ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS
OF OPERATIONS

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

We make forward-looking statements in this report that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results of our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans and objectives. When we use the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "plan," "continue," "intend," "should," "may," "would," "will" or similar expressions, we intend to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the following subjects, among others, are forward-looking by their nature:

o our business and investment strategy;

o our projected operating results;

o our ability to obtain future financing arrangements;

o general volatility of the securities markets in which we invest;

o our expected investments;

o interest rate mismatches between our investments and our borrowings used to fund such purchases;

o changes in interest rates and mortgage prepayment rates;

o effects of interest rate caps on our investments;

o rates of default or decreased recovery rates on our investments;

o prepayments of the mortgage and other loans underlying our mortgage-backed or other asset-backed securities;

o the degree to which our hedging strategies may or may not protect us from interest rate volatility;

o changes in governmental regulations, tax law and rates and similar matters;

o availability of investment opportunities in real estate-related and other securities;

o availability of qualified personnel;

o estimates relating to our ability to make distributions to our stockholders in the future;

o our understanding of our competition; and

o market trends in our industry, interest rates, the debt securities markets or the general economy.

The forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations of our future performance, taking into account all information currently available to us. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These beliefs, assumptions and expectations can change as a result of many possible events or factors, not all of which are known to us. Some of these factors are described under the caption "Risk Factors" in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. If a change occurs, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations may vary materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict those events or how they may affect us. Except as required by law, we are not obligated to, and do not intend to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Executive Summary

We are a specialty finance company that invests in residential mortgage loans, residential mortgage-backed securities, real estate related securities and various other asset classes. We are externally managed by FIDAC. We intend to elect and qualify to be taxed as a REIT for federal income tax purposes commencing with our taxable year ending on December 31, 2007. Our targeted asset classes and the principal investments we expect to make in each are as follows:

o Whole mortgage loans, consisting of:

o Prime mortgage loans

o Jumbo prime mortgage loans

o Alt-A mortgage loans

o RMBS, consisting of:

o Non-Agency RMBS, including investment-grade and non-investment grade classes, including the BB-rated, B-rated and non-rated classes

o Agency RMBS

o Asset Backed Securities, or ABS, consisting of:

o Debt and equity tranches of CDOs

o CMBS

o Consumer and non-consumer ABS, including investment-grade and non-investment grade classes, including the BB-rated, B-rated and non-rated classes

We completed our initial public offering on November 21, 2007. In that offering and in a concurrent private offering we raised net proceeds before offering expenses of approximately $533.6 million. We have commenced investing these proceeds, and as of June 30, 2008, had a portfolio of RMBS and whole mortgage loans of approximately $1.9 billion.

Our objective is to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns to our investors over the long-term, primarily through dividends and secondarily through capital appreciation. We intend to achieve this objective by investing in a broad class of financial assets to construct an investment portfolio that is designed to achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns and that is structured to comply with the various federal income tax requirements for REIT status. We expect that over the near term our investment portfolio will continue to be weighted toward non-Agency RMBS, subject to maintaining our REIT qualification and our 1940 Act exemption, which may, depending on the composition of our investment portfolio, require us to purchase Agency RMBS or other qualifying assets. Over time we expect that our investment portfolio will become more weighted toward residential mortgage loans.

Our investment strategy is intended to take advantage of opportunities in the current interest rate and credit environment. We will adjust our strategy to changing market conditions by shifting our asset allocations across these various asset classes as interest rate and credit cycles change over time. We believe that our strategy, combined with FIDAC's experience, will enable us to pay dividends and achieve capital appreciation throughout changing market cycles. We expect to take a long-term view of assets and liabilities, and our reported earnings and mark-to-market valuations at the end of a financial reporting period will not significantly impact our objective of providing attractive risk-adjusted returns to our stockholders over the long-term.

We use leverage to seek to increase our potential returns and to fund the acquisition of our assets. Our income is generated primarily by the difference, or net spread, between the income we earn on our assets and the cost of our borrowings. We expect to finance our investments using a variety of financing sources including repurchase agreements, warehouse facilities, securitizations, commercial paper and term financing CDOs. We expect to manage our debt by utilizing interest rate hedges, such as interest rate swaps, to reduce the effect of interest rate fluctuations related to our debt.

Recent Developments

We commenced operations in November 2007 in the midst of challenging market conditions which affected the cost and availability of financing from the facilities with which we expected to finance our investments. These instruments included repurchase agreements, warehouse facilities, securitizations, asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) and term CDOs. The liquidity crisis which commenced in August 2007 affected each of these sources--and their individual providers--to different degrees; some sources generally became unavailable, some available but at a high cost, and some were largely unaffected. For example, in the repurchase agreement market, non-Agency RMBS became harder to finance, depending on the type of assets collateralizing the RMBS. The amount, term and margin requirements associated with these types of financings were also impacted. At that time, warehouse facilities to finance whole loan prime residential mortgages were generally available from major banks, but at significantly higher cost and had greater margin requirements than previously offered. It was also extremely difficult to term finance whole loans through securitization or bonds issued by a CDO structure. Financing using ABCP froze as issuers became unable to place (or roll) their securities, which resulted, in some instances, in forced sales of mortgage-backed securities, or MBS, and other securities which further negatively impacted the market value of these assets.

Although the credit markets had been undergoing much turbulence, as we started ramping up our portfolio, we noted a slight easing. We entered into a number of repurchase agreements we could use to finance RMBS. In January 2008, we entered into two whole mortgage loan repurchase agreements. As we began to see the availability of financing, we were also seeing better underwriting standards used to originate new mortgages. We commenced buying and financing RMBS and also entered into agreements to purchase whole mortgage loans. We purchased high credit quality assets which we believed we would be readily able to finance.

Beginning mid-February 2008, credit markets experienced a dramatic and sudden adverse change. The severity of the limitation on liquidity was largely unanticipated by the markets. Credit once again froze, and in the mortgage market, valuations of non-Agency RMBS and whole mortgage loans came under severe pressure. This credit crisis began in early February 2008, when a heavily leveraged investor announced that it had to de-lever and liquidate a portfolio of approximately $30 billion of non-Agency RMBS. Prices of these types of securities dropped dramatically, and lenders started lowering the prices on non-Agency RMBS that they held as collateral to secure the loans they had extended. The subsequent failure of a major investment bank worsened the crisis. During the past six months, due to the deterioration in the market value of our assets, we received margin calls under our repurchase agreements, amended liquidity and net income covenants in our warehouse facilities, obtained additional funding from third parties, including from Annaly, and took other steps to increase our liquidity.

The challenges of the first quarter have continued into and subsequent to the second quarter, as financing difficulties have severely pressured liquidity and asset values. Securities trading remains limited and mortgage securities financing markets remain challenging as the industry continues to report negative news. This dislocation in the non-Agency mortgage sector has made it difficult for us to obtain short-term financing on favorable terms. As a result, we have completed loan securitizations in order to obtain long-term financing and terminated our un-utilized whole loan repurchase agreements in order to avoid paying non-usage fees under those agreements. In addition, we have continued to seek funding from Annaly. Under these circumstances, we expect to take actions intended to protect our liquidity, which may include reducing borrowings and disposing of assets.

During this period of market dislocation, fiscal and monetary policymakers have established new liquidity facilities for primary dealers and commercial banks, reduced short-term interest rates, and passed legislation that will address the challenges of mortgage borrowers and lenders. This legislation, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, seeks to forestall home foreclosures for distressed borrowers and assist communities with foreclosure problems, as well as create a stronger regulator for, and provide economic support to, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, institutions that are critical to the liquidity and stability of the mortgage market. Although these aggressive steps are intended to protect and support the US housing and mortgage market, we continue to operate under very difficult market conditions.

Trends

We expect the results of our operations to be affected by various factors, many of which are beyond our control. Our results of operations will primarily depend on, among other things, the level of our net interest income, the market value of our assets, and the supply of and demand for such assets. Our net interest income, which reflects the amortization of purchase premiums and accretion of discounts, varies primarily as a result of changes in interest rates, borrowing costs, and prepayment speeds, which is a measurement of how quickly borrowers pay down the unpaid principal balance on their mortgage loans.

Prepayment Speeds. Prepayment speeds, as reflected by the Constant Prepayment Rate, or CPR, vary according to interest rates, the type of investment, conditions in financial markets, competition and other factors, none of which can be predicted with any certainty. In general, when interest rates rise, it is relatively less attractive for borrowers to refinance their mortgage loans, and as a result, prepayment speeds tend to decrease. When interest rates fall, prepayment speeds tend to increase. For mortgage loan and RMBS investments purchased at a premium, as prepayment speeds increase, the amount of income we earn decreases because the purchase premium we paid for the bonds amortizes faster than expected. Conversely, decreases in prepayment speeds result in increased income and can extend the period over which we amortize the purchase premium. For mortgage loan and RMBS investments purchased at a discount, as prepayment speeds increase, the amount of income we earn increases because of the acceleration of the accretion of the discount into interest income. Conversely, decreases in prepayment speeds result in decreased income and can extend the period over which we accrete the purchase discount into interest income.

Rising Interest Rate Environment. As indicated above, as interest rates rise, prepayment speeds generally decrease, increasing our interest income. Rising interest rates, however, increase our financing costs which may result in a net negative impact on our net interest income. In addition, if we acquire Agency and non-Agency RMBS collateralized by monthly reset adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, and three- and five-year hybrid ARMs, such interest rate increases could result in decreases in our net investment income, as there could be a timing mismatch between the interest rate reset dates on our RMBS portfolio and the financing costs of these investments. Monthly reset ARMs are ARMs on which coupon rates reset monthly based on indices such as the one-month London Interbank Offering Rate, or LIBOR. Hybrid ARMs are mortgages that have interest rates that are fixed for an initial period (typically three, five, seven or 10 years) and thereafter reset at regular intervals subject to interest rate caps.

With respect to our floating rate investments, such interest rate increases should result in increases in our net investment income because our floating rate assets are greater in amount than the related floating rate liabilities. Similarly, such an increase in interest rates should generally result in an increase in our net investment income on fixed-rate investments made by us because our fixed-rate assets would be greater in amount than our fixed-rate liabilities. We expect, however, that our fixed-rate assets would decline in value in a rising interest rate environment and that our net interest spreads on fixed rate assets could decline in a rising interest rate environment to the extent such assets are financed with floating rate debt.

Credit Risk. One of our strategic focuses is acquiring assets which we believe to be of high credit quality. We believe this strategy will generally keep our credit losses and financing costs low. We retain the risk of potential credit losses on all of the residential mortgage loans we hold in our portfolio. Additionally, some of our investments in RMBS may be qualifying interests for purposes of maintaining our exemption from the 1940 Act because we retain a 100% ownership interest in the underlying loans. If we purchase all classes of these securitizations, we have the credit exposure on the underlying loans. Prior to the purchase of these securities, we conduct a due diligence process that allows us to remove loans that do not meet our credit standards based on loan-to-value ratios, borrowers' credit scores, income and asset documentation and other criteria that we believe to be important indications of credit risk.

Size of Investment Portfolio. The size of our investment portfolio, as measured by the aggregate unpaid principal balance of our mortgage loans and aggregate principal balance of our mortgage related securities and the other assets we own is also a key revenue driver. Generally, as the size of our investment portfolio grows, the amount of interest income we receive increases. The larger investment portfolio, however, drives increased expenses as we incur additional interest expense to finance the purchase of our assets.

Since changes in interest rates may significantly affect our activities, our operating results depend, in large part, upon our ability to effectively manage interest rate risks and prepayment risks while maintaining our status as a REIT.

Current Environment. While the current situation in the sub-prime mortgage sector may provide us opportunities, the current weakness in the broader mortgage market could adversely affect one or more of our potential lenders and could cause one or more of our potential lenders to be unwilling or unable to provide us with financing or require us to post additional collateral. In general, this could potentially increase our financing costs and reduce our liquidity or require us to sell assets at an inopportune time. We expect to use a number of sources to finance our investments, including repurchase agreements, warehouse facilities, securitizations, asset-backed commercial paper and term CDOs. Current market conditions have affected the cost and availability of financing from each of these sources and their individual providers to different degrees; some sources generally are unavailable, some are available but at a high cost, and some are largely unaffected. For example, in the repurchase agreement market, borrowers have been affected differently depending on the type of security they are financing. Non-Agency RMBS have been harder to finance, depending on the type of assets collateralizing the RMBS. The amount, term and margin requirements associated with these types of financings have been negatively impacted.

Currently, warehouse facilities to finance whole loan prime residential mortgages are generally available from major banks, but at significantly higher cost and have greater margin requirements than previously offered. Many major banks that offer warehouse facilities have also reduced the amount of capital available to new entrants and consequently the size of those facilities offered now are smaller than those previously available. We decided to terminate our two whole loan repurchase agreements in order to avoid paying non-usage fees under those agreements.

It is currently a challenging market to term finance whole loans through securitization or bonds issued by a CDO structure. The highly rated senior bonds in these securitizations and CDO structures currently have liquidity, but at much wider spreads than issues priced in recent history. The junior subordinate tranches of these structures currently have few buyers and current market conditions have forced issuers to retain these lower rated bonds rather than sell them.

Certain issuers of asset-backed commercial paper, or ABCP, have been unable to place (or roll) their securities, which has resulted, in some instances, in forced sales of MBS and other securities which has further negatively impacted the market value of these assets. These market conditions are fluid and likely to change over time. As a result, the execution of our investment strategy may be dictated by the cost and availability of financing from these different sources.

If one or more major market participants fails or otherwise experiences a major liquidity crisis, as was the case for Bear Stearns & Co. in March 2008, it could negatively impact the marketability of all fixed income securities and this could negatively impact the value of the securities we acquire, thus reducing our net book value. Furthermore, if many of our potential lenders are unwilling or unable to provide us with financing, we could be forced to sell our securities or residential mortgage loans at an inopportune time when prices are depressed. For example, for the quarter ended March 31, 2008, we sold assets with a carrying value of $369.9 million for an aggregate loss of $31.2 million. We did not sell any assets during the quarter ended June 30, 2008.

In the current market, it may be difficult or impossible to obtain third party pricing on the investments we purchase. In addition, validating third party pricing for our investments may be more subjective as fewer participants may be willing to provide this service to us. Moreover, the current market is more illiquid than in recent history for some of the investments we purchase. Illiquid investments typically experience greater price volatility as a ready market does not exist. As volatility increases or liquidity decreases we may have greater difficulty financing our investments which may negatively impact our earnings and the execution of our investment strategy.

Critical Accounting Policies

Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These accounting principles may require us to make some complex and subjective decisions and assessments. Our most critical accounting policies will involve decisions and assessments that could affect our reported assets and liabilities, as well as our reported revenues and expenses. We believe that all of the decisions and assessments upon which our financial statements are based will be reasonable at the time made and based upon information available to us at that time. At each quarter end, we calculate estimated fair value using a pricing model. We validate our pricing model by obtaining independent pricing on all of our assets and performing a verification of those sources to our own internal estimate of fair value. We have identified what we believe will be our most critical accounting policies to be the following:

Valuation of Investments

On January 1, 2008, we adopted SFAS 157, which defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in accordance with GAAP and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. The valuation hierarchy is based upon the transparency of inputs to the valuation of an asset or liability as of the measurement date. The three levels are defined as follow:

Level 1- inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets and liabilities in active markets.

Level 2 - inputs to the valuation methodology include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, and inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the financial instrument.

Level 3 - inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to fair value.

Mortgage-Backed Securities and interest rate swaps are valued using a pricing model. The MBS pricing model incorporates such factors as coupons, prepayment speeds, spread to the Treasury and swap curves, convexity, duration, periodic and life caps, and credit enhancement. Interest rate swaps are modeled by incorporating such factors as the Treasury curve, LIBOR rates, and the receive rate on the interest rate swaps. Management reviews the fair values determined by the pricing model and compares its results to dealer quotes received on each investment to validate the reasonableness of the valuations indicated by the pricing models. The dealer quotes will incorporate common market pricing methods, including a spread measurement to the Treasury curve or interest rate swap curve as well as underlying characteristics of the particular security including coupon, periodic and life caps, rate reset period, issuer, additional credit support and expected life of the security.

Any changes to the valuation methodology are reviewed by management to ensure the changes are appropriate. As markets and products develop and the pricing for certain products becomes more transparent, we continue to refine our valuation methodologies. The methods used by us may produce a fair value calculation that may not be indicative of net realizable value or reflective of future fair values. Furthermore, while we believe our valuation methods are appropriate and consistent with other market participants, the use of different methodologies, or assumptions, to determine the fair value of certain financial instruments could result in a different estimate of fair value at the reporting date. We use inputs that are current as of the measurement date, which may include periods of market dislocation, during which price transparency may be reduced. This condition could cause our financial instruments to be reclassified from Level 2 to Level 3 in the future.

We define the fair value of our RMBS using "Level 2" methodology as described above.

Loans Held for Investment

We purchase residential mortgage loans and classify them as loans held for investment on the statement of financial condition. Loans held for investment are intended to be held to maturity and, accordingly, are reported at the principal amount outstanding, net of provisions for loan losses.

Loan loss provisions are examined quarterly and updated to reflect expectations of future probable credit losses based on factors such as originator historical losses, geographic concentration, individual loan characteristics, experienced losses, and expectations of future loan pool behavior. As credit losses occur, the provision for loan losses will reflect that realization.

When we determine that it is probable that contractually due specific amounts are deemed uncollectable, the loan is considered impaired. To measure our impairment we determine the excess of the recorded investment amount over the net fair value of the collateral, as reduced by selling costs. Any deficiency between the carrying amount of an asset and the net sales price of repossessed collateral is charged to the allowance for loan losses.

An allowance for mortgage loans is maintained at a level believed adequate by management to absorb probable losses. We may elect to sell a loan held for investment due to adverse changes in credit fundamentals. Once the determination has been made by us that we will no longer hold the loan for investment, we will account for the loan at the lower of amortized cost or estimated fair value. The reclassification of the loan and recognition of impairments could adversely affect our reported earnings.

Valuations of Available-for-Sale Securities

We expect our investments in RMBS will be primarily classified as available-for-sale securities that are carried on the statement of financial condition at their fair value. This classification will result in changes in fair values being recorded as statement of financial condition adjustments to accumulated other comprehensive income or loss, which is a component of stockholders' equity.

Our available-for-sale securities have fair values as determined with reference to fair values calculated using a pricing model. Management reviews the fair values generated to insure prices are reflective of the current market. We perform a validation of the fair value calculated by the pricing model by comparing its results to independent prices provided by dealers in the securities and/or third party pricing services. If dealers or independent pricing services are unable to provide a price for an asset, or if the price provided by them is deemed unreliable by FIDAC, then the asset will be valued at its fair value as determined in good faith by FIDAC. The pricing is subject to various assumptions which could result in different presentations of value.

When the fair value of an available-for-sale security is less than its amortized cost for an extended period, we consider whether there is an other-than-temporary impairment in the value of the security. If, based on our analysis, an other-than-temporary impairment exists, the cost basis of the security is written down to the then-current fair value, and the unrealized loss is transferred from accumulated other comprehensive loss as an immediate reduction of current earnings (as if the loss had been realized in the period of other-than-temporary impairment). The determination of other-than-temporary . . .