Andrew D. Rafal

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.

Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. LLC (dba GMO) is a privately-held, SEC-registered global investment management firm headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. GMO was founded was founded in 1977 and provides investment advice to a wide variety of clients.

JPMorgan Investment Management, Inc. (JPMIM) is a global, SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2000 as the result of Chase Manhattan's purchase of Robert Fleming Holdings and the subsequent merger of Chase and JPMorgan. In January 2010, JPMorgan Investment Advisors merged into JP Morgan Investment Management. JPMIM is a subsidiary of JPMorgan Asset Management Holdings, Inc., ultimately owned by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM). The firm primarily provides investment advisory services to both US and non-US institutional and retail clients.

Washington Mutual, Inc. provides financial services to consumers and mid sized businesses in the United States. The company primarily operates through three segments: retail banking & financial services, mortgage banking and commercial banking. The retail banking and financial services segment provides investment advisory and brokerage services, sales of annuities, mutual fund management and other financial services. This segment also purchases and re-underwrites loans to subprime borrowers. The mortgage banking segment offers various home loans including fixed rate home loans, adjustable rate home loans, hybrid home loans, option ARMs and government insured or guaranteed home loans. The commercial segment provides financing to developers and investors for the acquisition or construction of multifamily dwellings and other commercial properties, originates and services multifamily and other commercial real estate loans. The company was founded in August 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, WA.

Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (Broker) (CGMI-Broker) is the broker/dealer division of Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., an investment bank headquartered in New York City with additional offices across the US. The firm was founded in 2004 and is a subsidiary of Citigroup Financial Products, Inc., ultimately held by Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C). CGMI-Broker covers all market capitalizations of the major global indices and provides macro and quantitative analysis of global markets and sector trends. Their core focus of the group is to help investing clients make informed decisions by providing value-added, independent, insightful analysis.

Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc. (DBSI) is a SEC-registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1971 and is a wholly-owned investment banking and brokerage arm of DB U.S. Financial Markets Holding Corp., ultimately held by Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB, FRA: DBK) in Germany. DBSI provides securities brokerage and investment advisory services to domestic and international private clients and institutions. They are also a primary dealer in US government securities as designated by the Federal Reserve.

Putnam Investment Management LLC (PIM) is a SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1971, the firm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Putnam US Holdings I LLC and became an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN) in 2024. PIM provides investment advice across all asset classes to individuals and institutions worldwide through separately managed accounts and pooled investment funds.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC provides assurance, tax and advisory services. Its services include audit and assurance, consulting, deals, human resources, legal, tax, and family business. The firm also offers accountability, risk management, structuring, mergers and acquisitions, and performance and process improvement. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Buffalo, NY.

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.

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.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (GS&Co.) is a securities brokerage firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1927, the firm is a subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS). GS&Co. provides services to help hedge funds manage risk, monitor portfolios, maintain liquidity and build their businesses. They offer clients access to global equity and derivatives markets, as well as foreign exchange, commodities, European Lefts, rates and credit across the Americas, Europe and Asia. The firm proactively monitors capital markets, searching for pockets of liquidity and news that may require changes to those strategies. Integration with the Goldman Sachs network gives clients access to the firm's sectored block trades and their insights into price discovery. Their electronic trading program provides clients with tools to manage their trades from pre-trade analytics to post-trade analysis.

Silver Point Capital LP is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. It was founded in 2002 by Edward Mule and Robert O'Shea. The firm serves as the management company with discretionary trading authority to private pooled investment vehicles. Their flagship funds include: Silver Point Capital Fund, L.P. (the Domestic Flagship Fund), Silver Point Capital Offshore Fund, Ltd. (the Offshore Flagship Fund) and Silver Point Capital Offshore Master Fund, L.P. (the Master Flagship Fund).

Fitch Ratings, Inc. is a global rating agency and investment research firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by John Knowles in 1913 as Fitch Publishing Co. They are a subsidiary of Fitch Group, Inc., ultimately owned by The Hearst Family Trust. Fitch Ratings seeks to provide independent and prospective credit opinions, research and data to the world's credit markets. Their approach is based on a foundation of local market experience that covers capital markets in over 150 countries. The firm's ratings analysis and rating decisions are based on established criteria, methodologies and ratings definitions which they apply in a consistent manner. Fitch Ratings provides coverage of the following markets: Economics, Banks, Insurance, Sovereigns, Corporates, Structured Finance, Public Finance – International, Public Finance – US, Infrastructure & Project, and Finance.

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP provides legal services. It offers legal solutions to areas such as capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, credit, insolvency, and restructuring, investment management, tax, and litigation. The company was founded by Francis N. Bangs in 1849 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

L. J. Altfest & Co., Inc., do-business-as Altfest Personal Wealth Management (Altfest), is a SEC-registered investment advisor and wealth management firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by Lewis J. Altfest in 1983 and is owned by Altfest 2012 Family Trust. Altfest provides investment management services to individuals, pension plans, profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, private funds, and other business entities.

Jefferies LLC is a global investment bank and institutional securities firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1962 and is a subsidiary of Jefferies Group LLC, ultimately held by Jefferies Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF). Jefferies provides corporate clients with research and execution services in equity, fixed income, and foreign exchange markets, as well as a full range of investment banking services such as underwriting, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and recapitalization, and other advisory services, with all businesses operating in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Wells Fargo Securities LLC (WFS) is the broker/dealer subsidiary of EVEREN Capital Corp., ultimately owned by Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC). Headquartered in New York, WFS delivers a comprehensive suite of banking, capital markets and advisory solutions, such as a full complement of sales, trading and research capabilities, to corporate, government and institutional clients.

Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc. (Stifel) is a dual-registered broker-dealer and investment adviser headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1890, the firm is a subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF), a financial service holding company. Stifel provides full-service brokerage and investment advisory services to individuals and their families, institutions and businesses, and financial advisors.

Northwestern University is a private institution founded in 1851 to serve the Northwest Territory, an area that now includes the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota. Northwestern has three campuses

UBS Investment Bank provides investment banking and securities brokerage services. Its clients include institutional and corporate clients, intermediaries, governments, and hedge funds. The firm also provides merger and acquisition advisory, private placement, investment research, foreign exchange, equity, and leverage finance advisory services. The firm is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.

Cedar Capital Partners Ltd. is an Independent Private Equity firm founded in 2004 by Ramsey Mankarious. The firm is headquartered in London.

Novomer, Inc. manufactures biodegradable plastics, polymers, and other chemicals from renewable substances. It specializes in commercializing a family of low-cost, high-performance, sustainable polymers and other chemicals. The company was founded by Geoffrey William Coates, Anthony Romey Eisenhut and Scott D. Allen in 2004 and is headquartered in Waltham, MA.

Duke University is an academic university that offers undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. It also has publications and research services. The university was founded in 1838 and is headquartered in Durham, NC.

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.

Lionheart Ventures (Lionheart Ventures) is a is a private equity subsidiary of Lionheart Holdings LLC. The firm is founded in 2004 by David S. Bovenizer and Vanessa H. Mai. The firm is headquartered in Newton, Pennsylvania.

Part of DXC Technology Co., CSC Consulting, Inc. is a company that provides information technology consulting services. The company is based in Waltham, MA.

SMART Reading offers literacy support to children. It helps kids become confident readers by providing individual volunteer attention and new, take-home books. The company was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Portland, OR.

Vista Capital Partners, Inc. (Vista) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The firm was founded in 2001 by Michael O'Reilly and Douglas Johanson. Vista provides investment and wealth management services to individuals, trusts, estates, corporations and business entities, corporate pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable institutions, foundations, and endowments.