ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- FBR Capital MarketsCorporation (Nasdaq: FBCM) (FBR Capital Markets) today announced a seriesof eight promotions with its institutional research group: -- James Kumpel - Managing Director, Healthcare Services -- Alex Rygiel - Managing Director, Electrical Products, Engineering & Construction and Specialty Contracting -- Wilkes Graham - Senior Vice President, Office & Diversified REITs and Real Estate Operating Companies -- Randy Binner - Vice President, Life & Property/Casualty Insurance -- Brian Butler - Vice President, Environmental Services, Homeland Security and Staffing Services -- Ian Fleischer - Vice President, Capital Goods -- Steve Stelmach - Vice President, Financial Guaranty -- John Stilmar - Vice President, Specialty Finance "We continue to cultivate and challenge our associates and provide themopportunities for professional development and career advancement. Clearlythese promotions demonstrate the depth and quality of FBR Capital Markets'research group," said David Khani, Director of Research. "With Alex Rygiel,Jim Kumpel, and Wilkes Graham in particular, we recognize theircontribution to our passion to create deep and original research." Mr. Kumpel, CFA, joined FBR Capital Markets in 2004 and has coveredhealthcare services stocks since 1997. Prior to FBR Capital Markets, Mr.Kumpel was a senior vice president in healthcare services at Raymond James.His primary areas of focus have been healthcare information technology,pharmaceutical informatics, and senior care. He has also written on managedcare, hospitals, drug stores, and drug distributors. In 2006, Mr. Kumpelwas rated by StarMine as the No. 1 stock picker and the No. 2 earningsestimator in the healthcare technology segment. He received his B.A. atCornell University and his M.B.A. from Duke University's Fuqua School ofBusiness. Mr. Rygiel, a member of the FBR research team since 1998, follows theelectrical products, engineering and construction, and specialtycontracting markets. In 2005 and 2006, he was recognized by Forbes.com as aNo. 1 stock picker for electrical equipment and one of the best earningsestimators for the engineering and construction industry, respectively.Previously, he was an equity research associate at Donaldson, Lufkin andJenrette and Kidder, Peabody & Co. Mr. Rygiel holds a B.S. in financialmanagement from Clemson University. Mr. Graham specializes in office and diversified REITs and C-Corps. Inhis six years at FBR, Mr. Graham has covered a variety of sectors in theREIT space, including mortgage REITs, triple-net REITs, office REITs, andindustrial REITs. Prior to joining FBR in 2001, Mr. Graham spent two yearsin the real estate research group at Raymond James & Associates. Hereceived his B.S. in business administration from the Kenan-FlaglerBusiness School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mr. Binner covers the life and property/casualty insurance sectors.Upon joining FBR in 2004, he served as an associate analyst with the FBRinsurance equity research team for three years, supporting the coverage ofmore than 30 multi-line, P/C, brokerage, and reinsurance lines companies.He also has two years of industry experience at Travelers. Mr. Binnerreceived his B.A. from Colorado College and his M.B.A. in finance fromGeorge Washington University. Mr. Butler, CFA, follows environmental services, homeland security, andstaffing services. Before joining FBR in 2002, he trained as an equityresearch analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston, serving as a productspecialist for the value-based research group. He received his B.S. infinance from Boston University. Mr. Fleischer, CFA, a specialist in capital goods, has 13 years ofsecurities industry experience, including eight in institutional research.Before joining FBR in 1999, he was a securities broker and supervisor.While at FBR, he has analyzed numerous companies across various sectors,including diversified industrials, technology, and telecommunications. Hereceived his B.A. in economics and business from the University ofPittsburgh. Mr. Stelmach, who has more than seven years of sell-side equityresearch experience, has covered a broad array of companies and sectorsthroughout the financial services sector. While at FBR, Mr. Stelmach hasfollowed the government-sponsored entities, mortgage-banking companies,mortgage insurance companies, small- and large-cap thrifts, and communitybanks. Most recently, he launched coverage of the financial guarantyindustry. Prior to joining FBR in 2003, Mr. Stelmach worked on the U.S.bank research team at UBS Securities and as a research analyst at ThomsonFinancial. He received his B.S. in finance from the University of Maryland,College Park. Mr. Stilmar focuses on the fundamental analysis of consumer andcommercial finance companies. Prior to joining FBR in 2004, Mr. Stilmarworked in the Treasury and Market Risk Management groups at Capital OneFinancial. He received his B.S. in business administration with a dualconcentration in finance and marketing from the University of Richmond. FBR Capital Markets Corporation (FBR Capital Markets) (Nasdaq: FBCM), amajority-owned subsidiary of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc. (FBR)(NYSE: FBR), provides investment banking*, merger and acquisition advisoryservices*, institutional brokerage*, asset management and private wealthservices. FBR Capital Markets focuses capital and financial expertise oneight industry sectors: consumer, diversified industrials, energy & naturalresources, financial institutions, healthcare, insurance, real estate, andtechnology, media & telecom. FBR is headquartered in the Washington, D.C.metropolitan area with offices in Arlington, VA, Boston, Dallas, Houston,Irvine, London, New York, Phoenix and San Francisco. For more information,please visit http://www.fbrcapitalmarkets.com . *Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., Inc.
