of the partnership . moreover , although the assets of the consolidated funds are consolidated onto our balance sheet pursuant to u.s. gaap , ultimately we do not have recourse to such assets and such liabilities are generally non-recourse to us . therefore , a gain or loss from the consolidated funds generally does not impact the assets available to our equity holders . expenses compensation and benefits . compensation includes salaries , bonuses , equity-based compensation , and performance payment arrangements . bonuses are accrued over the service period to which they relate . we recognize as compensation expense the portion of performance fees that are due to our employees , senior carlyle professionals , and operating executives in a manner consistent with how we recognize the performance fee revenue . these amounts are accounted for as compensation expense in conjunction with the related performance fee revenue and , until paid , are recognized as a component of the accrued compensation and benefits liability . compensation in respect of performance fees is paid when the related performance fees

net cash used in investing activities . our investing activities generally reflect cash used for acquisitions , fixed assets and software for internal use , and changes in restricted cash . during the year ended december 31 , 2017 , cash used in investing activities principally reflects purchases of fixed assets . purchases of fixed assets were $ 34.0 million , $ 25.4 million and $ 62.3 million for the years ended december 31 , 2017 , 2016 and 2015 , respectively . net cash used in financing activities . financing activities are a net source of cash in 2017 and 2016 and a net use of cash in 2015. in 2017 , we received net proceeds of $ 387.5 million from the issuance of preferred units . in 2016 , we paid $ 58.9 million to repurchase 3.7 million units under our unit repurchase program . in june 2015 , the partnership received net proceeds from the issuance of 7,000,000 common units of $ 209.9 million . the partnership used these net proceeds to acquire 7,000,000 carlyle holdings partnership units from the other limited partners of the carlyle holdings partnerships . distributions to our common unitholders were $ 118.1 million , $ 140.9 million , and $ 251.0 million for the years ended december 31 , 2017 , 2016 and 2015 , respectively . distributions to the non-controlling interest holders in carlyle holdings were $ 295.6 million , $ 422.6 million , and $ 848.5 million for the years ended december 31 , 2017 , 2016 and 2015 , respectively .


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```net cash used in investing activities . our investing activities generally reflect cash used for acquisitions , fixed assets and software for internal use , and changes in restricted cash . during the year ended december 31 , 2017 , cash used in investing activities principally reflects purchases of fixed assets . purchases of fixed assets were $ 34.0 million , $ 25.4 million and $ 62.3 million for the years ended december 31 , 2017 , 2016 and 2015 , respectively . net cash used in financing activities . financing activities are a net source of cash in 2017 and 2016 and a net use of cash in 2015. in 2017 , we received net proceeds of $ 387.5 million from the issuance of preferred units . in 2016 , we paid $ 58.9 million to repurchase 3.7 million units under our unit repurchase program . in june 2015 , the partnership received net proceeds from the issuance of 7,000,000 common units of $ 209.9 million . the partnership used these net proceeds to acquire 7,000,000 carlyle holdings partnership units from the other limited partners of the carlyle holdings partnerships . distributions to our common unitholders were $ 118.1 million , $ 140.9 million , and $ 251.0 million for the years ended december 31 , 2017 , 2016 and 2015 , respectively . distributions to the non-controlling interest holders in carlyle holdings were $ 295.6 million , $ 422.6 million , and $ 848.5 million for the years ended december 31 , 2017 , 2016 and 2015 , respectively .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : accordingly , our segment revenues primarily consist of fund management and related advisory fees , performance fees ( consisting of incentive fees and carried interest allocations ) , investment income , including realized and unrealized gains on our investments in our funds and other trading securities , as well as interest and other income . our segment expenses primarily consist of compensation and benefits expenses , including salaries , bonuses , performance payment arrangements , and equity-based compensation excluding awards granted in our initial public offering or in connection with 94 acquisitions and strategic investments , and general and administrative expenses . while our segment expenses include depreciation and interest expense , our segment expenses exclude acquisition-related charges and amortization of intangibles and impairment . refer to note 16 to the consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on form 10-k for more information on the differences between our financial results reported pursuant to u.s. gaap and our financial results for segment reporting purposes . trends affecting our business expectations for global economic growth remained strong through the fourth quarter of 2017 and into early 2018 , with particular optimism surrounding the outlook for growth in the eurozone . our proprietary portfolio of industrial and manufacturing related indicators remained steady at or near six-year highs during the fourth quarter and into early 2018. as 2017 drew to a close , inflation continued to fall short of central bank targets . in the u.s. , the core pce price index ( the federal reserve 's preferred measure of core inflation ) rose by 1.5 % in the twelve months ended december 2017 , unchanged from november and still well below the federal reserve 's 2 % target . our proprietary portfolio data similarly lacked signs of inflationary pressure , a phenomenon we believe is almost entirely driven by weakness in construction activity . during the fourth quarter of 2017 , eurozone core inflation rose more sluggishly than in the third quarter of 2017 , with year-on-year rates of 0.9 % observed in each month of the fourth quarter . on the other hand , u.s. bond market inflation expectations continue to rise , as the 10-year breakeven rate recently reached 2.1 % . the u.s. dollar declined nearly 10 % against global currencies in 2017 , the largest annual decline in more than 10-years . during 2017 , the euro appreciated 12 % against the u.s. dollar . stronger real global growth , relatively low longer-term interest rates , and the passage of tax reform pushed global equity markets to record highs in 2017. the msci world index advanced 20 % in 2017 and 5 % in the fourth quarter alone , while the s & p 500 rose 19 % over the calendar year and 6 % in the fourth quarter of 2017. underlying earnings growth at the companies comprising the s & p 500 has supported the upward movement of the markets . estimated total 2017 earnings growth for the s & p 500 is 13.4 % , the highest annual rate since 2011. as has been the case throughout the year , companies with greater global exposure have been driving this trend . as of mid-december 2017 , s & p 500 companies with a concentration of at least 50 % of sales outside the u.s. experienced earnings growth of approximately 15 % , compared to approximately 7 % for companies with a greater domestic focus . after strong recent performance pushing global market multiples to multi-year highs , during early february 2018 , the markets experienced a heightened level of volatility in connection with a sell-off . the u.s. 10-year treasury yield ended 2017 at around 2.4 % and has risen to more than 2.8 % in the first two weeks of february 2018. while the yield curve continued to flatten through most of january , it has recently shown signs of steepening , with the credit spread between the 10-year and two-year treasury yields rising to nearly 0.7 % as of february 7 , 2018. credit spreads on b-rated corporate credit ticked up slightly to 370 basis points in the fourth quarter - well below long-run averages - while the trailing high-yield default rate continued to hover around 2.3 % ( measured globally ) . sustained low interest rates and the availability of financing has continued to support valuation multiples near all-time highs , though rising inflation expectations and the repricing of risk may slow the pace of gains . our overall carry fund portfolio appreciated by 5 % during the fourth quarter and was up 20 % for 2017. in the fourth quarter , our corporate private equity funds appreciated by 8 % ( 32 % for the full year ) , our real asset funds appreciated by 4 % ( 19 % for the full year ) and our global credit carry funds appreciated by 1 % for the quarter ( 11 % for the full year ) . appreciation in investment solutions was 3 % in the fourth quarter and 10 % for the full-year , negatively impacted by the strength of the euro relative to the u.s. dollar as alpinvest funds are primarily denominated in euros , with significant underlying usd-denominated investments . our private carry fund portfolio appreciated by 6 % and our public carry fund portfolio appreciated by 9 % during the fourth quarter , each excluding investment solutions . the continued appreciation across our portfolio was aided by market tailwinds in 2017 as described above . however , with market valuation levels at all-time highs , increasing volatility and the potential for upward movement in interest rates , it will be difficult for the public markets to generate the same level of appreciation in 2018 as observed in 2017 and , accordingly , it will be difficult for our portfolio to do the same as well . story_separator_special_tag we use the term “ realized net performance fees ” to refer to realized performance fees from our funds , net of the portion allocated to our investment professionals , if any , and certain tax expenses associated with carried interest attributable to certain partners and employees , which are reflected as realized performance fee related compensation expense . see “ — non-gaap financial measures ” for the amount of realized and unrealized performance fees recognized each period . see “ — segment analysis ” for the realized and unrealized performance fees by segment and related discussion for each period . fair value measurement . u.s. gaap establishes a hierarchal disclosure framework which ranks the observability of market price inputs used in measuring financial instruments at fair value . the observability of inputs is impacted by a number of factors , including the type of financial instrument , the characteristics specific to the financial instrument and the state of the marketplace , including the existence and transparency of transactions between market participants . financial instruments with readily available quoted prices , or for which fair value can be measured from quoted prices in active markets , will generally have a higher degree of market price observability and a lesser degree of judgment applied in determining fair value . the table below summarizes the valuation of investments and other financial instruments included within our aum , by segment and fair value hierarchy levels , as of december 31 , 2017 ( amounts in millions ) : replace_table_token_8_th investment income , interest , and other income . investment income , interest , and other income represent the unrealized and realized gains and losses on our principal investments , including our investments in carlyle funds that are not consolidated , our equity method investments and other principal investments , as well as any interest and other income . investment income ( loss ) also includes the related amortization of the basis difference between the carrying value of our investment and our share of the underlying net assets of the investee , as well as the compensation expense associated with compensatory arrangements provided by us to employees of our equity method investee , as it relates to our investments in ngp . realized investment income ( loss ) is recorded when we redeem all or a portion of our investment or when we receive or are due cash income , such as dividends or distributions . a realized investment loss is also recorded when an investment is deemed to be worthless . unrealized investment income ( loss ) results from changes in the fair value of the underlying investment , as well as the reversal of previously recognized unrealized gains ( losses ) at the time an investment is realized . interest and other income of consolidated funds . interest and other income of consolidated funds primarily represents the interest earned on clo assets . the consolidated funds are not the same entities in all periods presented . the consolidated funds in future periods may change due to changes in fund terms , formation of new funds , and terminations of funds . 99 revenue of a real estate vie . revenue of a real estate vie consists of revenue generated by urbplan , which primarily is revenue earned for land development services using the completed contract method and investment income earned on urbplan 's investments . under the completed contract method of revenue recognition , revenue is not recognized until the period in which the land development services contract is completed , which can cause volatility from period to period based on which contracts are completed . urbplan was deconsolidated from the partnership 's financial results during 2017 as a result of the partnership disposing of its interests in urbplan in a transaction in which a third party acquired operational control and all of the economic interests in urbplan ( see note 15 to the consolidated financial statements ) . net investment gains of consolidated funds . net investment gains of consolidated funds measures the change in the difference in fair value between the assets and the liabilities of the consolidated funds . a gain ( loss ) indicates that the fair value of the assets of the consolidated funds appreciated more ( less ) , or depreciated less ( more ) , than the fair value of the liabilities of the consolidated funds . a gain or loss is not necessarily indicative of the investment performance of the consolidated funds and does not impact the management or incentive fees received by carlyle for its management of the consolidated funds . the portion of the net investment gains ( losses ) of consolidated funds attributable to the limited partner investors is allocated to non-controlling interests . therefore a gain or loss is not expected to have a material impact on the revenues or profitability of the partnership . moreover , although the assets of the consolidated funds are consolidated onto our balance sheet pursuant to u.s. gaap , ultimately we do not have recourse to such assets and such liabilities are generally non-recourse to us . therefore , a gain or loss from the consolidated funds generally does not impact the assets available to our equity holders . expenses compensation and benefits . compensation includes salaries , bonuses , equity-based compensation , and performance payment arrangements . bonuses are accrued over the service period to which they relate . we recognize as compensation expense the portion of performance fees that are due to our employees , senior carlyle professionals , and operating executives in a manner consistent with how we recognize the performance fee revenue . these amounts are accounted for as compensation expense in conjunction with the related performance fee revenue and , until paid , are recognized as a component of the accrued compensation and benefits liability . compensation in respect of performance fees is paid when the related performance fees

