Ed Youmell

Barings LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 1940, the firm is direct subsidiary of MM Asset Management Holding LLC and their ultimate parent is Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (MassMutual). MassMutual?s affiliated companies include financial services companies that provide investment management services and individual protection insurance to clients worldwide. Barings provides a broad range of investment advisory and management services to institutional clients, registered investment companies, and other pooled investment vehicles.

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.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. provides financial life insurance services. It offers annuities, disability income insurance, investments, long term care and wealth management, and retirement plans. The company was founded on May 15, 1851 and is headquartered in Springfield, MA.

Reebok International Ltd. designs and manufactures apparel, shoes and sports related products. It markets and distributes sportswear and accessories under the Reebok, Rockport, CCM, Jofa, Koho and Greg Norman brands. The company was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Canton, MA.

State Street Bank & Trust Co. (SSBT) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm was founded in 1792 and is owned by State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT). SSBT serves as the administrator, fund accountant and transfer agent for the WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund, an exchange-traded fund.

Founded in 2003 by Scott Heising, Independent Financial Group LLC an investment firm and broker/dealer is a broker/dealer located in San Diego, California. The firm offers personalized services to individuals and institutional investors through their team of independent financial professionals. The firm's representatives offer professional advice and investments, including mutual funds, annuities, life insurance, fee-based asset management, direct participation programs and stocks and bonds. Independent Financial Group offers no proprietary investment products. The firm processes direct business accounts held through major mutual funds and insurance companies, as well as, brokerage business through their clearing partner, Pershing LLC, a subsidiary of the Bank of New York. Independent Financial Group provides a full array of trading and execution services for their clients. They do not provide any internal research.

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.

The Investment Company Institute is an association of mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and unit investment trusts. The non-profit company is based in Washington and has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom. The American company operates to support and represent these types of investment vehicles. The CEO of the company is Paul Schott Stevens.

Founded in 2001, Divine Capital Markets LLC is an independent, woman-owned full-service brokerage firm headquartered in New York City. The firm's clients include institutional fund managers, pension plan administrators, corporate treasurers, and accredited high net-worth individuals. Divine Capital Markets looks at relevant macroeconomic, industry and security fundamental and technical analysis and leveraged alternatives (convertible bonds, preferreds and covered calls) to provide long-term investment strategies. Their research philosophy is based on analyzing business cycles. The firm also focuses on emerging markets with a particular focus on Brazil, Russia, India and China. Divine Capital Markets is a member of the NASD and the SIPC.

MMLISI Financial Alliances LLC provides banking and financial services. The company is headquartered in Springfield, MA.

Founded in 1988, Monarch Financial Corp. of America is a full-service, registered, broker/dealer located in New York City. The firm is a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers, the Security Investors Protection Corporation and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. They are a correspondent firm of First Clearing LLC, a subsidiary of Wachovia Corp. (NYSE: WB). Monarch Financial Corp. firm provides an array of trading and execution services for their clients. They do not provide any internal research.

Deutsche AM Service Co provides fund management services. The company was founded on December 7, 1988 and is headquartered in Kansas, MO.

Virtus Fixed Income Advisers LLC (VFIA) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. The firm was founded in 1992 as Seix Investment Advisors LLC. They are a subsidiary of Virtus Partners, Inc., which is owned by Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTS). VFIA provides discretionary investment supervisory services to high-net worth individuals and institutional clients.

BB&T Securities LLC, doing business as BB&T Capital Markets, is the broker/dealer subsidiary of BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT). The firm is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. They offer a full array of investment, trading and execution services to middle-market companies. BB&T Capital Markets' sales and trading arm is comprised of 2 groups: Debt Securities Sales & Trading and Equity Sales & Trading. The Debt Securities Sales & Trading group focuses on: (1) Government and agency securities (2) corporate bonds (3) municipal bonds (4) asset-backed securities (5) mortgage-backed securities (6) preferred securities and (7) money market desk (short-term securities including BB&T funding). The Equity Sales & Trading group focuses on: (1) institutional block execution services (2) institutional distribution of proprietary research (3) providing proprietary access to industry leading conferences and management teams (4) serving as a NASDAQ market maker for over 250 securities (5) stock buybacks including 10b-18 and 10b5-1 trading plans and (6) 144 stock sales, individual 10b5-1 trading plans (buy and sell) and employee cashless stock option programs. BB&T Capital Markets provides research coverage of the communications, defense and government services, energy, financial services, furnishings and consumer durables, healthcare, industrial services, retail/consumer durables and transportation services sectors.

Founded in 2002 by Hunter Thompson and William Davis, Thompson Davis & Co. (TD & Co.) is an independent investment research firm and broker/dealer located in Richmond, Virginia with an additional office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The firm is a member of FINRA and the SIPC. TD & Co. provides unbiased, original research and services to institutional and retail investors. They do not perform research on companies for investment banking opportunities. TD & Co. also offers a full-range of financial services ranging from financial planning and private money management to corporate and municipal bonds. TD & Co.'s research team employs a focused methodology. They seek to identified, under followed, undervalued growth companies. The firm uses computer screens that look for companies with sequential revenue and earnings growth and strong balance sheets that are selling at a discount to their growth rates. Specifically, TD& Co. looks for companies with several characteristics: (1) 20% + revenue and earnings growth (2) sequential revenue and earnings growth, i.e., quarter over quarter improvement in both the top and bottom line (3) top management is buying the company's stock in the open market with their own money (4) significant management ownership of the stock (5) strong balance sheets with little or no debt or manageable declining debt, strong cash position or debt reduction efforts (6) operating in a growing market sector (no deep cyclicals or natural resource sectors) (7) gross margin expansion and market share gains and (8) selling at a discount to the company growth rate, allowing for p/e expansion toward growth rate.

Oppenheimer Acquisition Corp. provides mortgage banking and investment services. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Singular Research is an independent research firm headquartered in Calabasas, California. Founded in 2004, the firm provides research on micro and small-cap companies, particularly those that are emerging, undervalued, and undercovered.

Nippon Wealth Life Insurance Co., Ltd. engages in life insurance business that provides long-term care insurance, annuities, retirement plans, savings products and mutual funds to individual and institutional customers. It operates through a network of independent brokers and franchised agents. The company was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

Founded in 2009, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (MSSB) is a registered investment adviser, a registered broker-dealer, a registered futures commission merchant, and a member of the New York Stock Exchange. Headquartered in Purchase, New York, MSSB is one of the largest financial services firms in the US with branch offices in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The firm was initially owned by a joint venture company which was indirectly owned 65% by Morgan Stanley and 35% by Citigroup, Inc. On June 28, 2013, Morgan Stanley purchased Citi’s 35% interest in MSSB. As such, the firm is now a direct subsidiary of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Holdings LLC and they are a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS).

Equity Group, Inc. is an investor relations firm founded in 1974 with expertise in strategic communications, investment community outreach and relations, and market intelligence and advisory. The private company is based in New York, NY and has subsidiaries in the United States. The company specializes in comprehensive programs for micro-cap, small-cap, and mid-cap public companies in a range of industries. The company was founded in 1974 by Robert D. Goldstein.

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.

Mustard Seed Financial LLC is a wealth management company that offers investment management, tax planning, retirement planning, insurance, estate planning, and charitable gifting services. The private company is based in Magnolia, AR. The company's website provides financial calculators, a video library, and useful websites and regulatory information.

Measured Risk Portfolios, Inc. (MRPI) is an independent, SEC-registered investment adviser headquartered in San Diego, California. The firm was founded by Lawrence D. Kriesmer and Bernard A. Surovsky in 2001. Prior to December 2015, the firm operated under the name of Kingsroad Financial Insurance Services Inc., dba Measured Risk Portfolios. MRPI provides portfolio management services to individuals, high net worth individuals, corporate pension and profit-sharing plans, foundations, trusts, and US corporations, as well as other investment advisers.

Desert Rose Capital Management, Inc. offers a unique investment approach that benefits advisors, clients, and institutions. The private company is based in Boise, ID. The company's options strategies aim to reduce risk while providing customized portfolio management. The company challenges the belief that assuming more risk is necessary to enjoy the market's upside potential. The company offers an integrated options portfolio (IOP) that aims to change this perception.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (Investment Portfolio) (MassMutual-IP) is the investment portfolio division of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., a life insurance company headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1851, MassMutual-IP offers a wide range of protection, accumulation, wealth management, and retirement products and services for individuals, business owners and corporate and institutional markets.

Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC (BWP) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and wealth management firm headquartered in Harleysville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2017, BWP provides investment advice to individuals, families, trusts, and charitable organizations and foundations, pensions and corporations.