Strength

At Ziegler, we have been providing tailored financial solutions for over 100 years. We understand that for clients, history alone does not bring peace of mind - clients want to know that they are dealing with a strong, stable financial institution. To provide our clients with the greatest amount of protection, Ziegler has a long-standing partnership with Pershing, LLC (Pershing) as our custodian and clearing company.

Partners With Pershing

Client assets and transactions clear through Pershing, LLC. Pershing has been a leading global provider of financial business solutions for 70 years and serves many of the world’s most respected financial organizations, remaining focused on the safekeeping, servicing, segregation and reporting of assets held in their custody. Pershing’s parent company, The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, is one of the world’s strongest global financial institutions, holding $20.2 trillion in assets under custody and administration.1 The Bank of New York Mellon remains highly liquid, as it is funded primarily by deposits from institutional businesses.

Pershing is well capitalized and their capital ratios exceed those required by regulators. As of December 31, 2008, Pershing operated with total net capital of $1.4 billion, which means their net capital was $1.3 billion in excess of the $100 million minimum required by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). Pershing serves global financial organizations exclusively, free of conflicts. Your Ziegler financial advisor handles all matters related to your account.

Pershing’s financial strength provides the foremost measure of protection, regardless of any market impact on the firm. Pershing does not participate in credit default swaps or residential mortgage lending or securitization, areas of the financial world that have recently received much scrutiny.

Pershing participates in an annual Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) 70 Level II review, performed by KPMG and issued by the Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), to provide additional independent evaluation of the design and operating effectiveness of Pershing’s internal controls related to order and trade processing, clearance and settlement, corporate actions, physical custody, margin monitoring, account transfer, pricing, interest, billing, statements, confirmations and cash management functions.

Lloyd’s of London Excess Account Provision

Pershing provides coverage in excess of SIPC limits through Lloyds of London. The excess insurance policy purchased through Lloyd’s of London provides the following excess account protection for assets held in custody with Pershing and its London-based affiliate, Pershing Securities Limited:

• An aggregate loss limit of $1 billion for eligible securities — over all client accounts
• A per client loss of $1.9 million for cash awaiting reinvestment — within the aggregate loss limit of $1 billion

This excess account protection offers the highest level of coverage available in the industry today. Excess account protection claims would only arise where Pershing failed financially and eligible client assets or covered accounts, as defined by SIPC and Lloyd’s of London, cannot be located due to theft, misplacement, destruction, burglary, robbery, embezzlement, abstraction, failure to obtain or maintain possession or control of Ziegler clients’ securities or to maintain the special reserve bank account required by applicable rules (SEC 15c-3).

For more information about Lloyd’s of London, please visit their Website at www.lloyds.com.

¹As of December 31, 2008.

²Adjusted for deferred tax liabilities associated with non-tax deductible identifiable intangible assets and tax deductible goodwill. In addition, at 12/31/08, total and average assets were adjusted to exclude certain deposits and other short-term investments assigned a zero risk-weighting by regulators.

Pershing, LLC, is a subsidiary of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. Member FINRA, NYSE, SIPC. Trademark(s) belong to their respective owners.