Bilal Basrai

Founded in 1932, Stanford Group Co. is a broker/dealer headquartered in Houston, Texas with offices nationwide. They are a subsidiary of Stanford Financial Services, Inc. and their ultimate parent is CBaySystems Holdings Ltd. The firm offers a full range of brokerage services for both domestic and international clients. They are a member of the NASD and the SIPC. Stanford's research includes both institutional equity research and Washington-focused policy research, offering a perspective on individual companies, sector-specific topics and national policy. Their equity analysts offer insight and opinions on companies in the consumer/retail, media, energy, financial institutions, healthcare, technology and water/environment sectors, targeting small- and mid-cap companies. Their policy analysts deliver investment relevant insights across a broad range of sectors, including geopolitics, international/trade, Federal Reserve board policy, health care (including services, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, telecom, media, financial services, water/environment, agribusiness/tobacco, energy) and technology (including information technology services, homeland security and biometrics/emerging technologies).

Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc. (Stifel) is a dual-registered broker-dealer and investment adviser headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1890, the firm is a subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF), a financial service holding company. Stifel provides full-service brokerage and investment advisory services to individuals and their families, institutions and businesses, and financial advisors.