William D. Ferguson

Founded in 1964, Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc. is a full service investment firm and registered broker/dealer headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The firm's expertise includes retail and institutional brokerage services, investment banking and underwriting, secondary trading of corporate, municipal, and government securities and market making in over-the-counter stocks. The firm is a member of the NYSE and FINRA.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. engages in the provision of securities regulation, complementary compliance, and technology-based services. Its services include writing and enforcing rules governing the activities of securities firms with brokers, examining firms for compliance with those rules, fostering market transparency, and educating investors. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Washington, DC.