Nicholas R. Kirschner

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (Credit Suisse Securities USA) is the broker/dealer division of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, an investment banking company headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1998 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Credit Suisse (USA), Inc., ultimately owned by Credit Suisse Group AG (SWX: CSGN) in Switzerland. Credit Suisse Securities USA offers a suite of equities, solutions and credit products and services which includes global securities sales, trading and execution, prime brokerage and comprehensive investment research. Their clients include financial institutions, corporations, governments, institutional investors, such as pension funds and hedge funds, and private individuals around the world.

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC (MNA) is an investment advisory firm headquartered in Fairport, New York. The firm was formed in 2011 as the successor to Manning & Napier Advisors, Inc., which was founded as a partnership in 1970. They are a wholly-owned subsidiary of Manning & Napier Group LLC and their ultimate parent is Callodine Midco, Inc. MNA provides investment advice to individuals and institutional clients. The firm also acts as the sub-advisor to affiliated and unaffiliated advisors and to certain registered and unregistered commingled investment vehicles.

Van Eck Associates Corp. (VanEck) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund management firm founded in 1955 by John van Eck to manage an international equity fund. In 1968, the firm began offering investments in gold shares and other hard assets. Headquartered in New York City, VanEck provides investment advisory services to registered investment companies and other pooled investment vehicles.

Cohen & Steers Capital Management, Inc. (Cohen & Steers) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by Martin Cohen and Robert Steers in 1986. They are a subsidiary of Cohen & Steers, Inc. (NYSE: CNS). Cohen & Steers serves institutional and individual investors through a wide range of investment products and services, which includes separately managed accounts, registered funds in the US and Europe, and private funds.

Citibank NA engages in the provision of banking services. It offers retail and commercial banking; credit cards; banking, capital markets, and advisory; markets and securities services; private banking; and treasury and trade solutions. The company was founded on June 16, 1812 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

UBS Securities LLC is an investment bank and registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1998 as UBS Warburg LLC. They are a subsidiary of UBS Americas Holding LLC, ultimately held by UBS Group AG (SWX: UBSG, NYSE: UBS) in Switzerland. UBS Securities is a primary dealer in US Government securities and provides a full range of investment banking services which includes corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, trading and sales, fixed-income, equity research, private banking, underwriting and prime brokerage operations. The firm also provides advisory services and access to capital markets for corporate, institutional, intermediary and alternative asset management clients.

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.

Founded in 1993, Auerbach Grayson & Co. LLC is a broker/dealer/located in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of Auerbach Grayson Holdings LLC. Through their worldwide network of broker partners, the firm offers research, execution and clearance in equities, derivatives and fixed-income instruments. They also provide and implements hedging and arbitrage strategies. Auerbach Grayson & Co. is a member of FINRA and the SIPC. They employ bottom-up research to identify undervalued, under-represented and misunderstood companies. The firm covers a broad range of small-cap, mid-cap and emerging market equities.

JPMorgan Securities LLC (JPMS) is a securities brokerage firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1985 and is a subsidiary of JPMorgan Broker-Dealer Holdings, Inc., ultimately held by JPMorgan Chase & Co., Inc. (NYSE: JPM). JPMS provides research on fixed income, credit, derivatives, emerging markets, foreign exchange, structured finance, technical analysis and bond indices. Their equity analysts cover equities throughout North America, EMEA, Asia/Pacific and the emerging markets. The firm's fixed income team formulates trading and portfolio recommendations for investors in global bonds and other fixed-income markets based on valuations, analytics and market dynamics.

Founded in 1969, HSBC Securities (U.S.A.) Inc. is an SEC-registered brokerage firm and registered futures commission merchant located in New York City. The firm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC North America Holdings, Inc. and their ultimate parent is HSBC Holdings Plc. (NYSE: HBC). HSBC Securities (U.S.A.) is a member of FINRA, the NYSE and the SIPC. Their securities and annuity products are provided by registered representatives and insurance agents of HSBC Securities (U.S.A.). In California, HSBC Securities (U.S.A.) conducts insurance business as HSBC Securities Insurance Services. Insurance products are offered through insurance agents of HSBC Insurance Agency (U.S.A.) Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC Bank U.S.A. NA and an indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc. The company also engages in investment banking underwriting, dealing and brokering of debt and equity securities and futures contracts and is a primary dealer in U.S. Government and federal agency securities.

Longship Alternative Asset Management LLC is a private company based in Port Washington, NY.

Ibex Investors LLC (Ibex Investors) is a venture capital firm founded in 2003 by Justin B. Borus. Ibex Investors LLC is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is a registered broker-dealer subsidiary of Morgan Stanley Domestic Holdings, Inc., ultimately owned by Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) in the US. Headquartered in New York City, the firm was founded in 1987 and provides debt and equity services including underwriting, M&A advice, securities dealing and brokerage and trade execution. Their client base ranges from large global institutional investors to hedge funds at the cutting edge of innovation in the industry.

Founded in 1958, Merrill Lynch Piece Fenner & Smith, Inc. is an SEC registered broker/dealer located in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of BAC North America Holding Co. and their ultimate parent is Bank of America Corp. (NYSE BAC).

Barclays Capital, Inc. is a registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1997 and is a subsidiary of Barclays Group US, Inc., ultimately owned by Barclays plc (LON: BARC) in Great Britain. Barclays Capital provides large corporate, government and institutional clients a full spectrum of prime brokerage services which includes equities and fixed income financing, OTC Clearing, Futures and Foreign Exchange Prime Brokerage and access to industry insights and analytics from their Strategic Consulting team.

Oxeon Investments LLC (Oxeon Investments) is a venture capital firm founded in 2011 by Trevor Price. The firm is headquartered in New York with additional offices in Seattle, Washington and Nashville, Tennessee.

BofA Securities, Inc. is a registered broker-dealer subsidiary of NB Holdings Corp., ultimately held by Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). Headquartered in New York, the firm was founded in 2015 and offers trade execution, trading or brokerage services to institutional clients.

Millennium Management LLC is a SEC-investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by Israel 'Izzy' Englander in 1989 and is a subsidiary of MLM Trust B LLC, itself a subsidiary of MLM Trust B. Millennium Management provides discretionary investment advisory services to private investment funds.

Cornell University is an educational institution that offers undergraduate and post graduate programs. It was founded in 1865 and is based in Ithaca, NY.

Music Institue of Chicago offers music education for all ages and levels of ability. The company was founded in 1931 and is headquartered in Evanston, IL.

Angelvest Group Shanghai Investment Ltd. (Angelvest) is a venture capital affiliate of Asia America MultiTechnology Association, headquartered in Shanghai, China. The firm was founded in 2007 by David Chen and Ted Lai.

StepStone Group LP (StepStone) is a private equity firm founded in 2006 by Monte M. Brem, Tom Porter Keck and Jose A. Fernandez. The firm is headquartered in New York.

Hamilton Lane Advisors LLC (Hamilton Lane) is a private equity firm founded in May 1991. The firm is headquartered in Pennsylvania with additional offices located in London, Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, San Diego, New York, Ft. Lauderdale, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Las Vegas and Seoul.

Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC (Craig-Hallum) is an employee-owned, idea-driven research, trading and investment banking firm headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The firm was founded by Bradley Baker and Kevin Harris in 1997. Craig-Hallum provides research, institutional sales and trading and investment banking services to institutional investors and growth companies.

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.

HighTower Advisors LLC (HighTower) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and has offices throughout the US. The firm was founded in 2008 by Elliot Weissbluth, Peter (Todd) Lyon, and Eugene Lerner. They are a wholly owned subsidiary of Hightower Holding LLC. HighTower provides investment advisory services to institutions (which include ERISA), and ultra-high and high net worth individuals.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. (MLPF&S) is a global investment banking firm, SEC-registered investment advisor, broker-dealer, and futures commission merchant headquartered in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of BAC North America Holding Co., ultimately held by Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). MLPF&S provides investment advisory services to individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, banks, insurance companies, thrift institutions, pension and profit-sharing plans, corporations and other types of business.

Wellington Management International Ltd. (WMIL) is an investment firm headquartered in London, UK. The firm was founded in 1983 and is a subsidiary of Wellington Management Global Holdings Ltd., itself a subsidiary of Wellington Management Group LLP (Wellington Management) in the US. WMIL provides client liaison, investment monitoring and business development services for Wellington Management and its clients in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). The firm also provides research, portfolio management and trading services to Wellington Management and its clients.

New York University Tandon School of Engineering engages in the provision of educational services focusing on science and technology. Its degrees and programs include bachelor of science, master of science, doctor of philosophy, advanced certificate programs, a bridge program to NYU Tandon, and industry partner programs. The company was founded in 1854 and is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY.

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC (RBA) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by Richard Bernstein in 2009. RBA offers investment advisory services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, investment companies, state or municipal government entities, insurance companies, charitable organizations, registered investment companies, investment advisers, corporations and other business entities, model portfolio providers and other financial intermediaries.

National Economic Research Associates, Inc. provides economic consulting services. It specializes in economic, finance, and quantitative principles to complex business and legal challenges. The company was founded by Jules Joskow and Irwin Stelzer on April 10, 1961 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

MidOcean US Advisor LP (MidOcean Partners) is a private equity firm founded in 2003 by James Edward Virtue. The firm is headquartered in New York.