The Company provides investment banking services in the following broad industry sectors: consumer, diversified industrials, energy and natural resources, financial institutions, healthcare, insurance, real estate and TMT.

The Company focuses on providing research and institutional sales and trading services to equity and high-yield investors in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. The Company executes securities transactions for institutional investors such as banks, mutual funds, insurance companies, hedge funds, money managers and pension and profit-sharing plans.

The Company’s asset management business currently offers three main services: mutual funds, alternative asset management and private wealth advisory.

The mutual funds the Company currently manages seek to achieve returns through a fundamental, research-based investment selection approach that relies on many of the principles used throughout the Company as the basis for investment advice.

The Company’s alternative asset management group currently manages hedge funds, including funds of funds, as well as private equity and venture capital funds.

The Company’s private wealth advisory practice intends to capture a larger market share of the increasing number of high net worth individuals in the U.S.

Net revenues decreased 38.1% from $394.4 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005 to $244.1 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2006.

Total non-interest expenses decreased 16.3% from $328.0 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005 to $274.7 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2006.

Professional services expenses decreased 26.5% from $40.7 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005 to $29.9 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2006.

Business development expenses decreased 20.8% from $30.7 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2005 to $24.3 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2006.