About Us

Our Team

At Pontes Financial Group, we follow a team-oriented leadership model. We believe that our best work is done when all of our ideas and talents can be fully realized. We are committed to the principle that clients come first, and we are always looking for ways to make the company even better. Please click on the navigation to the left to learn about our founder, Steven Pontes, and to find out more about our PFG team.

Steven Pontes

Founder, Pontes Financial Group, Ltd.

Before creating Pontes Financial Group, Steven Pontes founded the real estate corporation SM Pontes Properties in 1978 and then worked for five years as Senior Advisor at one of the largest pension firms on the West Coast. He left that company because of philosophical differences, believing that an investment firm should thrive not by generating commissions, but by producing results for clients.

Steven founded PFG in 1987 and retained most of his clients from the pension firm. Throughout his career, Steven distinguished himself as a brilliant and passionate businessman who devoted himself to serving his clients. At first, PFG offered a full range of financial services, including asset management, income and estate tax planning, and real estate related services—all guided by Steven’s client-driven philosophy. Against the backdrop of the U.S. Savings and Loan crisis, Steven focused on PFG’s Mortgage Lending division and entered the special situation, real estate-backed lending arena.

In 1996, Steven formed the stock and equities business PFG Investment Services, Inc (PFGIS). To focus PFG’s energies on real estate, mortgage funds, and mortgage lending, Steven sold his interest in PFGIS to Brad Sasser in 2005.

Along with Avi Ben-Zaken and Eric Cress, Steven went on to form the Portland-based real estate development and asset management firm, Urban Development Partners NW, LP in 2006. Based on his success and friendship with his UDP partners Avi and Eric, Steven arranged for both of them to join Pontes Financial Group as well.

We are saddened to report that Steven Pontes passed away in early 2008. In addition to being a visionary businessman, Steven was a dear friend and a constant inspiration. Steven truly cherished his clients and colleagues, and we are deeply committed to seeing that Steven’s core values—which were so essential in building the long-standing relationships we have with our clients—remain at the heart of the company going forward.

You can read more about Steven Pontes and PFG in this article from The Oakland Tribune.

Avi Ben-Zaken

President

Avi Ben-Zaken was selected by our founder, Steven Pontes, to become president of Pontes Financial Group in 2008. Avi is also the new General Manager of the Yosemite Mortgage Fund II. He is a perfect match for our unique client-driven business model, and he is always searching for ways to improve our services by listening to clients and colleagues while encouraging positive energy and team work. As the head of our loan team, Avi inspects properties, interviews borrowers, reviews documents, and establishes relationships with borrowers and brokers. He is essential to our Real Estate Acquisition projects as well as client relations.

Avi has a proven track record as a successful business owner and entrepreneur with an extensive background in property acquisition and management, construction management, and structural engineering work. In the ’90s, Avi was president and co-owner of Quality Bay Construction (QBC), which became the Bay Area’s premier seismic retrofitting company. He and his QBC partners also formed Pacific Bay Investments, a Berkeley-based real estate development and management company.

Avi met Steven Pontes when their daughters were schoolmates. Avi and Steven became great friends, and with their shared core values and vision, they soon searched for projects to work on together. In 1999, Quality Bay Construction retrofitted the 414 13th Street building, where our office is currently located.

In 2003, Steven and Avi found a property in Oakland that would become the Mutual Creamery Lofts, their first joint venture with Pontes Financial Group and Pacific Bay Investments.

Following their great success with the Mutual Creamery Lofts, Avi, Steven, and Eric Cress formed Urban Development Partners NW, LP in 2006. The real estate acquisition and asset management firm was founded on a visionary business ethic, one in which the interests of communities, tenants, homeowners, investors, and the environment are just as important as profits to the company.

LaDonna D. Duhon

Chief Operations Officer

LaDonna has been with PFG since 1994. Over the years she has gained a vast knowledge of PFG’s core operations, and she is involved in every important decision we make as a company. As Chief Operations Officer, LaDonna is responsible for the development, design, operation, and improvement of systems that create and deliver PFG’s products and services.

LaDonna partnered with the management at HTM, a Tokyo-based accounting firm, to design and develop our YMF II and Loan Management database systems. She also automated our portfolio management system. These accounting systems save us time and money, and they have improved our processes for accounting, performance tracking, distribution payments, and reporting on all levels.

While LaDonna’s key role at PFG is operations management, she also manages human resources, client servicing, and new client integration. LaDonna hires and mentors new employees in all aspects of PFG’s operations, and she has trained several of our staff to use our accounting databases. Among other client services, LaDonna is in charge of integrating new clients into PFG, a process that has become seamless. She maintains communication with clients, ensures that investments are consistent with clients’ Investment Policies and Guidelines, and makes certain that clients get accurate, reliable reports on time.

LaDonna is originally from Lafayette, Louisiana. She received her BS in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, and before joining PFG she worked in North Carolina at the Technical Community College Office of Student Financial Assistance.

Since 2003, LaDonna has been a very active with the Avon Breast Cancer Foundation, and she is deeply committed to early detection, prevention, and eradication of Breast Cancer. She has even completed 60-mile walks in San Francisco to raise funds for the Foundation.

Doris A. Jones

Doris Jones has worked with PFG 1997. She was our office manager until 2004, and she has been semi-retired since then. We're very happy that Doris remains part of the PFG family. She still comes into the office to do payroll and to keep track of banking and payables for Yosemite Mortgage Fund II. Doris moved to the Bay Area from the east coast in the mid-eighties. Her extensive experience includes 22 years as the Office Manager of Visiting Nurse Association of Greater Lynn, a home health care agency in Massachusetts, and 14 years with a residential remodeling firm and an engineering consulting firm.

Frank L. Sanders

Principal Broker

Frank Sanders brings over 20 years of experience in the mortgage banking and commercial real estate fields. He leads Pontes Financial Group's loan brokerage division, where he has participated in financing well over $200 million in real estate projects.

Frank has been with us for 14 years, and during that time he has been integral to PFG’s development as a company. He has earned many repeat customers in the brokerage community, largely because he makes decisions quickly, doesn’t shy away from complicated loan structures, and enjoys working on deals that require creative solutions. Frank is meticulous about funding loans that meet our strict underwriting standards, and he has had great success at both closing loans quickly and choosing loans that the borrower repaid on time—both key factors to the excellent performance of our mortgage funds over the years.

Before joining PFG in 1992, Frank was Senior Vice President of Mortgage Banking for Commercial Bank of San Francisco, responsible for managing outside mortgage activities. He is a member of the Bay Area Mortgage Bankers Association and the California Mortgage Bankers Association. Frank holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Business Administration from Utah State University.

Frank Russo

Frank Russo has been our IT manager since 2002. He oversees all information technology at the office including servers, networks, software, hardware, security, firewalls, email, and more. Security and privacy are of utmost importance to PFG and our clients, and Frank ensures that we have a clean and secure system that is constantly being monitored and backed up.

Frank earned his BS in Chemistry and BA in History at Brown University in1982, as well as an MBA in Marketing/Information Systems at Haas Business School in 1990. He was certified in Business Data Processing through University of California Extension in 1985. With 20 years experience, Frank previously worked for several years at both the Chevron and Oracle Corporations.

Mark Vuong

Client Relationship Manager

Mark Vuong joined PFG in March of 2004 and has worked in the financial industry since 1998. He earned an M.B.A. with a concentration in New Venture and Acquisition Management from the University of North Alabama. Before that, he graduated with a B.A. in Economics and Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Mark is about to begin a Certified Financial Planning program as well.

As our Client Relationship Manager, Mark is integral to our client services. He opens new investment accounts, develops wealth accumulation plans, and creates financial reviews. He also provides research assistance to Brad Sasser, who manages portfolios for many of PFG’s clients. Additionally, Mark is the building manager for the Mutual Creamery Lofts. Mark has boundless enthusiasm for his work—he is always looking for new ways to improve PFG’s operations and bring even better service to clients.

Eric Cress

Eric Cress has a Masters in Business Administration with a focus in real estate finance and development from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. He also has M.S. and B.S. degrees in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University. Additionally, Eric has served on the governing board of the Berkeley Real Estate Alumni Association and on the project review committee of Livable Berkeley, a pro-Smart Growth, non-profit organization.

Eric is part of our quick-response loan team along with Frank Sanders and Avi Ben-Zaken. Eric has extensive experience accurately valuing properties based on their present and future income fundamentals—an essential skill for the success of our mortgage lending and real estate acquisition activities. Eric is also involved in reviewing financial statements, summarizing profits and losses, and finding ways to cut costs. He works on legal documents such as operating agreements, escrow instructions, and closing costs for properties. He is also the Acquisitions Fund Manager for the real estate and asset management firm, Urban Development Partners NW, LP, which he formed with Steven Pontes and Avi Ben-Zaken in 2006.

Eric was a project manager Pacific Bay Investments, and prior to his real estate career, Eric worked as a project manager for several integrated circuit design companies. He was a researcher in deep-submicron circuit design for the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Research Center in Starkville, Mississippi. Eric holds eight patents for integrated circuit designs and has published several papers on the application of integrated circuits in data communications systems.

Melinda Burnham

Administrative Assistant

Melinda joined Pontes Financial Group in 2007. She works primarily in our loan division, where she supports Frank Sanders with loan origination and manages the servicing of our existing loans. Melinda distributes monthly loan interest and mortgage fund checks to our Financial Services clients as well.

Born and raised in Palo Alto, Melinda spent much of her career as the owner of her own graphic design firm. We’re delighted that Melinda has joined the PFG team, and we look forward to working with her for years to come.

Yolanda Milanez

Administrative Assistant

We were delighted to welcome Yolanda Milanez to the PFG team in early 2008. She works on loan processing with Frank Sanders while providing support to LaDonna Duhon and other members of the PFG team. Before working with PFG, Yolanda was a Real Estate Sales Agent with Community One Financial & Real Estate Services in Fremont for 5 years, and she was Agent of the Year for the company in 2005 and 2006. Yolanda has her Real Estate License and belongs to the Bay East Association of Realtors.

In addition to her real estate-related career, Yolanda has been a Sales Manager for Mary Kay and an administrative assistant for dB Control in Fremont. Originally from Grandview, WA, she moved to Fremont in 1998 and has lived in California since then. Yolanda has been married for 3 years and she is the proud mother of a baby girl.

Anthony J. Pontes

An expert Financial Advisor with 23 years experience, Anthony J. Pontes is a founding principal of the securities firm Rice Pontes Capital, Inc., and a trusted strategic partner of Pontes Financial Group.

Anthony typically works with clients to provide financial independence in retirement. He learns about each client’s personal and financial goals and, utilizing mutual funds and alternative investments such as mortgage funds, he creates a personalized financial plan designed to deliver specific results as specific times.

Anthony’s relationship with PFG and our clients goes back more than 20 years. Beginning in 1987, Anthony worked on mortgages and then mortgage funds with his brother (and our founder), Steven Pontes. Over the years, many of Anthony’s clients have participated in PFG’s Mortgage Fund investments.

To fulfill Steven’s commitment to provide PFG clients with solid, unbiased, quality financial advising services, Anthony will continue working with many of our clients on their planning needs and investment strategies.

Bradley D. Sasser, CFA

PFG Affiliate

Brad Sasser has seventeen years of financial advisory and portfolio management experience. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst who received his B.S. in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley, and his M.B.A. from Indiana University.

Brad has managed portfolios for many of our clients since 1998, when he joined PFG Investment Services (PFGIS). In 2005, Steven Pontes sold his interest in PFGIS to Brad, who continued the company under the name Sasser Investment Management, Inc. As President and Chief Investment Officer of the company, he oversees value-investing strategy and security selection while developing investment strategies for individual clients.

Previously, Brad was Vice President and Director of Investment Management for Insight Capital Research and Management, where he oversaw one billion dollars in assets under management. He also managed investment portfolios as a financial consultant at Thomson McKinnon Securities and served as a registered representative with Charles Schwab & Co.