Jon C. Erickson, CFA, was born in 1966. Mr. Erickson earned a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois and has an MBA from the University of Illinois in Finance. He has been with First Trust Advisors L.P. since 1994 and he is a Portfolio Manager and Senior Vice President. As the head of FTA’s Equity Research Group, Mr. Erickson shall be responsible for determining the securities to be purchased and sold by Funds that do not utilize quantitative investment strategies on behalf of the Investment Committee.

David G. McGarel, CFA, was born in 1966. Mr. McGarel earned a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame. He has been with First Trust Advisors L.P. since 1997 and he is a Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer and the Chief Investment Officer. As head of FTA’s Strategy Research Group, Mr. McGarel shall be responsible for developing and implementing quantitative investment strategies for those Funds that have investment policies that require them to follow such strategies, on behalf of the Investment Committee.

Chris A. Peterson, CFA was born in 1975. Mr. Peterson earned a B.S in Finance from Bradley University and has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with concentrations in Analytic Finance & Accounting. He has been with First Trust Advisors L.P. since 2000. As head of FTA’s Portfolio Advisor’s Strategy Research Group, Mr. Peterson shall be responsible for developing and implementing quantitative equity strategies on behalf of the Investment Committee.

Todd W. Larson, CFA, was born in 1964. Mr. Larson earned a B.A. in Business Administration from North Park College. He has been with First Trust Advisors L.P. since 2007 and he is a Portfolio Manager and Vice President. As head of FTA’s Fixed Income Group, Mr. Larson shall be responsible for implementation and execution of strategies involving fixed income securities on behalf of the Investment Committee. Prior to joining First Trust, Mr. Larson was a portfolio manager with ABN AMRO Asset Management, Horizon Cash Management and Van Kampen American Capital.

Roger F. Testin, CFA, was born in 1966. Mr. Testin earned a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Illinois and has an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago. He has been with First Trust Advisors L.P. since 2001 and he is a Portfolio Manager and Senior Vice President. As Product Manager for the VA’s, SMA’s and International Managed Products, Mr. Testin shall be responsible for the daily implementation and execution of the strategies for these product vehicles on behalf of the Investment Committee.

Daniel J. Lindquist, CFA, was born in 1970. Mr. Lindquist earned a B.A. in Business Economics from Wheaton College and has an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago. He has been with First Trust Advisors L.P. since 2004 and is a Managing Director. Mr. Lindquist is the Chairman of the Investment Committee and is responsible for the overall supervision of the Separate Managed Accounts.

John W. Gambla, CFA, FRM, PRM, is a senior portfolio manager for the Alternatives Investment Team at First Trust Advisors L.P. Prior to joining First Trust in July 2011, he was co-Chief Investment Officer at the Nuveen HydePark Group LLC where he started in 2007. While at Nuveen HydePark Group LLC, he co-directed investment activities including research, product development, trading, portfolio management and performance attribution. John also led the research systems and infrastructure development for Nuveen HydePark Group LLC. Previously, he was a Senior Trader and Quantitative specialist at Nuveen Asset Management. While there, he was responsible for trading all derivatives for the 120+ municipal mutual funds with Nuveen Asset Management. John W. Gambla, has served in a variety of roles throughout his career including: portfolio management, research, business development and strategy development. He was born in 1966 and earned a B.S. in Genetics and Developmental Biology and a B.A. in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and an MBA from the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business.

Tim is responsible for managing quantitative equity portfolios, investment research, and new product development at EquityCompass. He has been working with EquityCompass and its predecessor the Portfolio Strategy Group since 2002 and led the efforts to develop, refine and implement the EquityCompass proprietary quantitative models and rules-based investment strategies. Previously, Tim worked for a Boston-based financial advisory firm where his responsibilities included the creation, back testing, and implementation of a quantitative rules-based discipline for the group’s asset management efforts. Prior to that, he worked at Morgan Stanley and UBS Securities (via PaineWebber) in various positions. Tim has a B.S. in business from The College of Notre Dame of Maryland.

Rob A. Guttschow, CFA, is a senior portfolio manager for the Alternatives Investment Team at First Trust Advisors L.P. Prior to joining First Trust in July 2011, Mr. Guttschow was co-Chief Investment Officer at the Nuveen HydePark Group LLC where he started in 2007. While at Nuveen HydePark Group LLC, Mr. Guttschow co-directed investment activities including research, product development, trading, portfolio management and performance attribution. Previously, Mr. Guttschow was an Overlay Manager and Senior Portfolio Manager at Nuveen Asset Management. While there, he developed Nuveen’s buy-side derivative desk for fixed income and equity portfolio hedging. He was born in 1968 and earned a B.S. in Materials/Ceramic Engineering and a MBA from the University of Illinois in Urbana/Champaign.

Mr. Mutascio joined EquityCompass in May 2018 as a Managing Director and senior member of our portfolio management team. He joined EquityCompass from Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, where his most recent role was Associate Director of Stifel’s U.S. Equity Research department. Prior to his position with Stifel Equity Research, Mr. Mutascio was senior bank analyst with KBW and a director of large-cap traditional bank research for Credit Suisse. Previously he spent seven years with Legg Mason, where he was a managing director and the company’s senior bank analyst. Mr. Mutascio began his career as a federal bank regulator with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency where he worked for six years, rising to the level of national bank examiner. Mr. Mutascio has an M.B.A. from Loyola University Maryland and an undergraduate degree from Gettysburg College.