Matthew John Adams

Franklin Advisers, Inc. is a mutual fund manager and registered investment advisor headquartered in San Mateo, California. The firm was founded in 1985 and is a subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN), a holding company that, together with its various subsidiaries is referred to as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Advisers provides investment advisory and portfolio management services to US and non-US, registered open-end and closed-end funds and unregistered funds, as well as separate 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.