Tom E. van Buskirk

Founded in 1988, McMahan Securities Co. LP is a broker-dealer located in Greenwich, Connecticut. They uncover companies early in their growth curve and create new and substantial investment opportunities for their clients. They focus their research solely on companies issuing convertibles. The companies they follow are often young, strong, growing firms. They tend to be those in need of capital that are properly positioned in their markets. Sometimes, they are companies that are not well known or recognized, making it difficult for them to successfully market an initial fixed-income offering. Instead, they issue convertibles, which are attractive to purchasers for their ability to be converted into equity, allowing participation in the company's rapid growth. Strategically, they look for securities with favorable risk/reward characteristics, those with a limited downside risk but a real opportunity to participate in the upside if the stock moves positively. Convertible securities can achieve both fixed income and equity type returns. They are a member of the NASD and the SIPC.

Cowen & Co. LLC is a SEC-registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2004 and is a subsidiary of Cowen Holdings, Inc., ultimately owned by The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE: TD) in Canada. Cowen & Co. offers industry-focused investment banking for growth-oriented companies, domain knowledge-driven research and a sales and trading platform for institutional investors. Their institutional sales and trading business serves both equity and fixed-income clients. Sales and trading execution platform is structured around the following key verticals: (1) healthcare (2) technology, telecommunications and media (TMT) (3) REITs and financials (4) aerospace and defense (5) consumer and (6) alternative energy.

Centaur Performance Group LLC is an independent hedge fund manager headquartered in Rancho Santa Fe, California. The firm was founded by David McMahan in 1999 and formerly known as Argent Management Co. LLC. They provide investment advice to high net-worth clients.

Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. provided wealth management, securities trading and sales, corporate finance and investment banking services. Merrill Lynch was a global trader and underwriter of securities and derivatives across a range of asset classes and serve as a strategic advisor to governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. The company was founded in 1913 and was headquartered in Charlotte, NC.

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.

Founded in 2002, Maxim Group LLC is a registered broker/dealer located in New York City. The firm provides an array of financial services including: investment banking, equity research, private wealth management, structured products and global institutional equity, fixed-income and derivative sales and trading to a diverse range of corporate clients, institutional investors and high net-worth individuals. Maxim Group's niche is emerging-growth companies in a variety of sectors including healthcare, technology, retail and others. They utilize a fundamental, bottom-up approach to investment recommendations. The firm combines rigorous financial analysis of specific companies and industries with due diligence that includes frequent consults with suppliers, customers, competitors and senior management. The firm focuses on under-covered, small- to-mid-cap companies where valuation levels may be out of sync with fundamental trends. Maxim's coverage universe often represents attractive niche industries where stocks tend to be inefficient. This research coverage fills a void created by the downsized research ranks and shrinking coverage of small- to mid-cap stocks by large investment banks. Maxim Group is a member of FINRA, the MSRB, the SIPC, the ISE, NASDAQ and NYSE Arca.

Sidoti & Co. LLC (S&C) is a registered broker and equity research firm headquartered in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of Sidoti Holding Co. LLC and was founded in 1999. S&C provides research exclusively to institutional investors. The firm covers the following sectors: housing, retail, basic industries, technology, business services, capital goods, automotive, computer software, regional banking, telecommunications, entertainment, healthcare and consumer products. Their analysts conduct their own due diligence which includes visiting companies and meeting with operating and financial management. In addition, the firm's analysts focus on fundamentals, particularly cash flow from operations and EPS.