World Acceptance Corporation engages in small-loan consumer finance business. It offers short-term small loans, medium-term larger loans, related credit insurance, and ancillary products and services, as well as loans standardized by amount and maturity. World Acceptance Corporation also offers income tax return preparation services and access to refund anticipation loans. In addition, World Acceptance Corporation markets and sells credit life, credit accident and health, credit property, and unemployment insurance products; markets automobile club memberships to its borrowers; and reinsures credit insurance. Further, World Acceptance Corporation, through its subsidiary, ParaData Financial Systems, provides data processing systems; and markets computer software and related services to financial services companies. World Acceptance Corporation serves individuals with limited access to consumer credit from banks, savings and loans, other consumer finance businesses, and credit card lenders. As of March 31, 2009, the company has 944 offices in South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, Kentucky, Alabama, and Mexico. World Acceptance Corporation was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.

Thrivent Investment Management nonetheless has significance to Lutherans. The company is the securities brokerage and financial advisory subsidiary of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, which provides financial and insurance products and services to nearly 3 million members. Thrivent Investment Management offers full and discount brokerage services, mutual funds, and education funding products such as 529 plans. Customers can work with a financial adviser or manage their accounts and place trades by phone or online.

Founded in 1998 by Bill Hambrecht, WR Hambrecht + Co is a financial services firm committed to using technology and auction processes to provide open and fair access to financial markets for all its clients. The firm’s impartial auctions have dramatically changed the traditional investment banking landscape by allowing the market to determine pricing and allocations.The OpenIPO® auction, for example, levels the playing field in initial public offerings, allowing individuals and institutional investors to bid online for shares of an IPO. All investors end up paying the same price – a price determined by the auction. The OpenBook® auction for corporate bonds, is an online system that offers transparent, real-time price discovery. OpenFollowOn® auction extends the transparency and real-time price discovery of the OpenBook auction to follow-on equity offerings allowing interactive bidding and gives investors a view into the book as it builds.WR Hambrecht + Co continues to identify markets where auctions will benefit investors and issuers. WR Hambrecht provide underwriting and advisory services for technology and emerging growth companies, as well as technology driven institutional agency brokerage and a fully electronic retail brokerage platform for individual investors. WR Hambrecht + Co is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. WR Hambrecht Canadian affilliate, WR Hambrecht + Co Canada, is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Medallion Financial Corp., through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty finance company in the United States. Medallion Financial Corp. engages in originating, acquiring, and servicing loans that finance taxicab medallions and various commercial businesses. Medallion Financial Corp. also originates consumer loans for the purchase of recreational vehicles, boats, motorcycles, and trailers, as well as provides other debt, mezzanine, and equity investment capital to companies in various industries. In addition, Medallion Financial Corp. originates commercial loans that finance the purchase of the equipment and related assets necessary to open a new business or the purchase or improvement of an existing business; and loans to small businesses for the purpose of financing inventory and receivables. Further, it raises deposits and conducts other banking activities. Medallion Financial Corp. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Vision Capital's focus is clear: finance high-tech firms looking to go global. The venture capital firm specializes in funding European technology companies wanting to expand into the US and vise-versa. It focuses on the communications, semiconductor, software, and Internet sectors. Active investors who prefer to take seats on the boards of portfolio companies, Vision Capital's multinational, multilingual team looks for high-growth ventures, which it defines as greater than 35% compound annual growth, before it sinks its typical $3 million to $8 million in any given firm.

Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P. was founded in 1995. Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P. is a private equity firm specializing in special situation investments in middle-market companies in the form of buyouts, debt restructurings, asset consolidations, and growth capital. The firm invests in a variety of industries. It typically invests in companies based in United States and Israel. The firm prefers to invest between $20 million and $75 million in its portfolio companies, but it considers smaller and larger investments. It invests in companies experiencing financial stress, legal problems or operational challenges; businesses or assets whose value has been impacted by discrete events (e.g., a shareholder dispute, product recall, or cyclical downturn); and businesses or assets involved in bankruptcy proceedings. In Israel, the firm seeks to invest in water, renewable energy, and homeland security technology companies.

Sentinel Capital Partners, L.L.C. was founded in 1995 and is based in New York. Sentinel Capital Partners, L.L.C. is a private equity firm specializing in equity investments in mature and lower middle market private and public companies. The firm seeks to invest in, management buyouts; recapitalizations; corporate divestitures; growth financings; industry consolidations; turnarounds; restructurings; special situations; and going private transactions. It prefers to invest in companies operating in the, outsourcing; consumer products; business and marketing services; consumer services; consumer discretionary; healthcare; consumer staples; materials; food and restaurants; outsourced manufacturing; franchising; distribution; outsourced manufacturing; and manufacturing sectors. The firm seeks to invest in companies based in the United States and Canada. It invests up to $75 million in equity investments but prefers a range between $20 million and $50 million in companies with EBITDA between $5 million and $25 million and enterprise values ranging from $25 million to $250 million with minimum $6 million annual cash flows. It prefers to be a majority investor, but co-invests selectively, and takes a seat on the board of directors of its portfolio companies.

Capricorn Management was formed by managing general partner Herbert "Pug" Winokur in 1987. Capricorn Management was born under the dollar sign. Capricorn Management company is a private equity firm that targets companies valued between $50 and $500 million and holds them for about four to eight years. It looks for undervalued investments with strong customer bases. Investors in the firm include endowments, financial institutions, corporate pension funds, and select families and individuals. Capricorn generally invests $3 million to $35 million per transaction. Portfolio companies include snack food company Mrs. Fields and incontinence products maker Whitestone.

IDB Holdings Corporation Ltd. (IDB Holding) part of the IDB Group is an Israel-based company engaged in diversified investment, financial and other related operations. IDB Holding Corporation owns a 100% interest in IDB Development Corporation Ltd., which holds and centralizes the Group’s investment activities. Through its interest in IDB Development, IDB Holding’s business interests include insurance through Clal Insurance, financial activities through Credit Suisse and Clal Finance, communications through 013 NetVision and Cellcom Communications, technology through several of its subsidiaries, industry through Makhteshim Agan Industries, Nesher, Taavura and several other companies, real estate development through Property & Building Corp. and Gav-Yam, and retail trade and tourism through Shufersal, Golf & Co. and Clal Tourism.

MSouth Equity Partners was founded in 2007 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia. MSouth Equity Partners is a private equity firm specializing in acquisitions, management buyouts, and recapitalization of lower middle-market companies. The firm invests in distribution, niche manufacturing, and business services companies. It seeks to invest in companies based in the southern United States. The firm typically invests in companies with revenues between $25 million and $150 million and transactions valued between $25 million and $125 million.

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