Nikolas Novograd

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (Credit Suisse Securities USA) is the broker/dealer division of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, an investment banking company headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1998 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Credit Suisse (USA), Inc., ultimately owned by Credit Suisse Group AG (SWX: CSGN) in Switzerland. Credit Suisse Securities USA offers a suite of equities, solutions and credit products and services which includes global securities sales, trading and execution, prime brokerage and comprehensive investment research. Their clients include financial institutions, corporations, governments, institutional investors, such as pension funds and hedge funds, and private individuals around the world.

Founded in 1999, Credit Suisse Asset Management LLC (CSAM) is a registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE: CS), a publicly owned foreign bank holding company based in Switzerland.

Invesco Advisers, Inc. is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a subsidiary of Invesco Group Services, Inc., ultimately held by Invesco Ltd. (NYSE: IVZ). The firm was founded in 1986 and previously known as Invesco Institutional NA, Inc. until April 2010 when Invesco Ltd. consolidated the businesses of their US investment advisors (Invesco AIM Advisors, Inc., Invesco AIM Capital Management, Inc., Invesco AIM Private Asset Management, Inc. and Invesco Global Asset Management NA, Inc.) under the name Invesco Advisers, Inc. They provide discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory services to individuals, institutional and high net-worth clients through separate accounts, wrap fee programs and US registered investment companies and other Commingled Funds.

Allspring Global Investments LLC (Allspring) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Prior to November 1, 2021, the firm was known as Wells Capital Management, Inc. They are a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC, ultimately held by Allspring Group Holdings LLC. Allspring provides investment management services to mutual funds, private funds, collective investment trusts (CITs), pooled vehicles, and other institutional clients and high net-worth individuals.

HighMark Capital Management, Inc. (HighMark) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in San Francisco, California. The firm was founded in 1919 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MUFG Union Bank NA, ultimately held by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: MY, TYO: 8306), a Japan-based financial institution. HighMark provides investment advice to pension and profit-sharing plans, pooled investment vehicles, charitable organizations, corporations, state and municipal government entities, corporate employee benefit plans, public agencies, foundations and endowments, Taft-Hartley plans, hospital and religious organizations, and treasury departments.

NovaMed LLC manages, develops, and acquires ambulatory surgery centers. The firm also owns and operates optical laboratories, an optical products purchasing organization, and a marketing products and services business. Its optical laboratory business specializes in surfacing, finishing, and distributing corrective lenses and eyeglass lenses for ophthalmologists, optometrists, opticians, and optical retail chains. The company was founded in March 1995 and is headquartered in Nashville, TN.

Axial Healthcare, Inc. provides pain management solution solutions. Its solutions include axialInsight, axialPractice, axialNetwork and axialPatient. The axialInsight is an analytics engine that enables users to find correlation, causation and predictive analytics. The axialPractice provides practitioners with insight into their opioid patient panel and peer benchmarking. The axialNetwork organizes the top performing pain practitioners within a health plan. The axialPatient gives patients a voice in their pain care through a pain management app. The company was founded by Kevin Kirkpatrick and Paul McCurry in 2012 and is headquartered in Nashville, TN.

McKinsey & Co., Inc. provides management consulting services. It specializes in design, marketing and sales, analytics, operations, transformation and restructuring, risk, strategy and corporate finance, and sustainability and resource productivity. The company was founded by James O. McKinsey in 1926 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Harvard University engages in the provision of teaching and research. It has twelve degree-granting Schools in addition to the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, offering a global education. The university was founded in 1636 and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (GS&Co.) is a securities brokerage firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1927, the firm is a subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS). GS&Co. provides services to help hedge funds manage risk, monitor portfolios, maintain liquidity and build their businesses. They offer clients access to global equity and derivatives markets, as well as foreign exchange, commodities, European Lefts, rates and credit across the Americas, Europe and Asia. The firm proactively monitors capital markets, searching for pockets of liquidity and news that may require changes to those strategies. Integration with the Goldman Sachs network gives clients access to the firm's sectored block trades and their insights into price discovery. Their electronic trading program provides clients with tools to manage their trades from pre-trade analytics to post-trade analysis.

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

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP provides legal advisory services. Its practice areas include mergers and acquisitions, finance, litigation, corporate finance, insurance, tax, labor and employment, political law, private equity, corporate, antitrust, white collar crime, international, regulatory, and legislation. The company was founded by Marshall Skadden, John Slate, and Les Arps in 1948 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Barclays Capital, Inc. is a registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1997 and is a subsidiary of Barclays Group US, Inc., ultimately owned by Barclays plc (LON: BARC) in Great Britain. Barclays Capital provides large corporate, government and institutional clients a full spectrum of prime brokerage services which includes equities and fixed income financing, OTC Clearing, Futures and Foreign Exchange Prime Brokerage and access to industry insights and analytics from their Strategic Consulting team.

Latham & Watkins LLP operates as a full-service law firm or legal matters. It offers services in the areas of finance, litigation, accounting, banking, life sciences, private equity, real estate, government relations, employment law, and outsourcing. The company was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

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.

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

Founded by Len Zacks in 1978, Zacks Investment Research, Inc. is an SEC-registered broker/dealer and investment research firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois with an office in Irvine, California. The firm is principally owned by The Greenwood Trust. Zacks makes both short-term and long-term investment recommendations using the following investment styles: aggressive growth, growth/income, momentum, value, technicals and options. Zack Investment Research employs the Zacks Rank, a 100% a peerless stock rating system that is based on a quantitative model that includes the use of four factors including as earnings estimate revisions and earnings surprises. Stocks are classified into five groups, ranging from 'Strong Buy' to 'Strong Sell.' Zacks Rank is completely mathematical and focuses only on the math and whether the math predicts that a stock's price will rise. It is a short-term indicator of stock performance that is effective for 1 to 3 months. The Zacks Recommendation process begins with a new quantitative model that employs the Zacks Rank. The firm then utilizes qualitative insights to develop a unique recommendation based on a 6 month time horizon. Zacks Investment Research provides coverage primarily on the following sectors: (1) manufacturers of electrical components (2) photo optics/lasers (3) HPC computing platforms (4) manufacturers and distributors of textiles (5) information technology (6) independent oil and gas companies involved in the exploration, development and acquisition of crude oil and natural gas (6) providers of docking, manipulator and wafer probing interface products for semiconductor and ATE manufacturers (7) companies that design and manufacture oscilloscopes, serial data analyzers and protocol analyzers to test, measure and analyze electronic signals (8) manufacturers of branded toys, collectibles, hobby or infant products and (9) financial services companies.

Honeywell Aerospace provides integrated avionics, engines, systems and services for aircraft manufacturers. The firm's products include avionics and electronics, air transport systems, business and general aviation systems, defense electronics, fasteners and hardware, bearings, electrical and electromechanical components, seals, pneumatic systems and components, hydraulic systems, integrated environmental control systems, wheel and brake products, auxiliary power units, ground power units, propulsion engines, space systems and services and microelectronics. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Phoenix, AZ.

CME Associates, Inc. provides civil and structural engineering, environmental planning and survey services. Its services include accelerated bridge construction, bridge design, highway design, construction services, and project planning. The company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Mansfield, CT.

The Life Insurance Settlement Association, Inc. operates as life settlement market. Its membership consists of brokers, financing entities and service providers to the industry. The firm focuses on standards of practice and professional development for the industry. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Winter Park, FL.