Our Team

Richard Pedersen
Senior Vice President, Institutional Fixed Income Sales
Ric is responsible for providing fixed income strategies and solutions to portfolio managers of community banks, trust departments, and other institutional clients. Ric has over 28 years of experience in fixed income sales with an emphasis on mortgage backed securities and CMO's. Prior to joining First Trust, Ric held roles as the National Sales Manager for RBC Capital Markets, as well as the Head Sales Manager for Dain Bosworth and Clayton Brown & Associates. In addition to his fixed income experience, Ric also served as a partner/owner at Trinity Research and Investing LLC where he was responsible for investing fund assets in community bank stocks. The experience at Trinity provided Ric a thorough understanding and appreciation for community banking investment strategies. Ric is a graduate of Wheaton College where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Economics.

William E. Field, CPA
Senior Vice President, Institutional Fixed Income Sales
Bill focuses exclusively on providing fixed income strategies, solutions and securities to community bank portfolio managers. Bill started in the securities industry in 1975 and has spent virtually his whole career serving community banks. This included 17 years as a salesperson at RBC Dain Rauscher and Clayton Brown & Associates, Inc. and several years mentoring younger salespeople and as a Manager of Investment Research at Performance Trust Capital Partners. Just prior to joining First Trust, Bill was the founder and portfolio manager of the Trinity Community Banc Stock Fund, LP. This experience has further enhanced his understanding of community banks and their investment needs.

Richard Olson
Managing Director
Rich has in excess of 30 years experience in municipal bond sales and trading. Prior to First Trust, Rich spent 15 years at Van Kampen Merritt where he worked primarily in municipal bond sales. Rich holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Business Administration degree, both from Illinois State University.

Francine Russell
Senior Vice President, Municipal Underwriting
Francine has been with First Trust in the Capital Markets group since its inception in 1991. She has managed competitive and negotiated municipal issues nationwide ranging from $500,000 to $100,000,000. Francine has also been responsible for the purchase of over $20 billion principal amount of municipal securities, totaling more than 1,200 issues. Prior to joining First Trust, Francine spent 10 years as a municipal underwriter for The Northern Trust Company. Francine holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Roosevelt University.

William Neill
Vice President, Institutional Fixed Income Sales
Bill works on the municipal sales desk and has been in the securities industry since 1973. Prior to joining First Trust, Bill was a principal at Hutchinson, Shockey & Erley for 25 years in Municipal Sales. Bill garnered experience early in his career at First Boston and Harris Trust and Savings. Bill is a 1971 graduate of the University of Dubuque.

Blair Petersen
Vice President, Mortgage Trading
Blair joined First Trust in 1992 and has held various roles within the firm. He has spent the last 15 years buying and trading corporate and mortgage backed securities for our UIT portfolios as well as institutional clients. In addition to his active role in sales and trading, Blair is also actively involved in hedging and risk mitigation for the firm. Blair has a Bachelor of Arts in History from Wheaton College.

David Rieger
Vice President, Portfolio Strategist / Fixed Income
David joined First Trust in 1996 and has been involved with buying for UIT fixed income portfolios, fixed income security analysis and support of fixed income information systems. David has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Daniel Robbins
Vice President, Institutional Fixed Income Sales
Dan joined the Institutional Capital Markets group in the beginning of 2010, bringing with him 10 years of experience in sales, analysis, and investment strategies within the fixed income arena. Prior to joining First Trust Portfolios, Dan worked in Institutional Sales for Fixed Income Capital in Itasca, Illinois. Dan also worked in Institutional Sales for Performance Trust Capital Partners in Chicago, as well as, served as an Instructor and presenter at Bond Math University programs across the nation. Dan holds both a Bachelor of Arts degree and Master of Arts degree from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.

Jeffrey Samuel
Vice President, Municipal & Agency Trading
Jeff joined First Trust in 1992 and has held various roles within the firm, including sales and Unit Investment Trust (UIT) buying. He currently works on the institutional trading desk where he brings over 15 years of experience in trading fixed income securities including municipal bonds, U.S. Treasuries, and U.S. Agency debt. Jeff has a Bachelors of Business Administration degree from North Central College.

Edward Sistowicz
Vice President, Institutional Fixed Income Sales
Ed works on the sales and trading desk where he brings over 30 years of experience in municipal bond sales and trading. Prior to joining the First Trust Institutional Capital Markets team in 1999, Ed worked for Everen Securities, Mesirow Financial, and Bear Stearns in municipal bond sales. Ed holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Loyola University.

Benjamin Bowen
Assistant Vice President, Portfolio Strategist/ Fixed Income
Ben is responsible for First Trust’s proprietary analytical systems.  Prior to joining First Trust in January of 2011, Ben traded CME and CBOT products at Asymmetric Bond Markets.  Ben has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Wheaton College.

Timothy March
Assistant Vice President, Municipal Trading
Tim joined First Trust in August of 2008. Prior to joining First Trust, Tim spent time as a treasury futures trader at Asymmetric Bond Markets. Tim joined the Institutional Capital Markets team after completing the Rotational Training Program at First Trust. Tim has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business and Economics from Wheaton College.

Leslie Murchie
Assistant Vice President, Institutional Fixed Income Sales
Leslie joined First Trust in October, 2008 after receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Leslie joined the Institutional Capital Markets team after completing the Rotational Training Program at First Trust.

Sam McHale
Fixed Income Sales Associate, Institutional Fixed Income Sales
Sam joined First Trust in the fall of 2010. Prior to joining the Institutional Capital Markets group, Sam was an ETF and Separately Managed Account specialist in First Trust's wholesaling group. Sam has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Economics from Wheaton College.

Austin Stockfisch
Fixed Income Sales Associate, Institutional Fixed Income Sales
Austin joined First Trust in March, 2011 after playing professional baseball in the Milwaukee Brewers Organization. Austin has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Entrepreneurship from Grand Canyon University.