Steven I. Traum

SWS Capital Management LLC (SWSCM) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by Christopher Williams in 2002 as Williams Capital Management LLC. They are a wholly owned subsidiary of Shank Williams Cisneros LLC. SWSCM provides discretionary fixed-income investment advisory services to institutional clients through separate accounts.

TIAA-CREF Investment Management LLC (TCIM) is a registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1997 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TIAA-CREF Asset Management LLC, ultimately owned by TIAA Board of Governors. TCIM provides investment management and certain administrative services necessary for the operation of the College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), a diversified open-end registered investment management company that consists of eight accounts, that issues individual, group and tax-deferred variable annuity contracts.

Founded in 2000, Rafferty Capital Markets LLC (RCM) is a diversified broker/dealer that specializes in institutional securities. The firm is located in Garden City, New York and also has offices in New York City and Los Angeles. RCM provides brokerage services in a variety of products including U.S. Treasury debt, U.S. Agency debt, corporate debt, equities and municipal debt. The firm also provides distributor services to the mutual fund industry. RCM's US Treasury/Agency brokerage services are based on a voice brokering platform that focuses on providing fixed-income traders with the ability to buy and sell large blocks of U.S. Treasury securities at a single price either through outright purchases/sales or through intra market yield curve swaps. The firm's customers include almost all of the primary dealers and banks. RCM's corporate bond coverage includes investment grade, crossover and high yield corporate bonds. The firm provides market quotes and execution in all maturities and all sectors, throughout the entire yield curve. The firm also participates in the repurchase agreement market. RCM's penetration into the repo market includes Treasury and Agency O/N, term, mortgage, corporate and specials trading. RCM's equity trading desk specializes in executing institutional orders on all of the primary exchanges and ECNs. The firm also provides traditional prime brokerage services to hedge funds, trading groups, money managers and investment advisors through their RCM Prime division. RCM provides distribution services to mutual fund families with a broad array of investment portfolios. The firm provides access to the FundServ System as a member of NSCC in coordination with a fund's Transfer Agent/Custodian. They underwrite mutual fund shares in all 50 states. RCM also executes broker/dealer selling agreements, provides registered principal review of fund marketing materials, files marketing materials with the NASD and assists with the registration of funds and/or investor advisor registered representatives under the firm's broker/dealer license.