UPDATE 1-FBR's Youngblood to leave, start new mortgage fund

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NEW YORK, June 13 (Reuters) - Veteran mortgage analyst and money manager Michael Youngblood said on Friday he was leaving FBR Investment Management Inc. to launch a new company and mortgage fund.

Senior managing director and portfolio manager Steve Gaenzler will also leave FBRIM to join the new investment company and work on a Mortgage Opportunities Fund, which will invest in mortgage loans and securities of "agency" and "non-agency" issuers, Youngblood wrote in a research note.

Agency mortgage bond issuers are Fannie Mae (FNM.N), Freddie Mac (FRE.N) and Ginnie Mae.

Youngblood was part of the mortgage group at Salomon Brothers which, under Lewis Ranieri, is seen as the pioneer of the mortgage bond business. He also developed the mortgage research units at Banc of America Securities LLC and Chase Securities, according to FBR's Web site.

Gaenzler joined FBR Investment Management, a unit of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group Inc (FBR.N), from Freddie Mac in 2005.

Youngblood, who is director of fixed-income research, said he intends to produce weekly publications for clients as he has done since 1986. He declined immediate comment in an e-mail.

(Reporting by Al Yoon and Richard Leong, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama,)