Matthew Williams

Founded in 1991 by Ed Hyman and Nancy Lazar, International Strategy & Investment Group LLC is a broker/dealer located in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of Evercore Partners, Inc. (NYSE: EVR). They are also known as ISI Group. The firm specializes in research on the following areas: economics, policy, technical analysis, tech strategy, portfolio strategy, quantitative research, integrated oil, accounting and tax policy research, China, machinery, banks, REITs, company surveys and client projects.

Evercore Group LLC is a SEC-registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1995 and is a subsidiary of Evercore BD Investco LLC, which is owned by Evercore, Inc. (NYSE: EVR). Evercore Group delivers equity research and equity sales and agency trading execution, in addition to providing wealth and investment management services to high net worth and institutional investors.

Founded in 2000, Rafferty Capital Markets LLC (RCM) is a diversified broker/dealer that specializes in institutional securities. The firm is located in Garden City, New York and also has offices in New York City and Los Angeles. RCM provides brokerage services in a variety of products including U.S. Treasury debt, U.S. Agency debt, corporate debt, equities and municipal debt. The firm also provides distributor services to the mutual fund industry. RCM's US Treasury/Agency brokerage services are based on a voice brokering platform that focuses on providing fixed-income traders with the ability to buy and sell large blocks of U.S. Treasury securities at a single price either through outright purchases/sales or through intra market yield curve swaps. The firm's customers include almost all of the primary dealers and banks. RCM's corporate bond coverage includes investment grade, crossover and high yield corporate bonds. The firm provides market quotes and execution in all maturities and all sectors, throughout the entire yield curve. The firm also participates in the repurchase agreement market. RCM's penetration into the repo market includes Treasury and Agency O/N, term, mortgage, corporate and specials trading. RCM's equity trading desk specializes in executing institutional orders on all of the primary exchanges and ECNs. The firm also provides traditional prime brokerage services to hedge funds, trading groups, money managers and investment advisors through their RCM Prime division. RCM provides distribution services to mutual fund families with a broad array of investment portfolios. The firm provides access to the FundServ System as a member of NSCC in coordination with a fund's Transfer Agent/Custodian. They underwrite mutual fund shares in all 50 states. RCM also executes broker/dealer selling agreements, provides registered principal review of fund marketing materials, files marketing materials with the NASD and assists with the registration of funds and/or investor advisor registered representatives under the firm's broker/dealer license.

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Banc of America Securities (BAS) is the investment banking subsidiary of Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC). The firm provides both the domestic and international equity and investment banking markets, and pursues a strategy pioneered by Citigroup that combines corporate lending with investment banking advice and services. They provide high-yield debt underwriting and leveraged finance, in addition to industry coverage groups such as healthcare, media and telecom, financial institutions, real estate and gaming. BAS also does a significant amount of work for Financial Sponsors, or private equity firms, often financing leveraged transactions. Following the strategy of Goldman Sachs, the firm lacks a standalone mergers and acquisitions department, instead employing mergers and acquisitions senior bankers throughout the industry coverage groups. The firm is registered as a broker/dealer with the SEC, is a member of the NYSE, and the NASD. The use of Banc in the BAS's name is indicative of the fact that the company is not a bank, and their deposits and other holdings are not insured by the FDIC.