Sovereign Advisers® is a private financial analysis and investment research firm providing specialized research services to institutions, governments, and other public and private organizations. All such services are either privately commissioned by the client or undertaken independently by Sovereign Advisers® for distribution to clients on a subscription basis through the firm’s SovereignALERTtm service.

Sovereign Advisers® also provides a monitoring service for creditors in corporate bankruptcy proceedings and sovereign bond defaults, including reporting of petitions, filings, court actions, and other relevant developments occurring in such proceedings. Occasionally, Sovereign Advisers® may assume an advocacy role in such proceedings, including filing of briefs and petitions with courts and regulatory agencies on behalf of defaulted creditors.

Of interest to global investors, Sovereign Advisers® recently established the Global Securities Watch Capital Markets Transparency Initiative (http://www.globalsecuritieswatch.org) a web portal designed to provide disclosure of embedded and undisclosed investment risks endemic to certain securities (typically involving bond defaults) which may otherwise remain unknown to the investing public. Although still in the development phase, the portal is receiving widespread interest from the global investment community.

In 2000, Sovereign Advisers® established a consulting practice group to provide financial advisory services to governmental institutions engaged in large-scale economic development projects, including feasibility analyses and industry research.

The president of Sovereign Advisers® is Mr. Kevin O’Brien, who also serves as managing director of the firm’s Governmental Institutions Advisory Services Group. Mr. O’Brien developed the template for the creation of a micropolitan community reinvestment trust for financing development of infrastructure projects in small communities, which was published by the United States Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco