William B. Acheson

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. (MLPFS) is the SEC-registered broker/dealer subsidiary of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., ultimately held by Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). The firm was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in New York City. In 2010, Banc of America Securities LLC merged with MLPFS and the firm uses the trade name Bank of America Merrill Lynch. MLPFS's global strategy and economics team serves institutional and individual investors using a wide range of macroeconomic disciplines. Their analysis of global issues provides clients with investment ideas, market forecasts, macro overviews and specific sector recommendations across asset classes, regions and disciplines. Their equity research team conducts fundamental analysis on companies globally and provides institutional and retail clients with industry-specific and in-depth research and analysis on numerous industries. The firm's global fixed-income and equity-linked research focuses on fixed-income and equity derivatives, fixed-income strategy, convertibles, commodities, high-yield, mortgages, municipals and global foreign exchange.

Founded in 1988 by Richard Messina, the Benchmark Co. LLC is a full-service broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm provides equity research, sales and trading services for institutional and private clients. They focus on the media, energy, enterprise software, infrastructure software, biotechnology, specialty pharmaceuticals, REITs, Internet and communications sectors. The Benchmark Co.'s clearing agent is JP Morgan Clearing Corp.

Ladenburg Thalmann & Co., Inc. (Broker) is the broker/dealer division of Ladenburg Thalmann & Co., Inc., ultimately held by Advisor Group Holdings, Inc. Headquartered in New York City, the firm was founded in 1876 and offers a full suite of capital markets products and services, including proprietary equity research and a fixed-income trading desk. For institutional asset management clients, the firm provides liquidity, execution, high-quality idea-generating research, and access to corporate management teams. Their institutional coverage includes relationships with over asset management companies all over the world. To corporate clients, they bring access to investor capital, broad distribution capabilities and financial markets advisory. Ladenburg Thalmann is a leader in financing growing middle-market public companies across various industry verticals, including Healthcare & Life Sciences, Yield-Oriented Securities (BDCs, REITs, MLPs), Energy, Power & Infrastructure, and Telecom, Media & Technology.

GWG Life LLC engages in the provision of life insurance services. Through LifeCareXchange, it offers protection, income, LTC benefit, and lump sump benefits. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.

Homeownership Preservation Foundation operates as a foundation that provides assistance to homeowners, renters, and buyers. The American company's focus is on preserving homeownership and helping individuals navigate the complexities of the housing market. The CEO of the private company is Gene Spencer.

Part of Ally Financial, Inc., GMAC ResCap provides capital solutions to businesses. The company is based in Washington, PA. The CEO of the company is Thomas F. Marano.

GWG Holdings, Inc. engages in the business of life insurance secondary market. It offers liquidity solutions and services for the owners of illiquid investments. It operates through the following segments: Secondary Life Insurance, Beneficient, and Corporate and Other. The Secondary Life Insurance segment seeks to earn non-correlated yield from the portfolio of life insurance policies. The Beneficient segment includes assets and operations of Ben LP and its subsidiaries. The company was founded by Jon R. Sabes, Paul A. Siegert, and Steven F. Sabes in February 2006 and is headquartered in Dallas, TX.

GWG MCA Capital, Inc. provides capital to small businesses. It provides secured loans to established merchant cash advance funders as well as funding advances directly to small businesses across the U.S. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.