Paul A. Rinfret

Semper Capital Management LP (Semper) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by John Utendahl and Tom Mandel in 1992 and was formerly known as UCM Partners LP and as Utendahl Capital Management LP. Semper offers institutional and high-net-worth individuals multiple securitized debt-centric investment platforms that range from private absolute return and index-based strategies to registered mutual funds and custom managed accounts.

Bear, Stearns & Co., Inc. is a global investment banking, securities trading and brokerage firm located in New York City with additional offices in Dallas, Boston and San Francisco. The firm is a subsidiary Bear Sterns Cos., Inc. (NYSE: BSC). Their equity research team consists of senior analysts located throughout the world. In addition to domestic coverage, they have research teams focusing on Latin America, Asia and Europe. The analysts use a bottom-up approach to stock selection. The Bear Stearns fixed-income research department provides coverage of every sector of the fixed-income universe. The financial analytics and structured transactions group (F.A.S.T) provides investment research, fixed-income portfolio management and analytical systems, trading technology and general financial expertise. The group also provides a broad range of services to financial institutions including asset-liability management, balance sheet restructuring, receivables-based financing analysis, security and portfolio analysis, peer analysis, and historical and real-time market-based information.