Ted Piorkowski

Founded in 1970 by David and Fran Morse, Ford Equity Research, Inc. (FER) is an independent equity research firm located in San Diego, California. The firm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mergent, Inc. FER develops stock selection models and investment techniques through their proprietary Quantitative Validation Process. This approach is based on precise data collection, rigorous testing and validation through repetition and backtesting. The firm uses quantitative methods to turn raw numbers into useful, actionable information. FER begins with the most accurate and timely data possible and bases all their analysis solely on publicly available information.

University of the Pacific is a nationally ranked university with a long tradition of dedicated teaching, small class sizes, practical experience and vibrant residential life. The breathtaking main campus in Stockton, California is home to seven schools and colleges, with more than 80 majors and programs of study. Pacific also has the McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento and the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco. Total university enrollment is nearly 7,000, with 3,757 undergraduates in an average class size of 19 and a student/faculty ratio of 14:1. It is located in Stockton, California.

Axos Bank provides consumer and wholesale banking services through online. Its brands include Bank of Internet USA, UFB direct, bank X, netbank and apartment bank. It offers premier online banking and financial services including business banking, home loans, commercial and industrial lending. The company was founded by Jerry L. Englert and Gary Lewis Evans in 1999 and is headquartered in San Diego, CA.

Western Asset Management Co. (Western Asset) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Pasadena, California. The firm was founded in 1971 and is a subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc., which is owned by Franklin Resources, Inc. Western Asset provides discretionary investment management services to primarily institutional clients.

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.

Founded in 1962, Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE: RJF) is a diversified holding company headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. The firm provides services to individuals, corporations and municipalities through their wholly-owned subsidiaries: Raymond James & Associates, Raymond James Financial Services and Raymond James Ltd. Raymond James operates through eight segments: Private Client Group (PCG); Capital Markets; Asset Management; Raymond James Bank (RJ Bank); Emerging Markets; Securities Lending; Proprietary Capital; and Other. The Private Client Group segment provides securities transaction and financial planning services to client accounts through the branch office systems of the company's subsidiaries. The Capital Markets segment's activities consist primarily of equity and fixed income products and services. The Asset Management segment provides asset management services for individual investment portfolios and mutual funds. The RJ Bank segment provides corporate, residential and consumer loans, as well as Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. insured deposit accounts, to clients of the company's broker-dealer subsidiaries and to the general public. The Emerging Markets segment operates securities brokerage, investment banking, asset management and equity research businesses. The Securities Lending segment conducts its business through the borrowing and lending of securities from and to other broker-dealers, financial institutions and other counterparties. The Proprietary Capital segment consists of the company's principal capital and private equity activities, including various direct and third-party private equity and merchant banking investments. Raymond James' capital markets reach within the financial institutions segment focuses on community and regional banks and thrifts including equity research, sales, trading and investment banking resources and services. Raymond James is one of the largest research organizations in the brokerage industry and serves institutional investors domestically and abroad. The firm's capital markets activities are based on insightful, timely and comprehensive equity research. They publish research on over 1,000 companies in their core industries. Raymond James seeks attractive niches within broader industries and then covers these sectors deeply to develop differentiated sector expertise and relationships. Although their focus is mid- and small-cap companies, their coverage includes large, medium and small companies across each sector. Raymond James' Institutional Trading division is organized into 3 specialty departments: Sales Trading, Principal trading and Agency Trading. Their Sales Trading division covers over 800 domestic and 1,300 international financial institutions throughout North America and Europe. The firm's Principal Trading division consists of industry-focused teams and their OTC Principal Trading department makes markets in over 680 domestic stocks, 85% of which are covered by Raymond James Institutional Research department. Their Agency Trading department services the trading needs of over 5,500 financial advisors located in 2,500 retail offices across the US.

University of Miami (Florida) is a private research university with students from around the world that is focused on teaching and learning, the discovery of new knowledge, and service to the South Florida region and beyond. The university was founded in 1925 and it is headquartered in Coral Gables, FL.

Lingerfelt Commonwealth HR LLC provides real estate investment management services. It offers platforms for fund management, acquisitions, development, and asset management. The company was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Glen Allen, VA.

Fisher Asset Management LLC, dba Fisher Investments (FI), is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Plano, Texas. The firm was founded in 1979 by Ken Fisher and is a subsidiary of Fisher Investments, Inc. FI manages the assets of a diverse global client base which includes corporations, public and multi-employer pension funds, foundations and endowments, insurance companies, health-care organizations, governments and high net worth families.

Cornell University is an educational institution that offers undergraduate and post graduate programs. It was founded in 1865 and is based in Ithaca, NY.

Pacific Investment Management Co. LLC (PIMCO) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Newport Beach, California. Founded in 1971, the firm is a subsidiary of Allianz Asset Management of America LP and their ultimate parent is Allianz SE (ETR: ALV), a German global insurance company. PIMCO provides discretionary investment management services to a global client base.

Pacific Century Group Holdings Ltd operates as an investment firm. It has interests in Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT); Financial Services; and Property businesses. The company was founded by Tzar Kai Li in 1993 and is headquartered in Hong Kong.

Founded in 1975, The San Diego Foundation is a public charity that provides a permanent and growing source of funding to hundreds of nonprofit agencies serving the San Diego region. Through an effort called Understanding the San Diego Region, The Foundation joins other nonprofit organizations, community leaders, experts and government officials to address the needs of the community and build consensus for solutions. The San Diego Foundation is headquartered in San Diego, CA and has two other offices in California.

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.

BMO Asset Management Corp. (BMO AM) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The firm was founded in 2012 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BMO Financial Corp. (BMO), which is in turn a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO), a Canadian diversified financial services company. BMO AM provides discretionary investment advisory services for, or provides non-discretionary investment advice to, institutions, individuals, and third-party sponsors of and clients participating in wrap-fee programs, as well as common and collective portfolios for which BMO Harris Bank, an affiliate of BMO AM, acts as trustee. In addition, BMO AM provides investment advisory services to private pooled vehicles and to affiliates for the benefit of their clients.

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.

Allspring Global Investments LLC (Allspring) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Prior to November 2021, the firm was known as Wells Capital Management, Inc. They are a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC, ultimately held by Allspring Group Holdings LLC. Allspring provides investment management services to mutual funds, private funds, offshore funds, collective investment trusts (CITs), pooled vehicles and client accounts.

Wells Fargo Bank, NA provides investment advisory services. It offers banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer finance services. The company is headquartered in Sioux Falls, SD.