Nirav Thakker

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.

Nomura International Plc provides a variety of financial services including advisement, investment banking and asset management. It trades in and sells fixed income and equity products, including related derivatives; and provides investment banking services, and corporate finance and private equity services. The company is also involved in asset and principal finance business. It offers investment advisory and management, custody, and employment services. Nomura International was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Cowen & Co. LLC is a SEC-registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2004 and is a subsidiary of Cowen Holdings, Inc., ultimately owned by The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE: TD) in Canada. Cowen & Co. offers industry-focused investment banking for growth-oriented companies, domain knowledge-driven research and a sales and trading platform for institutional investors. Their institutional sales and trading business serves both equity and fixed-income clients. Sales and trading execution platform is structured around the following key verticals: (1) healthcare (2) technology, telecommunications and media (TMT) (3) REITs and financials (4) aerospace and defense (5) consumer and (6) alternative energy.

KeyBanc Capital Markets, Inc. is a registered investment bank and broker/dealer headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The firm was founded in 1983 and is a subsidiary of KeyCorp. (NYSE: KEY). KeyBanc Capital Markets provides investment banking, commercial lending, treasury management, derivatives, foreign exchange, equity and debt underwriting and trading and syndicated finance products and services to large corporations and middle-market companies.

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.

Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc. (DBSI) is a SEC-registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1971 and is a wholly-owned investment banking and brokerage arm of DB U.S. Financial Markets Holding Corp., ultimately held by Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB, FRA: DBK) in Germany. DBSI provides securities brokerage and investment advisory services to domestic and international private clients and institutions. They are also a primary dealer in US government securities as designated by the Federal Reserve.

UBS Securities LLC is an investment bank and registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1998 as UBS Warburg LLC. They are a subsidiary of UBS Americas Holding LLC, ultimately held by UBS Group AG (SWX: UBSG, NYSE: UBS) in Switzerland. UBS Securities is a primary dealer in US Government securities and provides a full range of investment banking services which includes corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, trading and sales, fixed-income, equity research, private banking, underwriting and prime brokerage operations. The firm also provides advisory services and access to capital markets for corporate, institutional, intermediary and alternative asset management clients.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC provides assurance, tax and advisory services. Its services include audit and assurance, consulting, deals, human resources, legal, tax, and family business. The firm also offers accountability, risk management, structuring, mergers and acquisitions, and performance and process improvement. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Buffalo, NY.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is a registered broker-dealer subsidiary of Morgan Stanley Domestic Holdings, Inc., ultimately owned by Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) in the US. Headquartered in New York City, the firm was founded in 1987 and provides debt and equity services including underwriting, M&A advice, securities dealing and brokerage and trade execution. Their client base ranges from large global institutional investors to hedge funds at the cutting edge of innovation in the industry.

Berenberg Capital Markets LLC (BCM) is a broker-dealer firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2011 and is a subsidiary of Berenberg Americas LLC, ultimately held by Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG in Germany. BCM provides equity execution services to institutional and corporate clients.

RBC Capital Markets LLC is a full-service brokerage and financial services firm headquartered in New York City. They are a direct subsidiary of RBC USA Holdco Corp. and a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada (TSE, NYSE: RY). Founded in 2010, the firm is comprised of 3 major business lines: the Private Client Group, the Fixed-Income Group and the Clearing and Execution Services Group. The Private Client Group serves individual investors, while the Fixed-Income Group provides services to institutions, municipalities and non-profit organizations. The Clearing and Execution Services Group is a provider of clearing and execution services to independent brokers/dealers throughout the US. RBC Capital Markets focuses on the following sectors: communications, media, consumer/retail, diversified industries, energy, financial institutions, forest products, healthcare, infrastructure finance, mining & metals, real estate, social infrastructure, technology and the US municipal markets.

Barclays Capital, Inc. is a registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1997 and is a subsidiary of Barclays Group US, Inc., ultimately owned by Barclays plc (LON: BARC) in Great Britain. Barclays Capital provides large corporate, government and institutional clients a full spectrum of prime brokerage services which includes equities and fixed income financing, OTC Clearing, Futures and Foreign Exchange Prime Brokerage and access to industry insights and analytics from their Strategic Consulting team.

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.

Cornell University is an educational institution that offers undergraduate and post graduate programs. It was founded in 1865 and is based in Ithaca, NY.

Fordham University provides college and university. It offers undergraduate colleges and graduate & professional schools. The company was founded in 1841 and is headquartered in Bronx, NY.

AllianceBernstein LP (AB) is a SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 2000, the firm is owned by Equitable Financial Life Insurance Co., ultimately held by Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EQH). AB provides investment advice to investment companies, pension and profit-sharing plans, banks and thrift institutions, trusts, estates, government agencies, charitable organizations, individuals, corporations and other business entities.

Founded in 2001, Macquarie Capital (USA), Inc. is a registered broker/dealer located in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of Macquarie Bank Ltd. (ASX: MBL). They provide coverage of the following industries: resources, healthcare, security/defense, transportation, financial services, retail/consumer products, TMET (telecommunications, media, entertainment and technology), oil & gas, diversified manufacturing/distribution and infrastructure/utilities. Macquarie Capital (USA), Inc. is a member of FINRA.

Citigroup Global Markets Ltd. (CGML) is an international broker-dealer firm headquartered in London, UK. The firm was founded in 1983 and is a subsidiary of Citigroup Global Markets Holdings Bahamas Ltd., ultimately held by Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) in the US. CGML has a major presence in the international financial markets as a dealer, market-maker and underwriter in equity and fixed income securities and offers risk-based solutions to producers and investors in commodity markets. They also provide corporate finance services to a wide range of corporate, institutional and government clients. Their trading activities encompass cash, exchange traded and OTC derivative markets.

Harvard University engages in the provision of teaching and research. It has twelve degree-granting Schools in addition to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, offering a global education. The university was founded in 1636 and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA.

Moody's Investors Service, Inc. is a credit rating and investment research firm headquartered in New York City. They are a subsidiary of Moody's Corp. (NYSE: MCO). The firm performs international financial research and analysis on commercial and government entities and provides a variety of analytic tools for assessing credit risk. Their clients include creditors, investment banks and commercial banks.

Sidoti & Co. LLC (S&C) is a registered broker and equity research firm headquartered in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of Sidoti Holding Co. LLC and was founded in 1999. S&C provides research exclusively to institutional investors. The firm covers the following sectors: housing, retail, basic industries, technology, business services, capital goods, automotive, computer software, regional banking, telecommunications, entertainment, healthcare and consumer products. Their analysts conduct their own due diligence which includes visiting companies and meeting with operating and financial management. In addition, the firm's analysts focus on fundamentals, particularly cash flow from operations and EPS.

BMO Capital Markets Corp. (Broker) is the broker/dealer division of BMO Capital Markets Corp., a full-service North American financial services provider headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1998 and is a subsidiary of BMO Financial Corp., which is owned by Bank of Montreal (NYSE, TSX: BMO) in Canada. BMO Capital Markets offers corporate, institutional and government clients access to a variety of products and services including equity and debt underwriting, corporate lending and project financing, merger and acquisitions advisory services, merchant banking, securitization, treasury and market risk management, debt and equity research and institutional sales and trading.

Instinet LLC is a SEC-registered broker-dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm is the equities execution services arm of the Nomura Group. The firm was founded in 1969 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Instinet Holdings, Inc., which is ultimately owned by Nomura Holdings, Inc. (TYO: 8604) in Japan. Instinet offers the institutional investment community a suite of tailorable solutions, which includes market insights and commentary, full-service trading desks, advanced algorithmic trading strategies, access to unique and specialized liquidity via their array of crossing pools, and a set of workflow solutions.

Deloitte & Touche LLP engages in the provision of audit, advisory, financial advisory, tax, and consulting services. The company was founded on March 7, 1995 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Mars & Co. provides business and operational strategy as well as strategic advisory services. The company was founded by Dominique Mars in 1979 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

Consumer Edge Research LLC, dba Consumer Edge (CE), is an equity research holding firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by Bill Pecoriello in 2009. They offer consumer data solutions for everyone from public and private investors to corporate decision makers and strategists. CE focuses on the global consumer sector such as the beverages, food, cosmetics, household/personal care and tobacco industries. Data is gathered both from global syndicated sources as well as primary research surveys, channel checks and other proprietary data collection.