Michael Gaetano Gargano

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (Credit Suisse Securities USA) is the broker/dealer division of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, an investment banking company headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1998 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Credit Suisse (USA), Inc., ultimately owned by Credit Suisse Group AG (SWX: CSGN) in Switzerland. Credit Suisse Securities USA offers a suite of equities, solutions and credit products and services which includes global securities sales, trading and execution, prime brokerage and comprehensive investment research. Their clients include financial institutions, corporations, governments, institutional investors, such as pension funds and hedge funds, and private individuals around the world.

Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (Broker) (CGMI-Broker) is the broker/dealer division of Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., an investment bank headquartered in New York City with additional offices across the US. The firm was founded in 2004 and is a subsidiary of Citigroup Financial Products, Inc., ultimately held by Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C). CGMI-Broker covers all market capitalizations of the major global indices and provides macro and quantitative analysis of global markets and sector trends. Their core focus of the group is to help investing clients make informed decisions by providing value-added, independent, insightful analysis.

Cantor Fitzgerald Securities (CFS) is a financial services provider headquartered in New York City and was founded in 1945. They are a subsidiary of Cantor Fitzgerald LP and their ultimate parent is CF Group Management, Inc. CFS offers an array of financial products and services in the equity and fixed-income capital markets. The firm provides sales and trading, investment banking, asset management, market commentary and market data.

Piper Sandler & Co. (Broker) (PSC-Broker) is the full-service brokerage division of Piper Sandler & Co., a financial service firm headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are a subsidiary of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR). The firm was founded in 1969 and previously known as Piper Jaffray & Co. They became Piper Sandler & Co. when Piper Jaffray Companies and Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. merged to become Piper Sandler Companies in 2020. PSC-Broker provides brokerage and investment banking services to financial institutions, corporations and other financial investors. Their core focus sectors are Agriculture, renewables & cannabis, Business services, Chemicals & Materials, Consumer, Diversified industrials & services, Energy, Financial services, financial sponsors, Healthcare, and Technology.

Founded in 1984, Aegis Capital Corp. is a broker-dealer located in New York City. They provide a full array of trading and execution services for their clients. They do not provide any internal research

Citigroup Alternative Investments LLC (CAI) is a SEC-registered asset management firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2002 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup Investments, Inc., which is owned by Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C). CAI provides advisory services to private investment companies, such as private equity funds and funds of one or more private equity and real estate funds. The investors in the funds advised by the firm are institutional investors, funds of funds, high-net worth individuals and employees, and former employees of Citigroup, Inc.

Dearborn Partners LLC (Dearborn) is an independent, privately held boutique investment management firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The firm was founded in 1997 by Jerome Hickey. The firm provides investment management services to investment advisors, high net-worth families, and institutional investor.

Founded in 1997, Imperial Capital LLC is a full-service investment banking firm and broker/dealer headquartered in Los Angeles. The firm is a subsidiary of Imperial Capital Group LLC and their ultimate parent is Imperial Capital Group Holdings LLC. Imperial Capital offers a range of proprietary products and services to institutional investors, middle-market companies and private equity firms. The firm provides institutional clients research and sales and trading of high yield and distressed debt securities, bank debt, convertible bonds, preferred stocks, and equities. They also provide middle-market companies and financial sponsors with capital markets, M&A, capital structure, restructuring and recapitalization advisory services. For their institutional clients, Imperial Capital offers a variety of research products including bank debt, investment grade debt, high yield, distressed and special situations, convertibles and busted convertibles, equities, preferred securities and industry analysis. Imperial Capital's research focuses on the following sectors: aerospace, defense and government services; airlines/transportation; business services; clean energy; consumer; energy; financial services; gaming and leisure; general industrials; healthcare; homebuilding and real estate; media and telecommunications; security and homeland security; and technology.

Founded in 1988 by Richard Messina, the Benchmark Co. LLC is a full-service broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm provides equity research, sales and trading services for institutional and private clients. They focus on the media, energy, enterprise software, infrastructure software, biotechnology, specialty pharmaceuticals, REITs, Internet and communications sectors. The Benchmark Co.'s clearing agent is JP Morgan Clearing Corp.

JNK Securities Corp. (JNK) is a SEC and FINRA regulated, agency-only execution broker-dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1993 and they are owned by Uphold HQ Inc. JNK offers institutional investors a blend of advanced execution & sector specific knowledge that is complimented by their research product. Their sales trading team’s extensive knowledge of the execution markets, affords their clients the best venues in which to find the online slots necessary liquidity for minimal market impact.

Magna Securities Corp. provides research on technology, media, telecommunications, healthcare and special situations sectors. It offers fundamental analysis, technical analysis, industry reports, and peer analysis. The firm caters to institutional investors. The company was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Melvin Securities LLC is a full-services securities firm headquartered in Chicago. They are a subsidiary of Melvin & Co. LLC. The firm serves public and private entities with both equity and fixed-income products. The firm focuses primarily on the clean energy sector including clean solar, clean fuel, clean ethanol, clean transportation and clean fossil fuels. Incorporated in 1989, the firm has been an exchange specialist since 1991, an equity brokerage since 1992, and entered the fixed-income arena in 1993.

LCH Ltd. develops and operates a clearing platform for interest rate swaps. The firm offers SwapClear, a platform that provides clearing services to the over-the-counter (OTC) interest rate swaps. It also provides risk management capabilities across a range of asset classes, including OTC and listed interest rates, fixed income, foreign exchange, credit default swap (CDS), equities, and commodities. The company was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Jefferies LLC is a global investment bank and institutional securities firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1962 and is a subsidiary of Jefferies Group LLC, ultimately held by Jefferies Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF). Jefferies provides corporate clients with research and execution services in equity, fixed income, and foreign exchange markets, as well as a full range of investment banking services such as underwriting, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and recapitalization, and other advisory services, with all businesses operating in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Founded in 2006, CastleOak Securities LP is a minority-owned broker/dealer located in New York City with additional offices in Atlanta and Chicago. CastleOak engages in sales and trading, capital markets and financial advisory services. The firm offers expertise in primary and secondary market transactions and is structured to handle mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, valuations and general strategic assessments. Their clients range from Fortune 500 to middle-market corporations, institutional investors and financial sponsors. CastleOak is in partnership with Cantor Fitzgerald. They do not provide any internal research.

Digi-Key Corp. distributes electronic components. It also distributes semiconductors, discrete, electromechanical parts. Its products include audio products, batteries, cable assemblies, capacitors, computer & video accessories, connectors, crystals & oscillators, discrete semiconductor products and many more. The company was founded by Ronald A. Stordahl in 1972 and is headquartered in Thief River Falls, MN.

Founded in 1939, Pershing LLC is a broker/dealer headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The firm is a subsidiary of the Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK). The firm helps financial services firms and advisors succeed by providing the technology, operational, trading, investment and practice management solutions they need to serve investors. Pershing offers securities processing, trading and operations management, investment technology, asset-gathering solutions and practice management support. The firm serves a wide range of financial organizations including: banks, discount brokerages, full-service brokerages, registered investment advisors, independent contractors, institutional firms, global firms and small- to mid-sized firms. Pershing also offers financial products including annuities, mutual funds and money funds, as well as business tools, cash management services, investor and lending services, retirement products and wealth management. In addition, they offer trading and execution services in listed and OTC securities, fixed-income securities and mutual funds.

Auriga USA is a broker/dealer located in New York City. Their research focuses on the semiconductors, information technology and health services sectors.

Loop Capital Markets LLC is provider of a broad range of integrated capital solutions for corporate, governmental, and institutional entities. They serve clients in public and corporate finance, equity, taxable and tax-exempt securities sales and trading and municipal research. Since their founding in 1997, they have served as managing underwriter on financings, participated in corporate bond underwritings, served as an underwriter in IPO and other equity offerings, and earned a reputation as a dedicated, resourceful partner with new ideas and new avenues of distribution. Loop Capital Markets is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, They serve clients on a national basis.

Nomura Securities International, Inc. (NSI) is a registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City and was founded in 1969. The firm is a division of Nomura Holding America, Inc. and their ultimate parent is Nomura Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: NMR, TYO: 8604, AMS: 8604). NSI provides securities brokerage services, as well as asset management, domestic retail, global markets, global investment banking and global merchant banking services. The firm's fixed-income business consists of bond sales and trading, origination and product supply for securitization deals and real estate-focused asset finance operations (in cooperation with Investment Banking). In the equity markets, NSI offers sales and trading of domestic and foreign stocks on a global basis, primarily for institutional investors.

Founded in 1984, Insight Investment Funds Management Ltd. is a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. that provides investment advice. The company is based in London, UK.