Edward J. Merkle

Founded in 1999, Credit Suisse Asset Management LLC (CSAM) is a registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE: CS), a publicly owned foreign bank holding company based in Switzerland.

Harvard University engages in the provision of teaching and research. It has twelve degree-granting Schools in addition to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, offering a global education. The university was founded in 1636 and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA.

MacKay Shields LLC is a registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The original predecessor to the firm, MacKay-Shields Economics, was founded in 1938 as an economic consulting firm and it became MacKay Shields Financial Corp. (MSFC) in 1969. In 1984, MSFC was purchased by New York Life Insurance Co. (NYLIC). NYLIC established New York Life Investment Management Holdings LLC (NYLIM Holdings) in 1999 and transferred ownership of MSFC to NYLIM Holdings. In 1999, MSFC was converted to MacKay Shields LLC. The ownership, control and management of MacKay Shields did not change as a result of this conversion. The firm is wholly owned by NYLIM Holdings, which is wholly-owned by NYLIC. MacKay Shields provides discretionary investment management services primarily to institutional clients. The firm is a signatory of the United Nation Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI).

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. engages in the provision of insurance, annuities, and employee benefits programs. It operates through the US, and MetLife Holdings segments. The company is headquartered in New York, NY.

Cowen Investment Management LLC (Cowen Investment Management) is a venture capital subsidiary of Cowen, Inc. founded in 1997. The firm is headquartered in New York.

Citigroup Private Bank is the private banking subsidiary of Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) in the US. Headquartered in New York City, the firm serves worldly and wealthy individuals and their families with a customized private banking service that crosses borders. They also provide services to professional investors, family offices, and lawyers and law firms.

Piton Investment Management LP (Piton) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by James “Jim” Fortescue and Kristopher Konrad in 2015. They are owned by Piton Management LLC. Piton specializes in fixed-income investment management services to institutions, other investment advisors and high net worth individuals.

ClearShares LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Marco Island, Florida. The firm was founded by Thomas “Tom” Deegan and is majority-owned by Deegan Holdings LLC. ClearShares provides investment and strategic advice, investment solutions, and related advisory services to Registered Investment Companies (RICs).

Established in 1939, Leon Frazer & Associates, Inc. is an investment management firm headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The firm is a subsidiary of Jovian Capital Corp. and their ultimate parent is Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services, Inc.

Founded in 2002, Natixis Securities Americas LLC is an investment bank and SEC-registered broker/dealer headquartered New York City with offices in several leading U.S. cities and affiliate offices in London and Paris. The firm is a division of Natixis and a subsidiary of Natixis SA. Their client base is located throughout North America and Europe and ranges from the largest mutual fund and pension fund managers to specialist hedge funds. Natixis Securities Americas' sales and trading teams are located in New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Houston. Natixis Securities Americas' research efforts focus on identifying new insights about companies that are not fully reflected in their stock prices. The firm also seeks to provide clients with access to the managements of listed companies and to other industry experts. They arrange for such marketing opportunities, in the form of road shows, conferences, meetings and conference calls. Natixis Securities Americas' institutional trading desk offers clients trading capabilities in equities all over the world. The firm focuses on specific global markets to provide clients with the best possible execution worldwide. Natixis Securities Americas employs a transatlantic approach that examines the effects of technological, market and regulatory developments across both continents on the companies under coverage. In the U.S., they provide in-depth sector coverage on energy (oil services, exploration and production, alternative energy and coal), healthcare (large-cap pharmaceuticals, specialty pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices and healthcare services) and media (media conglomerates, content creators, interactive TV and new media, as well as technical analysis. In Europe, Natixis Securities Americas applies a country-wide approach to all of the key sectors of France, Germany, Austria and Central and Eastern Europe. Combined, the firm's product offering includes more than 600 stocks. Natixis Securities Americas global trading group specializes in the trading, execution and settlement of international equities. The firm provides 24-hour access to 55 global markets. They cater to broker/dealer and institutional clients, providing ADR and ordinary share executions on an agency or proprietary basis. The firm can accommodate most client trading requirements from basket trading to block orders. To complement their international trading reach, Natixis Securities Americas domestic bulletin board trading group currently markets over 2000 U.S.-based companies. The firm offers their clients innovative trading technology through a proprietary Direct Market Access (DMA) platform, Enabler Direct. This product allows immediate access to a variety of liquidity sources through one anonymous interface. Natixis Securities Americas' global brokerage services group offers services to a select group of professional clients. The firm seeks to partner with banks, broker/dealers, hedge funds and high net-worth clients that can utilize their blend of international capabilities and traditional brokerage services to support and enhance their success. Their global brokerage services group is prominent in international securities, equity trading and brokerage operations in over 55 countries around the world. They have experience in both the pre-trade and post-trade requirements in each of these countries.

Neuberger Berman BD LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in New York City. It is directly owned by Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC, which is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Neuberger Berman Group LLC, which is owned by NBSH Acquisition LLC. The firm traces their origin back to the 1939 founding of Neuberger & Berman, its predecessor firm. In 1950, Neuberger Berman became one of the first firms to offer a no-load mutual fund to individual investors. Neuberger Berman BD manages a range of equity, fixed income, private equity and hedge fund strategies on behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors worldwide.

Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC (Dumont & Blake) is an independent registered investment advisor headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey. The firm was founded by Morley Goldberg and Adam Goldberg in 1999. Dumont & Blake manages investments primarily for individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, and business entities, in accordance with the investment objective(s) of the client on a fee-only basis.

Dreman Value Management LLC (DVM) is a wealth management firm headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida. The firm was founded by David Dreman in 1997 and is owned by Holly & Meredith Dreman 2013 Trust. DVM offers value-based equity investment services to a variety of clients, including sub-advisory services to Institutional, High Net Worth Individuals, Taft-Hartley and SMA/UMA clients. They also offer a domestically focused mutual fund strategy for individual investors.

Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC (Tandem) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. The firm was founded in 2011 by C. Angus Schaal, Tom D'Auria, and Fred Lutcher. They are principally owned by the Schaal Trust. Tandem provides investment services to individuals, families, trusts, retirement plans, charitable organizations, and corporations.

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (Credit Suisse Securities USA) is the broker/dealer division of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, an investment banking company headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1998 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Credit Suisse (USA), Inc., ultimately owned by Credit Suisse Group AG (SWX: CSGN) in Switzerland. Credit Suisse Securities USA offers a suite of equities, solutions and credit products and services which includes global securities sales, trading and execution, prime brokerage and comprehensive investment research. Their clients include financial institutions, corporations, governments, institutional investors, such as pension funds and hedge funds, and private individuals around the world.

PNC Bank NA provides banking services. It offers online banking, investment banking, mortgage banking, and bills payment services. The company is headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA.

Schroder Investment Management Ltd. (SIM) is the wholly-owned asset management subsidiary of Schroder International Holdings Ltd., ultimately held by Great Britain-based Schroders Plc (LSE: SDR, ADR: SHNWY). Established in 1985, SIM is headquartered in London and caters to a range of clients such as corporations, insurance firms, local and public authorities, charities, pension funds, high net-worth individuals and retail investors.

Barclays Bank Plc (Investment Management) (Barclays Bank-IM) is the investment management division of Barclays Bank Plc, the international and investment banking unit of Barclays PLC (LON: BARC; NYSE: BCS) in Great Britain. Headquartered in London, Barclays Bank-IM was founded in 1971 and provides corporate, government and institutional clients with a full spectrum of strategic advisory, financing and risk management solutions.

UBS Asset Management (UK) Ltd. (UBS-UK) is the Great Britain-based investment subsidiary of UBS Asset Management Holdings Ltd., itself a subsidiary of UBS Group AG (SWX: UBSG, NYSE: UBS) in Switzerland. Founded in 1981 as Phillips & Drew Investment Management Ltd., the firm merged with UBS Asset Management in 2000 to form UBS Asset Management Ltd., which became UBS Global Asset Management (UK) Ltd. in 2002. They changed their name to UBS Asset Management (UK) Ltd. in 2015. Headquartered in London, UBS-UK provides asset management services to corporate and public pension plans, sovereign institutions, endowments and municipalities, charities, insurance companies, wholesale intermediaries, financial institutions, and private clients.