Amy Hatta

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.

TIAA-CREF Investment Management LLC (TCIM) is a registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1997 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TIAA-CREF Asset Management LLC, ultimately owned by TIAA Board of Governors. TCIM provides investment management and certain administrative services necessary for the operation of the College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), a diversified open-end registered investment management company that consists of eight accounts, that issues individual, group and tax-deferred variable annuity contracts.