NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

IF YOU RECEIVED A TELEPHONE CALL FROM ZACKS OR IF YOU RECEIVED A TELEPHONE CALL REGARDING THE ZACKS BEAT THE MARKET BOOK OR AN EDUCATIONAL SEMINAR REGARDING OPTIONS TRADING, YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO MONEY NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT Kerr, et al. v. Zacks Investment Research, Inc., Response North LLC, et al. United States District Court for the Southern District of California Case No. 3:16-cv-01352-GPC (BLM) PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. THIS NOTICE CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT A PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT. YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY THIS SETTLEMENT. The purpose of this Notice is to inform Class Members about a proposed settlement ( Settlement ) of a class action lawsuit that is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California (the Court ). The lawsuit is called Kerr, et al. v. Zacks Investment Research, Inc., Response North LLC, et al., Case No. 3:16-cv-01352-GPC (BLM) (the Lawsuit ). This Notice will explain: (1) what the Lawsuit is about; (2) the main terms of the Settlement; and (3) Class Members rights and options under the Settlement. A full version of the Settlement Agreement is available on this Website. To receive money under the Settlement, Class Members must submit a timely and valid Claim. The deadline to submit a Claim is February 16, 2018. If you do not submit a Claim by this deadline, you will not receive money under the Settlement. I. What the Litigation is About The Lawsuit alleges several different claims. First, the Lawsuit alleges that defendants Zacks Investment Management, Inc. ( ZIM ) and/or Zacks Investment Research, Inc. ( ZIR ) initiated or caused to be initiated certain telephone calls to the cellular telephones of certain customers or potential customers using an automatic telephone dialing system and without first obtaining requisite consent, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. 227 ( TCPA ). This claim is brought on behalf of the Zacks Class, which is defined as follows: All natural persons nationwide who, between and including May 6, 2012 and June 30, 2017, received a telephone call that was (1) made to their cellular telephone and (2) initiated by or on behalf of ZIM or ZIR using an automatic telephone dialing system. Excluded from the Zacks Class are all employees of defendants, all employees of defendants counsel, all employees of plaintiffs counsel, and judicial officers, their family members, and court staff assigned to the lawsuit. Second, the Lawsuit alleges that defendant Response North LLC ( Response North ) initiated certain telephone calls to the cellular telephones of certain individuals in connection with telemarketing efforts relating to a book published by ZIR (the Zacks Book Campaign ), or relating to an educational seminar regarding options trading (the Options Trading Campaign ), without first obtaining requisite consent, in violation of the TCPA. The Lawsuit alleges that telephone calls made by Response North in connection with the Zacks Book Campaign were made by Response North as agent of defendants ZIR, National Marketing Resources LLC ( NMR ), and/or Paradigm Direct LLC ( Paradigm ). This claim is brought on behalf of the Response North TCPA Class, which is defined as follows: 1

All natural persons nationwide who received from Response North a telephone call reflected in contact databases produced by Response North, which (1) was placed as part of the Zacks Book Campaign and/or the Options Trading Campaign and (2) was received on a cellular telephone. Excluded from the Response North TCPA Class are all employees of Response North, all employees of Response North s counsel, all employees of plaintiffs counsel, and judicial officers, their family members, and court staff assigned to the lawsuit. Third, the Lawsuit alleges that Response North recorded without consent certain telephone calls with customers or potential customers who were residents of the State of California and who were physically present in California at the time of the calls, in violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act, Cal. Penal Code 630 et seq. The Lawsuit alleges that any of these calls made by Response North in connection with the Zacks Book Campaign were made by Response North as agent of defendants ZIR, NMR, and/or Paradigm. This claim is brought on behalf of the Response North Privacy Class, which is defined as follows: All California residents who received from Response North a telephone call reflected in contact databases produced by Response North, which (1) was made on a telephone line that was subject to recording by Response North and (2) was received by the recipient in the State of California. Excluded from the Response North Privacy Class are all employees of Response North, all employees of Response North s counsel, all employees of plaintiffs counsel, and judicial officers, their family members, and court staff assigned to the lawsuit. Each individual within any of the foregoing Class definitions is referred to as a Class Member. Each individual within either the Response North TCPA Class or the Response North Privacy Class may also be referred to as a Response North Class Member. All of the defendants deny the allegations of the Lawsuit. The Court has not decided which party is right. The parties have agreed to a Settlement to provide benefits to eligible Class Members and to resolve the case. The parties have exchanged detailed information about the claims, defenses, and alleged damages in the Lawsuit. After lengthy settlement negotiations overseen by an independent mediator, the parties have reached a proposed Settlement that, if approved by the Court, will resolve the claims asserted against all defendants. Plaintiffs and their counsel believe the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the Class Members. In entering into the Settlement, defendants continue to deny any and all allegations of liability, fault, or wrongdoing asserted in the Lawsuit. On November 17, 2017, the Court preliminarily approved the Settlement; certified the Zacks Class, the Response North TCPA Class, and the Response North Privacy Class for settlement purposes only; appointed the law firm of Dostart Hannink & Coveney LLP as counsel for the three Classes ( Class Counsel ) for settlement purposes only; appointed John Kerr as representative of the Response North TCPA Class and the Response North Privacy Class, for settlement purposes only; appointed Edward Li, Tim Barnard, Kenneth Curtis, Lia Johnson, John Abjanic, and Arnold Cares as representatives of the Zacks Class, for settlement purposes only; designated CPT Group, Inc. as the Settlement Administrator; and authorized the parties to provide this Notice to the Class. II. The Main Terms of the Settlement Subject to Court approval, the main terms of the Settlement are as follows: 1. Settlement Amount for the Zacks Class. In full and complete settlement of the claims of the Zacks Class Members, ZIM and/or ZIR will pay the principal amount of Four Million Six Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($4,650,000.00). That amount, plus any interest accrued thereon, is the Zacks Monetary Consideration. The Zacks Monetary Consideration will be used to pay Class Counsel s attorneys fees and litigation expenses (as 2

approved by the Court), any service payment that the Court may award to the class representatives of the Zacks Class, the expenses of settlement administration (including class notice), and the settlement payments to the Zacks Class Members who submit timely and valid Claims. If any funds are remaining by reason of uncashed settlement checks or otherwise, the remaining amount will be paid 50% to Consumer Federation of California and 50% to National Consumer Law Center, as cy pres recipients, or as otherwise directed by the Court. 2. Settlement Amount for the Response North Classes. In full and complete settlement of the claims of the Response North Class Members, Response North will pay the principal amount of Eight Hundred Thirty Thousand Dollars ($830,000.00). That amount, plus any interest accrued thereon, is the Response North Monetary Consideration. The Response North Monetary Consideration will be used to pay Class Counsel s attorneys fees and litigation expenses (as approved by the Court), any service payment that the Court may award to the class representative of the Response North Classes, the expenses of settlement administration (including class notice), and the settlement payments to the Response North Class Members who submit timely and valid Claims. If any funds are remaining by reason of uncashed settlement checks or otherwise, the remaining amount will be paid 50% to Consumer Federation of California and 50% to National Consumer Law Center, as cy pres recipients, or as otherwise directed by the Court. 3. Notice to Class Members. No later than thirty (30) days following the Preliminary Approval Date, the Settlement Administrator will email the Court-approved Summary Class Notice to the last-known email address of each potential Class Member, as reflected in the business records of ZIR, ZIM, or Response North, as the case may be. If the business records of ZIR, ZIM, or Response North do not contain an email address for a potential Class Member, the Settlement Administrator will mail the Court-approved Summary Class Notice to the last-known mailing address of that potential Class Member, as reflected in the business records of ZIR, ZIM, or Response North, as the case may be, or an updated address provided by the U.S. Postal Service. Before mailing, the Settlement Administrator will run the mailing addresses through the U.S. Postal Service s National Change of Address database, and will update the addresses accordingly. The date on which the Summary Class Notice is emailed and mailed as set forth above is referred to as the Notice Date. Additional notice will be provided as described in the Settlement Agreement. 4. Submission of Claims; Eligibility for Payment. In order to qualify to receive a payment under the Settlement, Class Members must submit a Claim that is both (i) timely and (ii) validated by the Settlement Administrator. To be timely, the Claim must be submitted to the Settlement Administrator on or before February 16, 2018 (the Claim/Exclusion/Objection Deadline ). See Section III.1., below, regarding how to file a Claim. Class Members who submit a timely and valid Claim on or before the Claim/Exclusion/Objection deadline will be referred to as Participating Class Members and, if the Settlement is granted final approval by the Court, will receive a settlement payment in accordance with the terms of the Settlement. 5. Right to Request Exclusion or Object. Any Class Member who does not want to be legally bound by the Settlement can exclude himself or herself on or before the Claim/Exclusion/Objection Deadline, as described below in Section III.2. Any Class Member who wishes to object to the Settlement must file a written objection with the Court and serve the objection on Counsel for the settling parties and on the Settlement Administrator no later than the Claim/Exclusion/Objection Deadline, as described below in Section III.3. 6. Settlement Payments to Participating Zacks Class Members. If the Settlement is granted final approval as to the Zacks Class, after deduction of any Court-approved attorneys fees, litigation expenses, service payments to the class representatives of the Zacks Class, and the expenses of settlement administration, the remaining amount ( Net Zacks Settlement Amount ) will be divided equally between the Participating Zacks Class Members. As soon as practicable after the Effective Date of the Settlement, the Settlement Administrator will mail to each Participating Zacks Class Member a check representing that person s settlement payment. 7. Settlement Payments to Participating Response North Class Members. If the Settlement is granted final approval as to the Response North Classes, after deduction of any Court-approved attorneys fees, litigation 3

expenses, service payment to the class representative of the Response North Classes, and the expenses of settlement administration, the remaining amount ( Net Response North Settlement Amount ) will be allocated among the Response North Class Members as follows. Each Participating Response North TCPA Class Member will be credited with three (3) points, and each Participating Response North Privacy Class Member will be credited with ten (10) points. (Thus, an individual who is both a Participating Response North TCPA Class Member and a Participating Response North Privacy Class Member will be credited with a total of thirteen (13) points.) The Net Response North Settlement Amount will be allocated among the Response North Class Members in proportion to the number of points credited to all timely and valid Claims submitted by Participating Response North Class Members. As soon as practicable after the Effective Date of the Settlement, the Settlement Administrator will mail to each Participating Response North Class Member a check representing that person s settlement payment. 8. Service Payments. Class Counsel will file a motion requesting a service payment to the named plaintiffs not to exceed Thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000.00) in the aggregate. Defendants have agreed that they will take no position regarding this request, provided the request made to the Court is consistent with this Section. As soon as practicable following the Effective Date, the Settlement Administrator will pay from the Zacks Settlement Amount any service payment awarded by the Court to Li, Barnard, Curtis, Johnson, Abjanic, and/or Cares, and will pay from the Response North Settlement Amount any service payment awarded by the Court to Kerr. 9. Attorneys Fees and Litigation Expenses. Class Counsel will file a motion requesting an award of attorneys fees of up to twenty-five percent (25%) of the aggregate Settlement Amount, plus reimbursement of actual litigation expenses not to exceed $70,000.00. Defendants have agreed that they will take no position regarding these requests, provided the requests made to the Court are consistent with this Section. As soon as practicable following the Effective Date, the Settlement Administrator will pay to Class Counsel from the Settlement Amount the attorneys fees and litigation expenses awarded by the Court. These amounts are all subject to Court approval. 10. Release. Class Members who do not exclude themselves from the Settlement will be deemed to release all of the claims described in Section IV below. III. Class Members Rights and Options Under the Settlement Class Members have four options under the Settlement. If you are a Class Member, you may: (1) file a Claim, which if submitted timely and validated by the Settlement Administrator, will qualify you as a Participating Class Member qualified to receive a monetary payment following final court approval; (2) do nothing, in which case you will not be a Participating Class Member and you will not qualify to receive a monetary payment, but you will be bound be the release in the Settlement Agreement; (3) exclude yourself from the Settlement; or (4) object to the Settlement. The following paragraphs explain these options in more detail. 1. File a Claim. To potentially qualify for a monetary payment from the Settlement, potential Class Members must file a Claim. (a) Potential Class Members whose name, address, and/or email information is reflected in the business records produced by ZIM, ZIR, or Response North, as the case may be, are being sent a Court-approved Summary Notice via email or mail, which includes a hyperlink to the settlement Website or other information which enables those potential Class Members to submit a Claim electronically via the settlement Website. The deadline for submitting a Claim is February 16, 2018. If you miss this deadline, you will not receive any money under the Settlement, but you will be bound by the other terms of the Settlement if you do not opt out of the Settlement. (b) Potential Class Members who do not receive a Summary Notice via email or mail may print a Zacks Claim Form and/or a Response North Claim Form from the settlement Website. A printed Claim Form must be completed, dated by the Claimant, signed by the Claimant under penalty of perjury, and returned to the 4

Settlement Administrator via U.S. Mail, personal delivery, or email. If you are a potential Zacks Class Member, to increase the likelihood that your Claim may be approved, we recommend that you submit cellular telephone bills or other documents that show when a call from ZIM or ZIR to your cellular telephone occurred between May 6, 2012 and June 30, 2017. During that time period, two of the telephone numbers that may have been used to make calls to Zacks Class Members were 312-630-9880 and 312-265-9500, however, additional numbers may also have been used. Upon receipt of a Zacks Claim Form, the Settlement Administrator will verify whether the Claimant is a member of the Zacks Class by comparing the Claim Form and any supporting documents against the records of ZIM and ZIR. Upon receipt of a Response North Claim Form, the Settlement Administrator will verify whether the Claimant is a member of one or both of the Response North Classes by comparing the Claim Form against the records of Response North. The deadline for submitting a Claim is February 16, 2018. If you miss this deadline, you will not receive any money under the Settlement, but you will be bound by the other terms of the Settlement if you do not opt out of the Settlement. If you submit a Claim that is timely and that is validated by the Settlement Administrator, you will be a Participating Class Member and, if the Settlement is given final court approval, you will receive a settlement payment in accordance with the terms of the Settlement. 2. Do Nothing. If you do nothing, you will not be a Participating Class Member and you will not qualify to receive a monetary payment, but you will be bound by the release in the Settlement Agreement. 3. To Be Excluded From the Settlement. Any Class Member who wishes to be excluded from the Settlement must complete and return a request for exclusion via U.S. Mail, e-mail, or personal delivery, and that request for exclusion must be validated by the Settlement Administrator. The request for exclusion must be in writing, and must list the Class Member s name, address, and telephone number, along with the statement: I wish to be excluded from the Kerr v. Zacks Investment Research Settlement or words to that effect, and must be dated and signed by the person requesting exclusion. To be timely, the request for exclusion must be returned to the Settlement Administrator no later than <<the Claim/Exclusion/Objection Deadline>>. If the request for exclusion is returned by U.S. Mail, the date of return will be the date of the postmark. If the request for exclusion is returned by personal delivery or e-mail, the date of return will be the date the request for exclusion is received by the Settlement Administrator. Those Class Members who submit timely and valid requests for exclusion in the form described above will be referred to as Excluded Class Members. Excluded Class Members will not receive any consideration under the Settlement and will not be bound by any provision of the Settlement. Requests for exclusion can be mailed or delivered to the Settlement Administrator, as follows: CPT Group, 50 Corporate Park, Irvine, CA 92606; email: kerrvzirsettlement@cptgroup.com. A judgment in the action will bind all Class Members who do not timely request exclusion. Any Class Member may enter an appearance through counsel. 4. To Object to the Settlement. Any Class Member who wishes to object to the Settlement must file a written objection with the Court and serve copies of the objection on Class Counsel, Defendants counsel, and the Settlement Administrator, no later than February 16, 2018. An objection must set forth the name of the lawsuit (Kerr, et al. v. Zacks Investment Research, Inc., et al., Case No. 3:16-cv-01352-GPC (BLM)), the objector s full name, address, and current telephone number, and the following statement: I declare under penalty of perjury that, to the best of my knowledge, I am a Class Member and I wish to object to the Settlement. The objection must state the basis of the objector s belief that he or she is a Class Member, and must also state the factual and legal basis for the objection, and whether he or she intends to appear at the Final Approval Hearing on his or her own behalf or through counsel. Any and all objections shall identify any lawyer who assisted, provided advice, or represents the objecting Class Member with respect to the Lawsuit or such objection. Any documents that the objecting Class Member wishes for the Court to consider must also be attached to the objection. Class Counsel and Defendants will respond to any objections, as appropriate, either in briefs filed in advance of the Final Approval Hearing or at the Final Approval Hearing. Any objection must be filed with the Court and served by mail as follows: (1) to the Settlement Administrator, at CPT Group, Inc., 50 Corporate Park, Irvine, CA 92606; (2) to counsel for ZIM and ZIR, Danielle J. Gould, Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella, P.C., 330 North Wabash Avenue, 22nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60611; (3) counsel for Response North, Stephen H. Turner, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, 633 West 5th Street, Suite 4000, Los Angeles, CA 90071; and (4) to Class Counsel, Zach P. 5

Dostart, Dostart Hannink & Coveney LLP, 4180 La Jolla Village Drive, Suite 530, La Jolla, CA 92037. If you do not object in the manner described above, you will be deemed to have waived any and all objections to the Settlement. If you intend to object to the Settlement but also wish to receive your share of the Settlement if it is approved by the Court, you must also submit a timely and valid Claim Form as explained above. You may not submit both a claim form and a letter requesting to opt out of this Settlement. IV. Release of Claims A. Release by Zacks Class Members If the Settlement is approved by the Court and becomes effective, regardless of whether they have submitted Claims to participate in the distribution of the Settlement Amount, Plaintiffs and all Zacks Class Members who do not exclude themselves from the Settlement, on behalf of themselves, and each of their respective assigns, executors, administrators, successors and agents, shall be deemed to release, resolve, relinquish, and discharge each and all of the Released Parties from each of the Released Claims (as defined below). With respect to Plaintiffs and the Zacks Class Members, Released Parties means ZIR, ZIM, any of their respective past, present and future parents, subsidiaries, affiliated companies and corporations, and any of their past, present and future officers, directors, managers, employees general partners, limited partners, principals, insurers, reinsurers, shareholders, attorneys, advisors, representatives, predecessor, successors, divisions, assigns, or related entities, and each of their respective executors, successors, and legal representatives. With respect to Plaintiffs and the Zacks Class Members, Released Claims means any and all claims, causes of action, suits, obligations, debts, demands, agreements, promises, liabilities, damages, losses, controversies, costs, expenses and attorneys fees of any nature whatsoever, whether based on any law including federal law, state law, common law, territorial law, contract, rule, regulation, any regulatory promulgation (including, but not limited to, any opinion or declaratory ruling), common law or equity, whether known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, asserted or unasserted, foreseen or unforeseen, actual or contingent, liquidated or unliquidated, punitive or compensatory, that arise out of or relate to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. 227, et seq. and/or the Released Parties use of an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice to contact or attempt to contact Zacks Class Members from May 6, 2012 to June 30, 2017, inclusive. B. Release by Response North TCPA Class Members If the Settlement is approved by the Court and becomes effective, regardless of whether they have submitted Claims to participate in the distribution of the Settlement Amount, Kerr and all Response North TCPA Class Members who do not exclude themselves from the Settlement, on behalf of themselves, and each of their respective assigns, executors, administrators, successors and agents, shall be deemed to release, resolve, relinquish, and discharge each and all of the Released Parties from each of the Released Claims (as defined below). With respect to Kerr and the Response North TCPA Class Members, Released Parties means Response North, NMR/Paradigm, ZIR, ZIM, and any of their respective past, present and future parents, subsidiaries, affiliated companies and corporations, and any of their past, present and future officers, directors, managers, employees general partners, limited partners, principals, insurers, reinsurers, shareholders, attorneys, advisors, representatives, predecessor, successors, divisions, assigns, or related entities, and each of their respective executors, successors, and legal representatives. With respect to Kerr and the Response North TCPA Class Members, Released Claims means any and all claims, causes of action, suits, obligations, debts, demands, agreements, promises, liabilities, damages, losses, controversies, costs, expenses and attorneys fees of any nature whatsoever, whether based on any law including federal law, state law, common law, territorial law, contract, rule, regulation, any regulatory promulgation (including, but not limited to, any opinion or declaratory ruling), common law or equity, whether known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, asserted or unasserted, foreseen or unforeseen, actual or contingent, liquidated or unliquidated, punitive or compensatory, that arise out of or relate to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. 227, et seq. and that relate to Response North s use of an automatic telephone dialing system or an 6

artificial or prerecorded voice to contact or attempt to contact Response North TCPA Class Members from May 6, 2012 to June 30, 2017, inclusive. C. Release by Response North Privacy Class Members If the Settlement is approved by the Court and becomes effective, regardless of whether they have submitted Claims to participate in the distribution of the Settlement Amount, Kerr and all Response North Privacy Class Members who do not exclude themselves from the Settlement, on behalf of themselves, and each of their respective assigns, executors, administrators, successors and agents, shall be deemed to release, resolve, relinquish, and discharge each and all of the Released Parties from each of the Released Claims (as defined below). With respect to Kerr and the Response North Privacy Class Members, Released Parties means Response North, NMR/Paradigm, ZIR, ZIM, and any of their respective past, present and future parents, subsidiaries, affiliated companies and corporations, and any of their past, present and future officers, directors, managers, employees general partners, limited partners, principals, insurers, reinsurers, shareholders, attorneys, advisors, representatives, predecessor, successors, divisions, assigns, or related entities, and each of their respective executors, successors, and legal representatives. With respect to Kerr and the Response North Privacy Act Class Members, Released Claims means any and all claims, causes of action, suits, obligations, debts, demands, agreements, promises, liabilities, damages, losses, controversies, costs, expenses and attorneys fees of any nature whatsoever, whether known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, asserted or unasserted, foreseen or unforeseen, actual or contingent, liquidated or unliquidated, punitive or compensatory, that arise out of or relate to the California Invasion of Privacy Act, Cal. Penal Code 630 et seq., and that relate to Response North s recording of telephone calls made to Response North Privacy Class Members during the relevant period. V. Final Approval Hearing The Court will hold a hearing on April 6, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. to determine whether the Settlement should be finally approved and to rule on Class Counsel s motion for award of attorneys fees, reimbursement of litigation expenses, and class representative service payments. The Court is located at 221 West Broadway, Courtroom 2D, San Diego, CA 92101. The hearing may be continued without further notice. YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO ATTEND THE HEARING, BUT YOU MAY IF YOU CHOOSE. VI. For More Information This Notice contains only a summary of the terms of the proposed Settlement. You may view the Settlement Agreement and other important documents on the Website. You may also review the pleadings and other papers filed in the Lawsuit at the Court s Clerk s Office, located at 333 West Broadway, Suite 420, San Diego, CA 92101. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT ABOUT THIS NOTICE. If you have questions about the Settlement, please contact the Settlement Administrator or Class Counsel, as follows: Settlement Administrator CPT Group, Inc. 50 Corporate Park Irvine, CA 92606 Tel: 1-888-202-1727 Email: kerrvzirsettlement@cptgroup.com Class Counsel Dostart Hannink & Coveney LLP 4180 La Jolla Village Dr., Ste. 530 La Jolla, CA 92037 Tel: (858) 623-4265 Email: cklobucar@sdlaw.com 7