James A. Briggs
About James A. Briggs
James A. Briggs is Chief Financial Officer of Lument Finance Trust (LFT), serving as Interim CFO from September 2018 until his permanent appointment in January 2020; he brings more than 33 years of accounting and finance experience across financial services and real estate and currently also serves as Chief Accounting Officer of Lument (an ORIX USA subsidiary) . As of March 1, 2021 he was 54 years old; his background includes senior finance roles at JPMorgan (Head of Valuation Control and CFO for Emerging Markets), Director of Finance at MRU Holdings, and Senior Auditor at Ernst & Young; he holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from Iona College and is an inactive Certified Public Accountant . LFT discloses that named executive officers are not paid by the company (externally managed structure), and no stock or option awards have been granted by LFT to its current named executive officers to date; the insider trading policy prohibits hedging, short selling, and dealing in publicly traded options . During his interim CFO period, the company executed a strategic repositioning (2018–2019) that included redeploying into commercial mortgage loan assets, closing a $285 million CRE CLO, and simplifying the balance sheet, as disclosed in company releases and 8-Ks .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lument Finance Trust (LFT) | Chief Financial Officer | Jan 2020–present | Officer of the registrant; signs SEC filings and earnings materials as CFO . |
| Lument Finance Trust (LFT) | Interim Chief Financial Officer | Sep 2018–Jan 2020 | Oversaw finance during transition; company executed major strategic repositioning in 2018–2019 . |
| Lument (ORIX Real Estate Capital Holdings) | Chief Accounting Officer | 2020–present | CAO of Lument, affiliate of Manager; continuity post-acquisition of Hunt by Lument in Jan 2020 . |
| Hunt Real Estate Capital (formerly Centerline Capital Group) | Chief Accounting Officer | 2009–Jan 2020 | Led accounting/external reporting; predecessor acquired by Lument in Jan 2020 . |
| MRU Holdings, Inc. | Director of Finance | Pre-2009 (prior to Hunt) | Specialty finance company role . |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | Head of Valuation Control; CFO for Emerging Markets; various accounting/finance roles | ~15 years | Senior finance leadership across valuation control and emerging markets CFO . |
| Ernst & Young, LLP | Senior Auditor | Early career (prior to JPMorgan) | Audit experience and CPA credentials . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lument (subsidiary of ORIX USA) | Chief Accounting Officer | 2020–present | Affiliate of LFT’s Manager; ORIX USA is a subsidiary of ORIX (Tokyo-listed) . |
| ORIX Real Estate Capital Holdings (doing business as Lument) | Chief Accounting Officer | 2020–present | Title referenced in earlier filings; affiliate manager to LFT . |
Fixed Compensation
LFT’s externally managed structure means Mr. Briggs is not paid compensation by LFT; instead, LFT reimburses the Manager for a portion of Mr. Briggs’s compensation allocable to time spent managing LFT.
| Metric | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allocable Compensation Reimbursed by LFT ($) | $313,324 | $324,111 | $325,709 | $327,509 | $259,333 |
Notes:
- Named executive officers (including Briggs) “are not paid compensation by us” across years disclosed .
- Summary Compensation Tables show “—” for salary/bonus at LFT for Briggs in 2020–2023 .
Performance Compensation
- No stock option awards or stock awards have been granted by LFT to current named executive officers to date; therefore, no LFT-specific performance-based payout metrics, weightings, or vesting schedules are disclosed for Mr. Briggs .
- LFT maintains a Manager Equity Plan under which awards are made to the Manager (which can then grant to its employees, including current officers), with a share reserve equal to 3.0% of fully diluted outstanding shares at the time of each award; specific individual awards to Mr. Briggs under the Manager’s plan are not disclosed by LFT .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | 2021 (Record as of Mar 1, 2021) | 2023 (Record as of Apr 17, 2023) | 2024 (Record as of Apr 16, 2024) | 2025 (Record as of Apr 15, 2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common Shares Beneficially Owned | 17,500 | 48,750 | 48,750 | 48,750 |
| Ownership as % of Outstanding | <1% (company disclosure) | <1% (company disclosure) | <1% (company disclosure) | <1% (company disclosure) |
| Shares Pledged as Collateral | None pledged (company-wide execs/directors) | None pledged (company-wide execs/directors) | None pledged (company-wide execs/directors) | None pledged (company-wide execs/directors) |
| Insider Trading Policy | Prohibits short selling, dealing in publicly traded options, and hedging/monetization transactions | — | — | — |
Notes:
- Beneficial ownership tables also provide shares outstanding for context (52,231,152 in 2023; 52,257,315 in 2024; 52,324,472 in 2025), with Briggs listed at “less than 1%” each year .
Employment Terms
- Office and Tenure: Executive officers hold office at the pleasure of the board and until successors are duly elected and qualified . Briggs served as Interim CFO starting September 6, 2018; he was appointed permanent CFO January 3, 2020 .
- Compensation Source: Briggs is an employee of Lument (affiliate of the Manager) and is not paid by LFT; allocable compensation reimbursed by LFT is disclosed (see Fixed Compensation) .
- Indemnification: Company references form of indemnification agreement for officers/directors in an 8-K exhibit list .
- Change-in-Control / Manager Agreement Economics: If LFT terminates the Manager other than for cause, LFT must pay a termination fee equal to three times the sum of the average annual base management fee plus average annual incentive compensation earned during the preceding 24 months; the Manager may terminate upon written notice delivered no later than 180 days prior to a renewal date .
Performance & Track Record
- SEC Filings and Signatory: Briggs signed the March 19, 2025 8-K reporting 2024 results and quarterly dividends in his capacity as CFO .
- Company Strategic Repositioning (2018–2019): LFT disclosed a transition away from legacy RMBS into commercial mortgage loan assets, redeemed preferred stock and entered a credit facility expected to improve annual core earnings, and closed a $285 million CRE CLO; the company highlighted improved book value stability and reduced leverage during that period (Briggs served as Interim CFO) .
Investment Implications
- Alignment Considerations: As an externally managed REIT, Briggs’s compensation is set/paid by Lument, with LFT only reimbursing allocable portions; LFT does not grant equity or options to named executive officers, reducing direct pay-for-performance alignment at the LFT level but potentially aligning through the Manager’s incentive fee and equity plan (individual awards not disclosed) .
- Ownership & Hedging/Pledging Risk: Briggs’s beneficial ownership is small (“less than 1%”); company policies prohibit hedging, short selling, and dealing in publicly traded options, and report no pledging by executives/directors—limiting misalignment/red flag risks from pledging or hedging .
- Insider Selling Pressure: Absence of LFT-granted equity awards to named executive officers implies limited forced-selling pressure from vesting schedules; beneficial holdings are modest, further reducing supply overhang risk from insider sales .
- Retention & Continuity: Briggs’s tenure as Interim CFO (2018) and CFO since 2020 suggests continuity through strategic transitions and multiple reporting cycles, reducing near-term execution risk tied to finance leadership turnover .
- Manager Agreement Economics: The manager termination fee (3× average base + incentive) and 180-day notice provisions make manager changes economically significant; while not specific to Briggs, these terms shape governance/oversight dynamics and may influence executive retention within the manager’s platform .