Kristin L. Hotti

The Banc Funds Co. LLC (TBFC) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The firm was founded in 1986 by Charles J. Moore. TBFC provides investment advisory services on a discretionary basis to the Banc Funds. Investors in the funds include high net-worth individuals, single family offices, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, state or municipal government entities, pooled investment vehicles, as well as other corporations or businesses.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. (Duff & Phelps) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The firm was established in 1979, evolving from the Duff & Phelps investment research firm founded in 1932. They are a wholly-owned subsidiary of Virtus Partners, Inc., which is wholly-owned by Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTS). Duff & Phelps provides investment advisory services to institutional clients, mutual funds, closed-end funds, and other pooled investment vehicles as well as to retail clients. Duff & Phelps is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI).

Bankers Trust Co. is an asset management headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. The firm was founded in 1917 and is a subsidiary of BTC Financial Corp. The firm serves as a trusted partner for individuals’ comprehensive financial planning, trust and fiduciary needs.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. (KBW) is a full-service investment bank and broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1962 and is a subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF). KBW offers sales and trading in equities securities of financial services companies.

Founded in 2003, FIG Partners LLC is a broker/dealer specializing in mid- and small-cap bank and thrift stocks. They strive to generate superior returns for institutions and high net-worth individuals through integrated trading, sales and research. They are employee-owned. FIG Partners is a member of the NASD and the SIPC. They are located in Atlanta, Georgia.

JCSD Capital LLC (JCSD) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in Walnut Creek, California. Founded in 2004, JCSD serves as general partner and investment adviser to two private investment funds.

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.

University of Southern California is a private research university that mainly offers undergraduate, graduate & other higher education. The university was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.

Founded in 1999 by the late Thomas Watson, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (JMS) is a full-service financial services firm and registered broker/dealer headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The firm is a subsidiary of Independence Square Properties LLC, itself a subsidiary of Penn Mutual Insurance Co. Their ultimate parent is Harleysville Mutual Insurance Co. JMS is a member of the NYSE, the SIPC and FINRA. The firm provides comprehensive financial advice and services to individual, corporate and institutional investors. Their primary coverage verticals include the consumer, technology, financials and infrastructure sectors.

Founded in 1962, Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE: RJF) is a diversified holding company headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. The firm provides services to individuals, corporations and municipalities through their wholly-owned subsidiaries: Raymond James & Associates, Raymond James Financial Services and Raymond James Ltd. Raymond James operates through eight segments: Private Client Group (PCG); Capital Markets; Asset Management; Raymond James Bank (RJ Bank); Emerging Markets; Securities Lending; Proprietary Capital; and Other. The Private Client Group segment provides securities transaction and financial planning services to client accounts through the branch office systems of the company's subsidiaries. The Capital Markets segment's activities consist primarily of equity and fixed income products and services. The Asset Management segment provides asset management services for individual investment portfolios and mutual funds. The RJ Bank segment provides corporate, residential and consumer loans, as well as Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insured deposit accounts, to clients of the company's broker-dealer subsidiaries and to the general public. The Emerging Markets segment operates securities brokerage, investment banking, asset management and equity research businesses. The Securities Lending segment conducts its business through the borrowing and lending of securities from and to other broker-dealers, financial institutions and other counterparties. The Proprietary Capital segment consists of the company's principal capital and private equity activities, including various direct and third-party private equity and merchant banking investments. Raymond James' capital markets reach within the financial institutions segment focuses on community and regional banks and thrifts including equity research, sales, trading and investment banking resources and services. Raymond James is one of the largest research organizations in the brokerage industry and serves institutional investors domestically and abroad. The firm's capital markets activities are based on insightful, timely and comprehensive equity research. They publish research on over 1,000 companies in their core industries. Raymond James seeks attractive niches within broader industries and then covers these sectors deeply to develop differentiated sector expertise and relationships. Although their focus is mid- and small-cap companies, their coverage includes large, medium and small companies across each sector. Raymond James' Institutional Trading division is organized into 3 specialty departments: Sales Trading, Principal trading and Agency Trading. Their Sales Trading division covers over 800 domestic and 1,300 international financial institutions throughout North America and Europe. The firm's Principal Trading division consists of industry-focused teams and their OTC Principal Trading department makes markets in over 680 domestic stocks, 85% of which are covered by Raymond James Institutional Research department. Their Agency Trading department services the trading needs of over 5,500 financial advisors located in 2,500 retail offices across the US.

Northwestern University is a private institution founded in 1851 to serve the Northwest Territory, an area that now includes the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota. Northwestern has three campuses

Founded by Len Zacks in 1978, Zacks Investment Research, Inc. is an SEC-registered broker/dealer and investment research firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois with an office in Irvine, California. The firm is principally owned by The Greenwood Trust. Zacks makes both short-term and long-term investment recommendations using the following investment styles: aggressive growth, growth/income, momentum, value, technicals and options. Zack Investment Research employs the Zacks Rank, a 100% a peerless stock rating system that is based on a quantitative model that includes the use of four factors including as earnings estimate revisions and earnings surprises. Stocks are classified into five groups, ranging from 'Strong Buy' to 'Strong Sell.' Zacks Rank is completely mathematical and focuses only on the math and whether the math predicts that a stock's price will rise. It is a short-term indicator of stock performance that is effective for 1 to 3 months. The Zacks Recommendation process begins with a new quantitative model that employs the Zacks Rank. The firm then utilizes qualitative insights to develop a unique recommendation based on a 6 month time horizon. Zacks Investment Research provides coverage primarily on the following sectors: (1) manufacturers of electrical components (2) photo optics/lasers (3) HPC computing platforms (4) manufacturers and distributors of textiles (5) information technology (6) independent oil and gas companies involved in the exploration, development and acquisition of crude oil and natural gas (6) providers of docking, manipulator and wafer probing interface products for semiconductor and ATE manufacturers (7) companies that design and manufacture oscilloscopes, serial data analyzers and protocol analyzers to test, measure and analyze electronic signals (8) manufacturers of branded toys, collectibles, hobby or infant products and (9) financial services companies.

Beverly Bank & Trust Co., NA provides personal and commercial banking services. The firm offers deposit products, such as checking, saving, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; loans, which include home equity lines of credit, overdraft protection loans, everyday loans, auto loans, credit cards, and mortgages and refinancing; and other services, including reorder business checks, reorder personal checks, safe deposit boxes, and international business. The company was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland provides healthcare services. It offers child life program, family outreach clinics, hand and microsurgery, parent infant programs, pastoral care, neurosurgery, injury prevention programs and respiratory care services. The company was founded by Bertha Wright in 1912 and is headquartered in Oakland, CA.

Bank of Hope engages in the provision of banking and financial services. Its banking services includes checking, savings and money market, certificates of deposits, online banking, online bill pay, estatements, uchoose rewards, mobile banking, bank message services, other banking services, foreign exchange, rates, and financial calculators. It also offers lending services like credit cards and mortgage loans. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.

UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals Foundation is a non-profit organization that operates hospitals. The private company is based in Oakland.

Stieven Capital Advisors LP (SCA) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. The firm was founded by Joseph Stieven in 2005. SCA serves as the management company with discretionary trading authority to private pooled investment vehicles.