Christian Pepe
Managing Partner/ Operations

Mr. Christian Pepe has served as a Managing Partner for First Equity Capital (FEC) since 2009 with a focus in real estate acquisition, construction project management, and residential asset management. Mr. Pepe has served as the Director of Operations for First Equity Mortgage (FEM) since inception in 2004. Mr. Pepe has an extensive background in all aspects of residential mortgage lending and has a comprehensive understanding of underwriting guidelines including FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac programs. Mr. Pepe graduated from Montclair State College with a degree in psychology.

John Child
Managing Partner/ Finance

Mr. John Child has served as Managing Partner for First Equity Capital since 2009 with a focus on investment strategy, finance/accounting and investor relations. He is an experienced financial executive with over 15 years in the investment banking industry. Prior to joining First Equity, Mr. Child was an Executive Director in equity derivative sales at Morgan Stanley. Mr. Child has experience sales trading equity, credit default swaps, equity options, and corporate debt. He is a licensed real estate salesperson and title insurance producer. Mr. Child earned his BA in Accounting from Loyola University.

Mark Presto
Finance Manager

Mark Presto joined First Equity in April 2016 as [Director of Finance and Administration]. Prior to First Equity he served as COO/CFO and Managing Member of DPT Capital Management, an investment advisor located in Princeton, NJ. DPT had AUM of approximately $75 million utilizing a quantitative approach with a focus on commodities and global equity indices. From May 1998 to November 2011 Mr. Presto served as Treasurer of Caxton Associates. In addition to treasury responsibilities, he was responsible for broker relations, finance and assisted in accounting, operations and investor relations. Caxton Associates is a hedge fund advisor and during Mr. Presto’s tenure had AUM in excess of $12 billion in multi-asset strategies, primarily global macro investing. Prior to Caxton, he was Vice President and Treasurer of GAF Corporation and its operating companies. He started at GAF in 1979 as an internal auditor and held increasingly responsible management positions in accounting, finance, treasury, and portfolio management. Mr. Presto received a B.S. degree in accounting and a M.B.A. in finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University and obtained his Certified Public Accountant certification in 1986.

Jarrod Fennimore
Managing Partner/ Sales

Mr. Jarrod Fennimore has served as Managing Partner for First Equity Capital since 2009 with a focus on sales and originations. Jarrod oversees all loan originators and assist with all aspects of our loan products. He has helped develop First Equity Funding’s origination platform utilizing our new cloud based Point Central Software 9.2 system to help better originate, process and underwrite fix/flip loans. Jarrod works directly with our loan officers to help them understand construction costs, as repaired values (ARV), draw schedules and the overall fix/flip market. He also educates them on how to sell the products to different referrals sources such as realtors, architects and outside loan originators.

Anthony Palmiotto
Senior Loan Officer

Anthony Palmiotto is a Senior Loan Officer with First Equity Funding. He specializes in the origination of investment real estate loans for fix & flips and other investment real estate in the residential and commercial space. His primary area of focus is New Jersey, including both the Philadelphia and New York metro areas with millions of dollars of loans originated.
He also maintains an active real estate license in Pennsylvania and New Jersey with the The Kislak Company since 2012. He focuses on investment sales of multifamily and other commercial property throughout Philadelphia and parts of New Jersey with transactions totaling tens of millions of dollars.
Anthony is a graduate of The College of New Jersey where he played baseball and graduated with a degree in Business Administration.

Cory J. Anderson
Senior Loan Officer

Cory J. Anderson is a senior loan officer at First Equity Funding who resides in Monmouth County. Cory comes from an engineering background prior to working with First Equity Funding. Currently he specializes in originating real estate investment loans. These loans include fix & flip, bridge financing, short & long-term holds and ground-up construction for residential, mixed use as well as commercial properties. He primarily focuses his efforts in the northeast, more specifically the tri-state area where he has originated millions in loans. Cory is a graduate of Temple University and is an active multifamily real estate investor and networker.

David Weintraub
Senior Loan Officer

Vincent Gruosso
Senior Loan Officer

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Alicyn DeSimone
Sales Assistant

Alicyn DeSimone is a Sales Assistant at First Equity Funding, where she maintains the functions and overflow of a growing and busy office.  Alicyn is a vital part of the sales team as she facilitates the progressions of loans through the pipeline.

Alicyn has a degree from the University of Vermont and has been working in the real estate industry since 2012.  She has a wealth of experience, which includes appraisal management, client service coordination, and loan processing.

When she’s not working you can find Alicyn spending time with her two cats, Skippy and Ollie.  She also enjoys going to concerts and eating tacos!

Justin Mangiaracina
Master of the Universe

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Priscilla Tort
Processor

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Kelli Tanner
Accounting/ Closing

Ms. Tanner joined First Equity in 2009 and has over 8 years of experience as a professional in the mortgage and real estate industry, with a focus on loan servicing, accounting and real estate property management. Previously, Ms. Tanner served in administration in accounting with an integrated computer designer and software company.