Michael Stebner, Director, Institutional Fixed Income

Michael has over 20 years experience in the financial services industry. He joins American Veterans Group from Gates Capital. where he worked for over a decade. While at Gates Capital, he rose to be the firm's senior trader, specializing in fixed income products including Municipal, Corporate, MBS, Government Agency, CD’s and High Yield Securities. Prior to Gates Capital, he worked for Charles Schwab's Northeast Trading Desk, was a Vice President of Investments at First Empire Securities, and was an Investment Specialist for Dreyfus.

He holds FINRA Series 7, Series 63 and Series 24 licenses.

Matthew Sanders, Director, Institutional Fixed Income

Matthew has over 21 years of experience in fixed income securities. He started his career at Smith Barney in 1998 working with money market funds and primarily trading short term instruments. In 2001, he joined Lehman Brothers municipal bond department and transitioned to Barclay’s Capital in 2008. He joined Gates Capital in 2009, trading financial instruments across all product lines, and spearheading the municipal competitive underwriting effort. He was also involved in many pricing, and informational calls in the negotiated process as well. While at Gates Capital, he was the underwriter that led Gates' representation in a competitive underwriting syndicate with Morgan Stanley, Raymond James, and Fidelity. He has been the underwriter, co-managing on over 250 successful competitive bids for American Veterans Group.

Matthew received his bachelor’s degree in Finance from Syracuse University and holds FINRA Series 7, 55, and 63 licenses.

John Dagher, Senior Vice President, Institutional Fixed Income

John has over 30 years of experience in the fixed income markets. He has worked in a variety of roles, including trading cash, futures, and covering institutional accounts. His role with AVG is to serve our institutional client base in the distribution of fixed income products with a focus on the municipal market.

John previously worked at Keybank for 10 years, where he was a Director in Institutional Sales with a focus on bond funds, trust departments, and TOB accounts. Prior to joining Keybank, he served as a director in the municipal bond department at RBC, where he worked for over 15 years.

John received a BA in Economics from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. He holds a Series 7 license.

Frank Mena, Vice President Equity and Fixed Income Sales 

Prior to joining American Veterans Group, Frank founded Points North Capital, where he ran a long/short equity book and global investment grade portfolio.  A veteran of the United States Marine Corps Infantry, he served five and a half years before being medically retired as a Sergeant from Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Frank received a degree from West Chester University. He holds FINRA series 7, 24, 55, and 63 licenses.

Steven Elias, Sr., Senior Vice President, Municipal Sales and Trading

Steven brings more than 50 years of experience in the trading and marketing of both primary and secondary municipal bonds to American Veterans Group. As the former President and CEO of Municipal & Government Securities Corporation of New Jersey, he is well versed in all aspects of the fixed income industry. His knowledge of both the retail and institutional business and overall reputation are his strong points.

Steven attended New York City Community College and the New York Institute of Finance. He Holds FINRA series 7, 24, 53 and 63 licenses.

John Salter, Vice President, Institutional Sales & Distribution

With over 30 years of experience, John has driven sustainable revenue growth and directed regulatory compliance and fiduciary oversight for billion-dollar, international brokerage and investment management firms in California. He is highly adept at identifying and resolving potential issues, establishing and growing new branches, securing growth opportunities, performing due diligence, building high-performance teams, and fostering beneficial client relationships. His broad-based expertise includes strategic planning, risk management, deal origination, trading, securities, municipal tax-exempt bonds, derivatives, and asset and portfolio management.

John received a degree from Manhattan College. He holds FINRA Series 52, 53, and 63 licenses.