Ross worked on the first auto loan securitization in 1985 when he was previously at Drexel Burnham Lambert while Capasse crafted some of the first subprime mortgage-backed securities in the late 1980s for Merrill Lynch.

When the subprime mortgage crisis occurred, Waterfall was able to take advantage as Capasse and Ross were able to structure private placement deals in a new manner.

The best opportunities for Waterfall were found in ABS securities that were once had a credit rating of AAA but later downgraded to junk status.

[2] In 2013, Ready Capital was founded by Waterfall converting one of its private funds to a commercial mortgage REIT and listing it on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker 'RC'.

[7] In November 2018, Waterfall issued $571.8 Million in jumbo reverse mortgage bonds, the first offering of its kind since the 2007–2008 financial crisis.

[8] In August 2020, Navigator Global Investments (NGI) agreed to buy Dyal Capital's stake in Waterfall.