Alex Bates

St. Louis Trust & Family Office is an independent multi-family office headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Formerly known as The St. Louis Trust Co., the firm was founded in 2002 by James O’Connor, Patrick Stark and John Jennings. St. Louis Trust & Family Office provides investment management and family office services exclusively to families of great wealth.

In 1915 Charles Edward Merrill founded Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER) with Edmund C. Lynch in Baltimore, Maryland. The modern Merrill Lynch was formed in 1940 through mergers with E.A. Pierce & Cassatt and, soon after, Fenner & Beane. In 1973, Merrill Lynch adopted a holding company format, with Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. as the parent and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith as the operating subsidiary. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc. (MLAM) was created as an integral business unit in the Merrill Lynch family in 1976. Fund Asset Management, doing business as Mercury Asset Management, was acquired in December 1997. In 2000, MLAM and Mercury were combined under the name Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. MLAM manages the Merrill Lynch family of mutual funds, as and acts as sub-advisor to other mutual funds.

The Colony Group LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor and wealth management firm headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1986, the firm is a wholly owned subsidiary of Focus Financial Partners LLC, which is ultimately owned by Focus Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: FOCS). The Colony Group offers a suite of wealth management services to individuals, families, institutions, and businesses.

BlackRock Advisors LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1994 and is a subsidiary of BlackRock Capital Holdings, Inc., ultimately held by BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK). BlackRock Advisors manages assets for US-registered investment companies and 529 Plans.