Stephen W. Hoedt

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.

LPL Financial LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor and wealth management firm headquartered in Fort Mill, South Carolina. The firm was founded in 1989 as Linsco/Private Ledger Corp. They are a direct subsidiary of LPL Holdings, Inc., owned by LPL Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: LPLA). LPL Financial offers various types of advisory services and programs to individual and institutional clients.

Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. (Broker) (Oppenheimer-Broker) is the global full-service brokerage division of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., an investment boutique headquartered in New York City with additional offices nationwide. Founded in 1975, the firm is owned directly by Viner Finance Inc., an indirect subsidiary of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: OPY). Oppenheimer-Broker offers a full array of brokerage services to retail, institutional, and corporate clients.

Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. is a FINRA-registered broker/dealer headquartered in San Francisco. The firm is a subsidiary of the Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW). They are members of the Chicago Board Options Exchange, NASDAQ and NYSE Arca, Inc. Charles Schwab & Co. is an exchange member engaged in exchange commission business other than floor activities. They also retail mutual funds and OTC corporate equity securities. In addition, the firm underwrites and/or sells corporate securities, underwrites and/or sponsors mutual funds, is a put and call broker/dealer and/or option writer and provides investment advisory services

Sirius XM Radio, Inc. provides satellite radio services. It broadcasts music, sports, entertainment, comedy, news, and weather channels. The company is headquartered in New York, NY.

Founded in 1999 by the late Thomas Watson, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC (JMS) is a full-service financial services firm and registered broker/dealer headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The firm is a subsidiary of Independence Square Properties LLC, itself a subsidiary of Penn Mutual Insurance Co. Their ultimate parent is Harleysville Mutual Insurance Co. JMS is a member of the NYSE, the SIPC and FINRA. The firm provides comprehensive financial advice and services to individual, corporate and institutional investors. Their primary coverage verticals include the consumer, technology, financials and infrastructure sectors.

The Huntington National Bank engages in the provision of personal and business banking services to individuals and families, small and middle market businesses, and not-for-profit businesses. Its services include online and mobile banking, borrowing, investments, insurance, planning, and security services. The company was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Columbus, OH.

American Veterans Group PBC is an investment bank and broker dealer that is dedicated to assisting military veterans. The private company is based in Melville, NY. The company's mission is to combine military values such as teamwork, integrity, and accountability with industry expertise to provide value to both clients and communities. It was founded in 2017 by William B. Biles, who has been the CEO since then.

Founded in 1972 by Candace King, C.L. King & Associates, Inc. is a self-clearing, service-oriented broker/dealer and investment bank located in Albany, New York with additional offices in Boston and New York City. The firm delivers investment research, equity and fixed-income sales and trading, prime brokerage, investment advisor and clearing services to institutional and high net-worth clients and to other broker/dealers. For corporations, they underwrite securities and provide strategic advice in connection with mergers, acquisitions, strategic alternatives and valuation. C.L. King & Associates is a member of FINRA and the SIPC. C.L. King & Associates follows 120 names in 9 sectors. They seek to discover uncovered investment opportunities by seeking out companies that may be ignored by other Wall Street research providers and by identifying value and growth that may be unrecognized by institutional equity investors. The firm provides comprehensive trading services including capital commitment, market making and listed block positioning for their institutional equity clients. C.L. King & Associates' fixed-income group focuses on trading fixed-income securities, primarily in the secondary market. They offer a broad cross section of agencies, convertibles, investment-grade corporates, mortgage-backed securities, municipals, CDs and preferred stock to other broker/Dealers and institutional investors. The firm's investment banking group provides strategic M&A advice and capital raising services to emerging and mid-cap companies, both public and private. In addition, they act as a WBE underwriter in stock and bond offerings by large corporate issuers. C.L. King & Associates' corporate services group offers specialized services to assist corporate clients and their executives in handling delicate stock holding matters. Their services include guiding clients through restricted stock/rule 144 transactions, developing customized rule 10b5-1 trading plans and managing corporate share repurchase programs. The firm's equity research is based on a fundamental, value-oriented approach that focuses on small- and mid-cap companies. The firm offers research on the following sectors: special situations, building materials companies, specialty retail/apparel/footwear, industrials/cyclicals, restaurants/franchising, business services/staffing companies, telecommunications equipment and medical technology/devices/supplies.

Founded in 1971, Samuel A. Ramirez & Co., Inc. is a full-service securities firm and broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm provides services to individuals, business owners, institutional investors and government agencies. They offer professional services focusing on wealth management, underwriting, banking, institutional brokerage, research and asset management. Samuel A. Ramirez & Co. provides retail and institutional trading expertise in tax-free municipal bonds, equities, government bonds, corporate bonds and alternative investments. The research group provides research to institutional investors on equity, macroeconomics and fixed-income for the U.S. and the U.S. Hispanic market. The firm has ten main divisions: private client, municipal bond department, institutional equity, transition management group, taxable fixed-income group, equity capital markets, debt capital markets, mergers and acquisitions/strategic business advisory, Ramirez Research Group and Ramirez Asset Management. The Private Client Services Group performs portfolio management, retirement planning, financial and estate planning for individuals, business owners, corporations and institutions. The group offers an array of investment disciplines including equity and fixed income, diversification strategies, insurance and alternative investments. The Municipal Bond Department provides banking, underwriting, sales, trading and distribution services to states, local governments and their agencies throughout the U.S. The Equity Capital Markets Group offers underwriting services to corporations, public retirement programs and to some of the nation's largest professional money managers. The firm's equity underwritings include spin-offs, private equity sponsored transactions, equity recapitalizations by financial institutions and traditional IPOs. The Debt Capital Markets Group offers underwriting of fixed-income securities including corporate bonds, convertible bonds, ABS, preferred stock and U.S. Agency notes. The firm is a co-manager or underwriter of debt in the traditional corporate bond market, the retail targeted hybrid and trust preferred market, the tax-exempt market (for select corporations) and is a member of the selling group for the major U.S. Agencies. The Institutional Equity Group offers performance-enhancing products and services, value added investment ideas and agency only/non-conflicting trade execution for institutions, corporations and government agencies in both the U.S. and international markets. The Taxable Fixed Income Group offers the firm's institutional and high net-worth retail clients access to new issues as well as secondary trading in corporate bonds, U.S. Agency securities, $25-preferreds, MBS, ABS and convertible bonds. Ramirez Asset Management offers managed accounts to individuals and institutions for fixed-income, equities and balanced accounts. Their institutional fixed-income portfolios include cash, enhanced cash, core and core plus strategies.

Case Western Reserve University provides educational services. It offers a variety of undergraduate degree courses and graduate and professional options such as arts and sciences, dentistry, engineering, law, management, medicine, nursing, social work, and more. The firm also offers dual-degree programs. The company was founded in 1826 and is headquartered in Cleveland, OH.

Dreman Value Management LLC (DVM) is a wealth management firm headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida. The firm was founded by David Dreman in 1997 and is owned by Holly & Meredith Dreman 2013 Trust. DVM offers value-based equity investment services to a variety of clients, including sub-advisory services to Institutional, High Net Worth Individuals, Taft-Hartley and SMA/UMA clients. They also offer a domestically focused mutual fund strategy for individual investors.

Allianz of America, Inc. is an insurance management firm headquartered in Westport, Connecticut. The firm was founded in 1976 and is a subsidiary of Allianz Europe NV, which is owned by Allianz SE (ETR: ALV). Allianz of America provides investment services to insurance affiliates of the Allianz Group of North America.

AXA Corp provides insurance services. The private company is based in Santa Ana, CA. The company was founded by Jean-Claude Damerval.

General Electric Capital Corp. provides financial products and services. Its services include commercial loans and leases, fleet management, financial programs, credit cards, personal loans, and other financial services. The firm’s solutions include energy finance and aviation finance. The company was founded in 1943 and is headquartered in Norwalk, CT.

CMG Capital Management Group, Inc. (CMG) is an independent registered investment advisor headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania. The firm was founded by Stephen B. Blumenthal in 1992. CMG offers investment advisory services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates and charitable organizations.

Founded by Len Zacks in 1978, Zacks Investment Research, Inc. is an SEC-registered broker/dealer and investment research firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois with an office in Irvine, California. The firm is principally owned by The Greenwood Trust. Zacks makes both short-term and long-term investment recommendations using the following investment styles: aggressive growth, growth/income, momentum, value, technicals and options. Zack Investment Research employs the Zacks Rank, a 100% a peerless stock rating system that is based on a quantitative model that includes the use of four factors including as earnings estimate revisions and earnings surprises. Stocks are classified into five groups, ranging from 'Strong Buy' to 'Strong Sell.' Zacks Rank is completely mathematical and focuses only on the math and whether the math predicts that a stock's price will rise. It is a short-term indicator of stock performance that is effective for 1 to 3 months. The Zacks Recommendation process begins with a new quantitative model that employs the Zacks Rank. The firm then utilizes qualitative insights to develop a unique recommendation based on a 6 month time horizon. Zacks Investment Research provides coverage primarily on the following sectors: (1) manufacturers of electrical components (2) photo optics/lasers (3) HPC computing platforms (4) manufacturers and distributors of textiles (5) information technology (6) independent oil and gas companies involved in the exploration, development and acquisition of crude oil and natural gas (6) providers of docking, manipulator and wafer probing interface products for semiconductor and ATE manufacturers (7) companies that design and manufacture oscilloscopes, serial data analyzers and protocol analyzers to test, measure and analyze electronic signals (8) manufacturers of branded toys, collectibles, hobby or infant products and (9) financial services companies.

The Earnings Scout LLC is an independent global macroeconomic research firm headquartered in Olmstead Falls, Ohio. The firm was founded by Nicholas Raich in 2013. They offer in-depth global macroeconomic research and consulting services to institutional investors and a la carte options to smaller investment boutiques. The Earnings Scout offers analysis based on their broad macro outlook, as well as at the security level.

Keybank, NA (Investment Management), also known as Key Private Bank, is the asset management division of Keybank, NA, a regional bank headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The firm was founded in 1849 and is a subsidiary of KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY). Key Private Bank provides investment advisory services to individuals and institutional investors.