"We incorporate numerous local (CBSA) economic variables to enhance our analytics and infrastructure; contrary to market conventions which rely solely on loan, borrower and home price metrics as the drivers of performance." A pioneer in the mortgage industry, Michael was a Managing Director and Head of Research for FBR Investment Management, Inc. At FBR, he directed research on the fundamental and relative value of non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) in the context of the 363 U.S metropolitan housing markets. Michael has more than 20 years of experience in investments, commercial and mortgage banking, and is recognized as a pioneer in residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS). He pioneered the analysis of non-agency, interest and principal-only, adjustable-rate, and Sterling-denominated RMBS in the 1980s. In addition, he is credited with developing the first commercial mortgage conduit, the first option-adjusted spread analytics of CMBS, and the first total rate of return indexes for CMBS. He has published several hundred professional and academic reports and papers. Prior to joining Friedman, Billings, Ramsey, & Co., Michael developed mortgage research units at Banc of America Securities, Chase Securities, and Smith Barney. He also served as a director of residential mortgage research and product manager at Salomon Brothers Inc., working for Dr. Henry Kaufman and Lewis S. Ranieri.

Michael holds a Ph.D. from the University of London, an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin. He has received numerous educational awards and honors, including a Marshall Scholarship and membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. Michael was named a member of the first Institutional Investor All-America Research Team for Mortgage Securities in 1990.

"At the end of the day, the investor has little to no control over a borrower's decision to pay, prepay or default of their mortgage. Our responsibility is to understand the drivers of that decision." Steve draws on a diverse financial experience, most recently holding the position as a Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager for FBR Investment Management, Inc. where he was in charge of building their fixed income asset management business. Earlier he was a founding member and Head of Sales for the Fixed Income Division at Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. where he was responsible for all sales and staff related to ABS, MBS and structured finance product distributions to institutional investors worldwide. Steve was a member of the Fixed Income Risk Management Committee responsible for developing, designing and implementing policy, procedures, and infrastructure for oversight of operational and trading risk management. Prior to joining FBR in 2004, Steve worked at Freddie Mac in their MBS broker-dealer where he was the top institutional fixed income salesperson and responsible for Hedge Fund, Money Manager, REIT, Bank and Insurance clients. From 1991-1997, he worked in the MBS Research group within the broker-dealer, where he was responsible for the structuring of REMICs issued by the broker-dealer, developing MBS trade ideas and strategies, trading and risk analytics, and quantitative modeling. During this time he was also a member of the Risk Management Committee for the broker-dealer.

Steve has a BSBA in Finance from The American University, is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and held FINRA Series 7, 63 and 24 registrations.

Prior to joining Five Bridges, Gene was most recently a Vice President at FBR Investment Management, Inc., where he was responsible for product development and institutional sales and marketing for FBR's alternative and traditional asset management businesses. Gene was also a Vice President with Montgomery Asset Management, and was instrumental in developing Montgomery Partners, the firm's alternative asset management arm. In this role, he helped design, develop and secure distribution relationships for the Montgomery Partners Absolute Return Fund. Gene brings over ten years of experience to the Five Bridges team. During his career, he has held positions with Scudder Weisel Capital, an alternative investments joint venture between Thomas Weisel Partners, LLC and Zurich Financial Services as well as Fidelity Investments Institutional Services, Inc. where he worked to develop relationships with broker/dealers and financial institutions. Gene received a B.A. from Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. He holds FINRA series 7 and 63 registrations.

The success of Five Bridges will be directly measured by the success we bring to our clients, " says Will Yano, a Partner in Five Bridges.

Prior to joining Five Bridges, Will was a Director of Institutional Sales at GMAC-RFC where he was responsible for providing MBS and ABS sales coverage to top tier institutional accounts. "Building long term relationships is the most rewarding part of our business." His experience at GMAC-RFC included structuring bonds from the conduit program by interacting with institutional investors for residential prime, alternative-A, subprime and second lien mortgages. Previously, Will held positions as a Director of Fixed Income Sales at Frieman, Billings, Ramsey & Co, and Senior Sales Representative within Freddie Mac’s MBS broker-dealer where he was a top fixed income and structured products salesperson. In both positions he was responsible for distributing MBS, ABS and structured finance products to US and international institutions. His experience also includes broker-dealer settlement, financing and clearing operations, as well as a background in loan administration and accounting. Will has an MBA from George Mason University and a BA in Finance from James Madison University. He holds FINRA series 7, 63, and 24 registrations.