Alex V. Brand

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.

Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc. (DBSI) is a SEC-registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1971 and is a wholly-owned investment banking and brokerage arm of DB U.S. Financial Markets Holding Corp., ultimately held by Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB, FRA: DBK) in Germany. DBSI provides securities brokerage and investment advisory services to domestic and international private clients and institutions. They are also a primary dealer in US government securities as designated by the Federal Reserve.

UBS Securities LLC is an investment bank and registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1998 as UBS Warburg LLC. They are a subsidiary of UBS Americas Holding LLC, ultimately held by UBS Group AG (SWX: UBSG, NYSE: UBS) in Switzerland. UBS Securities is a primary dealer in US Government securities and provides a full range of investment banking services which includes corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, trading and sales, fixed-income, equity research, private banking, underwriting and prime brokerage operations. The firm also provides advisory services and access to capital markets for corporate, institutional, intermediary and alternative asset management clients.

Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. (Broker) (Oppenheimer-Broker) is the global full-service brokerage division of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., an investment boutique headquartered in New York City with additional offices nationwide. Founded in 1975, the firm is owned directly by Viner Finance Inc., an indirect subsidiary of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: OPY). Oppenheimer-Broker offers a full array of brokerage services to retail, institutional, and corporate clients.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (GS&Co.) is a securities brokerage firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1927, the firm is a subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS). GS&Co. provides services to help hedge funds manage risk, monitor portfolios, maintain liquidity and build their businesses. They offer clients access to global equity and derivatives markets, as well as foreign exchange, commodities, European Lefts, rates and credit across the Americas, Europe and Asia. The firm proactively monitors capital markets, searching for pockets of liquidity and news that may require changes to those strategies. Integration with the Goldman Sachs network gives clients access to the firm's sectored block trades and their insights into price discovery. Their electronic trading program provides clients with tools to manage their trades from pre-trade analytics to post-trade analysis.

Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (Broker) (CGMI-Broker) is the broker/dealer division of Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., an investment bank headquartered in New York City with additional offices across the US. The firm was founded in 2004 and is a subsidiary of Citigroup Financial Products, Inc., ultimately held by Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C). CGMI-Broker covers all market capitalizations of the major global indices and provides macro and quantitative analysis of global markets and sector trends. Their core focus of the group is to help investing clients make informed decisions by providing value-added, independent, insightful analysis.

RiverFront Investment Group LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. The firm was founded in 2007 and is owned primarily by their employees through RiverFront Investment Holding Group LLC. Baird Financial Corp. is a minority owner of RiverFront Investment Holding Group, and therefore an indirect owner of the firm. RiverFront provides investment advice to a wide range of clients which includes, but not limited to, individuals, trusts, estates, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and corporations. They also serve as sub-adviser to investment companies.

Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc. (CIC) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The firm was founded in 1980 by John H. Crawford III. CIC provides investment advice on a discretionary basis to individuals, which include high net worth, investment companies, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, municipalities, Taft-Hartley plans, corporations, and other business entities. The firm also manages client accounts using wrap-fee programs sponsored by unaffiliated brokers/dealers.

Jefferies LLC is a global investment bank and institutional securities firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1962 and is a subsidiary of Jefferies Group LLC, ultimately held by Jefferies Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF). Jefferies provides corporate clients with research and execution services in equity, fixed income, and foreign exchange markets, as well as a full range of investment banking services such as underwriting, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and recapitalization, and other advisory services, with all businesses operating in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc. (Stifel) is a dual-registered broker-dealer and investment adviser headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1890, the firm is a subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF), a financial service holding company. Stifel provides full-service brokerage and investment advisory services to individuals and their families, institutions and businesses, and financial advisors.

AllianceBernstein LP (AB) is a SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 2000, the firm is owned by Equitable Financial Life Insurance Co., ultimately held by Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EQH). AB provides investment advice to investment companies, pension and profit-sharing plans, banks and thrift institutions, trusts, estates, government agencies, charitable organizations, individuals, corporations and other business entities.

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.

PA Capital LLC (PA Capital) is a private equity subsidiary of New York Life Investments Alternatives LLC founded in 1997 by Louis William Moelchert. The firm is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

Founded in 2002 by Hunter Thompson and William Davis, Thompson Davis & Co. (TD & Co.) is an independent investment research firm and broker/dealer located in Richmond, Virginia with an additional office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The firm is a member of FINRA and the SIPC. TD & Co. provides unbiased, original research and services to institutional and retail investors. They do not perform research on companies for investment banking opportunities. TD & Co. also offers a full-range of financial services ranging from financial planning and private money management to corporate and municipal bonds. TD & Co.'s research team employs a focused methodology. They seek to identified, under followed, undervalued growth companies. The firm uses computer screens that look for companies with sequential revenue and earnings growth and strong balance sheets that are selling at a discount to their growth rates. Specifically, TD& Co. looks for companies with several characteristics: (1) 20% + revenue and earnings growth (2) sequential revenue and earnings growth, i.e., quarter over quarter improvement in both the top and bottom line (3) top management is buying the company's stock in the open market with their own money (4) significant management ownership of the stock (5) strong balance sheets with little or no debt or manageable declining debt, strong cash position or debt reduction efforts (6) operating in a growing market sector (no deep cyclicals or natural resource sectors) (7) gross margin expansion and market share gains and (8) selling at a discount to the company growth rate, allowing for p/e expansion toward growth rate.

Citizens JMP Securities LLC (Citizens JMP) is a full-service investment bank and broker/dealer headquartered in San Francisco, California. The firm was founded by Joseph Jolson in 2002 and was formerly JMP Securities LLC. The firm is a subsidiary of JMP Holding LLC, ultimately held by Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: CFG). Citizens JMP provides equity research, institutional brokerage, and investment banking services to public and private growth companies and their investors. They are a research-driven, growth-oriented firm that provides services to small- and mid-sized companies and the institutions that invest in them. The firm specializes in four high-growth sectors of the economy: technology, healthcare, financial services, and real estate.

Voya Investment Management LLC (Voya IM) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The firm was founded in 1997 and formerly known as ING Investment Management LLC. They are a wholly owned subsidiary of VIM Holdings LLC, which is ultimately owned by Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), formerly known as ING U.S. Inc. Voya IM primarily provides portfolio management services to affiliated and unaffiliated insurance companies utilizing a variety of investment styles. The firm also advises other insurance-related entities (e.g., reinsurance companies) as well as various types of institutional investors, such as pension plans, with respect to certain investment strategies.

Piper Sandler & Co. (Broker) (PSC-Broker) is the full-service brokerage division of Piper Sandler & Co., a financial service firm headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are a subsidiary of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR). The firm was founded in 1969 and previously known as Piper Jaffray & Co. They became Piper Sandler & Co. when Piper Jaffray Companies and Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. merged to become Piper Sandler Companies in 2020. PSC-Broker provides brokerage and investment banking services to financial institutions, corporations and other financial investors. Their core focus sectors are Agriculture, renewables & cannabis, Business services, Chemicals & Materials, Consumer, Diversified industrials & services, Energy, Financial services, financial sponsors, Healthcare, and Technology.

Duke University is an academic university that offers undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. It also has publications and research services. The university was founded in 1838 and is headquartered in Durham, NC.