SEC Form 3

FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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1. Name and Address of Reporting Person* Smernoff Chris (Last) (First) (Middle) 53 FOREST AVENUE (Street) OLD GREENWICH CT 06870 (City) (State) (Zip)	2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year) 03/30/2018	3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol Ellington Financial LLC [ EFC ]
		4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) Director 10% Owner X Officer (give title below) Other (specify below) Chief Accounting Officer	5. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)
			6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line) X Form filed by One Reporting Person Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 4)	2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4)	3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)

Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
LTIP Units(1)	(2)	(2)	Common shares rep. limited liabiilty company interests	12,881	0.0(3)	D

Explanation of Responses:

1. Represents a separate non-voting class of limited liability company interests ("LTIP Units") of Ellington Financial LLC (the "Company"), which are structured as profits interests.

2. 10,235 of the LTIP Units have vested. 2,646 LTIP Units remain forfeitable, subject to the reporting person's continued service as an officer of the Issuer, until December 12, 2018.

3. The LTIP Units may be converted upon vesting, at the election of the holder, into common shares representing limited liability company interests of the Issuer on a one-for-one basis. The LTIP Units were issued pursuant to, and are subject to the terms and conditions of, the Issuer's 2007 Incentive Plan for Individuals or the Issuer's 2017 Equity Incentive Plan, as applicable. The right to convert LTIP Units into common shares representing limited liability company interests does not have an expiration date.

Remarks:

Exhibit 24 - Power of Attorney

	/s/ Jason Frank, as attorney-in-fact for Christopher Smernoff	04/02/2018
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5 (b)(v).
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