8-K

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (date of earliest event reported): April 25, 2005

FRIEDMAN, BILLINGS, RAMSEY GROUP, INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Virginia	54-1873198	000-50230
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)	(Commission File Number)

1001 Nineteenth Street

North Arlington, VA 22209

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

(703) 312-9500

(Registrant’s telephone number including area code)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 2.02    Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

On April 25, 2005,  Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc.  (the "Company")  issued a press release updating its earnings guidance for the quarter ended March 31, 2005. A copy of the press release is furnished herewith and attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1.

Item 9.01.   Financial Statements and Exhibits.

EXHIBIT

 99.1      Press Release dated April 25, 2005.

  

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Company has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	FRIEDMAN, BILLINGS, RAMSEY GROUP, INC.
Date: April 26, 2005	By:	/s/ Eric F. Billings
		Eric F. Billings      Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer

EX-99.I

Contacts:
Investors: Kurt Harrington at 703-312-9647 or kharrington@fbr.com
Media: Bill Dixon at 703-469-1092 or bdixon@fbr.com

            FBR Announces Preliminary Results for First Quarter 2005

Arlington, Va., April 25, 2005 - Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc. (NYSE:
FBR) today announced preliminary financial results for the quarter that ended
March 31, 2005. FBR expects to report net after-tax income of $22 million to $25
million, or $0.13 to $0.15 per share (diluted). FBR expects to report net
revenues for the quarter of $163 million compared to $221 million for the first
quarter 2004. Included in these results is a reserve of $7.5 million for a
potential settlement by the company's broker-dealer subsidiary related to a
previously disclosed regulatory investigation concerning a PIPE transaction
completed in 2001. Book value per share as of March 31, 2005 is anticipated to
be $8.62, and book value per share net of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income
(AOCI) is expected to be $9.63.(1)

"While our first quarter results were clearly disappointing, we remain
optimistic about our capital markets and principal investment portfolio
businesses, and we remain confident that we will generate the earnings to
maintain our core dividend payments," said Eric F. Billings, Co-Chairman and
Co-Chief Executive Officer of FBR.

"As we discussed in our conference call on March 17, this quarter was negatively
impacted by a lack of merchant banking gains, one-time transitional costs
related to the acquisition of First NLC, and continuing spread compression in
the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) portfolio," Mr. Billings said. "The
principal reasons for the lower reported earnings following the call are the
previously mentioned reserve for the PIPE transaction and related legal fees,
anticipated revenues from an investment banking transaction and dividends from
merchant banking which shifted from the first quarter into the second quarter.
The banking transaction has subsequently been completed and the anticipated
dividends have been declared."

Investment Banking and Institutional Brokerage

Revenues from FBR's investment banking operations are expected to total $88
million for the quarter, a decrease of $3 million from the first quarter of
2004. FBR's investment banking team executed 25 managed underwritings and
corporate financial transactions with a total transaction value of over $7.7
billion, compared with 29 transactions for a total value of $6.6 billion in the
first quarter of 2004.

FBR's institutional brokerage revenues are expected to total $28 million for the
quarter, a decrease from the $35.2 million reported for the first quarter of
2004, but an increase from $25.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2004.

Investment banking highlights include:
        o Five initial public offerings completed, raising a total $1.6
          billion, compared to four IPOs in the first quarter of 2004
          that raised $620 million.
        o Two private placements that raised a total of $589.6 million.
        o Ten secondary offerings, raising $1.7 billion.
        o Five asset-backed securities (ABS) transactions completed, with an
          aggregate value of $3.8 billion.
        o FBR earned the following investment banking rankings for the first
          quarter of 2005: (2)
                o # 1 book-running manager for all U.S. common equity capital
                  raises for issuers with a market capitalization of $1 billion
                  and under
                o # 8 book-running manager for all U.S. IPOs
                o # 6 book-running manager for all U.S. common equity capital
                  raises.

Asset Management

FBR's asset management franchise is expected to report a decrease in net assets
under management of $200 million.

        o Total funds under management are expected to be $3.1 billion as of
          March 31, 2005, compared to $3.2 billion on December 31, 2004.
        o Base and incentive fees are expected to show a combined decrease of
          12%, to $8.1 million in the first quarter of 2005 from $9.2 million in
          the first quarter of 2004, due to a decrease of $3 million in
          performance-based incentive fees.
        o Mutual fund assets are expected to total $2.2 billion at the end of
          the first quarter, compared to $2.3 billion at the end of 2004.

Principal Investment

FBR's principal investing revenues net of total interest expense are expected to
total $36 million during the first quarter of 2005, compared to $83.9 million
during the first quarter of 2004 and $67.2 million for the fourth quarter of
2004

FBR completed the acquisition of First NLC on February 16, 2005, and initiated
the process of shifting a portion of its principal investing capital to
non-conforming mortgages. As of March 31, 2005, FBR expects to show holdings of
$11.6 billion in the mortgage-backed securities (MBS) portfolio and $827 million
in non-conforming mortgage loans.

During the first quarter of 2005, the Federal Reserve increased the federal
funds rate for the seventh time in the last three quarters, resulting in a
continued general flattening of the yield curve. The MBS portfolio expects to
earn a return on equity equal to 14.4% and a net spread of 96 basis points for
the quarter.

        o Quarter-end leverage (debt-to-equity) in the MBS portfolio is expected
          to be 12.5, compared to 11.2 on December 31, 2004.
        o FBR expects to report that during the first quarter of 2005, its MBS
          portfolio had a weighted average annual yield of 3.42%,
          and that the weighted average financing rate was 2.46% (including the
          benefit of hedging), resulting in a net interest spread of 0.96% for
          the quarter. During the fourth quarter of 2004, the portfolio had a
          weighted average annual yield of 3.18% and a weighted average
          financing rate of 1.95% (including the benefit of hedging), resulting
          in a net interest spread of 1.23% for that quarter.
        o Amortization of MBS premium during the first quarter of 2005 is
          expected to be $14.6 million, compared to $17.8 million for the fourth
          quarter of 2004. The weighted average remaining premium of FBR's MBS
          portfolio was 1.60% on March 31, 2005, compared to 1.68% at the end of
          2004.
        o On March 31, 2005, the MBS portfolio continued to maintain a low
          effective duration (a measure of interest rate sensitivity) of 1.23
          compared to 0.78 as of December 31, 2004.
        o As part of FBR's planned portfolio transition to non-conforming
          mortgages, First NLC is expected to generate a loss of approximately
          $2.5 million as the company elected to hold a substantial portion of
          first quarter originations rather than taking gain on sale.
        o During the month of March, First NLC's first full month as a
          subsidiary of FBR, it originated a record $400 million of mortgages.

The total value of FBR's merchant banking portfolio and other long-term
investments are expected to total $430 million as of March 31, 2005. Of this
total, $345 million was held in the merchant banking equity portfolio, $61
million was held in alternative asset funds, and $24 million was held in other
long-term investments.

        o During the first quarter of 2005, FBR anticipates recording $3 million
          of net investment income and dividends from principal investing.
        o The merchant banking equities portfolio expects to report a net
          unrealized loss of $5.4 million as of March 31, 2005 that is
          included in accumulated other comprehensive income.

FBR anticipates that it will report final financial results for the first
quarter of 2005 on the evening of Wednesday, May 4, 2005.

The firm will host a conference call at 9:00 a.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, April 26,
2005 to discuss the preliminary results. To access the live webcast, please
visit http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=FBR. Replays of the
webcast will be available after the call.

Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc. provides investment banking(3),
institutional brokerage(3), asset management, and private client services
through its operating subsidiaries and invests in mortgage-backed securities and
merchant banking opportunities. FBR focuses capital and financial expertise on
eight industry sectors: consumer, diversified industrials, energy and natural
resources, financial institutions, healthcare, insurance, real estate, and
technology, media and telecommunications. FBR, headquartered in the Washington,
D.C. metropolitan area, with offices in Arlington, Va. and Bethesda, Md., also
has offices in Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Irvine, London, New
York, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, and Vienna. For more
information, please see http://www.fbr.com.

(1)Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (AOCI) includes changes in value of
available-for-sale securities and cash flow hedges. We believe that such changes
represent temporary market fluctuations, are not reflective of our market
strategy, and therefore, exclusion of AOCI provides a reasonable basis for
calculating returns.
(2) Source: Dealogic.
(3) Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., Inc.

Statements concerning future performance, developments, events, market
forecasts, revenues, expenses, earnings, run rates and any other guidance on
present or future periods, constitute forward-looking statements that are
subject to a number of factors, risks and uncertainties that might cause actual
results to differ materially from stated expectations or current circumstances.
These factors include, but are not limited to, the effect of demand for public
offerings, activity in the secondary securities markets, interest rates, costs
of borrowing, interest spreads, mortgage pre-payment speeds, risks associated
with merchant banking investments, the realization of gains and losses on
principal investments, available technologies, competition for business and
personnel, and general economic, political and market conditions. These and
other risks are described in the company's Annual Report and Form 10-K and
quarterly reports on Form 10-Q that are available from the company and from the
SEC.

                                      # # #