Christopher J. Turoci

Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. provided wealth management, securities trading and sales, corporate finance and investment banking services. Merrill Lynch was a global trader and underwriter of securities and derivatives across a range of asset classes and serve as a strategic advisor to governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. The company was founded in 1913 and was headquartered in Charlotte, NC.

C.K. Cooper & Co. is a full-service investment banking and broker/dealer headquartered in Irvine, California. The firm was founded in 1982 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of C & K Capital Corp., and a sister company to Paladin Capital Partners, Inc. The services provided by C.K. Cooper & Co. were expanded in 1996, when a management team led by Alexander G. Montano purchased the firm. In 2001, C.K. Cooper & Co. began to offer brokerage services to individual investors. The firm is a member of the NASD. C.K. Cooper & Co. focuses on the oil and gas sectors. Their primary focus within the oil and gas sectors is the exploration and production sub-sector. The core thesis of the firm's research is based on what they refer to as the feeding frenzy, suggesting that there are constant business cycles within the E&P sector. These cycles are predicated on the need for larger oil and gas companies to acquire smaller exploration and production companies to maintain rates of growth.