J. Anthony Precourt

Founded in 1937, WHV Investments, is a registered investment advisor headquartered in San Francisco, California. The firm is wholly-owned by Laird Norton Investment Management, Inc., a holding company that is owned by Laird Norton Co. LLC. The firm manages discretionary and non-discretionary accounts that are invested in equity securities for the following types of clients: institutional clients (including proprietary and third-party mutual funds, pension and profit sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, governmental entities, business entities, and private funds) and individual clients; clients in broker-sponsored wrap programs or wrap fee programs; clients in UMA Programs; and sponsors of UMA Programs where they provide the advisory services to the sponsors rather than to the underlying UMA clients.

Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc. (DBSI) is a SEC-registered broker/dealer headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1971 and is a wholly-owned investment banking and brokerage arm of DB U.S. Financial Markets Holding Corp., ultimately held by Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB, FRA: DBK) in Germany. DBSI provides securities brokerage and investment advisory services to domestic and international private clients and institutions. They are also a primary dealer in US government securities as designated by the Federal Reserve.

In 1915 Charles Edward Merrill founded Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER) with Edmund C. Lynch in Baltimore, Maryland. The modern Merrill Lynch was formed in 1940 through mergers with E.A. Pierce & Cassatt and, soon after, Fenner & Beane. In 1973, Merrill Lynch adopted a holding company format, with Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. as the parent and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith as the operating subsidiary. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc. (MLAM) was created as an integral business unit in the Merrill Lynch family in 1976. Fund Asset Management, doing business as Mercury Asset Management, was acquired in December 1997. In 2000, MLAM and Mercury were combined under the name Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. MLAM manages the Merrill Lynch family of mutual funds, as and acts as sub-advisor to other mutual funds.