BlackRock is one of the largest publicly traded investment management firms in the United States with approximately $453 billion of assets under management at December 31, 2005. BlackRock manages assets on behalf of institutional and individual investors worldwide through a variety of equity, fixed income, cash management and alternative investment products. ....more

First Trust Advisors L.P. is currently responsible for managing or supervising over $16 billion in assets, as of 1/31/05. In addition to supervision of First Trust Defined Portfolios, First Trust Advisors also manages investments for charitable foundations and endowments, high net worth clients, pension and retirement systems, profit-sharing plans, mutual funds, and insurance companies through its separately managed accounts......more

The American Stock Exchange® (Amex®) is the only primary exchange that offers trading across a full range of equities, options, closed-end funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), structured products and HOLDRSSM. In addition to its role as a national equities market, the Amex is the pioneer of the ETF, responsible for bringing the first domestic product to market in 1993. ....more

Barclays Global Investors (BGI) is one of the world's largest asset managers, with over $1.4 trillion in assets as of 11/30/05 for over 2,700 clients in 51 countries around the world. BGI is one of the world's largest providers of structured investment strategies, including indexing, tactical asset allocation, and risk controlled active products, running more than 2,600 funds globally. ....more

Bear Wagner Specialists, a leading NYSE specialist firm, is a strategic partner and trusted advisor to many of the world’s most esteemed companies. Representing 367 publicly traded equities--including 70 closed end funds with an aggregate market cap greater than $2.8 trillion, Bear Wagner is widely recognized as the most progressive and technologically advanced firm on the Exchange. ....more

CALAMOS INVESTMENTS provides professional money management services to major corporations, public and private institutions, pension funds, insurance companies and individuals and is an investment advisor to open-end and closed-end funds. The firm was founded in 1977 by John P. Calamos Sr., who currently serves as Chairman, CEO and Co-Chief Investment Officer. ....more

The Central Europe and Russia Fund, Inc. is a non-diversified, closed-end investment company seeking capital appreciation primarily through investment in Central European and Russian equities. Its benchmark is comprised of 45% CECE (Central Europe), 45% RTX (Russia), and 10% ISE National 30 (Turkey) effective April 1, 2004. Its net assets aggregated $333.5 million as of March 31, 2005. ....more

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) is the world's first options risk management marketplace. CBOE options are SEC-regulated and cleared by the triple-A-rated Options Clearing Corporation. In 2002 the CBOE introduced the first major benchmark for options performance, the CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index (BXM).....more

Cohen & Steers, founded in 1986, is an investment management firm specializing in high-income equity portfolios. As an industry leader, we maintain a strategic focus on REITs and global real estate securities, utilities and other high-yielding common stocks, as well as preferred securities....more

With Euro 993 billion in assets and 63,427 employees, Deutsche Bank offers unparalleled financial services in 74 countries throughout the world. Deutsche Bank competes to be the leading global provider of financial solutions for demanding clients creating exceptional value for its shareholders and people. ....more

The European Equity Fund, Inc. (NYSE: EEA) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company. The Fund seeks long term capital appreciation through investment primarily (normally at least 80% of its assets) in equity and equity linked securities of companies domiciled in countries utilizing the Euro currency. ....more

Evergreen Investments is the brand name under which Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB) conducts its investment management business and is a leading asset management firm serving more than four million individual and institutional investors through a broad range of investment products. Led by 350 investment professionals, Evergreen Investments strives to meet client investment objectives through disciplined, team-based asset management....more

Fitch Ratings is a leading global rating agency committed to providing the world's credit markets with independent, timely and prospective credit opinions. Built on a foundation of organic growth and strategic acquisitions, Fitch Ratings has grown rapidly during the past decade gaining market presence throughout the world and across all fixed income markets.....more

Barclays Global Investors (BGI) is one of the world's largest asset managers, with $1.2 trillion in assets as of 10/31/04 for over 2,500 clients in 47 countries around the world. BGI is one of the world's largest providers of structured investment strategies, running more than 2,300 funds globally. ....more

Established in 1832, Janney is a full-service investment firm headquartered in Philadelphia, which serves a nationwide client base through nearly 1,000 Financial Consultants in almost 100 offices located in the eastern United States. The specialists and associates at Janney’s headquarters in Philadelphia are composed of dedicated and experienced professionals who offer clients expert guidance and access to the latest information in research, wealth management, corporate and municipal finance, and financial planning. ....more

Objective: This fund seeks long-term capital appreciation through investment in Korean securities. ....more

Mercury Advisors is a division of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, one of the world’s leading financial management and advisory companies. Dedicated to the non-proprietary distribution of an extensive array of investment solutions for high net worth investors, including separately managed accounts, private investment portfolios, alternative investment products and open and closed end funds, the firm manages more than $513 billion in client assets worldwide.....more

Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading financial management and advisory companies, with offices in 35 countries and total client assets of approximately $1.5 trillion. As an investment bank, it is a leading global underwriter of debt and equity securities and strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. ....more

NASDAQ® is the largest electronic screen-based equity securities market in the United States. With approximately 3,250 companies, it lists more companies and, on average, trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. It is home to companies that are leaders across all areas of business including technology, retail, communications, financial services, transportation, media and biotechnology. NASDAQ is the primary market for trading NASDAQ-listed stocks.....more

The New Germany Fund is a non-diversified, closed-end investment company seeking capital appreciation primarily through investment in the Mittelstand - an important group of small and mid-cap. German companies. Its benchmark is now the new Midcap Market Performance Index, calculated by the Deutsche Börse. ....more

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the world's leading equities market. The NYSE is by far the world's largest market, and more capital is raised at the NYSE than in any other equities market. The Exchange is home to nearly 2,800 companies with a total global market capitalization of $22.5 trillion, including $8.4 trillion for 448 non-U.S. companies from 47 countries. ....more

United States Oil Fund, LP(USO), a Delaware limited partnership, is a commodity pool that issues units that may be purchased and sold on the American Stock Exchange. The investment objective of USO is for the units' net asset value to reflect the performance of the spot price of West Texas Intermediate light, sweet crude oil delivered to Cushing, Oklahoma, less USO's expenses. ....more

Since its beginning in 1975, Vanguard has grown to become one of the world’s largest investment management companies, with approximately $850 billion under management. We provide an extensive array of investment products and services to meet the needs of financial advisors and their clients, including a full range of exchange-traded funds and more than 125 mutual funds.....more