Here are 1-2 brief analogies to describe Ellington Financial (EFC):

1. Think of it as a highly specialized investment desk within a major financial institution such as Goldman Sachs, focused entirely on profiting from mortgage-backed securities and other real estate loans.

2. It operates like a large insurance company's fixed-income division, but dedicated solely to profiting from mortgage loans and bonds rather than managing claims or policies.

Ellington Financial (EFC) Major Products and Services

• Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS): Investing in various types of securities backed by pools of residential mortgages.
• Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS): Investing in securities backed by pools of commercial real estate loans.
• Mortgage Loans: Investing directly in residential and commercial mortgage loans, including performing and non-performing loans.
• Other Mortgage-Related and Real Estate Assets: Investing in a diverse range of assets such as credit risk transfer securities, real estate equity, and mezzanine debt.

• Institutional Investors: This category includes other asset managers, hedge funds, pension funds, and insurance companies that purchase various types of securities from EFC's portfolio (e.g., RMBS, CMBS, corporate debt). These transactions are typically executed through broker-dealers in the open market.
• Broker-Dealers and Investment Banks: These firms act as intermediaries in the trading of securities and also serve as counterparties for EFC's financing activities (such as repurchase agreements) and hedging instruments (derivatives). EFC maintains relationships with numerous such firms to facilitate its market activities, but no single firm is typically a "major customer" in a long-term, disclosed capacity. Examples of such firms include major global banks (e.g., Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup), but EFC's transactions are distributed among many.
• Other Financial Institutions: This broad category includes other banks and financial institutions that may purchase assets from EFC or engage in various structured finance transactions.

Ellington Management Group, L.L.C.

Laurence Penn, Chief Executive Officer, President & Director
Mr. Penn has served as Ellington Financial's Chief Executive Officer and President and as a member of its board of directors since August 2007. He is also the Executive Vice President of Ellington Financial's Manager and a Vice Chairman of Ellington Management Group (EMG), where he oversees many functions of the firm. Prior to joining EMG in 1995, Mr. Penn was a Managing Director and co-head of CMO origination and trading at Lehman Brothers, where he also managed the structured transaction modeling group and co-created "BondTalk," a high-level programming language for modeling Collateralized Mortgage Obligations. He also serves as Chief Executive Officer, President, and a member of the Board of Trustees of Ellington Credit Company (formerly Ellington Residential Mortgage REIT).

J.R. Herlihy, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer
Mr. Herlihy joined Ellington Management Group in April 2011 and has been Ellington Financial's Chief Financial Officer since April 2018 and Treasurer since May 2017. He also serves as Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer of Ellington Credit Company. Before joining EMG, Mr. Herlihy held various positions in the real estate industry, including at the real estate private equity firm GTIS Partners LP, Capmark Financial Group (formerly GMAC Commercial Mortgage), and Jones Lang LaSalle. He previously served as Interim Chief Financial Officer of Ellington Housing Inc., a former affiliate focused on residential real estate assets.

Michael Vranos, Co-Chief Investment Officer
Mr. Vranos is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ellington Management Group, which he established in 1994. Prior to founding Ellington, he held senior roles in the mortgage departments at Kidder, Peabody & Co., where he was a bond trader, senior managing director, and head of CMO trading, and at Lehman Brothers. He was instrumental in launching Ellington Financial LLC as a specialty finance company in 2007, which subsequently went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2010. Mr. Vranos also founded Ellington Residential Mortgage REIT, which had its IPO in 2013.

Mark Tecotzky, Co-Chief Investment Officer
Mr. Tecotzky has been Ellington Financial's Co-Chief Investment Officer since March 2008 and also serves as Co-Chief Investment Officer of Ellington Credit Company and Vice Chairman – Co-Head of Credit Strategies of Ellington Management Group. Before joining EMG in July 2006, Mr. Tecotzky was the senior trader in the mortgage department at Credit Suisse, where he developed and launched several securitization vehicles and ran its hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage business. He also previously worked with Mr. Vranos and other EMG principals at Kidder Peabody, where he traded Agency and non-Agency pass-throughs and structured CMOs as a Managing Director. From 2009 to 2020, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Tod's Point Capital LLC.

Lisa Mumford, Board Member
Ms. Mumford has been a member of Ellington Financial's Board of Directors since August 2018. She previously served as the company's Chief Financial Officer and the CFO of its Manager from October 2009 through her retirement in March 2018. Ms. Mumford also held the CFO position for Ellington Credit Company from April 2013 until her retirement. Her earlier career includes serving as Chief Accounting Officer of ACA Capital Holdings, Inc. and as Chief Financial Officer and Controller at ACE Guaranty Corp. She started her career as a staff accountant at Coopers & Lybrand. Ms. Mumford also serves on the Board of Directors of Radian Group Inc.

Ellington Financial (EFC) primarily operates in the U.S. and focuses on a diversified portfolio of mortgage-related, consumer-related, and other financial assets. Its main products and services include investments in Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS), direct mortgage loans, and Asset-Backed Securities (ABS) backed by consumer loans.

The addressable markets for their main products and services within the U.S. are substantial:

• Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS): The U.S. MBS market was valued at over $11 trillion in outstanding securities as of mid-2023. The broader Mortgaged Backed Securities market is estimated at $15.55 trillion in 2025 and is projected to reach $22.43 trillion by 2030, with North America holding the largest market share. Within this, the U.S. Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities (CMBS) market capitalization is approximately $1.8 trillion as of December 31, 2024. Global CMBS market size was valued at $1230 billion in 2024 and is forecasted to hit $1862 billion by 2033. Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) issuance in the U.S. totaled $418 billion in 2025. Private-label RMBS issuance is anticipated to increase to approximately $160 billion in 2025.
• Consumer Loan Asset-Backed Securities (ABS): The U.S. ABS market is a dominant segment globally, expanding to over $1.71 trillion in 2025, representing approximately 76% of global ABS issuance. The overall Asset-Backed Securities market in North America, which includes consumer loan ABS, held a share of over 27% in 2023 within the global market. Unsecured consumer loan securitization volumes in the U.S. reached a record $13.4 billion in 2024.

• Expansion of Loan Portfolios: Ellington Financial anticipates continued growth through strategic investments in diversified residential and commercial mortgage loan portfolios. This includes a focus on non-qualified mortgage (non-QM) loans, commercial mortgage bridge loans, and proprietary reverse mortgages. The company also sees potential opportunities in acquiring seasoned mortgage loan portfolios from banks. This expansion in loan acquisitions is a consistent theme across recent earnings calls.
• Robust Securitization Platform Activity: The company's ability to execute securitizations at scale, particularly for non-QM and proprietary reverse mortgage loans, is a significant driver of earnings and is expected to continue propelling revenue growth. Ellington Financial has reported a record pace of securitizations, which contributes to higher net interest income and gains.
• Growth in the Longbridge Segment: The Longbridge segment, which specializes in the origination and servicing of reverse mortgage loans, has shown strong contributions to Ellington Financial's earnings and increasing origination volumes. Continued momentum in this segment, driven by higher origination volumes and margins, is expected to enhance cash flows and revenue.
• Enhanced Funding Flexibility and Balance Sheet Resilience: Ellington Financial is strategically shifting towards a greater proportion of long-term unsecured and securitization-based financing and a lesser reliance on shorter-term repurchase agreements (repo financing). This evolution of its capital structure is expected to strengthen its risk profile, improve capital efficiency, and support more stable earnings, thereby indirectly facilitating revenue growth by providing a more robust funding base for investments. The successful issuance of senior unsecured notes is a key component of this strategy.
• Strategic Technology Investments: Investments in technology are enabling Ellington Financial's originator affiliates to more efficiently originate and deliver a broader range of mortgage products. These technological advancements are expected to improve loan purchase volumes and underwriting quality, contributing to overall portfolio growth and, consequently, revenue.

Share Issuance

• In July 2021, Ellington Financial raised $143.48 million through a Secondary Public Offering, issuing 7,500,000 shares at $19.13 per share.
• During the three-month period ending September 30, 2025, the company issued 8,156,876 shares of common stock under its At-The-Market (ATM) program.

Inbound Investments

• In October 2025, Ellington Financial completed a $400 million fixed-income offering of senior unsecured notes, enhancing its balance sheet and providing flexibility for future investments or debt refinancing.

Outbound Investments

• In the third quarter of 2025, the adjusted long credit portfolio expanded by 11% to $3.56 billion.
• During Q3 2025, proprietary loan origination businesses generated $1.8 billion in loans, encompassing non-QM, residential transition, commercial mortgage, and reverse mortgage loans.
• The Longbridge portfolio, primarily focused on reverse mortgage loans, increased by a substantial 37% to $750 million.

Capital Expenditures

• The company's primary investments, in the form of loans, grew from $14 billion to approximately $14.7 billion during the first half of 2025.
• Capital deployment is primarily focused on a diverse array of financial assets, including residential and commercial mortgage loans, mortgage-backed securities, consumer loans, and equity investments in loan origination companies.