Thomas E. Burke

United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) is a government-owned pension fund management firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by the United Nations General Assembly in 1949 to provide retirement, death, disability and related benefits for staff upon cessation of their services with the United Nations, under Regulations that, since then, have been amended at various times. The Fund is administered by the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Board, the Chief Executive of Pension Administration, a staff pension committee for each member organization, and a secretariat to each such committee. As a signatory to the United Nations’ Principles of Responsible Investing or PRI, the UNJSPF’s Office of Investment Management (OIM) incorporates environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations throughout the investment decision-making process.

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.

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.

Security Pacific Merchant Bank operates as a merchant bank. The private company is based in Los Angeles, CA and has subsidiaries in the United States.

MUFG Securities Americas, Inc. is the US-based broker/dealer subsidiary of MUFG Americas Holdings Corp., ultimately held by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (TYO: 8306) in Japan. The firm is headquartered in New York City with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, and Chicago. MUFG Securities Americas was founded in 2003 and were formerly known as Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (USA), Inc. They offer an expansive product suite through capital markets, credit, rates, equities and structured products.