Scott Sprauer

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.

In 1915 Charles Edward Merrill founded Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER) with Edmund C. Lynch in Baltimore, Maryland. The modern Merrill Lynch was formed in 1940 through mergers with E.A. Pierce & Cassatt and, soon after, Fenner & Beane. In 1973, Merrill Lynch adopted a holding company format, with Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. as the parent and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith as the operating subsidiary. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc. (MLAM) was created as an integral business unit in the Merrill Lynch family in 1976. Fund Asset Management, doing business as Mercury Asset Management, was acquired in December 1997. In 2000, MLAM and Mercury were combined under the name Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. MLAM manages the Merrill Lynch family of mutual funds, as and acts as sub-advisor to other mutual funds.

Mainstay Mackay Defined term Municipal Opportunities Fund operates as a closed-end investment fund, which engages in investments in the municipal bond market. Its primary objective is to seek current income exempt from regular U.S. Federal income taxes. The fund offers tax-exempt monthly distributions and total return potential, an opportunistic investment approach through active management, and a defined term that seeks to provide the net asset value upon termination to shareholders. The company was founded on April 20, 2011 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

MacKay Shields LLC is a registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The original predecessor to the firm, MacKay-Shields Economics, was founded in 1938 as an economic consulting firm and it became MacKay Shields Financial Corp. (MSFC) in 1969. In 1984, MSFC was purchased by New York Life Insurance Co. (NYLIC). NYLIC established New York Life Investment Management Holdings LLC (NYLIM Holdings) in 1999 and transferred ownership of MSFC to NYLIM Holdings. In 1999, MSFC was converted to MacKay Shields LLC. The ownership, control and management of MacKay Shields did not change as a result of this conversion. The firm is wholly owned by NYLIM Holdings, which is wholly-owned by NYLIC. MacKay Shields provides discretionary investment management services primarily to institutional clients. The firm is a signatory of the United Nation Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI).

Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. engages in the provision of insurance solutions. It offers financial guaranty, mortgage insurance, and mortgage services for credit enhancement on public finance and structured finance securities. The company was founded by Roger K. Taylor in 1983 and is headquartered in New York, NY.