Joanne L. Thornton

Founded in 1974, Washington Research Group is an investment research firm located in Washington, DC. The firm is a subsidiary of MF Global Ltd. (NYQ: MF), a cash and derivatives broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. MF Global Ltd. acquired the firm from Concept Capital in October 2010. Washington Research Group is a policy-focused research firm that provides institutional equity investors with insights and analysis on the impact of government policy on investment opportunities. The firm provides coverage of a broad range of sectors including healthcare, financial services, defense, national security, international trade, media/telecommunications, agribusiness, biofuels, tobacco and corporate tax.

Cowen Prime Services LLC (CPS) is a broker-dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm is directly owned by Cowen PB Holdings LLC, which, in turn, is primarily owned by Cowen Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: COWN). CPS is registered as a broker-dealer with the SEC and FINRA, and as a an introducing broker with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and the National Futures Association. CPS was formed in 2015 following Cowen Group’s acquisition of Concept Capital Markets LLC. Concept Capital was established in 2010 following the spin-off of the Concept Capital division of Sanders Morris Harris Inc., whose origins date back to 1995. CPS' offering includes world-class custody and clearing options, multi asset class capabilities, leading execution and order management systems, a seasoned execution desk, a range of financing options, a highly professional operations and customer support team, comprehensive portfolio reporting capabilities, capital introduction, and live, intraday and post-trade risk and performance analytics.

Founded in 1932, Stanford Group Co. is a broker/dealer headquartered in Houston, Texas with offices nationwide. They are a subsidiary of Stanford Financial Services, Inc. and their ultimate parent is CBaySystems Holdings Ltd. The firm offers a full range of brokerage services for both domestic and international clients. They are a member of the NASD and the SIPC. Stanford's research includes both institutional equity research and Washington-focused policy research, offering a perspective on individual companies, sector-specific topics and national policy. Their equity analysts offer insight and opinions on companies in the consumer/retail, media, energy, financial institutions, healthcare, technology and water/environment sectors, targeting small- and mid-cap companies. Their policy analysts deliver investment relevant insights across a broad range of sectors, including geopolitics, international/trade, Federal Reserve board policy, health care (including services, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, telecom, media, financial services, water/environment, agribusiness/tobacco, energy) and technology (including information technology services, homeland security and biometrics/emerging technologies).