Bryan L. Bains

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.

Credit Agricole Securities (USA), Inc. (Credit Agricole Securities USA) is a full service broker-dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2004 and formerly known as Calyon Securities USA, Inc. and Credit Lyonnais Securities, Inc. They are a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole Global Partners, Inc., which is owned by Rue la Boétie SAS’s Credit Agricole SA (EPA: ACA) in France. Credit Agricole Securities USA provides investors’ customized solutions to ensure they achieve their execution objectives in the tradition of service excellence and product innovation.

Hovde Capital Advisors LLC is an independent hedge fund manager headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. The firm was founded by Eric Hovde in 1994 and manages the assets of high-net-worth clients.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC is the US-based securities broker/dealer and futures commission merchant arm of Mizuho Americas LLC, ultimately held by Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (TYO: 8411, NYSE: MFG) in Japan. Headquartered in New York City, the firm was founded in 1994 and provides institutional and corporate clients access to commodity and financial markets around the world. Mizuho Securities USA covers the following industries: Consumer, Energy, Financial Institutions, Financial Sponsors, Healthcare, Industrial & Diversified Industries, Power, Utilities & Infrastructure, Real Estate, and Technology, Media & Telecom (TMT). The firm and their affiliates hold memberships on all major futures and options exchanges worldwide.

Founded in 1984, Noble Financial Capital Markets is a broker/dealer headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. The firm is a subsidiary of Noble Financial Group, Inc. Noble Financial Capital Markets' sales & trading team provides strategic insight and reliable solutions to nearly 500 of the dominant small-cap money managers in North America. They are members FINRA, SIPC and MSRB. Noble Financial Capital Markets offers a full array of investment services with a particular focus on under-followed, undervalued, out-of-favor small-cap emerging growth companies. Their research coverage universe includes healthcare, business services & software, defense/defense technology, energy, enterprise hardware, and media & entertainment.

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 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.

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.

Part of Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc., Greencrest Capital Management LLC provides business advisory services. The company is based in New York, NY. Greencrest Capital Management was acquired by Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. on November 21, 2013.

Manhattan Venture Partners LLC (Manhattan Venture Partners) is a venture capital subsidiary of Manhattan Venture Holdings LLC founded in 2014 by Jared Carmel and Evan Haymes. The firm is headquartered in New York City.

Capstone LLC is a policy analysis and regulatory due diligence research firm headquartered in Washington, DC. The firm was founded by David Barrosse in 2010 and is wholly owned by the Orion Group LLC. Capstone helps corporations, industries, and investors navigate the local, national, and international policy and regulatory landscape. The firm explores how policy affects companies, industries, and investments in the financial services, health care, TMT, and energy sectors. They work with a diverse group of corporate and investor clients that produce actionable investment research based on their deep-dive analysis of public policy.