Kai F. Kuo

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).

Solus Alternative Asset Management LP (Solus) is a privately held, SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in Summit, New Jersey. The firm was founded by Chris Pucillo in 2007 as a spin-off of Stanfield Capital Partners LLC. Solus serves as the investment advisor with discretionary trading authority to private pooled investment vehicles, the securities of which are offered to investors on a private placement basis.

BTIG LLC is an institutional brokerage and fund services firm headquartered in San Francisco, California. The firm was founded in 2002 through the merger of Baypoint Trading LLC and Bass Trading LLC. They are a subsidiary of Condor Trading LP. BTIG offers institutional and corporate clients with personalized multi-asset class execution, expertise and insights worldwide across equities, equity derivatives, ETFs, fixed income, futures, commodities, foreign exchange, interest rates, credit, and convertible and preferred securities. The firm’s core capabilities include global sales, portfolio, electronic and outsource trading, transition management, investment banking, prime brokerage, capital introduction, corporate access, research and strategy, commission management and more.

Pacific Investment Management Co. LLC (PIMCO) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Newport Beach, California. Founded in 1971, the firm is a subsidiary of Allianz Asset Management of America LP and their ultimate parent is Allianz SE (ETR: ALV), a German global insurance company. PIMCO provides discretionary investment management services to a global client base.

NewsMax Media, Inc. publishes news and opinion content magazines. It also partners with Random House to publish a series of co-branded books. The company was founded by Christopher W. Ruddy on September 16, 1998 and is headquartered in West Palm Beach, FL.

BlackRock Advisors LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1994 and is a subsidiary of BlackRock Capital Holdings, Inc., ultimately held by BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK). BlackRock Advisors manages assets for US-registered investment companies and 529 Plans.