Chris C. Piccione

BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. (BNYMIA) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1951 and formerly known as The Dreyfus Corp. They are a wholly-owned subsidiary of MBC Investments Corp., ultimately held by The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK). BNYMIA serves as an investment advisor to mutual funds, such as the BNY Mellon Family of Funds and The BNY Mellon Funds Trust, and as sub-investment advisor to non-affiliated mutual funds. Formed in 2009, Dreyfus Cash Investment Strategies (Dreyfus) is a division of the BNYMIA that offers money market strategies to US and non-US institutional investors.

Janus Henderson Investors US LLC (JHIUS) is a registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The firm was founded in 1969 and formerly known as Janus Capital Management LLC. They are a subsidiary of Janus Henderson US (Holdings) Inc., which is owned by Janus Henderson Group plc (NYSE: JHG, LON: 0RPW) in Great Britain. JHIUS provides investment management services, as an investment adviser or sub-adviser, to pooled investment vehicles.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co., do-business-as MFS Investment Management (MFS), is a SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm was founded in 1924 and is a subsidiary of Sun Life of Canada (US) Financial Services Holdings, Inc., ultimately held by Sun Life Financial, Inc. (TSE, NYSE: SLF) in Canada. The firm provides investment advisory and sub-advisory services to a range of institutional clients and pooled investment vehicles. MFS is a responsible investor and signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI).

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.

Cowen & Co. LLC is a SEC-registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2004 and is a subsidiary of Cowen Holdings, Inc., ultimately owned by The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE: TD) in Canada. Cowen & Co. offers industry-focused investment banking for growth-oriented companies, domain knowledge-driven research and a sales and trading platform for institutional investors. Their institutional sales and trading business serves both equity and fixed-income clients. Sales and trading execution platform is structured around the following key verticals: (1) healthcare (2) technology, telecommunications and media (TMT) (3) REITs and financials (4) aerospace and defense (5) consumer and (6) alternative energy.

Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC (Manulife IM (US)) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm was founded in 1968 and is a subsidiary of John Hancock Subsidiaries LLC, ultimately held by Manulife Financial Corp. (NYSE, TSX: MFC), a Canadian-based financial services firm. Manulife IM-US manages assets for a variety of institutional and other types of clients, such as public and private pension funds, foundations, mandatory provident funds outside the US, financial institutions, investment trusts, separately managed account clients, and high net-worth individuals. The firm also manages registered funds, which includes UCITS, US and Canadian open- and closed-end mutual funds and privately offered unregistered investment funds.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management LP (GSAMLP) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm is a wholly owned subsidiary of GSAM Holdings LLC, and their ultimate parent is Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS). Founded in 1988, GSAMLP provides investment solutions to a range of individual and institutional investors worldwide.

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.

CIBC Private Wealth Advisors, Inc. (CPWA) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The firm was founded in 1932 and formerly known as AT Investment Advisers, Inc. They are a subsidiary of CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC, ultimately held by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE, TSE: CM) in Canada. CPWA provides investment advisory and wealth advisory services to individuals, trusts, estates, families, charitable organizations, employee benefit and contribution plans, corporations, state or municipal government entities, pension and profit-sharing plans, and other investment advisers. The firm also participates in wrap fee programs offered by third party sponsors.

Ernst & Young LLP engages in the provision of accounting, assurance, tax, transaction, and advisory services. It specializes in the actuarial, analytics and big data, cyber security, accounting compliance and reporting, center for board matters, international financial reporting standards, country tax advisory, global trade, tax accounting, and climate change and sustainability. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Mellon Investments Corp. is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1983, the firm is a subsidiary of MBC Investments Corp., ultimately held by the Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BNY Mellon Corp.) (NYSE: BK). In 2018, two other indirect subsidiaries of BNY Mellon Corp., the Boston Company Asset Management LLC (TBCAM) and Standish Mellon Asset Management Company LLC, merged into Mellon Capital Management Corp. and the firm was renamed BNY Mellon Asset Management North America Corp. In 2019, BNY Mellon Asset Management North America Corp. was renamed Mellon Investments Corp. Mellon Investments provides discretionary and non-discretionary investment advice to both individual and institutional clients.

Newton Investment Management North America LLC (NIMNA) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm was founded in 2021 and is a subsidiary of MBC Investments Corp., ultimately owned by The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK). NIMNA provides discretionary and non-discretionary investment advice to institutional clients, including US and global pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, trusts, central banks, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, registered mutual funds, other pooled investment vehicles and other institutions.

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.

SSgA Funds Management, Inc. (SSgA FM) is a SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm was founded in 1978 and is a subsidiary of State Street Global Advisors, Inc., ultimately held by State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT). SSgA FM provides investment advisory services to US investment companies and certain pooled investment vehicles.

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.

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.

Leerink Partners LLC is a full-service brokerage and investment banking firm headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm was founded by Jeffrey Leerink in 1995 and formerly known as SVB Securities LLC. They rebranded as Leerink Partners in 2023. The firm is a subsidiary of SVB Securities LLC. Leerink Partners provides institutional sales, equity research, institutional trading, and corporate finance and asset management services to the healthcare and technology industries. They offer superior execution capabilities in common stock, convertibles and derivatives with a singular focus on healthcare and a knowledge-led approach.

Allianz Global Investors U.S. LLC (AllianzGI US) is an investment advisory firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2001 as Allianz Global Investors Capital LLC. In 2022, Voya Investment Management Co. LLC, which is ultimately owned by Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), acquired the firm from Allianz SE (ETR: ALV). AllianzGI US provides portfolio management services to a variety of individual and institutional clients as well as certain Wrap Fee Programs.

G.research (formerly known as Gabelli & Co., Inc.) is a registered institutional research and brokerage firm headquartered in Rye, New York and was founded in 1976. The firm is a subsidiary of Gabelli Securities, Inc. and their ultimate parent is GAMCO Investors, Inc. (NYSE: GBL). G.research has an emphasis on small and mid-cap ideas. Their core competencies include aerospace and defense, automotive aftermarket, food and beverage, gaming and lodging, industrials, media, specialty chemicals, telecom and utilities. They publish daily research notes and full reports utilizing their proprietary Private Market Value (PMV) with a Catalyst methodology.

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.

Truist Securities, Inc. is a registered broker-dealer headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The firm was founded in 1894 as SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. In 2020, the firm was renamed following the integration of SunTrust Robinson Humphrey and BB&T Capital Markets. The firm is a subsidiary of Truist Financial Corp. (NYSE: TFC) and is an active market maker in equity and fixed-income products. Truist Securities delivers a comprehensive range of strategic advisory, capital raising, risk management, and financing solutions, as well as a dynamic suite of sales, trading, and research services in both fixed-income and equity. Their strategies are carefully tailored to meet the needs and vision of their clients.

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.

Deloitte Consulting LLP provides business consulting services. It offers services related to public finance, public sector management, health and social protection, information technology, financial sector, and trade and investment. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Accredited Investors, Inc., dba Accredited Investors Wealth Management (AIWM), is an independent. SEC-registered investment advisor and wealth management firm headquartered in Edina, Minnesota. The firm was founded by Ross Levin and Willis T. Heupel in 1987. AIWM provides advisory services to individuals and families, trusts, foundations and endowments, charitable organizations, pension and profit-sharing plans (other than plan participants), and corporations or other businesses.

Founded in 1995 by Steven Bathgate, GVC Capital LLC, formerly Bathgate Capital Partners LLC, is an investment banking firm and broker/dealer located Greenwood Village, Colorado. The firm focuses primarily on providing comprehensive investment banking services to underexposed and undervalued micro-cap companies. GVC Capital's brokerage services include retail investment sales, institutional equity and fixed-income securities. The firm is a member of FINRA and the SIPC. GVC Capital seeks to provide their retail clients with greater exposure to institutional investors as efficient means to raising capital in the form of institutional private placement financings and a variety of other investment products including municipal bonds, government securities, mutual funds, annuities, options and equities. The firm also offers accredited investors periodic opportunities to participate in private placements (Regulation D) and IPOs for select emerging growth companies. GVC Capital's accounts are maintained and cleared by First Southwest Company. The firm's fixed-income group seeks to provide their clients with best execution. They provide independent advisory services and research focusing on a diverse universe of fixed-income securities including corporate, government and municipal bonds, convertible and mortgage-backed securities and preferred stocks. GVC Capital's equity trading group focuses on efficient trade execution of micro-cap companies and identifying and creating liquidity in illiquid markets.

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.