Paul Niklason

UBS Asset Management (Americas) LLC (UBS AM) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2000 as UBS Global Asset Management (Americas), Inc. They are a wholly owned subsidiary of UBS Americas, Inc., ultimately owned by UBS Group AG (SIX: UBSG; NYSE: UBS) in Switzerland. UBS AM provides investment products and services to corporate and public pension plans, financial institutions and advisors, central banks, charities, foundations and individual investors around the world.

BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. (BNYMIA) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1951 and formerly known as The Dreyfus Corp. They are a wholly-owned subsidiary of MBC Investments Corp., ultimately held by The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK). BNYMIA serves as an investment advisor to mutual funds, such as the BNY Mellon Family of Funds and The BNY Mellon Funds Trust, and as sub-investment advisor to non-affiliated mutual funds. Formed in 2009, Dreyfus Cash Investment Strategies (Dreyfus) is a division of the BNYMIA that offers money market strategies to US and non-US institutional investors.

Columbia Threadneedle Asset Managers Ltd. (CTAM) is an asset management firm headquartered in London, UK. The firm was founded in 1990 as F&C Asset Managers Ltd. and renamed BMO Asset Managers Ltd. in 2018. They changed their name to Columbia Threadneedle Asset Managers Ltd. when BMO rebranded to Columbia Threadneedle Investments in 2022. The firm is a subsidiary of Columbia Threadneedle AM (Holdings) Plc, ultimately held by Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE: AMP) in the US. CTAM manages a range of in-house and multi-manager funds for private individuals and institutional clients.

KDI Capital Partners LLC (KDI) is a registered investment advisor headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was founded in 1996 as Maynard Capital Partners LLC and changed its name to KDI Capital Partners LLC in 2007 to highlight the firm’s core operating principles of knowledge, discipline and integrity. The firm was acquired by Curi Capital LLC in 2021. KDI provides discretionary management services to privately placed investment funds, which are organized as domestic limited partnerships. It also provides discretionary portfolio management services to separately managed accounts clients. SMA accounts may include individuals, IRA/SEP IRA’s, other retirement plans, trusts, foundations, endowments, corporations, family offices, etc.

Nomura Asset Management USA, Inc. (NAM-USA) is a registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1997 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd., which is wholly owned by Nomura Holdings, Inc. (TYO: 8604; NYSE: NMR) in Japan. NAM-USA offers discretionary investment management services to institutional clients such as corporate pension plans, US registered investment companies and non-US pooled investment vehicles.

BlackRock Advisors LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1994 and is a subsidiary of BlackRock Capital Holdings, Inc., ultimately held by BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK). BlackRock Advisors manages assets for US-registered investment companies and 529 Plans.

Goldman Sachs International (GSI) is the Great Britain-based, wholly-owned brokerage subsidiary of Goldman Sachs Group UK Ltd., ultimately held by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) in the US. The firm was founded in 1988 and formerly known as Trushelfco Ltd. Headquartered in London, GSI provides prime brokerage, securities lending, futures services and financing services for a range of clients such as corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net worth individuals.

Frost Investment Advisors LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. The firm was founded in 1868 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Frost Bank, itself wholly owned by Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. (NYSE: CFR). Frost Investment Advisors offers a family of diversified mutual funds and provides investment advisory services designed to meet the goals of their institutional, family office and individual clients.

AllianceBernstein LP (AB) is a SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 2000, the firm is owned by Equitable Financial Life Insurance Co., ultimately held by Equitable Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: EQH). AB provides investment advice to investment companies, pension and profit-sharing plans, banks and thrift institutions, trusts, estates, government agencies, charitable organizations, individuals, corporations and other business entities.

abrdn, Inc. is SEC-registered investment advisor and mutual fund manager headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1995, the firm was formerly known as Aberdeen Asset Management, Inc. and as Aberdeen Standard Investments, Inc. until it became abrdn, Inc. in 2022. They are a subsidiary of abrdn Holdings Ltd., ultimately held by abrdn Plc (LON: ABDN) in Great Britain. abrdn provides investment products and solutions to various clients across the world.

Founded in 1958, Merrill Lynch Piece Fenner & Smith, Inc. is an SEC registered broker/dealer located in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of BAC North America Holding Co. and their ultimate parent is Bank of America Corp. (NYSE BAC).

H. C. Wainwright & Co. LLC (H. C. Wainwright) is a full-service broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1868 and is a subsidiary of HCWHC, Inc. H. C. Wainwright delivers industry insights and real-time execution to both public and private small and middle-sized global emerging market companies. With a focus on identifying buyers and sellers in illiquid and difficult to trade equities, the firm specializes in block trading and providing liquidity in these securities with as little market impact as possible.

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.

Part of New York Life Insurance Co., Mariner Municipal Managers LLC is a company that provides asset management services. The company is based in Princeton, NJ. Mariner Municipal Managers was acquired by MacKay Shields LLC on June 16, 2009.

Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. engages in the provision of insurance solutions. It offers financial guaranty, mortgage insurance, and mortgage services for credit enhancement on public finance and structured finance securities. The company was founded by Roger K. Taylor in 1983 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Moody's Investors Service, Inc. is a credit rating and investment research firm headquartered in New York City. They are a subsidiary of Moody's Corp. (NYSE: MCO). The firm performs international financial research and analysis on commercial and government entities and provides a variety of analytic tools for assessing credit risk. Their clients include creditors, investment banks and commercial banks.

Aviva Investors Global Services Ltd. (AIGSL) is the wholly-owned asset management subsidiary of Aviva Investors Holdings Ltd., ultimately held by Aviva plc (LSE: AV, ADR: AV) in Great Britain. Previously known as Morley Fund Management Ltd., the firm was founded in 1973, merged with Norwich Union Investment Management Ltd. in 2000 and underwent restructuring in 2008. Headquartered in London, AIGSL provides investment management services and related advisory to various subsidiaries of the Aviva Group and external clients such as retail funds, pension funds, and other institutional investors.

Fischer Francis Trees & Watts, Inc. provides investment management services. The private company is based in New York.

Goldman Sachs Australia Pty Ltd. is the Australian securities brokerage subsidiary of Goldman Sachs Holdings ANZ Pty Ltd., ultimately held by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) in the US. Headquartered in Perth, Goldman Sachs Australia provides service to institutional clients who manage large portfolios of Australian and New Zealand equities. They work with the financial instruments used to trade debt, currency and commodities. Their clients include corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals throughout Australasia.

Pareto Partners Ltd (Pareto Partners) is a venture capital firm founded in 1991 by John Nafeh. The firm is headquartered in Portola Valley, California.

Symetra Investment Management Co. (SIM) is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut. The firm was founded in 2019 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Symetra Financial Corp., which is owned by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. in Japan. SIM offers advisory services to institutional clients, which include certain of its affiliates and also may include other third-party institutions or entities such as insurance companies and trusts.

Part of Deutsche Bank AG, Bankers Trust & Co. is a company that provides trust services. The company is based in New York, NY.