Avalon Advisors, LLC

Company Overview:

Avalon is a Houston-based money management firm that manages equity, fixed income and balanced portfolios for wealthy families, endowments, foundations and trusts. Avalon provides a high level of customer service and customized solutions for clients in a cost effective and tax efficient manner. Avalon was founded in April 2001 and is led by the five founding partners, Robert Gauntt, Russell Hawkins, Henry Lartigue, Willie Langston and Kevin Lilly. Over the past eight years Avalon has grown into one of the largest independent asset management firms in Houston with approximately $3 billion in assets under management.

The Company’s investment team is led by Henry Lartigue (Avalon’s Chief Investment Officer) and Russell Hawkins. Mr. Lartigue was previously a Managing Director of J.P. Morgan Chase and Chief Investment Officer of Chase Asset Management, a global investment advisor with oversight for $230 billion in assets of institutional and private clients. Mr. Hawkins previously spent over 20 years at Fayez Sarofim & Co., most recently as Director of Equity Research and co-manager of five equity mutual funds exceeding $8 billion in value for the Dreyfus Corp. family of funds.

The client advisory team is led by Robert Gauntt, Willie Langston and Kevin Lilly, who have 60 years of combined investment management and client advisory experience. Robert, Willie and Kevin worked together in the private wealth management divisions of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley before founding Avalon.

Transaction Background:

The Platform team followed Avalon since its inception in 2001. We had a personal relationship with Avalon’s Founders and believed the asset management industry and Avalon, in particular, represented a great long-term investment opportunity.

In late 2007, we approached Avalon to discuss a strategic minority investment and quickly agreed with Avalon’s Founders that a partnership could be mutually beneficial. Platform’s role in the partnership is to provide guidance on the necessary infrastructure and strategy to continue to build upon an already successful platform.

We consider Avalon to be a core, long-term investment for Platform.