Kip Saunders

Schneider Capital Management Corp. (SCM) is an independent investment advisor headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania and was founded in 1996. SCM's business consists of providing fully discretionary investment management services and investment advice to institutional investors, investment companies, and pension and profit sharing plans.

The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) is a state-owned pension fund manager headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1935, The OPERS Board of Trustees – the governing body of the system – is responsible for the administration and management of OPERS. They provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefit programs for Ohio’s active and retired public workers and their families throughout the state who are not covered by another state or local retirement system.

Wilbanks, Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC (WST) is a SEC-registered asset management firm headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. In 2024, the firm was acquired by Clearstead Advisors LLC, a holding company. The firm was founded by Wayne Wilbanks in 1990. WST provides investment services for individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, corporations, Taft Hartley organizations, municipalities, bank trust departments, trust companies, insurance companies, foundations, and endowments.

Citigroup Alternative Investments LLC (CAI) is a SEC-registered asset management firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2002 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup Investments, Inc., which is owned by Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C). CAI provides advisory services to private investment companies, such as private equity funds and funds of one or more private equity and real estate funds. The investors in the funds advised by the firm are institutional investors, funds of funds, high-net worth individuals and employees, and former employees of Citigroup, Inc.

Owl Creek Asset Management LP is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in New York City. It was founded in 2001 by Jeff Altman. The firm provides investment management services to private pooled investment vehicles (funds). Their flagship funds are Owl Creek I, Owl Creek II, Owl Creek Overseas, Owl Creek Overseas Master Fund, Owl Creek SRI and Owl Creek SRI Master Fund.

Par-Four Investment Management LLC (Par-Four) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. The firm was founded by Robert B. Burke in 2003 as Par IV Capital Management LLC. Par-Four provides investment advisory services on a discretionary basis to clients, which are institutional investors and private investment funds intended for institutional investors and other sophisticated investors.

Part of SLM Corp., Sallie Mae Solutions provides financing to the higher education market.

S&P Global Ratings provides independent credit risk research. It offers issuer credit ratings that provide an opinion on the overall capacity of an entity to meet its financial commitments, issue credit ratings that provide an opinion of the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation(s) or specific financial program and loan ratings. The company is headquartered in New York, NY.

Fitch Ratings, Inc. is a global rating agency and investment research firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by John Knowles in 1913 as Fitch Publishing Co. They are a subsidiary of Fitch Group, Inc., ultimately owned by The Hearst Family Trust. Fitch Ratings seeks to provide independent and prospective credit opinions, research and data to the world's credit markets. Their approach is based on a foundation of local market experience that covers capital markets in over 150 countries. The firm's ratings analysis and rating decisions are based on established criteria, methodologies and ratings definitions which they apply in a consistent manner. Fitch Ratings provides coverage of the following markets: Economics, Banks, Insurance, Sovereigns, Corporates, Structured Finance, Public Finance – International, Public Finance – US, Infrastructure & Project, and Finance.

Sidoti & Co. LLC (S&C) is a registered broker and equity research firm headquartered in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of Sidoti Holding Co. LLC and was founded in 1999. S&C provides research exclusively to institutional investors. The firm covers the following sectors: housing, retail, basic industries, technology, business services, capital goods, automotive, computer software, regional banking, telecommunications, entertainment, healthcare and consumer products. Their analysts conduct their own due diligence which includes visiting companies and meeting with operating and financial management. In addition, the firm's analysts focus on fundamentals, particularly cash flow from operations and EPS.

Federated Investment Management Co. (FIMCO) is a mutual fund manager and SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The firm is a subsidiary of FII Holdings, Inc., owned by Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE: FHI). FIMCO offers domestic and international equity, fixed-income and money market mutual funds, and a variety of separate account options for many investors.

Park Avenue Institutional Advisers LLC (PAIA) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm is a direct wholly owned subsidiary of Guardian Investor Services LLC, which is owned by The Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America, a New York mutual life insurance company. PAIA provides investment advisory services to registered open-end management investment companies, a proprietary private fund and the CLO portfolios.

BlackRock Fund Advisors (BFA) is a registered investment advisor headquartered in San Francisco, California. The firm was founded in 1984 and is a subsidiary of BlackRock Delaware Holdings, Inc., ultimately held by BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK). BFA manages assets for US registered investment companies, including ETFs. Mandates include cash management, equity, fixed income, multi-asset and index strategies.

University of Miami (Florida) is a private research university with students from around the world that is focused on teaching and learning, the discovery of new knowledge, and service to the South Florida region and beyond. The university was founded in 1925 and it is headquartered in Coral Gables, FL.

Sustainability Accounting Standards Board is a non-profit organization, which engages in the development and maintaining of robust reporting standards that enable businesses around the world to identify, manage, and communicate financially material sustainability information to their investors. Its market use include supporters, perspectives and case studies, SASB resources, SASB reporters, firm licensing SASB. The company was founded by Jean Rogers in 2011 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.

CFA Institute operates as non-profit organization, which engages in the provision of chartered financial analyst programs. It offers certificate in investment performance measurement program, investment foundations, and scholarship. The company was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Charlottesville, VA.

Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers, Inc. (NBIA) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2002 as Neuberger Berman Fixed Income LLC and adopted their present name in 2016. They are a subsidiary of Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers Holdings LLC, ultimately owned by NBSH Acquisition LLC. NBIA provides a wide range of discretionary investment management services to a variety of clients, which includes individuals, institutions, registered investment companies, non-US registered funds and private investment funds.