Martin W. Youmaran

SF Investments, Inc. is a registered broker/dealer headquartered in Highland Park, Illinois. The firm is a member of FINRA and the SIPC. The firm was founded by Nathan Shapiro in 1972 as Sucsy, Fischer Securities, Inc. They are a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, Inc., which is owned by WH Group, Ltd. (HKG: 0288) in Hong Kong. SF Investments conducts business in equity, fixed-income and derivative securities including: (1) OTC corporate securities (2) corporate debt securities (3) mutual funds (4) US government securities (5) pits/calls and option writing (6) investment advisory services (7) non-exchange member arranging for transactions in listed securities by an exchange member (8) trading securities for their own account and (9) private placements. All transactions are cleared through Pershing LLC. Their research tends to focus on the insurance, energy and financial sectors, with emphasis on companies located in the US, India and Brazil.

The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. provides insurance and financial security solutions. The firm offers life insurance, long-term care insurance, disability insurance, annuities, and investment products. It also provides financial planning strategies and solutions. The company was founded by John C. Johnston on March 2, 1857 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, WI.

A subsidiary of Mesirow Financial Holdings, Inc., Mesirow Financial, Inc. is a broker/dealer headquartered in Chicago with an additional office in New York City. The firm provides a full array of trading and execution services for their clients. They do not provide any internal research. Mesirow was founded in 1937 by Norman Mesirow.

Greenwich Investment Management, Inc. (GIM) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and wealth management firm headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. Founded in 1999, GIM provides tax-exempt bond strategy along with dividend-focused stock portfolio management to a sophisticated clientele — one that includes high-net-worth individuals and their families, financial executives, corporate directors, entrepreneurs and charitable institutions.

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.

William Blair & Co. LLC (William Blair) is a SEC-registered broker/dealer firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The firm was founded by William McCormick Blair in 1935 and is a subsidiary of WBC Holdings LP. Until 1941, they were known as Blair, Bonner & Co. William Blair provides broking services to individual, institutional and issuing clients.

Arthur Andersen LLP used to provide accounting services. It was also into consulting services for clients that operate businesses throughout the United States and around the world. Arthur Andersen was founded in 1913 and was headquartered in Chicago, IL.

Hilltop Securities, Inc. (dba HilltopSecurities) is a broker/dealer firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The firm was founded in 1946 as Southwest Securities, Inc. and they a subsidiary of Hilltop Securities Holdings LLC. Hilltop Securities provides a full array of trading and execution services for their clients.

The Northern Trust Co. provides investment management, asset, fund administration, fiduciary and banking solutions. The company is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

Fitch Ratings, Inc. is a global rating agency and investment research firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by John Knowles in 1913 as Fitch Publishing Co. They are a subsidiary of Fitch Group, Inc., ultimately owned by The Hearst Family Trust. Fitch Ratings seeks to provide independent and prospective credit opinions, research and data to the world's credit markets. Their approach is based on a foundation of local market experience that covers capital markets in over 150 countries. The firm's ratings analysis and rating decisions are based on established criteria, methodologies and ratings definitions which they apply in a consistent manner. Fitch Ratings provides coverage of the following markets: Economics, Banks, Insurance, Sovereigns, Corporates, Structured Finance, Public Finance – International, Public Finance – US, Infrastructure & Project, and Finance.

Federated Hermes C.W. Henderson (CW Henderson) is a wealth management firm headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The firm was founded by Craig Henderson in 1990 and formerly known as C.W. Henderson & Associates, Inc. They were acquired in 2022 by Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE: FHI). Their name was changed to Federated Hermes CW Henderson and became a division of Federated Investment Counseling. CW Henderson specializes in active management of municipal bond portfolios and provides income that is exempt from federal taxation. Most of their clients include high-net worth individuals, family offices and corporations.

Northwestern University is a private institution founded in 1851 to serve the Northwest Territory, an area that now includes the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota. Northwestern has three campuses