John Watkins

The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) is a state-owned pension fund manager headquartered in Austin, Texas. The firm was founded by the Texas Legislature in 1937 to provide service and disability retirement benefits to teachers and administrators of the public school systems of Texas, which include institutions of higher education. In 1949, legislation expanded membership eligibility to include all employees of public education institutions. In 1985, TRS was assigned responsibility to administer health insurance program for public school retirees. The firm invests funds under its stewardship and delivers benefits to members as authorized by the Texas Legislature.

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Banc of America Securities (BAS) is the investment banking subsidiary of Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC). The firm provides both the domestic and international equity and investment banking markets, and pursues a strategy pioneered by Citigroup that combines corporate lending with investment banking advice and services. They provide high-yield debt underwriting and leveraged finance, in addition to industry coverage groups such as healthcare, media and telecom, financial institutions, real estate and gaming. BAS also does a significant amount of work for Financial Sponsors, or private equity firms, often financing leveraged transactions. Following the strategy of Goldman Sachs, the firm lacks a standalone mergers and acquisitions department, instead employing mergers and acquisitions senior bankers throughout the industry coverage groups. The firm is registered as a broker/dealer with the SEC, is a member of the NYSE, and the NASD. The use of Banc in the BAS's name is indicative of the fact that the company is not a bank, and their deposits and other holdings are not insured by the FDIC.

Argus Research Co. (ARC) is a research firm headquartered in New York City and was founded in 1934. The firm is a subsidiary of Argus Research Group, Inc. ARC produces, distributes and markets investment and economic research.