Jamal Pesaran

A subsidiary of Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., Lehman Brothers, Inc. is a broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. They provide global equity and fixed research. The equity research department covers more than 100 sectors. They use a fundamental, quantitative, strategic and tactical research approach. In addition to these Lehman has also developed special products, such as 10 uncommon values and 10 uncommon eurovalues.

Founded in 1969, HSBC Securities (U.S.A.) Inc. is an SEC-registered brokerage firm and registered futures commission merchant located in New York City. The firm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC North America Holdings, Inc. and their ultimate parent is HSBC Holdings Plc. (NYSE: HBC). HSBC Securities (U.S.A.) is a member of FINRA, the NYSE and the SIPC. Their securities and annuity products are provided by registered representatives and insurance agents of HSBC Securities (U.S.A.). In California, HSBC Securities (U.S.A.) conducts insurance business as HSBC Securities Insurance Services. Insurance products are offered through insurance agents of HSBC Insurance Agency (U.S.A.) Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC Bank U.S.A. NA and an indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc. The company also engages in investment banking underwriting, dealing and brokering of debt and equity securities and futures contracts and is a primary dealer in U.S. Government and federal agency securities.

Security Investors LLC (do-business-as Guggenheim Investments) is a registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1962 and is a subsidiary of Rydex Holdings LLC, ultimately held by Guggenheim Partners LLC. Security Investors provides investment advisory services to separately managed accounts (SMAs) and pooled investment vehicles that are registered as investment companies. The Funds include open-end registered funds, closed-end registered funds, and exchange-traded funds. Their SMA clients may include institutions, such as insurance companies, other financial institutions, pension and profit-sharing plans, US and non-US governmental entities, colleges, hospitals, charitable organizations, endowment funds and foundations, and certain individuals and trusts.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (GS&Co.) is a securities brokerage firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1927, the firm is a subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS). GS&Co. provides services to help hedge funds manage risk, monitor portfolios, maintain liquidity and build their businesses. They offer clients access to global equity and derivatives markets, as well as foreign exchange, commodities, European Lefts, rates and credit across the Americas, Europe and Asia. The firm proactively monitors capital markets, searching for pockets of liquidity and news that may require changes to those strategies. Integration with the Goldman Sachs network gives clients access to the firm's sectored block trades and their insights into price discovery. Their electronic trading program provides clients with tools to manage their trades from pre-trade analytics to post-trade analysis.

Guggenheim Strategic Opportunities Fund operates as a diversified, closed-end management investment company. The fund intends to maximize total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation. It pursues a relative value-based investment philosophy, which utilizes quantitative and qualitative analysis to seek to identify securities or spreads between securities that deviate from their perceived fair value and/or historical norms. The company was founded on November 13, 2006 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

Guggenheim Partners Investment Management LLC (GPIM) is a registered investment advisor headquartered in Santa Monica, California. The firm was founded by Mark Walter in 2005 and is a direct subsidiary of Guggenheim Partners Investment Management Holdings LLC, ultimately owned by Guggenheim Capital LLC. GPIM provides investment advisory and supervisory services to a variety of institutional clients through separately managed accounts (SMAs) and registered and unregistered pooled investment vehicles.

UBS Investment Bank provides investment banking and securities brokerage services. Its clients include institutional and corporate clients, intermediaries, governments, and hedge funds. The firm also provides merger and acquisition advisory, private placement, investment research, foreign exchange, equity, and leverage finance advisory services. The firm is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.