Jay Vleeschhouwer

Headquartered in New York City, Griffin Securities, Inc. is a research-driven investment banking firm providing corporate finance, merger & acquisitions, brokerage and investment opportunities for institutional, corporate and private clients. Orders can be entered on major U.S. exchanges and most international exchanges. Positions can be held in multiple currencies. Griffin's research focuses on delivering objective, value-added research and winning ideas in several industries including healthcare/biotechnology, technology and telecommunications. They are a member of the NASD and the SIPC. Griffin Securities was founded in 1997.

Founded in 1979 as Reynders Gray & Co., Inc., Ticonderoga Securities LLC is an SEC-registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of GEROVA Financial Group Ltd. (NYSE: GFC), a specialty reinsurance company based in St. George, Cayman Islands. In May 2009, Ticonderoga Securities acquired Reynders, Gray & Co., Inc. and in May 2011, they acquired Soleil Securities Corp. Ticonderoga Securities focuses on domestic and international equities and with emphasis on high quality, order execution, as well as a differentiated research offering to support their execution capabilities. The firm's analysis focuses primarily on the following sectors: basic materials, capital goods/industrials, consumer, energy, financials, healthcare, strategy/policy, technology, transportation and utilities. The firm clears their equity business through National Financial Services Corp., a wholly-owned, guaranteed subsidiary of the Fidelity organization and their fixed-income business through Pershing LLC, a BNY Mellon company.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. (MLPFS) is the SEC-registered broker/dealer subsidiary of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., ultimately held by Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). The firm was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in New York City. In 2010, Banc of America Securities LLC merged with MLPFS and the firm uses the trade name Bank of America Merrill Lynch. MLPFS's global strategy and economics team serves institutional and individual investors using a wide range of macroeconomic disciplines. Their analysis of global issues provides clients with investment ideas, market forecasts, macro overviews and specific sector recommendations across asset classes, regions and disciplines. Their equity research team conducts fundamental analysis on companies globally and provides institutional and retail clients with industry-specific and in-depth research and analysis on numerous industries. The firm's global fixed-income and equity-linked research focuses on fixed-income and equity derivatives, fixed-income strategy, convertibles, commodities, high-yield, mortgages, municipals and global foreign exchange.

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.

Cantor Fitzgerald Securities (CFS) is a financial services provider headquartered in New York City and was founded in 1945. They are a subsidiary of Cantor Fitzgerald LP and their ultimate parent is CF Group Management, Inc. CFS offers an array of financial products and services in the equity and fixed-income capital markets. The firm provides sales and trading, investment banking, asset management, market commentary and market data.