Brooks Scholl

Founded by James Giordano in 1999, J. Giordano Securities Group, Inc. is an independent, privately-owned full-service investment banking and brokerage firm headquartered in New York City. The firm is also known as NewOak Capital Markets LLC. They provide a range of investment banking services for small-cap and middle-market companies including private capital, initial and follow-on public equity offerings, convertible debt and preferred stock offerings, high yield offerings and M&A advisory services. J. Giordano Securities Group also provides equity and fixed-income research to institutional clients. The firm's research focuses on the following sectors: (1) industrial services (2) conventional energy (3) regional and special situations (4) shipping (5) healthcare (6) homeland defense and (7) business services. J. Giordano Securities Group is a member of the NASD and SIPC.

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.