David Smick

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University offers various programs for doctoral and graduate students interested in political economy and public policy. The Mercatus Center is located in Arlington, VA. The center conducts research on various topics such as urban development, healthcare reforms, regulation, international trade, and government-granted privileges. The center also hosts a podcast that discusses macroeconomic issues.

Morgan Stanley Variable Insurance Fund, Inc. is an open-end mutual fund company engages in the provision of investment activities. It offers diversified and non-diversified series as well as investment vehicles for variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies and for certain tax-qualified investors. The company was founded March 26, 1996 and is headquartered in New York.

Morgan Stanley European Equity Fund, Inc. is a diversified open management investment company. Its primary objective is to seek a high level of current income. It also has a secondary investment objective of long-term capital appreciation. The company was founded on February 13, 1990 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Alternative Investment Partners Absolute Return Fund is a closed investment fund. It engages in seeking capital appreciation through investing in investment funds managed by third party investment managers who employ a return investment strategies in pursuit of attractive risk-adjusted returns consistent with the preservation of capital. The company was founded on May 12, 2005 and is headquartered in West Conshohocken, PA.

Alternative Investment Partners Absolute Return Fund Ii P is a non-diversified, closed-end management company, which engages in investing in hedge funds, which are managed by a select group of alternative investment managers. The company was founded on May 1, 2005 and is headquartered in West Conshohocken, PA.

Alternative Investment Partners Absolute Return Fund STS is a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company, which invests substantially all its assets in private investment funds, commonly referred to as hedge funds that are managed by a select group of alternative managers. The company was founded on October 31, 2005 and is headquartered in West Conshohocken, PA.

Founded in 1985, NatWest Markets Securities, Inc. is a financial services and brokerage firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The firm is a subsidiary of RBS Holdings USA, Inc. and their ultimate parent is the Royal Bank of Scotland Plc (LSE: RBS). The firm was formerly known as RBS Securities, Inc., RBS Greenwich Capital, and Greenwich Capital Markets, Inc. NatWest is an institutional fixed-income firm that provides a full range of debt capital markets services to both those seeking to raise capital and those seeking to invest it. The firm is an industry leader in the U.S. Treasury, agency and MBS markets and in providing real estate and asset-backed financing to their clients. NatWest also provides futures brokerage services and trade strategies to select clients.

The Financial Accounting Foundation is a non-profit organization that administers, finances, and appoints financial and governmental accounting standards boards. The non-profit company is based in Norwalk, CT.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants provides vocational education in accounting. The company provides services to the accounting community, regulatory bodies, and other organizations. It also operates in Jersey City, Washington, and Lewisville. It was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in New York City, NY.