Who We Are
Experienced and Knowledgeable, Our Partners Understand Real Estate and Capital Markets
Monticello’s principals have more than thirty years of combined experience building, owning, operating and financing transactions that involve government agencies, regulations and guidelines. Monticello considers this experience to be a unique competitive advantage in originating and acquiring loans and securities that are supported by the underlying property’s performance and structured to meet government financing regulations.
Our decades of experience gives us the insight to make informed investments designed to yield superior results for our clients.
Monticello Asset Management, LLC is an investment management firm, registered as an investment adviser that provides advisory services to high-net-worth individuals and institutional clients through privately offered pooled investment vehicles. Any reference to Monticello Asset Management, LLC as a registered investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training.
Monticello’s principals have a broad origination network comprised of some of the largest national originators of government-guaranteed financings (MAP Lenders). Monticello feels that this network would provide it with a significant competitive advantage in its efforts to provide a strong pipeline of targeted investment opportunities.
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Alan Litt is a Founder of Monticello Asset Management, LLC. He brings over 30 years of intensive real estate finance, development and construction experience to the organization. Mr. Litt has spent the last 15 years as President and then Chairman of The Kohl Companies (Kohl Solutions and Kohl Construction Group) developing, owning and operating skilled nursing facilities and multifamily housing, including market rate and affordable housing financed through low income housing and historic tax credits. Mr. Litt has deep knowledge in working with regulated businesses. He is a recent Trustee of Yonkers Partners in Education and the Advisory Council for Provident Bank, and a consultant to various not-for-profit religious, healthcare and educational institutions in the New York Metropolitan Area. Mr. Litt received a B.S. Degree in Finance from New York University.
Thomas Lally is a Founder of Monticello Asset Management, LLC. He was most recently a Managing Director and trader of mortgage backed securities at Ladder Capital. Prior to Ladder Capital he was a Managing Director in the multifamily and commercial origination and trading efforts at First Boston, Daiwa Securities, Greystone, UBS and Dillon Read Capital Management. Mr. Lally holds a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross.
Jonathan Litt is a Founder of Monticello Asset Management, LLC. He has served as the Chief Executive Officer for Kohl Construction Group which provides construction and property management services in the New York metropolitan area. For over 20 years, Mr. Litt has supervised the development, construction and property management of Kohl Solutions’ warehouse industrial portfolio, senior housing, mixed-use residential-retail projects and affordable housing. These include both conventionally financed projects as well as projects financed through low income housing and historic tax credits. Mr. Litt is an advisor to the Northern Metropolitan, Inc., a not-for-profit senior housing organization in Rockland County, NY. He also serves as the Treasurer for Congregation Kol Ami in White Plains, NY. Mr. Litt holds a B.S. from Ithaca College.
Laura T. Schnaidt is the Legal Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Monticello Asset Management, LLC. Prior to joining, Ms. Schnaidt served as Chief Compliance Officer and Legal Counsel of Marble Arch Investments, LP, a $2.4BN New York hedge fund, where she oversaw all legal and compliance matters. Ms. Schnaidt was also previously an Associate at Shearman & Sterling LLP, focusing on investment funds, real estate transactions and financial institution regulatory matters. In addition, Ms. Schnaidt has worked in legal roles at Barclays Investment Bank, at the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and at two multi-strategy, multi-billion AUM New York hedge funds, TPG-Axon Capital and Ospraie Management. Ms. Schnaidt holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from New York Law School, where she served as an editor on the Law Review, and holds a B.A. from Columbia University (Columbia College) in French and Romance Philology. Ms. Schnaidt is admitted to practice law in New York State and is a member of the New York City Bar Association.
Raphael Gonzalez is a Structured-Products Portfolio Manager and Managing Director at Monticello Asset Management, LLC. Mr. Gonzalez was most recently a securitized-products trader at Performance Trust Capital Partners. Prior to his role at Performance Trust, Mr. Gonzalez worked at a hedge fund, Passport Capital, managing their structured products credit portfolio, focusing on the non-agency mezzanine sector, subprime auto residuals and CLO credit. He spent the majority of his career at JP Morgan Chase, as a Managing Director, co-running their non-agency mortgage and ABS secondary desks, while serving as the primary ABX trader during the volatile mortgage crisis. Earlier in his career, Mr. Gonzalez was the senior non-agency mortgage trader at Banc of America Securities, and held a similar role at Barclays Capital, where he traded both non-agency mortgages and ABS. Mr. Gonzalez holds a B.A. from Vassar College.
Joseph Borenstein is a Senior Financial Analyst focusing on financial underwriting and portfolio management at Monticello, having joined the firm in March 2016. Mr. Borenstein has over 8 years of financial analysis, accounting, and tax advisory experience focused primarily on alternative investments. Prior to joining Monticello Asset Management, LLC, Mr. Borenstein worked at KPMG. Mr. Borenstein is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in New York State and holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Accounting from Binghamton University.
Garrett Chapman is a Financial Analyst who assists in the due diligence and underwriting of investments. Mr. Chapman holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Richmond.
Yoni Grunbaum is an Economic Analyst who is responsible for conducting economic research, analysis and forecasting in connection with real estate and renewable energy projects, as well as underwriting and due diligence for prospective investments in the New York office. Prior to joining Monticello in January 2018, Mr. Grunbaum was an Investment Banking Analyst in the Diversified Industries group at Canaccord Genuity Corp. Mr. Grunbaum holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University.
Carmen Joseph is the Loan Servicing Specialist at Monticello Asset Management, LLC. She has over 10 years of experience in accounting and 3 years of experience in residential and commercial real estate field. Mrs. Joseph holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Accounting from Mercy College.
Matthew Lark is a Financial Analyst focusing on the underwriting and due diligence of investments at Monticello in the New York office. Prior to joining Monticello, Mr. Lark worked in Capital Markets at PNC Bank. Mr. Lark holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Business Information Systems from University of Pittsburgh.
Whalen MacHale is an Analyst focusing on Marketing and Client Services for Monticello in the New York office. Prior to joining, Mr. MacHale worked at Simpson Thacher and Bartlett, LLP as a Corporate Paralegal. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in Finance from Georgetown University.
Brandon Rosenblum is an Asset Manager focusing on loan surveillance, investment analysis, and relationship management at Monticello Asset Management, LLC, based in the New York office. Prior to joining Monticello in October 2018, Mr. Rosenblum spent eight years at BlackRock as a Director of Internal Audit, specializing in risk management and alternative assets. Mr. Rosenblum started his career at Deloitte as a Structured Finance Analyst and Senior Financial Statement Auditor, responsible for coverage of hedge funds, private equity/credit funds, real estate, and securitized assets. Mr. Rosenblum holds a CPA license in the State of New York, a Bachelors of Accountancy, Cum Laude, from George Washington University, and is currently completing a Masters of Science in Technology Management from Columbia University.
Mauricio Sandoval is the Controller at Monticello Asset Management, LLC. He has over 15 years of experience in accounting and project management in the real estate field. Mr. Sandoval holds a degree in Accounting from William Paterson University.
Aleigha Sardina-Spevack is a Credit Risk Specialist at Monticello Asset Management, LLC focusing on preliminary due diligence and risk profiling of prospective deals. Ms. Sardina has over 10 years of experience in financial services and risk management and holds Financial Risk Manager designation from Global Association of Risk Professionals. Prior to joining Monticello, Ms. Sardina served as a risk and asset manager at Citi Community Capital managing an affordable housing portfolio of over $1.0bn in assets. Ms. Sardina holds a BS with Honors, summa cum laude in Finance with a focus on international business from Canisius College and is currently completing a certificate in Data Science from the Flatiron School.
Itay Silverberg is a Financial Analyst focusing on the underwriting and due diligence of investments at Monticello in the New York office. Prior to joining Monticello, Mr. Silverberg worked at J.P. Morgan for three years, covering public-sector clients with a focus on municipal securities. Mr. Silverberg holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Management from New York University.
Rafi Sod is an originator in Monticello’s New York office and is responsible for originating new real estate debt opportunities for Monticello. Prior to joining, Mr. Sod worked for 2 years as an originator for Harborview Capital Partners where he was involved in the origination of over $100,000,000 in loans.
Anthony Sorrentino is an Asset Manager who is responsible for monitoring and reporting of relevant risk analytics, fund metrics and qualitative analysis of Monticello Asset Management, LLC’s portfolio in the New York office. Prior to joining Monticello, Mr. Sorrentino worked on developing targeting and campaign performance models in the marketing industry. Mr. Sorrentino holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Business and Technology from Steven’s Institute of Technology, and a Data Science and Machine Learning Certificate from General Assembly.
Joshua Sturm is a Financial Analyst who is responsible for the underwriting, due diligence and forecasting of prospective investments in the New York office. Prior to joining Monticello, Mr. Sturm worked at Credit Suisse in their Investment Bank. Mr. Sturm, holds a Bachelor of Commerce from York University.
Sam Talkow is a Financial Analyst focusing on the underwriting and due diligence of investments at Monticello in the New York Office. Prior to joining Monticello, Mr. Talkow worked at Deutsche Bank as a Commercial Real Estate Analyst in the Commercial Real Estate Risk group. Mr. Talkow holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration focusing on Finance and Real Estate from the Questrom School of Business at Boston University.
Jerome Turner is responsible for loan surveillance and asset management at Monticello in the Georgia office. Mr. Turner has over 17 years of experience in financial services and commercial real estate, in which he has served as an investment accountant and financial analyst for organizations in both the US and overseas. Prior to joining Monticello, Mr. Turner served as a portfolio manager for the Atlanta Housing Authority, where he managed a low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) commercial real estate portfolio worth over $250 million in assets. Mr. Turner holds a BS in Business Administration with a focus in finance from Geneva College.