Karen Gunnerson

Lord Abbett & Co. LLC (Lord Abbett) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. Founded in 1929, Lord Abbett provides advisory services to a variety of institutional clients, the Lord Abbett Funds and other registered investment companies sponsored by third parties, the Lord Abbett UCITS Funds, the Lord Abbett Luxembourg Fund, other foreign funds, privately offered commingled funds and various separately managed accounts.

RBC Capital Markets LLC is a full-service brokerage and financial services firm headquartered in New York City. They are a direct subsidiary of RBC USA Holdco Corp. and a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada (TSE, NYSE: RY). Founded in 2010, the firm is comprised of 3 major business lines: the Private Client Group, the Fixed-Income Group and the Clearing and Execution Services Group. The Private Client Group serves individual investors, while the Fixed-Income Group provides services to institutions, municipalities and non-profit organizations. The Clearing and Execution Services Group is a provider of clearing and execution services to independent brokers/dealers throughout the US. RBC Capital Markets focuses on the following sectors: communications, media, consumer/retail, diversified industries, energy, financial institutions, forest products, healthcare, infrastructure finance, mining & metals, real estate, social infrastructure, technology and the US municipal markets.

Founded in 1958, Merrill Lynch Piece Fenner & Smith, Inc. is an SEC registered broker/dealer located in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of BAC North America Holding Co. and their ultimate parent is Bank of America Corp. (NYSE BAC).