Matthew Smith

M. D. Sass LLC is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by Martin D. Sass in 1972 and formerly known as M.D. Sass Investors Services, Inc. M. D. Sass serves as an investment manager or general partner to private and public investment funds, separately managed accounts and other investment vehicles with various investment strategies.

General Motors Investment Management Corp. (GMIM) is a pension fund manager headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1990 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors Asset Management Corp., a holding company that is wholly-owned by General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM). Their clients largely consist of GM-affiliated pension plans (defined benefit and defined contribution employee benefit plans, including ERISA plans), for which GMIM serves as named fiduciary for investment purposes. Other clients includes a registered closed-end investment company, a charitable organization, private investment funds, and certain other governmental and financial 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.

Brighthouse Investment Advisers LLC (BIA) is a registered investment advisor headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm was founded in 1994 as MetLife Advisers LLC and changed their name into Brighthouse Investment Advisers LLC in 2017. They are a subsidiary of Brighthouse Holdings LLC, which is owned by Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: BHF). BIA serves as the investment adviser to participants in the asset allocation program made available exclusively under Marquis Portfolios variable annuity contracts by the issuing insurance companies. In this capacity, their clients are holders of Marquis Portfolios variable annuity contracts. As noted above, the firm also serves as investment adviser to certain investment companies registered under the 1940 Act.

Merrill Lynch International (MLI-UK) is a brokerage firm headquartered in London, UK. The firm was founded in 1988 and is a subsidiary of ML UK Capital Holdings Ltd., ultimately owned by Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) in the US. MLI-UK provides brokerage services to individual and retail clients.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC provides assurance, tax and advisory services. Its services include audit and assurance, consulting, deals, human resources, legal, tax, and family business. The firm also offers accountability, risk management, structuring, mergers and acquisitions, and performance and process improvement. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Buffalo, NY.

Moody's Investors Service, Inc. is a credit rating and investment research firm headquartered in New York City. They are a subsidiary of Moody's Corp. (NYSE: MCO). The firm performs international financial research and analysis on commercial and government entities and provides a variety of analytic tools for assessing credit risk. Their clients include creditors, investment banks and commercial banks.

Assured Guaranty Corp. operates as financial guarantor. It is a diversified financial guarantor engages in insuring both public finance and structured finance obligations, including asset-backed securities. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Moody's Investors Service Ltd. is the Great Britain-based investment research subsidiary of Moody's Corp. (NYSE: MCO) in the US. The firm was founded in 1985 under the name Rapidcredit Ltd. Headquartered in London, Moody's Investors Service provides credit ratings, research, and risk analysis. Credit ratings and research help investors analyze the credit risks associated with fixed-income securities. Such independent credit ratings and research also contribute to efficiencies in fixed-income markets and other obligations, such as insurance policies and derivative transactions, by providing credible and independent assessments of credit risk.

Neuberger Berman BD LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in New York City. It is directly owned by Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC, which is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Neuberger Berman Group LLC, which is owned by NBSH Acquisition LLC. The firm traces their origin back to the 1939 founding of Neuberger & Berman, its predecessor firm. In 1950, Neuberger Berman became one of the first firms to offer a no-load mutual fund to individual investors. Neuberger Berman BD manages a range of equity, fixed income, private equity and hedge fund strategies on behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors worldwide.

AssetMark, Inc. is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Concord, California. The firm was founded in 1985 as Genworth Financial Asset Management. They are a wholly-owned subsidiary of AssetMark Financial Holdings, Inc., which is owned by Huatai International Investment Holdings Ltd. in Hong Kong. AssetMark provides various investment supervisory services to registered investment companies and a variety of clients, which include but not limited to individuals, investment companies, pension and profit-sharing plans, corporations, partnerships, trusts, insurance companies and other investment managers.

Credit Agricole Securities (USA), Inc. (Credit Agricole Securities USA) is a full service broker-dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2004 and formerly known as Calyon Securities USA, Inc. and Credit Lyonnais Securities, Inc. They are a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole Global Partners, Inc., which is owned by Rue la Boétie SAS’s Credit Agricole SA (EPA: ACA) in France. Credit Agricole Securities USA provides investors’ customized solutions to ensure they achieve their execution objectives in the tradition of service excellence and product innovation.

Sage Advisory Services Ltd. Co. (Sage) is a SEC-registered investment advisor and holding firm headquartered in Austin, Texas. The firm was founded by Robert Smith III and Mark MacQueen in 1996. Sage specializes in domestic and international fixed income, balanced and equity portfolio management for individual and institutional clients.

The New Jersey Division of Investment (NJDI) is a State-owned pension fund manager headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey. NJDI was founded in 1950 and is responsible for the investment management of the seven public pension systems that comprise the New Jersey Pension Fund and the State of New Jersey Cash Management Fund. The Pension Fund supports the retirement plans of active and retired employees in seven public pension systems: Consolidated Police and Firemen’s Pension Fund, the Judicial Retirement System, the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System, the Prison Officers’ Pension Fund, the Public Employees’ Retirement System, the State Police Retirement System and the Teachers’ Pension & Annuity Fund.

Benchmark Financial Services, Inc. provides money management solutions. It offers investment fiduciary services, forensic investigations, and litigation support. The company was founded by Edward Ahmed Hamilton Siedle in 1999 and is headquartered in Ocean Ridge, FL.