People
Stephen Barral, Managing Member, Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Barral joined Gulfstream in 2011. Previously, he was a Managing Director at Barclays Capital in convertible sales and trading and spent eight years at JP Morgan as a Managing Director where he was responsible for convertible sales and trading. From 1996 to 2000 Mr. Barral managed a $1 billion global convertible arbitrage portfolio for Hamilton Partners. He spent eight years at Merrill Lynch as a Director in mortgage capital and ultimately as global head of convertible, derivative and program trading distribution. Mr. Barral graduated from Colgate University in 1984 with degrees in Economics and Political Science.
Ryan Posner, Managing Member and Founder, Chief Investment Officer
In 2005 Mr. Posner co-founded Gulfstream CM LLC, the investment manager, and launched the Gulfstream Opportunity Fund, LP. In addition to his role as a managing member of Gulfstream, he also serves as the managing member of Mountainside Securities LLC, a broker dealer specializing in the trading of municipal bonds. Over his 30 year career he has held various positions including head of municipal research and head of municipal trading. Mr. Posner earned his Bachelors Degree in Accounting from Binghamton University in 1987 and an MBA from Boston University in 1991. Mr. Posner holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.
Andrew Sanford, Senior Portfolio Manager
Mr. Sanford has over 30 years of experience managing a wide variety of municipal bond portfolios, trading strategies and businesses. He was previously a Senior Vice President at the Chubb Corporation in their Investment Department where he managed Chubb’s $20B municipal bond portfolio. Prior to joining Chubb, Mr. Sanford was a Managing Director at the Royal Bank of Canada, a portfolio manager at the Travelers Investment Group/CAM and held senior portfolio manager positions at IXIS and BlackRock Financial Management. Mr. Sanford earned his Bachelors Degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in Finance and International Business from the NYU Stern School of Business.
Gordon Murray, Vice President Research
Mr. Murray has broad credit experience at brokerage, buy side, commercial bank, and rating agency institutions. Prior to joining Gulfstream in 2011, Mr. Murray was Vice President/Senior Credit Analyst at Belle Haven Investments. He has held senior level credit positions in the public finance department at Assured Guaranty Corp., and in the municipal LOC groups at Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen (Helaba) and WestLB. Mr. Murray holds an A.B. from Hamilton College and an MPA from the University of Texas at Austin.
Frank Petrocca, Research Analyst
Mr. Petrocca joined Gulfstream in 2022. Previously, he spent eight years at the investment research firm, MRB Partners. Over his time at the company, he rose to become a fixed-income strategist and provided a broad range of investment recommendations to institutional investors. He graduated from the College of Charleston in 2014 with a degree in Economics and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.
Katie Lawlor, Chief Compliance Officer
Ms. Lawlor joined Gulfstream in 2016 as Director of Compliance and Operations. In addition to her compliance responsibilities, Ms. Lawlor has a senior role in investor relations. She brings over 14 years of compliance and business management experience to the firm. Prior to joining Gulfstream, she held various compliance leadership roles with Merrill Lynch and ICAP. Ms. Lawlor obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware.
Alan Tyson, Senior Relationship Manager
Mr. Tyson has over 30 years of experience in the fixed income markets. He spent over 25 years in sales and trading. Prior to joining Gulfstream he spent 17 years as a Sr Managing Director at DLJ and Credit Suisse. Mr. Tyson has been involved in the Municipal, US Treasury, and Mortgage markets while managing relationships with a variety of financial institutions. Mr. Tyson is a graduate of Muhlenberg College.
DeWitt Alexandre, Senior Relationship Manager
Mr. Alexandre has 45 years of wealth management experience across capital markets. He spent 30 years in private wealth as a Sr Managing Director at Kidder Peabody and Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette. Prior to joining Gulfstream he spent 15 years as a Sr Managing Director at Dominick & Dominick which later became B.Riley. Mr. Alexandre has served on several for‐profit and non‐profit boards. Mr. Alexandre is a graduate of the University of Denver.
Scott Barone, Senior Operations Specialist
Mr. Barone joined Gulfstream in 2017 to manage all phases of our operations. His career spans over three decades where he held senior operations and management positions with Seelaus, a municipal broker dealer, Charles Schwab and National Financial Services. His experience includes expertise in settlements, trade operations and operational/regulatory risk assessment. Mr. Barone is a graduate of Rider College.