Joe A. Piraro

A subsidiary of Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc., Mesirow Financial, Inc. is a broker/dealer headquartered in Chicago with an additional office in New York City. The firm provides a full array of trading and execution services for their clients. They do not provide any internal research. Mesirow was founded in 1937 by Norman Mesirow.

Van Asset Management is a registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in Houston, Texas. The firm traces its origins to 1927 when Kenneth Stevens Van Strum founded Van Strum Financial Service. In 1934, the firm was renamed Van Strum & Towne, Inc. In 1994, Van Kampen Merritt and American Capital merged, creating Van Kampen American Capital. In June 1996, Van Kampen American Capital was acquired by Morgan Stanley. In 1998, Van Kampen American Capital changed their name to Van Kampen Asset Management. Can Kampen Asset Management is a division of Morgan Stanley Investment Banking. Their ultimate parent is Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS). The firm's products include mutual funds, closed-end funds, separately managed accounts, 529 portfolios, unit trusts and insurance trusts.