Samantha E. McDonald

Payden & Rygel is a privately-owned, registered investment adviser headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The firm was founded by Joan Payden in 1983. They provide a full range of investment strategies and solutions to institutions and individual investors.

Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (Broker) (CGMI-Broker) is the broker/dealer division of Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., an investment bank headquartered in New York City with additional offices across the US. The firm was founded in 2004 and is a subsidiary of Citigroup Financial Products, Inc., ultimately held by Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C). CGMI-Broker covers all market capitalizations of the major global indices and provides macro and quantitative analysis of global markets and sector trends. Their core focus of the group is to help investing clients make informed decisions by providing value-added, independent, insightful analysis.

D. E. Shaw & Co. LP (DESCO) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1992 by David Elliot Shaw. DESCO serves as the managing member, manager and/or investment advisor of certain entities in the D. E. Shaw Group and provides investment advice to several affiliated hedge funds and other entities. The investor base of the funds includes institutional investors and other highly sophisticated, high-net worth participants.

Part of BlackRock, Inc., BlackRock Investments LLC is a brokerage services provider. The company is based in New York, NY. The company was founded in 1994. Abigail Tate Reynolds has been the CEO of the company since 2006.

World Gold Council Ltd. engages in the provision of advice and insights about gold for stakeholders and decision makers. It also develops policies and set industry standards, and support and advises central banks and sovereign wealth funds. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Harvest Partners LP (Harvest Partners) is a private equity firm founded in 1981 by Harvey Wertheim and Harvey Mallement. The firm is headquartered in New York.

Nomura Securities International, Inc. (NSI) is a registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City and was founded in 1969. The firm is a division of Nomura Holding America, Inc. and their ultimate parent is Nomura Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: NMR, TYO: 8604, AMS: 8604). NSI provides securities brokerage services, as well as asset management, domestic retail, global markets, global investment banking and global merchant banking services. The firm's fixed-income business consists of bond sales and trading, origination and product supply for securitization deals and real estate-focused asset finance operations (in cooperation with Investment Banking). In the equity markets, NSI offers sales and trading of domestic and foreign stocks on a global basis, primarily for institutional investors.

Northwestern University is a private institution founded in 1851 to serve the Northwest Territory, an area that now includes the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota. Northwestern has three campuses

DVTel, Inc. develops security software solutions. Its products include video management systems, cameras, in outdoor intrusion analytics, servers, storage, clients, encoders, decoders, and tools. The firms also offers design tools, support, training, maintenance and warranties, software service agreement, licenses, cloud services, firmware and software downloads. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ.

HSBC Bank Plc (Broker) (HSBC Bank-Broker) is the broker/dealer division of HSBC Bank Plc, which is owned by HSBC Holdings Plc (LON: HSBA; NYSE: HSBC) in Great Britain. Headquartered in London, HSBC Bank-Broker was founded in 1880 and offers bespoke brokerage services across every major asset class for their corporate and institutional clients.

Founded in 1969, Morgan Stanley Real Estate is a real estate franchise located in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley. (NYSE: MS).

UBS Securities Asia Ltd. (UBS Asia) is a brokerage firm headquartered in Hong Kong. The firm is a subsidiary of UBS AG, which is owned by UBS Group AG (SWX: UBSG) in Switzerland. UBS Asia provides corporate and institutional clients which include intermediary and alternative asset managers with financial advisory services, access to the world's capital markets and securities products and research in the field of equity, fixed-income, rates, foreign exchange, energy and metals.

Tellimer Ltd. is an independent Great Britain-based frontier market brokerage firm which was founded in 1999 by Peter Bartlett as Exotix Partners LLP through joint venture with ICAP plc. Headquartered in London, the firm specializes in illiquid bonds and loans, equities, structured finance, asset management, research and capital raising in frontier markets. In 2007, private holding company IPGL Ltd. became a significant shareholder in the firm. Tellimer's core competencies are their specialist understanding of illiquid, distressed or undervalued debt and equity, skills in raising structured finance or capital and alternative investments. Through their client base, investor relationships, international presence and research capability, they are able to identify value, provide specialist expertise and advice as well as intermediate buyers and sellers and originate, structure, place or distribute emerging markets products.

Association of Professional Engineers & Geoscientists of AB is a non profit organization that regulates the practices of engineering and geoscience in Alberta. Its function is licensing individuals and companies that want to practice engineering and geoscience in Alberta. The applicants and companies that meet APEGA’s standards for ethical, professional, and technical competency earn the right to practice and use reserved titles and designations. The company was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Edmonton, Canada.

World Gold Council, Inc. is an investment research firm headquartered in New York City. The firm founded in 1987 and is a subsidiary of World Gold Council Ltd. in Great Britain. World Gold Council focuses on the global gold investment market globally. The firm works with institutional investors, pension funds, wealth managers, financial intermediaries and family/multi-family offices to present the case for gold as a foundation asset in portfolios, a portfolio diversifier and as a discrete financial and monetary asset class.

EisnerAmper LLP engages in the provision of audit, accounting, advisory and tax services. Its services include audit and assurance, outsource finance and accounting, private business accounting, royalty audit and contract compliance, SOC services, bankruptcy and restructuring, and benchmarking services. The company was founded by Theodore Levine, Dick Eisner and Mitch Aigen in 1963 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

BofA Securities, Inc. is a registered broker-dealer subsidiary of NB Holdings Corp., ultimately held by Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). Headquartered in New York, the firm was founded in 2015 and offers trade execution, trading or brokerage services to institutional clients.

4CAST-RGE Ltd. engages macroeconomic research firm. It covers market signals and global economic trends. The firm provides analysis of macroeconomics, markets and policy. It also offers tailored macroeconomic insights, global macro views, scenario analysis, structural and systematic country analytical model, newsletters, country insights, raw data, forecasts and indicators power data visualization tools. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

GraniteShares ETF operates as exchange traded fund, which is engaged in providing trust services. Its investment objective is to invest in commodity-linked investment contracts that derive value from the performance of the index. The company is headquartered in New York, NY.

World Gold Trust operates as a trust. It consists of series of fund which include SPDR Long Dollar Gold Trust, which is designed to provide investors with the economic effect of holding gold in terms of the reference currencies. The company was founded on August 27, 2014 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

WGC USA Asset Management Co, LLC provides asset management services. The private company is based in the United States and has subsidiaries across the country. The CEO of the American company is Joseph Roland Cavatoni.

GraniteShares, Inc. provides financial services. The firm offers portfolio management and financial planning services. The company was founded by William Rhind and is headquartered in New York, NY.

ETFS Capital Ltd. is a British strategic investment company that focuses on growth opportunities across the investment ecosystem. ETFS Capital is based in St. Helier, UK, and has subsidiaries in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company provides more than just capital to its investee firms, actively supporting their growth and development by providing strategic advice, operational guidance, and access to their growing network. The company conducts in-depth technical and commercial due diligence on the companies where it chooses to deploy capital and engages in a hands-on approach as a partner to management teams and boards, bringing its unparalleled industry-specific expertise for the benefit of those companies. The company was founded by ETF industry veterans and is chaired by Graham Tuckwell, an ETF industry pioneer and founder of ETF Securities. Martyn James has been the CEO of the company since 2018.

GraniteShares Advisors LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by William “Will” Rhind in 2016 and is a subsidiary of GraniteShares, Inc. GraniteShares Advisors offers ETF to various types of investors.

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).

Freight App, Inc., a North American transportation logistics technology company with a specialty in US-Mexico-Canada cross-border shipping, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hudson Capital, Inc. Powered by AI and big data analytics, the Fr8App platform connects carries and shippers, improving matching, increasing operational efficiency, and reducing logistics costs. Fr8App automates the process, making transportation simple with innovative technologies, including live pricing and real-time tracking, digital freight marketplace, broker, transportation management, fleet management, and committed capacity solutions. The company was founded by Ohad Axelrod in 2015 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

340B Technologies, Inc. provides software services for healthcare industry. The company was founded by Colleen DiClaudio and is headquartered in Mount Laurel, NJ.