Key facts
- Jason Vinar has been appointed Chief Investment Officer of Rocktop Capital Advisors.
- Vinar will lead the firm's capital markets and mortgage servicing rights (MSR) business.
- He previously held the role of Chief Operating Officer at Two Harbors Investment Corp.
- Vinar's responsibilities will include MSR valuation, hedge advisory, trading, and strategic direction.
- Rocktop Capital Advisors has facilitated over $2 trillion in MSR trades since 2016.
Jason Vinar has been appointed Chief Investment Officer of Rocktop Capital Advisors, the capital markets and mortgage servicing rights (MSR) business of Rocktop Technologies. In this role, Vinar will lead the firm's MSR valuation, hedge advisory, and trading operations, and will be responsible for setting the strategic direction as the platform scales.
Vinar joins Rocktop from Two Harbors Investment Corp., a mortgage REIT, where he most recently served as Chief Operating Officer. His prior experience at Two Harbors included roles as managing director and head of MSR investments and operations. He also played a key role in developing the firm's MSR business while at its external manager, Pine River Capital Management.
Rocktop Capital Advisors, a subsidiary of Rocktop Technologies, has a significant track record, having traded over $2 trillion in MSRs since 2016 and delivering more than 750 portfolio valuations annually to institutional mortgage banks, nonbank servicers, issuers, and state housing finance agencies. Vinar's addition is expected to bring valuable buy-side and operating experience to the advisory and execution-driven business.
During his tenure at Two Harbors, Vinar was instrumental in a $25 million-plus acquisition and integration of RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing, which added a platform servicing approximately 1 million loans. He also actively managed the servicing portfolio through various transactions to optimize its composition. Earlier in his career at Pine River Capital Management, he built and scaled the firm's MSR investment business, growing its portfolio to over $230 billion in unpaid principal balance and over $3 billion in market value.
Jason Pinson, founder, president, and CEO of Rocktop Technologies, highlighted Vinar's rare and comprehensive understanding of the MSR trade, encompassing investor, operator, and executive perspectives. Vinar himself expressed that Rocktop's integrated analytics and operating platform was a key attraction, enabling a connection between data insights and operational execution. He aims to grow Rocktop Capital Advisors into a trusted partner for institutional counterparties across the entire asset lifecycle.
Vinar's professional background is rooted in quantitative finance, with previous roles in developing valuation and risk platforms at Ameriprise Financial, and mortgage valuation and loss models at Castle Peak Capital Advisors and GMAC ResCap. He also has nearly a decade of experience as a lecturer in the University of Minnesota's Master of Financial Mathematics program, teaching courses on mortgage-backed securities, derivatives, and volatility modeling. He holds master's and bachelor's degrees in financial mathematics and mathematics/economics, respectively.