Except for purchase within authorized Investments, securities having the following
characteristics are not authorized and shall not be purchased: letter stock and other
unregistered securities, commodities or commodity contracts where the Plan is a counterparty,
short sales, margin transactions, private placements (with the exception of Rule 144A
securities), or venture capital funds, private equity, or hedge funds. Further, derivatives,
options, futures, or any other investment for the sole purpose of direct portfolio
leveraging is prohibited. Direct ownership of real estate, natural resource properties
such as oil, gas or timber and the purchase of collectibles is also prohibited.
