Two Harbors Investment Corp. ( TWO - Snapshot Report ) recently announced the appointment of Brad Farrell as the chief financial officer and treasurer, effective January 1, 2012. Two Harbors’ current CFO, Jeffrey Stolt, will hold his position till January 2012 and thereafter will serve as the partner and chief financial officer of Pine River Capital Management L.P.

Brad Farrell boasts an experience of 14 years in corporate financial management and business analysis for public financial service companies. Prior to joining Two Harbors, Brad Farrell held the post of vice president and executive director of external reporting at GMAC Res Cap, a diversified real estate finance company, and also served in a responsible position at XL Capital, Ltd, a global insurance underwriter.

On the other hand, Jeffrey Stolt made invaluable contributions toward Two Harbors during the formation years. Jeff hired Brad Farrell in 2009 as controller of Two Harbors, and together they have worked closely on Two Harbors’ capital market transactions, and developing Two Harbors’ finance and governance processes.

Management believes with exceptional financial service expertise, Brad Farrell will add further value and drive the company’s growth and profitability going forward.

Maryland-based Two Harbors Investment Corp. primarily focuses on investing, financing and managing residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) and mortgage loans. The company’s portfolio includes Agency RMBS and non-Agency RMBS.

Agency RMBS are those whose interest and principal payments carry guarantees from federally chartered entities such as Freddie Mac or government agencies while non-Agency RMBS are those that are not issued or guaranteed by such government entities.

Two Harbors currently retains a Zacks #1 Rank, which translates into a short-term Strong Buy rating. We are also maintaining our long-term Outperform recommendation on the stock. One of its competitors, Redwood Trust Inc. ( RWT - Snapshot Report ) holds a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating.