Established in 1890, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated is one of the nation’s premier full-service financial services firms, providing brokerage, trading, investment banking, investment advisory, and related services to individual investors, professional money managers, businesses, and municipalities through more than 350 locations in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Stifel ranks as the 6th largest brokerage firm in the country as measured by number of financial advisors, with approximately 2,100, and features a highly regarded equity research department that has earned numerous accolades from such publications as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and the Financial Times. Stifel is the principal subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF), a financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Some of Stifel Financial’s other subsidiaries include Century Securities Associates, Inc., an independent contractor broker-dealer firm; Stifel Nicolaus Limited and Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited, the Company’s European subsidiaries; and Stifel Bank and Trust, a retail and commercial bank. 2014 marked Stifel Financial’s 19th consecutive year of record net revenue, and the Company was named to Fortune’s Fastest-Growing Companies List in 2009 and 2010.

Berenberg was founded in 1590 and is one of the leading private banks in Europe with EUR 30bn AUM. Their investment banking arm, based in London, offers highest quality research, corporate advisory and equity capital markets capabilities. The firm has 1,300 employees and 16 offices around the world including London, Paris, Zurich, Geneva, Vienna, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Boston. Berenberg Bank's team of 75 analysts covers 550 stocks across all sectors and market caps in Europe. Berenberg Capital Markets, LLC is a subsidiary of Berenberg Bank. Jonathan is the first employee in their New York office.