James Hester

Silvant Capital Management LLC is a registered investment advisor located in Atlanta, Georgia. The firm is a 100% owned subsidiary of Virtus Fund Advisers LLC, which was formerly known as RidgeWorth Capital Management LLC prior to the acquisition of RidgeWorth by Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. on June 1, 2017. Virtus Fund Advisers is an investment adviser registered with the SEC and is also a money management holding company. Virtus Fund Advisers is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Virtus Intermediate Holdings LLC, which is wholly owned by Virtus Partners, Inc., whose parent company is Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. Prior to 2008, Silvant was known as the Growth Equity division of Trusco Capital Management, Inc., which became RidgeWorth in 2008.

Phoenix Capital, Inc. is a mortgage banking advisor, which provides mortgage servicing rights analytics, transactions, and advisory services. The company was founded by Brett Schaffer and Tim Horacek in 1996 and is headquartered in Denver, CO.

Virtus Event Opportunities Trust operates as an open-end management investment company that provides risk-adjusted returns with relative volatility in virtually all market environments. The fund invests in event-driven stocks of companies involved in publicly announced mergers, takeovers and other corporate reorganizations, asset sales or other divestitures, restructurings, re-financings, recapitalizations, reorganizations and other special situations. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Valhalla, NY.

The Investment Company Institute is an association of mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and unit investment trusts. The non-profit company is based in Washington and has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom. The American company operates to support and represent these types of investment vehicles. The CEO of the company is Paul Schott Stevens.

Virtus Alternative Solutions Trust is an open-end, diversified management investment company. It is formed to invest primarily in securities to carry on such other business as the trustees may from time to time determine pursuant to their authority under the declaration of trust. The company was founded on October 21, 2013 and is headquartered in Greenfield, MA.

NFJ Investment Group LLC (NFJ) is a registered investment advisor headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The firm was founded in 2020 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Virtus Partners, Inc., which is wholly-owned by Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTS). NFJ provides discretionary and non-discretionary investment management or sub-advisory services to institutional clients and non-institutional clients principally through separate accounts, wrap fee programs and a variety of commingled funds and SEC registered closed-end investment companies.

Piper Sandler & Co. (Broker) (PSC-Broker) is the full-service brokerage division of Piper Sandler & Co., a financial service firm headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are a subsidiary of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR). The firm was founded in 1969 and previously known as Piper Jaffray & Co. They became Piper Sandler & Co. when Piper Jaffray Companies and Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P. merged to become Piper Sandler Companies in 2020. PSC-Broker provides brokerage and investment banking services to financial institutions, corporations and other financial investors. Their core focus sectors are Agriculture, renewables & cannabis, Business services, Chemicals & Materials, Consumer, Diversified industrials & services, Energy, Financial services, financial sponsors, Healthcare, and Technology.

Eagle Asset Management, Inc. (Eagle) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. The firm was founded in 1976 by Tom James and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Carillon Towers Advisers, Inc., which is wholly owned by Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE: RJF). Eagle provides portfolio management services to institutions and high net-worth clients (individual investors, trusts and smaller employee benefit plans) and serves as the investment subadvisor to the Carillon Funds.

Mellon Investments Corp. is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1983, the firm is a subsidiary of MBC Investments Corp., ultimately held by the Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BNY Mellon Corp.) (NYSE: BK). In 2018, two other indirect subsidiaries of BNY Mellon Corp., the Boston Company Asset Management LLC (TBCAM) and Standish Mellon Asset Management Company LLC, merged into Mellon Capital Management Corp. and the firm was renamed BNY Mellon Asset Management North America Corp. In 2019, BNY Mellon Asset Management North America Corp. was renamed Mellon Investments Corp. Mellon Investments provides discretionary and non-discretionary investment advice to both individual and institutional clients.

Virtus AllianzGI Smart Cities Fund Inc. operates as a mutual fund closed-end investment trust. The company is headquartered in Greenfield, MA.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants provides vocational education in accounting. The company provides services to the accounting community, regulatory bodies, and other organizations. It also operates in Jersey City, Washington, and Lewisville. It was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in New York City, NY.

Goodwin Capital Advisers, Inc. (Goodwin) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. The firm was founded in 2007 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Conning & Co. Their ultimate is parent Cathay Financial Holding Co. Ltd. (TPE: 2882) in Taiwan, which acquired the firm in 2015 through their subsidiary, Cathay Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Goodwin manages fixed income investments on behalf of institutional clients.

Virtus Investment Advisers, Inc. (VIA) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTS).The firm was originally formed in 1975 as Phoenix Investment Counsel, Inc. They completed a spin-off in 2009 to become independent of the Phoenix Companies. VIA serves as investment adviser to the Virtus mutual funds and closed-end funds.

Virtus Alternative Investment Advisers, Inc. (VAIA) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. The firm is a subsidiary of Virtus Partners, Inc., owned by Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTS). VAIA provides investment services and manages investment advisory accounts for certain open-end and closed-end registered investment companies (Funds) and UCITS.

Founded in 1989 by Dr. Martin Zweig, Zweig Advisers LLC is a registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager located in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NasdaqGM: VRTS). They provide investment advisory services to closed-end registered investment companies.