Eric McKissack

William Harris Investors, Inc. (WHI) is a privately-owned investment and wealth management firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The firm serves as the family office for the Irving B. Harris family. Founded in 1976 by Irving B. Harris to manage his own family's capital, WHI has expanded its services and today provides a broad range of professional and wealth management services, including financial and estate planning, trust services, cash management, accounting and administrative services, tax preparation, and a variety of philanthropic services to four generations of the Harris family.

Northern Institutional Funds operates as a open-end investment fund/unit trust. The company is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

The Vanguard Group, Inc. (VGI) is an independent registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania. The firm was founded in 1975 by John Bogle. In 1976, they introduced the first indexed mutual fund, the First Index Investment Trust (now known as the Vanguard 500 Index Fund), to individual investors. VGI provides investment advisory services to Vanguard family of funds and Vanguard's non-US clients, which are comprised of the following: (1) funds established as trusts under the laws of the Province of Ontario in Canada and (2) separate account clients of Vanguard's international subsidiaries.

Wells Fargo Bank, NA provides investment advisory services. It offers banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer finance services. The company is headquartered in Sioux Falls, SD.

Alpha Core Strategies Fund acts as a closed-end, diversified management investment company. The Fund’s investment objective is to achieve risk-adjusted rates of return through investment in a diversified portfolio of assets. It operates as a “Fund-of-Funds” investing, either directly or indirectly, in a group of funds or other pooled investment vehicles (Sub-Funds) managed by investment advisers selected by the Fund’s investment manager. The Fund seeks to provide investors with exposure to alternative investment strategies by investing in diversified markets and instruments. The company is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

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.

Deloitte LLP (New York) engages in the provision of audit, consulting, tax, and advisory solutions. It offers services relating to tax, consulting, audit and assurance, Deloitte private company services, mergers and acquisitions, risk and financial advisory, analytics, and cloud. The company was founded by William Welch Deloitte, George A. Touche, Charles Waldo Haskins, and Elijah Watt Sells in 1845 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Sidoti & Co. LLC (S&C) is a registered broker and equity research firm headquartered in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of Sidoti Holding Co. LLC and was founded in 1999. S&C provides research exclusively to institutional investors. The firm covers the following sectors: housing, retail, basic industries, technology, business services, capital goods, automotive, computer software, regional banking, telecommunications, entertainment, healthcare and consumer products. Their analysts conduct their own due diligence which includes visiting companies and meeting with operating and financial management. In addition, the firm's analysts focus on fundamentals, particularly cash flow from operations and EPS.

AgriBank FCB engages in the provision of financial products and services for rural communities and agriculture. It offers lending, risk management, and retail bank support. The company was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in St. Paul, MN.

United Farmers Cooperative provides agriculture products and services. The company was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Winthrop, MN.

Farm Credit Services of America PCA provides credit services to agricultural businesses. It specializes in farm credit and finance, crop insurance, technology, mortgages, agriculture, innovation. The company was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Omaha, NE.

Global Factory, Inc. provides collaborative manufacturing execution systems. The firm's software gather, organize & analyze demand, production & quality data from various sources and monitor key indicators & execute business processes to control, manage & optimize distributed manufacturing operations. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA.

CoBank ACB engages in the provision of financial products and services. It offers loan programs, leasing services and other financial services including cash management and online services. The company was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, CO.

American Bankers Association, Inc. represents, assists and provides support services to banks of different sizes and charters. Its membership includes community, regional, and money center banks and holding companies, as well as savings associations, trust companies, and savings banks. The company was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Washington, DC.

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

Jazz at Lincoln Center, Inc. develops programs for jazz appreciation. The firm’s productions include concerts, national and international tours, residencies, a jazz hall of fame and concert series, weekly national radio programs, television broadcasts, recordings, publications, an annual high school jazz band competition and festival, a band director academy, jazz appreciation curriculum for students, music publishing, children’s concerts and classes, lectures, adult education courses, student and educator workshops and interactive websites. The company was resisted on March 13, 1996 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

National Association of Corporate Directors provides online and print information services to directors of public companies. It offers in-boardroom education, evaluation, governance reviews, board composition and succession planning, board recruitment, ongoing advisory, insights, and analytics services. The company was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Arlington, VA.

Montana Council on Economic Education focuses on teacher education. The firm hosts training sessions throughout the year including workshops, conferences and seminars. Its programs include Teacher Training, High School Business Challenge, and The Stock Market Game. The company is headquartered in Bozeman, MT.

Food Bank of the Rockies, Inc. provides food distribution services. It is a non-profit organization that provides food collection and distribution services for emergency, community development and hunger-relief programs. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Denver, CO.

Kansas Bankers Association operates as a cooperative group of bankers that provides government relation, education and training, compliance and legal, and other services. The company was founded on February 22, 1887 and is headquartered in Topeka, KS.