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FBR Expands Research to Cover Eight Industry Sectors

Six New Senior Analysts Appointed

ARLINGTON, Va., April 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc. (NYSE: FBR) today announced that the Research Department of its Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., Inc., subsidiary will now provide investors with access to expertise in eight vertical industry sectors, an increase from the six sectors previously covered. As an integral part of this expanded service, FBR has hired new senior analysts who cover high yield issues; consumer stocks, initially including hardlines retail and restaurants; life insurance companies; Internet and interactive entertainment businesses; and semiconductor manufacturing firms. To better inform investors about the expanded breadth and depth of FBR's coverage, the Technology research group has also been renamed Technology, Media and Telecommunications.

The Research Department of Friedman Billings Ramsey now offers independent, quality research on these sectors:

  • Consumer
  • Diversified Industrials
  • Energy
  • Financial Services
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Real Estate
  • Technology, Media and Telecommunications

In addition, FBR Research provides Economic and Policy Research, including FBR's Washington Policy Analysis Group, to give investors the most complete picture of the financial landscape, complete with insights into the opportunities arising from legislative and regulatory developments on Capitol Hill and in the federal agencies.

    Senior analysts who have recently joined FBR include:


     * Reed Anderson
       Senior Vice-President and Senior Analyst
       Consumer -- Hardlines Retail
     * Carl Blake
       Senior Vice-President and Senior Analyst
       Fixed-Income
     * Mehdi Hosseini
       Senior Vice-President and Senior Analyst
       Technology, Media and Telecommunications -- Semiconductor Manufacturing
     * Stewart Johnson
       Senior Vice-President and Senior Analyst
       Insurance -- Life Insurance
     * Shawn Milne
       Senior Vice-President and Senior Analyst
       Technology, Media and Telecommunications -- Internet and Interactive
       Entertainment
     * Howard Penney
       Senior Vice-President and Senior Analyst
       Consumer -- Restaurants

FBR now has more than 40 senior analysts covering over 470 companies, and distributes more than 3,000 research products annually. FBR research is also available to clients online at www.fbr.com.

"FBR is strongly committed to expanding our in-depth and non-commodity analysis of small- and mid-market cap companies, as well as increasing our coverage of S&P 500 equities," said Martin Friedman, Director of Research. "This growth will help us to better serve the investors who rely on us for objective research that sees deeper, but this expansion is only part of that ongoing mission. FBR will continue to make additional significant additions throughout this year."

"The realignments and changes that have occurred in the securities industry -- as well as increasing recognition of FBR's performance -- are allowing us to bring in talented and experienced analysts," Friedman said.

"The opportunity to help build a consumer business from the ground up at one of the leading firms in the country was too good to pass up," said Reed Anderson, Senior Vice-President and Senior Analyst, Consumer -- Retail Research. "FBR is an exciting place to work -- the culture is very entrepreneurial and I'm thrilled to play a part in the firm's growth and success."

"Joining FBR was a natural step," said Howard Penney, Senior Vice- President and Senior Analyst, Consumer -- Restaurants. "I was attracted by FBR's increasing prominence and the firm's commitment to growing their distribution of high-quality, differentiated research."

Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc. provides investment banking*, institutional brokerage*, asset management, and private client services through its operating subsidiaries and invests in mortgage-backed securities and merchant banking opportunities. FBR focuses capital and financial expertise on eight industry sectors: consumer, diversified industrials, energy, financial services, healthcare, insurance, real estate, and technology, media and telecommunications. FBR, headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, with offices in Arlington, Va. and Bethesda, Md., also has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Irvine, London, New York, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, and Vienna. For more information, see http://www.fbr.com.

*Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., Inc.

SOURCE Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc.
-0- 04/14/2004
/NOTE TO EDITORS: Members of the media may obtain complimentary access to
all Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., Inc. Research products by calling
+1-703-469-1092./
/CONTACT: Bill Dixon, +1-703-469-1092, or bdixon@fbr.com, for Friedman,
Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc./
/Web site: http://www.fbr.com/
(FBR)

CO: Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc.
ST: Virginia
IN: FIN
SU: PER

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6282 04/14/2004 16:30 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com