American Capital Agency is taking on the rocky real estate market. The real estate investment trust (REIT) was created in 2008 to invest in securities backed by single-family residential mortgages and collateralized mortgage obligations guaranteed by government agencies Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae. The company is externally managed and advised by American Capital Agency Management, a subsidiary of US publicly traded alternative asset manager American Capital, which spun off American Capital Agency in 2008, but retained about a 33% stake in the REIT.