Document:

EXHIBIT 4.4

                                 PROMISSORY NOTE

$1,000,000.00                                                   August 31, 2001

                  FOR VALUE RECEIVED, LADENBURG THALMANN FINANCIAL SERVICES
INC., a Florida corporation ("Maker"), having an address at 590 Madison Avenue,
New York, New York 10022, hereby promises to pay to the order of
____________________, a Delaware corporation, its successors and/or assigns (any
of which is hereinafter referred to as "Holder"), at _______________________, in
lawful money of the United States, the sum of One Million Dollars and No Cents
($1,000,000.00), together with interest thereon at the Prime Rate as published
in the Wall Street Journal plus 1% from the date hereof to the date of payment,
on the earlier of (i) February 28, 2002 and (ii) the next business day after
Maker receives its federal income tax refund for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2001 ("Refund"). At the Holder's request, payments shall be made
by wire transfer to an account designated by the Holder. This Note, however, may
be prepaid in whole or in part at any time without penalty or premium but with
payment of accrued interest to the date of prepayment. This Note is being issued
together with a Warrant, dated as of the date hereof, entitling the Holder to
purchase 100,000 shares of the Maker's common stock, par value $0.0001 per
share, at an exercise price of $1.00 per share (subject to adjustment).

                  So long as any amount under this Note remains outstanding and
unpaid, Maker will not, unless otherwise consented to in writing by the Holder,
create, incur, assume or suffer to exist (excluding the $20 million aggregate
principal amount of senior convertible promissory notes previously issued to New
Valley Corporation, Berliner Effektengesellschaft AG and Holder and the $1
million promissory note issued to _________________________________ on the date
hereof) any indebtedness for borrowed funds (institutional or otherwise) which
is not subordinated in all respects to the indebtedness under this Note.

                  Holder may, with or without notice to Maker or any guarantor
or other party liable herefor, extend or renew this Note, or extend the time for
making payment of any amount provided for herein, or accept any amount in
advance, all without affecting the liability of Maker or any other party or
guarantor liable herefor.

                  Upon the occurrence of a default, the whole sum of principal
shall become due immediately at the option of Holder. Default shall include, but
not be limited to: (i) failure to make any payment hereunder at the time
prescribed for payment; (ii) filing, as to the Maker or any guarantor or
indorser of this Note, of an involuntary petition which is not dismissed within
sixty (60) days or of a voluntary petition under the provisions of the Federal
Bankruptcy Code or any state statute for the relief of debtors; (iii) the
granting of any lien or any encumbrance by Maker on the Refund; (iv) default in
the payment of principal or interest on any obligation in excess of $50,000 for
borrowed money beyond the period of grace, if any, provided with respect thereto
or default in the performance or observance of any other term, condition or
agreement contained in any such obligation or in any agreement relating thereto,
if the effect thereof is to cause, or permit the holder or holders of such
obligation (or a trustee on behalf of such holder or holders) to cause such
obligation to become due prior to its stated maturity and such default remains
unremedied for a period of 10 days; (vi) final judgment for the payment of money

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in excess of $50,000 shall be rendered against Maker and the same shall remain
undischarged for a period of thirty (30) days during which execution of such
judgment shall not be effectively stayed; (vii) the non-payment, for any reason,
of any check tendered to Holder by Maker; or (viii) any breach or other default
by the Maker under this Note or the $10 million principal amount senior
convertible promissory note issued by Maker to ______________________ on May 7,
2001.

                  The times for the payment of the principal sum as herein
stated are of the essence of this Note. Upon the occurrence of a default, the
amount of the principal sum hereunder, plus reasonable attorneys fees and
expenses, shall bear interest from the date thereof to the actual date of
payment (whether such payment is made voluntarily or as a result of legal
process) at the maximum rate of interest permitted by law or 18% per annum,
whichever is lower, from the date of the default to the date of actual payment.

                  The Maker shall not consolidate or merge into, or transfer or
lease all or substantially all of its assets to, any person unless (i) the
person is a corporation, (ii) the person assumes in a writing reasonably
acceptable to the Holder all the obligations of the Maker under this Note and
(iii) immediately after the transaction, no default exists. The surviving
transferee or lessee corporation shall be the successor Maker, but the
predecessor Maker in the case of a transfer or lease shall not be released from
the obligation to pay the principal of and interest of this Note.

                  Maker and each other party liable herefor, whether principal,
endorser, guarantor or otherwise, jointly and severally hereby (i) waive
presentment, demand, protest, notice of dishonor and/or protest, notice of
non-payment and all other notices or demands in connection with the delivery,
acceptance, performance, default, enforcement or guaranty of this Note, (ii)
waive recourse to suretyship defenses generally, including extensions of time,
releases of security and other indulgences which may be granted from time to
time by Holder to Maker or any party liable herefor, and (iii) agree to pay all
costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys fees, in connection with the
enforcement or collection of this Note.

                  Nothing contained in this Note or in any other agreement
between Maker and Holder shall require Maker to pay, or Holder to accept,
interest in an amount which would subject Holder to any penalty or forfeiture
under applicable law. In no event shall the total of all charges payable
hereunder, whether of interest or of such other charges which may or might be
characterized as interest, exceed the maximum rate permitted to be charged under
applicable law. Should Holder receive any payment which is or would be in excess
of that permitted to be charged under such applicable law, such payment shall
have been and shall be deemed to have been made in error and shall automatically
be applied to reduce the principal balance outstanding on this Note.

                  Holder shall not, by any act, delay, omission or otherwise, be
deemed to have waived any of its rights and/or remedies hereunder, and no waiver
whatsoever shall be valid unless in writing, signed by Holder, and then only to
the extent therein set forth. The making of any demands or the giving of any
notices by Holder or a waiver by Holder of any right and/or remedy hereunder on
any one occasion shall not be construed as a bar to or waiver of any right
and/or remedy which Holder would otherwise have on any future occasion. All
rights and remedies of Holder shall be cumulative and may be exercised singly or
concurrently.

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                  This Note may be assigned at any time by Holder to any person
controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Holder or to any
affiliate of the Holder on notice to Maker.

                  The terms and provisions hereof shall survive the payment,
cancellation or surrender of this Note. Any instrument taken by Holder in
payment of, or for application against, any obligation of Maker or any other
party liable herefor shall not operate as a discharge of such obligation until
the instrument is finally paid, notwithstanding the fact that a bank may be the
maker, drawer or acceptor of such instrument.

                  This Note shall be governed and construed in accordance with
the law of the State of New York without giving effect to choice of law
principles. MAKER AND EACH OTHER PARTY LIABLE HEREFOR, IN ANY LITIGATION IN
WHICH HOLDER SHALL BE AN ADVERSE PARTY, WAIVES TRIAL BY JURY AND WAIVES THE
RIGHT TO INTERPOSE ANY DEFENSE, SETOFF OR COUNTERCLAIM OF ANY NATURE OR
DESCRIPTION. ANY SUCH LITIGATION SHALL BE SUBJECT TO THE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION
OF THE NEW YORK STATE OR FEDERAL COURTS LOCATED IN NEW YORK CITY.

                                    LADENBURG THALMANN FINANCIAL SERVICES INC.

                                    By:
                                       ---------------------------------------
                                       Name: J. Bryant Kirkland III
                                       Title: Chief Financial OfficerEXHIBIT 10.1

                        AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO LOAN AGREEMENT

                  AMENDMENT NO. 2 dated as of August 31, 2001 to Loan Agreement,
dated as of February 8, 2001, as amended, between LADENBURG THALMANN FINANCIAL
SERVICES INC. (f/k/a GBI CAPITAL MANAGEMENT CORP.) and FROST-NEVADA, LIMITED
PARTNERSHIP ("Loan Agreement").

                  WHEREAS, the Borrower entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement
("Stock Purchase Agreement"), dated February 8, 2001, as amended, among the
Borrower, New Valley Corporation ("New Valley"), Ladenburg, Thalmann Group Inc.
("LTGI"), Berliner Effektengesellschaft AG ("Berliner") and Ladenburg, Thalmann
& Co. Inc. ("Ladenburg"); and

                  WHEREAS, the Borrower and Lender entered into the Loan
Agreement, dated as of February 8, 2001, as amended, pursuant to which the
Lender provided certain funds to the Borrower that were used in the Stock
Purchase Agreement by the Borrower; and

                  WHEREAS, the Borrower has entered into an Amendment No. 2 to
the Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of the date hereof, among the Borrower,
New Valley, LTGI, Berliner and Ladenburg; and

                  WHEREAS, the Borrower and Lender desire to similarly amend the
Loan Agreement and Lender Note in certain respects as set forth herein
(capitalized terms used herein that are defined in the Loan Agreement or Lender
Note shall have the same meanings herein as in the Loan Agreement and Lender
Note);

                  IT IS AGREED:

         1. The first paragraph of Section 1 of the Lender Note is hereby
amended in its entirety to read as follows:

                  "1.      Conversion of Note

                           The principal of and accrued interest on this Note
shall be convertible, in whole or in part, at any time, at the election of the
Holder, into that number of fully paid and non-assessable shares of the Maker's
common stock, par value $0.0001 per share ("Common Stock"), determined by

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dividing the amount of principal and interest to be so converted by the
"Conversion Price" (as hereinafter defined) in effect at the time notice of
conversion is given to the Maker as set forth below. As used herein, "Conversion
Price" means, initially, $1.5390594. The Conversion Price shall be decreased
("Conversion Price Adjustment") from time to time as set forth in the Stock
Purchase Agreement, as amended, by the amount obtained by taking the product of
$1.5390594 and the Final Purchase Price Adjustment Percentage (as such term is
defined in the Stock Purchase Agreement, as amended). Notwithstanding the
foregoing, if the Conversion Price, after adjustment as set forth in the
previous sentence, would not yield a number of shares of Common Stock equal to
at least the sum of (x) 5,000,000 shares of Common Stock and (y) 20% of the sum
of (i) the additional shares issuable to Lender as a result of the Conversion
Price Adjustment and (ii) all other shares of Common Stock to be issued and
issuable to LTGI and Berliner pursuant to Section 2.4 of the Stock Purchase
Agreement, the Conversion Price will be further adjusted such that Lender, upon
conversion of this Note, will receive such sum of 5,000,000 shares of Common
Stock and 20% of the total number of additional shares issuable as a result of
the Conversion Price Adjustment and Section 2.4 of the Stock Purchase
Agreement."

         3.       As amended hereby, the Loan Agreement shall continue in full
force and effect. All references to the "Agreement" shall hereafter mean as
amended hereby. This Amendment No. 2 and the rights and obligations of the
parties hereunder shall be governed by, and construed and interpreted in
accordance with, the law of the State of New York. BORROWER, IN ANY LITIGATION
IN WHICH LENDER SHALL BE AN ADVERSE PARTY, WAIVES TRIAL BY JURY, WAIVES THE
RIGHT TO CLAIM THAT A FORUM SPECIFIED HEREIN IS AN INCONVENIENT FORUM AND WAIVES
THE RIGHT TO INTERPOSE ANY SETOFF, DEDUCTION OR COUNTERCLAIM OF ANY NATURE OR
DESCRIPTION AND CONSENTS TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE COURTS (CITY, STATE AND
FEDERAL) LOCATED IN THE CITY, COUNTY AND STATE OF NEW YORK AND TO SERVICE OF
PROCESS BY REGISTERED MAIL ADDRESSED TO BORROWER AT THE ADDRESS SET FORTH ABOVE
OR SUCH OTHER ADDRESS AS BORROWER SHALL NOTIFY LENDER IN WRITING IS TO BE USED
FOR SUCH PURPOSE. If any of the provisions of this Amendment No. 2 shall be or
become illegal or unenforceable under any law, the other provisions shall remain
in full force and effect.

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         4.       This Amendment No. 2 may be signed in any number of
counterparts, each of which shall be an original, with the same effect as if the
signatures thereto were upon the same instrument. Delivery of an executed
counterpart of a signature page of this Amendment No. 2 by telecopier shall be
effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Amendment No.
2.

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         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Amendment No. 2 as
of the date first above written.

                           LADENBURG THALMANN FINANCIAL SERVICES INC.
                           (f/k/a GBI CAPITAL MANAGEMENT CORP.)

                                /s/ Victor M. Rivas
                           By:
                              -------------------------------------------------
                              Name: Victor M. Rivas
                              Title: President and Chief Executive Officer
                              Telecopier No.: 212-317-8192

                           FROST-NEVADA, LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
                           By: Frost-Nevada Corporation, General Partner

                                /s/ David Moskowitz
                           By:
                              -------------------------------------------------
                              Name: David Moskowitz
                              Title: President
                              Telecopier No.: 775-827-2185

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