George C. Pierides

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.

Rohm & Haas Co. develops and manufactures specialty chemicals, paints, adhesives, and materials. The company was founded by Otto Röhm and Otto Haas on September 1, 1909 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA.

Founded in 2002, Natixis Securities Americas LLC is an investment bank and SEC-registered broker/dealer headquartered New York City with offices in several leading U.S. cities and affiliate offices in London and Paris. The firm is a division of Natixis and a subsidiary of Natixis SA. Their client base is located throughout North America and Europe and ranges from the largest mutual fund and pension fund managers to specialist hedge funds. Natixis Securities Americas' sales and trading teams are located in New York, Boston, Los Angeles and Houston. Natixis Securities Americas' research efforts focus on identifying new insights about companies that are not fully reflected in their stock prices. The firm also seeks to provide clients with access to the managements of listed companies and to other industry experts. They arrange for such marketing opportunities, in the form of road shows, conferences, meetings and conference calls. Natixis Securities Americas' institutional trading desk offers clients trading capabilities in equities all over the world. The firm focuses on specific global markets to provide clients with the best possible execution worldwide. Natixis Securities Americas employs a transatlantic approach that examines the effects of technological, market and regulatory developments across both continents on the companies under coverage. In the U.S., they provide in-depth sector coverage on energy (oil services, exploration and production, alternative energy and coal), healthcare (large-cap pharmaceuticals, specialty pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices and healthcare services) and media (media conglomerates, content creators, interactive TV and new media, as well as technical analysis. In Europe, Natixis Securities Americas applies a country-wide approach to all of the key sectors of France, Germany, Austria and Central and Eastern Europe. Combined, the firm's product offering includes more than 600 stocks. Natixis Securities Americas global trading group specializes in the trading, execution and settlement of international equities. The firm provides 24-hour access to 55 global markets. They cater to broker/dealer and institutional clients, providing ADR and ordinary share executions on an agency or proprietary basis. The firm can accommodate most client trading requirements from basket trading to block orders. To complement their international trading reach, Natixis Securities Americas domestic bulletin board trading group currently markets over 2000 U.S.-based companies. The firm offers their clients innovative trading technology through a proprietary Direct Market Access (DMA) platform, Enabler Direct. This product allows immediate access to a variety of liquidity sources through one anonymous interface. Natixis Securities Americas' global brokerage services group offers services to a select group of professional clients. The firm seeks to partner with banks, broker/dealers, hedge funds and high net-worth clients that can utilize their blend of international capabilities and traditional brokerage services to support and enhance their success. Their global brokerage services group is prominent in international securities, equity trading and brokerage operations in over 55 countries around the world. They have experience in both the pre-trade and post-trade requirements in each of these countries.

Dreman Value Management LLC (DVM) is a wealth management firm headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida. The firm was founded by David Dreman in 1997 and is owned by Holly & Meredith Dreman 2013 Trust. DVM offers value-based equity investment services to a variety of clients, including sub-advisory services to Institutional, High Net Worth Individuals, Taft-Hartley and SMA/UMA clients. They also offer a domestically focused mutual fund strategy for individual investors.

Founded in 1986 by David Marvin and Stanley Palmer, Marvin & Palmer Associates, Inc. is a registered investment advisor located in Wilmington, Delaware. The firm provides services to corporate and public pension funds, endowments, foundations, other institutional clients and family offices. They also sub-advise mutual funds and pooled funds. Marvin & Palmer Associates serves clients in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia and South Africa.

Avondale Partners LLC is an independent broker/dealer headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee with additional offices across the US. The firm was founded by Robert Shepherd and Philip Krebs in 2001. Avondale Partners provides financial advisory services as well as equity and fixed income underwriting and private placement services to public and private companies throughout the US, Canada and Europe. They focus on middle-market companies in the healthcare sector.

First Eagle Investment Management LLC (FEIM) is a SEC-registered investment advisor and holding firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1864 and formerly known as Arnhold & S. Bleichroeder Advisers, Inc. FEIM provides investment advisory services primarily to mutual funds, private funds, collective investment trusts and institutional separately managed accounts (SMAs), as well as to a registered, closed-end interval fund. The firm serves as the investment adviser to the First Eagle Funds, First Eagle Variable Funds and to the First Eagle Credit Opportunities Fund, which are registered investment companies.

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC (Cutler) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Jacksonville, Oregon. Founded in 2003, Cutler provides investment management services to individuals (which includes high-net-worth individuals), corporate pension and profit-sharing plans (including 401k plans), corporations, charitable institutions, foundations, endowments, registered affiliated mutual funds, trusts, and government entities.

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC (HBKS), do-business-as HBKS Wealth Advisors, is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in Erie, Pennsylvania. The firm was founded in 2001 by Greg Sorce and Chris Sorce. They are a wholly-owned subsidiary of HBK Sorce Financial LLC, ultimately held by Hill, Barth & King Financial Holdings LLC. HBKS provides investment management services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, and other business entities.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is a registered broker-dealer subsidiary of Morgan Stanley Domestic Holdings, Inc., ultimately owned by Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) in the US. Headquartered in New York City, the firm was founded in 1987 and provides debt and equity services including underwriting, M&A advice, securities dealing and brokerage and trade execution. Their client base ranges from large global institutional investors to hedge funds at the cutting edge of innovation in the industry.

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.

Standard & Poor's Investment Advisory Services LLC (SPIAS) is investment research firm and registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of S&P Global, Inc. (NYSE: SPGI), formerly McGraw Hill Financial, Inc. SPIAS’ advisory services are generally offered to institutions (e.g., broker-dealers, investment advisers, investment companies and other financial institutions). SPIAS does not generally provide its advisory services directly to retail clients, but its services may be used by its clients in advising their own underlying clients, which may include retail clients. SPIAS also provides advisory consulting services to institutional clients and investment managers-of-investment funds, and investment sub-advisory services for registered investment companies, including open-end mutual funds and other institutions. S&P Global's operations consist of three reportable segments: S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Platts, and S&P Dow Jones Indices. S&P Global Ratings is an independent provider of credit ratings, research and analytics to investors, issuers and market participants. It includes the NRSRO and certain other ratings-related businesses. S&P Global Platts provides essential price data, analytics, and industry insight that enable commodities markets to perform with greater transparency and efficiency. S&P Dow Jones Indices is a global index provider that maintains a wide variety of indices to meet an array of investor needs. In 2016, CFRA acquired S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Equity and Fund Research business (formerly known as S&P Capital IQ and SNL) from S&P Global, Inc.

Surveyor Capital Ltd. is a hedge fund seeding platform headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2008 and is a subsidiary of Citadel LP, which is owned by GFH HFEVA LLC. Surveyor Capital manages capital exclusively for Citadel’s multi-strategy funds and its positions are consolidated in Form 13F filed by Citadel Advisors LLC.

Vadium Technology Corp. provides encryption solutions. The private company is based in Seattle, WA and has subsidiaries in United States. The CEO of the company is Rod G. Nicholls.

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 1939, Pershing LLC is a broker/dealer headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. The firm is a subsidiary of the Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK). The firm helps financial services firms and advisors succeed by providing the technology, operational, trading, investment and practice management solutions they need to serve investors. Pershing offers securities processing, trading and operations management, investment technology, asset-gathering solutions and practice management support. The firm serves a wide range of financial organizations including: banks, discount brokerages, full-service brokerages, registered investment advisors, independent contractors, institutional firms, global firms and small- to mid-sized firms. Pershing also offers financial products including annuities, mutual funds and money funds, as well as business tools, cash management services, investor and lending services, retirement products and wealth management. In addition, they offer trading and execution services in listed and OTC securities, fixed-income securities and mutual funds.

Valuation Research Corp. provides financial advisory services. The firm’s services include alternative assets, fairness & solvency opinions, financial reporting, tax, compliance and planning. The company was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, WI.

Part of UBS Group AG, Kidder Peabody & Co., Inc. /Non Retail Unit/ is a security brokers & dealers. The company is based in Staten Island, NY.

Sageworth Trust Co. is a trust management firm and shared family office headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The firm was founded by Timothy Brown in 2001 and is a subsidiary of Sageworth Holdings LLC. Sageworth Trust provides fiduciary, investment and family office services to its clients and their businesses, company retirement plans and private foundations.