Mark Tecotzky
About Mark Tecotzky
Mark Tecotzky is Co-Chief Investment Officer of Ellington Financial Inc. (EFC), a role he has held since March 2008, and Vice Chairman—Co‑Head of Credit Strategies at Ellington Management Group (EMG), EFC’s external manager; he is also head portfolio manager for all MBS/ABS credit . He is 63 years old, joined EMG in July 2006 after senior mortgage trading roles at Credit Suisse and Kidder Peabody, and holds a B.S. from Yale University with a National Science Foundation fellowship to study at MIT . He serves on EMG’s Investment and Risk Management Committee that advises EFC on portfolio, financing, and hedging; EFC’s Audit Committee receives briefings from this committee . Under EFC’s pay-versus-performance disclosure, the company’s cumulative total shareholder return (TSR) value rose to $119.53 (from a $100 base at 12/31/2019) in 2024 while GAAP net income was $148.1 million in 2024 (after $87.9 million in 2023 and $(70.9) million in 2022) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellington Financial Inc. | Co-Chief Investment Officer | 2008–present | Senior investment leadership for credit strategies and risk; member of EMG’s Investment and Risk Committee supporting EFC oversight |
| Ellington Management Group (EMG) | Vice Chairman—Co‑Head of Credit Strategies; Head PM for MBS/ABS credit | 2006–present | Built and leads firm-wide credit strategy and securitized credit portfolio management |
| Ellington Credit Co. (EARN) | Co‑Chief Investment Officer (Oct 2012–Apr 2025); Executive Vice President (since Apr 2025) | 2012–2025 (Co‑CIO); 2025–present (EVP) | Oversaw investment strategy at sister public vehicle; transitioned to EVP in 2025 |
| Credit Suisse | Senior trader, mortgage department (hybrid ARMs, second liens; conduit/sales/securitization) | — (prior to 2006) | Launched and ran hybrid ARM securitization platform; trading/hedging across ratings |
| Kidder Peabody | Managing Director, Agency and non‑Agency pass‑throughs and structured CMOs | — (prior to 2006) | Senior structured products trading alongside other EMG principals |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellington Management Group (EMG) | Vice Chairman—Co‑Head of Credit Strategies; Head PM MBS/ABS credit | 2006–present | EMG is EFC’s external manager |
| Ellington Credit Co. (EARN) | Executive Vice President | Apr 2025–present | Formerly Co‑CIO (Oct 2012–Apr 2025) |
Fixed Compensation
- EFC is externally managed; except for the CFO and CAO, EFC does not pay cash compensation to executive officers (including Tecotzky), has no cash compensation agreements with them, and does not intend to enter into such agreements .
- EMG pays Tecotzky’s compensation; EFC provides no reimbursement for Non‑Reimbursed NEOs (which include the CEO, Co‑CIOs, i.e., Penn, Vranos, Tecotzky) .
Performance Compensation
- For Non‑Reimbursed NEOs (including Tecotzky), there are no fixed performance metrics or contractual formulas disclosed by EFC; compensation at EMG is discretionary, considering role, contributions, firm and company performance, market practices, and other factors .
- EFC may award incentive equity or bonuses directly to dedicated executives (CFO/CAO), but it “did not” provide annual cash bonuses to NEOs in 2024 and has not historically; no company equity or bonus awards are disclosed for Tecotzky .
- Manager incentive fee: EFC’s management agreement pays EMG a quarterly incentive fee equal to 25% of Adjusted Net Income over a hurdle (greater of 9% or 3% plus 10‑Year U.S. Treasury) on a rolling four‑quarter “Incentive Calculation Period,” aligning EMG’s economics with earnings generation; no incentive fee was incurred for 2023 or 2024 .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Company‑reported beneficial ownership: The 2025 proxy lists directors/executive officers’ beneficial ownership; Tecotzky is an executive officer but not individually enumerated in the table (group holdings for 10 persons were 3,916,538 shares/units, 4.1%) .
- EMG affiliation: Tecotzky is an EMG partner/executive (Vice Chairman—Co‑Head of Credit Strategies) and an officer of the external manager EFM; officers/directors/EMG affiliates collectively owned about 4% of EFC’s outstanding common equity as of 12/31/2024 .
- Hedging/shorting policy: EFC prohibits officers/directors/EMG personnel from short sales or derivative transactions designed to hedge or offset decreases in EFC’s share price .
- Clawback: EFC adopted a Dodd‑Frank compliant clawback policy effective Nov 2, 2023, requiring recoupment of incentive‑based compensation after an accounting restatement for covered executive officers .
- Pledging and ownership guidelines: No specific pledging policy or executive stock ownership guidelines are disclosed in the proxy .
Employment Terms
| Topic | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Employment status | Executive officers, including Tecotzky, are employed by EMG affiliates; EFC has no employees other than at subsidiary Longbridge . |
| Cash comp agreements | EFC has no cash compensation agreements with executives (and does not intend to); compensation is at EMG and not reimbursed by EFC for Non‑Reimbursed NEOs . |
| Severance/CIC | EFC “generally” has no obligations to NEOs upon termination or change in control; severance/CIC vesting continuity terms disclosed apply only to the CFO/CAO OP LTIP grants, not to Tecotzky . |
| Non‑compete/non‑solicit | Not disclosed in the proxy for Tecotzky . |
| Indemnification | EFC provides indemnification agreements to directors and executive officers to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law . |
Insider Trading, Vesting, and Selling Pressure
- Company equity awards and vesting schedules disclosed pertain to CFO/CAO OP LTIP Units (with specific 2024 grants and 2025–2026 vesting), not to Tecotzky; there are no EFC‑granted equity awards disclosed for him, limiting company‑driven vest‑related selling pressure .
- Form 4 activity: Public Form 4s exist for Tecotzky historically (e.g., 2011 purchases), but our search did not surface recent (2024–2025) Form 4s for him on EFC’s IR/SEC links; examples of older filings: Oct–Dec 2011 purchases and filings via EFC IR SEC archive .
Compensation Committee, Peer Benchmarking, Say‑on‑Pay
- Process/governance: The CEO and Co‑CIO make recommendations for the compensated executives (CFO/CAO); the Compensation Committee does not use a consultant and determines appropriateness; executives are excluded from deliberating on their own pay .
- Performance metrics: The compensation program for Non‑Reimbursed NEOs (incl. Tecotzky) does not employ fixed metrics or formulas; decisions are discretionary based on role, contributions, performance, and market factors .
- Peer group: The pay‑versus‑performance section compares TSR to the FTSE NAREIT Mortgage REIT Index but does not present a specific executive compensation peer group or target percentile .
- Say‑on‑pay: Approximately 86% of votes cast at the 2024 annual meeting approved executive compensation; the Board conducts say‑on‑pay annually .
Performance & Track Record Indicators
| Year | Net income (GAAP, $mm) | TSR value of $100 (Company) | TSR value of $100 (Peer Index) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 28.4 | 90.17 | 81.38 |
| 2021 | 140.6 | 113.92 | 94.05 |
| 2022 | (70.9) | 93.05 | 69.27 |
| 2023 | 87.9 | 109.94 | 79.79 |
| 2024 | 148.1 | 119.53 | 79.96 |
- Governance/related‑party controls around EMG: Cross‑transactions and principal transactions are governed by policies requiring independent director approvals or market pricing; EMG receives base (1.5% of OP equity) and potential incentive fees under the management agreement; no incentive fee was incurred in 2023–2024 .
- Administrative fees: As of 12/31/2024, none of Messrs. Vranos, Penn, or Tecotzky had a direct or indirect material interest in administrative fees paid to EMG or affiliates for securitization administration .
Investment Implications
- Alignment and incentives: Tecotzky’s compensation is paid by EMG and not disclosed at the individual level by EFC; while this reduces transparency into pay‑for‑performance at the executive level, the EMG incentive fee is tied to Adjusted Net Income above a hurdle, potentially aligning EMG leadership (including Tecotzky) with income growth; however, the absence of disclosed individual metrics/formulas is a monitoring point .
- Ownership/skin‑in‑the‑game: Officers/directors/EMG affiliates collectively owned ~4% of common equity as of 12/31/2024—supportive of alignment; hedging via shorting/derivatives is prohibited, but no explicit pledging policy or executive ownership guideline is disclosed .
- Retention risk: Long tenure (EMG since 2006; EFC Co‑CIO since 2008) suggests stability; no EFC‑level severance/CIC economics apply to Tecotzky, indicating limited “golden parachute” friction in transitions but also fewer retention hooks at the company level; retention relies on EMG economics and culture .
- Trading signals: With no company equity awards disclosed for Tecotzky and no recent Form 4s surfaced in 2024–2025 on EFC IR/SEC links, near‑term selling pressure tied to vesting appears low; continue to monitor EMG‑level ownership changes and any future Section 16 filings .
- Governance safeguards: A Dodd‑Frank compliant clawback, independent Board committees, and related‑party transaction policies are in place; continue to watch incentive fee outcomes and EMG’s risk posture given macro credit conditions .
Key watch items: disclosure of any new company‑level equity awards or ownership guidelines for executives; future Form 4 activity by Tecotzky; EMG incentive fee accruals vs. hurdle amid rate/credit cycles; and say‑on‑pay trends given the externally managed model .