Robert C. Franciscus

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.

Fitch Ratings, Inc. is a global rating agency and investment research firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by John Knowles in 1913 as Fitch Publishing Co. They are a subsidiary of Fitch Group, Inc., ultimately owned by The Hearst Family Trust. Fitch Ratings seeks to provide independent and prospective credit opinions, research and data to the world's credit markets. Their approach is based on a foundation of local market experience that covers capital markets in over 150 countries. The firm's ratings analysis and rating decisions are based on established criteria, methodologies and ratings definitions which they apply in a consistent manner. Fitch Ratings provides coverage of the following markets: Economics, Banks, Insurance, Sovereigns, Corporates, Structured Finance, Public Finance – International, Public Finance – US, Infrastructure & Project, and Finance.

Part of SLM Corp., Sallie Mae Solutions provides financing to the higher education market.

CIT Group, Inc. is a financial holding company, which engages in the financing, leasing and advisory services. It operates through the following business segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking, and Corporate. The Commercial Banking segment consists of four divisions, commercial finance, rail, and real estate finance and business capital. The Consumer Banking segment includes retail Banking, consumer lending, and SBA lending, which are grouped together for purposes of discussion as other consumer banking and legacy consumer mortgages. The Corporate segment refers to the businesses and portfolios that they no longer consider strategic. These portfolios include equipment financing, secured lending and leasing and advisory services to small and middle-market businesses. The company was founded by Henry Ittelson in 1908 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

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.

Citigroup Alternative Investments LLC (CAI) is a SEC-registered asset management firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2002 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup Investments, Inc., which is owned by Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C). CAI provides advisory services to private investment companies, such as private equity funds and funds of one or more private equity and real estate funds. The investors in the funds advised by the firm are institutional investors, funds of funds, high-net worth individuals and employees, and former employees of Citigroup, Inc.