James Ackor

Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS) is a state-owned pension fund manager headquartered in Augusta, Maine. Since 1942, MainePERS provides retirement benefits for active and retired public employees and their beneficiaries. The System’s contributing members include teachers, state, county, and municipal employees, legislators, judges, and those who work for other public entities. MainePERS also administers Disability Retirement, Group Life Insurance, and MaineSTART, a tax-deferred retirement savings program. Administration of these programs includes financial administration, investment administration, recordkeeping of members’ work and compensation data, and administration of retirement-related services provided to members, employers and retirees.

Founded in 1964, Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc. is a full service investment firm and registered broker/dealer headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The firm's expertise includes retail and institutional brokerage services, investment banking and underwriting, secondary trading of corporate, municipal, and government securities and market making in over-the-counter stocks. The firm is a member of the NYSE and FINRA.

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.

United Technologies Corp. engages in the provision of products and services to the building systems and aerospace industries worldwide. It operates through the following business segments: Otis; Carrier; Pratt and Whitney; and Collins Aerospace Systems. The Otis segment designs, manufactures, sells, and installs elevators, escalators, moving walkways, and service. The Carrier segment provides heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration solutions. The Pratt and Whitney segment includes aircraft engines for the commercial, military, business jet, and general aviation markets. The Collins Aerospace Systems segment offers technologically advanced aerospace products and aftermarket service solutions for aircraft manufacturers, airlines, regional, business and general aviation markets, military, space and undersea operations. The company was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Farmington, CT.