Simon Whittock

Part of Stifel Financial Corp., Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Ltd. is a wealth management and British investment banking company that helps individuals and organizations achieve their financial objectives. The private company is based in London, UK. KBW's Equity Sales & Trading Division offers financial industry-specific knowledge and access to research and capital markets transactions. Additionally, 67 KBW employees lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and the company has since prioritized assisting the affected families through the KBW Family Fund. The company was founded in 2004.

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.