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Symphony’s Innovate 2023: compliant communications, AI and trader voice take center stage

Symphony Communication Services

May 31, 2023 - Over 300 financial and technology leaders met at Symphony’s Innovate 2023 in London last week to review the latest innovations in compliance-enabling communications, AI and NLP models and the evolution of trader voice capabilities. For the first time, the company showcased live the capabilities of its natural language processing and business insights platform Amenity Analytics - acquired in November 2022 as part of its commitment to deliver AI-powered products as well as support ESG needs in financial services, as Symphony expects to become the secure AI platform for global finance. A large language model and Amenity’s ESG Insights platform were used to create a proof of concept for a customizable ESG summarization bot in Symphony. When queried, the bot provided accurate, timely and actionable data driven insights. Customer 22V joined the Symphony stage to share the firm’s research use case. Video. The company showed the evolution of its trader voice proposition, including a Cloud9 integration with Zoom Phone as well as capabilities that allow customers to move to a cloud-based on demand model, unlocking instant intra and cross firm connectivity and flexibility. Video. Symphony also presented the latest in its compliant messaging offering, with improved capabilities to accelerate client engagement in a compliance-enabling manner. End users can now seamlessly onboard their clients on their mobile device using a dedicated number through the Symphony application. Audio recording and AI-powered conversation summary functionality enable high-touch client communication without sacrificing compliance. LINE, one of Asia's most popular messaging platforms, was announced as a new addition to Symphony’s federated solutions alongside WhatsApp, WeChat, and SMS. Video. CEO Brad Levy said: “We are proud of the innovation our customers are driving in global finance, using the Symphony platform. The team is committed to continue providing a best-in-class platform with a full communications stack and broad set of solutions to conduct business in a compliant way, as well as deep financial services and technology expertise.” He explained: “The reality of this cycle is change is happening at unprecedented speed and Symphony is a great partner to manage that risk and seize new opportunities.” CEO keynote video. Introduced at Innovate 2023 was the new industry-led Operations Directory, showing convenient, instant discovery, enabled by a standard taxonomy for the industry, bringing customers together on a platform that can connect directly into Symphony. Video. Among the industry leaders on stage were Brian Herlihy from 22V Research, Vicky Sanders from OpenFin, Chris Cunalata, Will Shotton, and Pavlo Vozniuk from RBC, Ash Booth, Tom Croft and Allen Li from HSBC, John Abel from Google Cloud, Pinar Emirdag and Vanessa Barade from J.P. Morgan, Prajit Chatterjee from J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Yann Belvisi from CIC Market Solutions, Richard Turner from Insight Investment, Duncan Maccabe and Theodore Sirota from Natwest Markets, Stanislav Ermilov and Richard Payne from Tallarium, Andrew Castello from FIA Tech, Philip Slavin and Kishan Bharwad from Taskize, Philippe Laurensy from Euroclear Group, Adam Watson from BNY Mellon, and Luke Moore and Erin Boyle from IG Markets. Symphony’s embedded collaboration platform, originally introduced at Innovate 2022 in London, was featured with two business use case demos from RBC’s winning Symphony Challenge workflow that showed ECP integrated within OpenFin [ video ], and NatWest Markets Agile Markets trading venue integration. Innovate is Symphony’s flagship conference. While more than 300 leaders joined Innovate 2023 in person, over 600 professionals from around the world were able to watch live online. You can view all Innovate 2023 sessions here. More session videos: Welcome and opening: video Product Introduction: Speed, Flexibility, Connectivity and Security: video Automation, AI and Acceleration in Capital Markets panel: video Tallarium demo: video FIA Tech demo: video Taskize demo: video Closing: video About Symphony Symphony is the most secure and compliant markets’ infrastructure and technology platform, where solutions are built or integrated to standardize, automate and innovate financial services workflows. It is a vibrant community of over half a million financial professionals with a trusted directory and serves over 1000 institutions. Symphony is powering over 2,000 community built applications and bots. For more information, visit www.symphony.com. Contact Details Odette Maher +44 7747 420807 odette.maher@symphony.com Company Website https://symphony.com/

May 31, 2023 09:33 AM Eastern Daylight Time

NAVEX Announces AI-Powered Compliance Assistant

NAVEX Global

NAVEX, the leader in integrated risk and compliance management software, today announced NAVEX Compliance Assistant. The initial release of this new AI-powered functionality will offer instant answers to employee questions regarding company policies and procedures delivered in natural language. This functionality makes an organization’s compliance program more accessible and personal for all employees. As part of the NAVEX One GRC Information System, employees interact with NAVEX Compliance Assistant by asking it questions in their own words. The AI-powered Compliance Assistant then searches through a company’s policies and procedures to present a comprehensive answer to the employee’s inquiry. Compliance Assistant applies Large Language Model (LLM) technology to customer-controlled document sets for maximum relevance and accuracy. NAVEX’s secure cloud infrastructure protects document and data privacy. Rich NAVEX Integration Ensures Ease of Use and Data Security The AI-powered NAVEX Compliance Assistant is seamlessly integrated into NAVEX One People Hub, a unified, simplified way for employees to engage with the compliance program. Through People Hub, employees can conveniently report incidents, confirm policy adherence, complete training and disclose information within a user-friendly interface accessible on mobile devices. With the addition of Compliance Assistant, employees, and other authorized parties, can quickly clarify how to follow specific procedures and policies that apply to them. NAVEX Compliance Assistant offers a range of features tailored to meet the needs of organizations of all sizes, including: Intuitive chat interface: Employees can query the system with natural language questions about a policy or procedure of interest and receive prompt, accurate responses. Multilingual access: Users can ask questions and receive answers in 70 languages. Find relevant policies: Employees can easily search for and access relevant, verified policies and procedures, eliminating time-consuming manual searches or the need to reach out across departments to source an answer. Responsive access anywhere: NAVEX Compliance Assistant is accessible via the web and mobile devices, helping employees access critical compliance information from anywhere. Uncompromising privacy and security: NAVEX is committed to safeguarding all data within the systems it manages, including policy and procedure information and employee queries through Compliance Assistant. “Successful organizations turn governance, risk and compliance management into a competitive advantage. It helps prevent mistakes, motivate employees, and promotes confident decision-making,” said Sean Thompson, Chief Executive Officer at NAVEX. “In my years of experience with natural language user interface technology, incorporating it into a GRC program is one of the most exciting applications. Our new AI-enabled Compliance Assistant makes engaging with the compliance program simpler and more intuitive, which in turn makes employees more confident users of the system.” Expert point of view The adoption of AI-powered technologies to facilitate access to compliance-related information can bring great benefits. “Giving employees the ability to quickly and accurately access company policies and procedures fosters a culture of trust and safety with regards to risk mitigation. It also makes the whole process more efficient," said Darren Bradshaw, Chief Audit and Compliance Officer of Stellantis, a multinational automotive company on a journey of transformation into a sustainable mobility tech organization. Stellantis, as a customer of some NAVEX applications, plans to partner with the company to test the usability of this new application. To learn more about the AI-powered NAVEX Compliance Assistant, visit https://www.navex.com/en-us/products/navex-ethics-compliance/ai-employee-compliance-assistant/. Or, read our blog, “ Artificial Intelligence – The Next Frontier of GRC Management ” on Risk & Compliance Matters. NAVEX is trusted by thousands of customers worldwide to help them achieve the business outcomes that matter most. As the global leader in integrated risk and compliance management software and services, we deliver solutions through the NAVEX One platform, the industry’s most comprehensive governance, risk and compliance (GRC) information system. For more information, visit NAVEX.com and our blog. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Contact Details Scott Levesque +1 617-388-5773 scott.levesque@navex.com Company Website https://www.navex.com

May 30, 2023 08:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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The National Anti-Corruption Commission Thailand (NACC) collaborates with Bangkok to combat and reduce corruption in 50 Bangkok’s districts through a strong community project

Integrity Way

BANGKOK, THAILAND - Media OutReach - 29 May 2023 - On May 22, 2023, Mr. Niwatchai Kasemmongkol, Secretary General of The National Anti-Corruption Commission Thailand (NACC), and Mr. Chadchat Sitthiphan, Governor of Bangkok, are jointly co-chair over the activities of a seminar to promote the anti-corruption approach and reduce corruption through the STRONG: Together against Corruption (TaC) or "Strong Community Project for Self-Development in accordance with the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy 2023", fiscal year 2023, a project that the NACC has assisted the Bangkok in managing project transparently Along with making a 403 million baht budget worthwhile. "Strong Community Project for Self-Development in accordance with the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy 2023" is a part of Bangkok's developing city policy. Bangkok has a policy to develop the community to be a livable city by using new management principles. It is the principle of public participation, people can think and solve problems by themselves with the support of the government and private sector, which makes it possible to solve problems in the way that people in the community need. It supports the development of quality of life and community to be strong and self-sufficient. The goal of this seminar is to develop an understanding of the fundamentals for preventing possibility fraud risk as well as collaboration between the NACC and Bangkok Anti-Corruption Operation Center to promote corruption prevention in the Bangkok area, with the goal of upgrading Bangkok to be a capital city that transparent, without bribery and all forms of corruption. There is a target group around 600 people, participating events at the Bangkok Room, Irawat Pattana Building, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, including executives, NACC officials, Bangkok authorities and the board for creating community development plans at the district level 50 districts, each with ten people, who assisted in the process of giving the funds to communities in the Bangkok, 200,00 baht per community. The activities were attended by 2,014 community representatives from the Bangkok area via an electronic meeting (Zoom Webinar). Following the opening ceremony, there was a discussion about "Preventing the Risk of Corruption in the Implementation of the Strong Community Project for Self-Development in accordance with the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy 2023" by "Mr. Teerat Bangpetch, Director of the NACC's Bureau of Promotion and Integration about Anti-Participating in Corruption", "Mr. Sanyakorn Ounmeesri, Director of the Social Development Office", "Mrs. Chonlathorn Duangsawat, Director of Community Development and Economic Promotion Section", "Mr. Paradorn Na Songkhla, Head of Promotion and Development Community 3" and "Mrs. Amphawan Pukdam, Professional Lawyer, Comptroller General's Department, Ministry of Finance" to discuss the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's process of operation, criteria and regulations for project implementation. Including the procurement regulations under the Public Procurement and Supplies Administration Act. B.E. 2560 (2017). And lead to responses to questions from stakeholders such as community leaders, Bangkok officials and STRONG-mindedness community network about the risk of fraud in some stages of the project or failure to operate in compliance with the legislation. The speakers collaborating to answer questions and provide best advice to participants both in the meeting room and via the electronic conferencing system. NACC's the Bureau of Promotion and Integration of Anti-Participation Promotion Corruption will summarize the results of this seminar and gathering questions and answers from speakers in order to report to the NACC Secretary-General and the Governor of Bangkok, for sharing and using them as a guideline operating for project operator, communities in Bangkok and the STRONG-mindedness community network to utilize as a framework for operating "Strong Community Project for Self-Development in accordance with the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy 2023",of the fiscal year 2023. The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is a constitutional independent organization and supervised by nine commissioners selected from various professions. It is authorized to undertake work on the prevention and suppression of malfeasance, particularly in government agencies, on assets investigations, as well as on the monitoring of ethics and virtues of political position holders. It has the authority to file charges in court as well as support and build up awareness of the penalties for committing corruption. The NACC is supervised by the NACC Board and has the Office of the NACC as its administrative agency. Since 1997, Thai Courts have ruled against and punished politicians, former ministers, high-ranking government officials as well as executives of the private sector in the thousands of cases submitted by the NACC. Since 1997, Thai Courts have ruled against and punished politicians, former ministers, high-ranking government officials as well as executives of the private sector in the thousands of cases submitted by the NACC. Contact Details The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) +66 2 528 4800 webmaster@nacc.go.th

May 29, 2023 11:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Laos Government to Promote Digital Transformation with Blockchain Technology

MetaBank

The Laotian government and blockchain experts held the first Ministerial Conference on Blockchain 4.0 Digital Transformation on May 26, 2023, at the National Convention Center in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The conference, chaired by Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, was attended by leaders from the main economic departments. The meeting primarily discussed how to advance the digital transformation of Laos using digital technology, and for the first time, presented the theory of Blockchain 4.0 to the world, advocating for open collaboration and global co-construction, and boosting Laos' potential to be a builder and beneficiary of the global digital world order through national digital operations. Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone stated that in order to achieve the ninth five-year plan for national economic and social development, Laos must vigorously develop and utilize blockchain technology to digitize various government tasks and apply it extensively to administrative management and public services. The Laotian Minister of Technology, Boveingkham Vongdara, said that Laos faces opportunities and challenges brought about by Industry 4.0 and needs to use blockchain technology to transform production and service methods. To promote the digital transformation of Laos, the Ministry of Technology has signed a cooperation agreement with Singapore's MetaBank, planning to establish a blockchain technology research and development center and develop talents. The conference set goals for Laos's digital economy development, including utilizing digital technology to create new fiscal revenue, increase foreign exchange reserves, reduce inflation, achieve sustainable economic growth, improve living standards, and enhance international competitiveness in the short term. The meeting also proposed the establishment of a Blockchain Technology Transformation Committee, responsible for the legal compliance and legislation related to the digital economy. Experts attending the meeting stated that blockchain technology could help developing countries achieve "leapfrog development". Building a digital nation is divided into four stages: deploying digital infrastructure, deploying cybersecurity infrastructure, supporting the digitalization of various industries, and building a "digital brain". Developing countries should focus on open collaboration, use borderless blockchain technology to attract talents, and create "netizen citizens". Professor Bill Roscoe shared his perspective, asserting that blockchain technology serves as the driving force propelling us towards a digital civilization. How can ordinary people accept or understand the digital world? It needs to be promoted through the introduction of products and services. Specifically, a controllable platform is needed to ensure that citizens, enterprises, and the government abide by laws and regulations. Blockchain can establish a very effective platform and achieve the best balance and integration between different applications and jurisdictions through the integration of new languages and technologies. "Digital civilization is the inevitable path for the future development of society, and blockchain will become the 'cornerstone' of building digital civilization." MetaBank's founder and chairman, Frank Sui, believes that blockchain technology can help developing countries "overtake on a bend". MetaBank's mission is to serve as the leading solution partner for developing countries using blockchain technology, accelerating the transformation of developing countries towards digital civilization, improving the GDP and living standards of developing countries, and building a digital civilization on the three main pillars of digital financial infrastructure, digital asset tokenization platform, and digital society. Blockchain expert Zhu Jiawei believes that the construction of a digital nation has entered the fourth stage. Developing countries should focus on open collaboration, use universal borderless technology, attract technical talents, and create "netizen citizens". When Zhu Jiawei attended the Blockchain 4.0 Conference, he discussed the construction path of a digital nation, which is divided into four levels: (1) deploying digital science and technology infrastructure, (2) deploying physical and cybersecurity facilities to safeguard the development of the digital economy, (3) supporting the digitalization of various industries to keep up with the pace of the times, (4) building a digital brain through artificial intelligence technology to realize intelligent management from cities to national level. D11 Labs co-founder Lily Zhang believes the world is in the midst of the fourth open revolution, with openness, co-construction, sharing, prosperity, and new order as keywords. Laos can use blockchain technology to gain a development advantage and achieve leapfrog development. Laos should become the first country in the world to fully transform digitally, redefine its role in the global order, gain order-setting advantages, and help improve the lives of the Laotian people. The Lao government is determined to transform through blockchain technology, demonstrating the importance of the digital economy. This conference reflects the foresight and determination of the Lao government in the development of the digital economy. The government will play a key leadership role, establish a national digital transformation committee, and promote and supervise the implementation of related policies. Laos welcomes all sectors to participate in the development of the digital economy. In the future, Laos will become a model of blockchain technology application, leading the development of the new digital society. Contact Details Jasmine +65 8302 6504 jasmine@dethings.com Company Website https://www.metabank.com.sg/

May 29, 2023 06:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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National Association of REALTORS® Housing Market Update: Spring Homebuying Season Shows Steady Demand

YourUpdateTV

A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/ISQQ6BDbGW0 With the spring buying season in full swing, many Americans are contemplating whether it’s a good time to buy or sell a home. Higher mortgage rates and relentless competition for the few houses on the market are some of the many reasons sellers and buyers should work with an agent who is a REALTOR® to find the right home and negotiate the terms of sale. In fact, according to NAR: Overall, home sales are trying to recover, but they’re heavily influenced by interest rates. Existing-home sales will drop 9.3% this year compared to 2022 but will increase by 15.4% next year. The typical seller receives 3.1 offers on their home, and 33% of homes are selling above list price. NAR expects prices will stabilize, dropping 1.8% this year before improving 2.8% in 2024. Median existing-home prices will mostly stabilize – with the national median existing-home price decreasing by 1.8% in 2023, to around $380,000. Sales in the second half of the year should be notably better than the first half as job gains continue and more favorable mortgage rates are expected. Housing inventory is also expected to remain tight in 2023, with housing starts below historical averages. However, housing starts will increase by 6.9% in 2024. As the market continues to shift, it is important to consult an expert real estate agent who can provide essential guidance to help consumers navigate the homebuying and selling process. In fact, 91% of homebuyers say they would engage their agent again or recommend them to others. Agents who are REALTORS® not only help people achieve the dream of homeownership but also help them create long-term wealth and financial stability for their family. Over the past decade, the median-priced home in the U.S. gained nearly $200,000 in value, making the typical homeowner 40 times wealthier than if they had remained a renter. Additionally, homeowners who benefited from home price appreciation in the last decade saw their debt decrease by 21%. If you’re looking for a REALTOR ® in your area, visit REALTOR.com. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

May 24, 2023 02:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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Charge Against Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Dropped

National Legal & Policy Center

Today, Peter Flaherty, Chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center issued the following statement: "The trespassing charge has been dropped, but I never should have been arrested. Nor should I have been handcuffed, fingerprinted, brought to jail, and detained for three hours. Berkshire Hathaway’s silencing of me is an ominous precedent for the rights of shareholders in public companies that cannot be allowed to stand. I did not just wander into the Berkshire shareholders meeting, nor did the incident occur during a question-and-answer session. I was a scheduled speaker, whose name appeared on the agenda, to speak in support of Proposal #8 for an independent chair. The proposal appeared in the proxy and for weeks shareholders had been voting on it. It was the subject of a detailed proxy memo we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 21. As far as I know, the arrest of a shareholder during a proposal presentation has never before occurred at the annual meeting of a public company in the United States. Shareholder activists of the past such as Wilma Soss (the basis for the Carol Burnett “cleaning lady” character) and Evelyn Y. Davis often challenged and certainly annoyed CEOs, but their microphones were never cut and they were certainly never arrested. I have spoken at the annual meetings of dozens of public companies over the past 19 years. My demeanor at the Berkshire meeting was no different from any other. There was no reason to throw me out except that I came too close to the truth. Additional revelations about Bill Gates and Jeffrey Epstein since the meeting confirm the importance of the issue I sought to raise, namely the reputational risk to Berkshire Hathaway by having one individual hold both the Chairman and CEO positions, especially if that person is so closely identified with particular causes and personalities. The whole point of the shareholder proposal process is to allow shareholders critical of management an avenue to change corporate policy. To simply silence and arrest a shareholder who disagrees with management stands the whole concept of having public shareholders on its head. If Warren Buffett thinks that since he owns 15% of Berkshire shares, that he can act with impunity, he is mistaken. Shareholders have rights, and I intend to enforce mine." Founded in 1991, NLPC promotes ethics in public life and government accountability through research, investigation, education, and legal action. Contact Details National Legal and Policy Center Dan Rene +1 202-329-8357 drene@nlpc.org Company Website http://www.nlpc.org

May 24, 2023 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Shareholder to Demand Greater Transparency from McDonald’s, Walmart About Business Risks in China

National Legal & Policy Center

As shareholders are set to attend annual meetings over the next week for McDonald’s Corporation and Walmart Inc., National Legal and Policy Center will ask fellow investors to support its proposals to provide greater transparency about the companies’ risks of doing business in China. NLPC will present “Communist China Risk Audit” proposals at the meetings, which seek reports to shareholders that address “the nature and extent to which corporate operations depend on, and are vulnerable to, communist China….” The McDonald’s proposal is No. 7 on Page 93 of the company’s proxy statement. For Walmart, NLPC’s proposal is No. 11 on Page 116 of its proxy statement. Both companies oppose NLPC’s proposals. In response, NLPC filed rebuttals at the Securities and Exchange Commission in support of its resolutions to be considered at the McDonald’s meeting, to be held May 25, and at Walmart’s meeting, scheduled for May 31. Read NLPC’s SEC filing for McDonald’s here, and for Walmart here. NLPC’s report to the SEC on McDonald’s outlines some of the risks inherent in doing business in China, and notes: McDonald’s 2023 first quarter [report] states that “(financial) results reflected strong operating performance across the (International Developmental Licensed Markets & Corporate) segment, led by Brazil and China.” China is a clear driver of McDonald’s business performance, making its reliance on China a critical risk, as there are a number of factors that could harm the company The United Nations calls on companies to “provide information that is sufficient to evaluate the adequacy of an enterprise’s response to the particular human rights impact involved.” If McDonald’s is being “guided” by this principle and is already discussing significant risk exposures using “robust risk management program,” then a report…should be easy to deliver and provide investors with meaningful insights. An excerpt of NLPC’s filing for Walmart states: The magnitude of its risk in China is not comparable to the general business risks (already) disclosed by Walmart, many of which are indistinguishable from the disclosures made by other public companies. China-specific risks are present across many parts of Walmart’s business… Walmart has invested a considerable amount in its Chinese infrastructure. Thus, potential disruptions due to political, economic, regulatory, or health issues could negatively impact Walmart’s investments in the region. China is McDonald’s second-largest market, with more than 5,000 restaurants representing nearly 13 percent of its total locations. The communist nation is Walmart’s fourth-largest market, behind the United States, Central America, and Canada, with 365 stores representing nearly seven percent of its international locations. “Considering the extent of revenue generated and supply chain that is dependent on China, McDonald’s and Walmart owe their shareholders more transparency and specificity about their respective risks in the extensive amount of business they do there,” said Paul Chesser, director of NLPC’s Corporate Integrity Project. “Between human rights atrocities and Chairman Xi Jinping’s saber-rattling against Taiwan, the feasibility of continuing operations there may be tenuous. We urge their boards of directors to disclose more.” Founded in 1991, NLPC promotes ethics in public life and government accountability through research, investigation, education, and legal action. ### For more information or to schedule an interview with Paul Chesser, contact Dan Rene at 202-329-8357 or drene@nlpc.org. Please visit http://www.nlpc.org. Contact Details National Legal and Policy Center Dan Rene +1 202-329-8357 drene@nlpc.org Company Website http://www.nlpc.org

May 24, 2023 09:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

‘Ready for Ron’ Now ‘Ready to Win’

Ready for Ron

For more than a year, Ready for Ron, an independent group working to Draft Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to run for President, actively built support for his candidacy. A petition with more than 250,000 signatures (and a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission to share it) tens of thousands of TV and online ads, along with millions of phone calls, mail pieces, and emails, and a grassroots and coalitions program has done its job - Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to soon announce he’s running for President. With Governor DeSantis about to become an official candidate, Ready for Ron is changing its name to ‘Ready to Win’ to reflect its singular mission to nominate and elect Ron DeSantis to win in 2024. “We spent an entire year running thousands of TV ads, millions of mailings, and tens of millions of online, email, and social connections to drive the narrative – Ron DeSantis will be our next President,” stated Ed Rollins, Ready to Win’s Chief Political Strategist. “We built an infrastructure. We completely changed the discussion. With a quarter million petition signers calling for him to run we are thrilled that we see our goal achieved - Ron DeSantis entering the Presidential race. He may well be the only leader who can defeat Joe Biden.” In addition to its outreach and engagement initiatives, Ready for Ron worked with Impact Social to analyze the online and social media discussion in relation to Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump among swing voters. The data clearly and consistently shows Ron DeSantis can beat Joe Biden, and Donald Trump simply can’t. Additional data research with multiple vendors covering more than 19 million voters affirms these findings. “Winning the nomination and the general election requires us all to work together to build this movement and save our nation,” stated Ready to Win Counsel, Dan Backer. “Our groundbreaking research debunked the bad polling plaguing Republicans for more than eight years. Using cutting edge massive data monitoring proves what everyone already knows - Donald Trump’s supporters are loyal and loud, but confined to only a sliver of the population that cannot grow. Moderate, swing, and independent voters are not coming back to Trump, ever, and he cannot possibly win the general Election – Ron DeSantis can.” “Voters young and old both know Governor DeSantis has a proven track record of standing up for America’s values. He is committed to defending the rights of parents, getting inflation and government spending under control, and solving the problems the radical left is causing. He dares to say no to the bullies, no matter how powerful they may seem. He can deliver safe streets, sane schools, and a soaring economy,” stated Gabriel Llanes, Executive Director of Ready to Win. “DeSantis is much more than a politician with savvy instincts; he is a public servant through and through. No ego to get in the way because he is about results.” “We will continue our ground-up grassroots efforts in key primary states, doing the hard work to train and mobilize a volunteer army to nominate, and elect, our next great American president,” Rollins continued. We feel DeSantis is well prepared to be the candidate to win the Republican nomination and beat President Biden. We are officially, Ready to Win!” ### For more information or to schedule an interview with a Ready to Win spokesperson, please contact Dan Rene at 202-329-8357 or dan@readyforron.com. Contact Details Ready to Win Dan Rene +1 202-329-8357 dan@readyforron.com Company Website https://www.readyforron.com/

May 23, 2023 02:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Endowments and Pensions Continue to Post Gains, but Exposure to Private Markets Pushes Many Below Their Performance Benchmarks, According to Projections from MPI

Markov Processes Inc.

Rebounds in the public markets helped college endowments and public pensions to post gains over the first three quarters of the 2023 fiscal year, as exposure to private equity and especially to venture capital caused the median performance of each group to trail their key benchmarks, according to proprietary projections from Markov Processes International, Inc. (“MPI”), a leading independent FinTech provider of software and services for analyzing investment performance and risk. The estimates are generated by the MPI Transparency Lab, a one-of-a-kind data hub for endowment and pension performance. The Lab provides a wealth of information on performance and risk of the largest U.S. endowments and public pensions. “With most pensions and endowments reporting their results only once a year, outsiders rarely have an appreciation of their intra-year volatility,” said Michael Markov, co-founder and chief executive officer of MPI. “This is unfortunate. As our estimates show, tracking performance on a quarterly or more frequent basis allows us to assess where they stand in relation to their benchmarks and why. This is important to so many constituencies.” Among major college endowments, MPI estimates that the University of Pennsylvania is leading among Ivy League schools with 3.91% returns, with Columbia University being close second, tracking with a 3.55% estimated return. Princeton University and Harvard University are expected to trail other Ivies with returns close to zero. Overall, MPI estimates the median Ivy League endowment return so far in FY2023 is 1.9%. By contrast, the Global 70/30 Benchmark, which is the standard benchmark for endowment performance, is up 6.1% for the same three-quarter period. Private market exposure continued to be a drag on results. To estimate performance, MPI used the recently released Cambridge Associates’ Private Benchmarks preliminary estimates for the 4 th quarter of 2022. The CA Venture Capital index was down -7.31% for the quarter and CA Private Equity Index was up 0.62%. The CA Real Estate index return is -0.56% for the quarter. "Even though private benchmark data is not available for the first quarter of 2023, we expect them to slide further given rising interest rates, depressed valuations, and increased bankruptcy rates in early 2023," Markov said. “However, we decided to use conservative estimates of zero return for private equity and venture capital for the most recent quarter. Private markets propped up endowment returns last fiscal year, but our estimates show that those funds more exposed to public equities are outperforming their peers currently, and the gap might widen even further during this quarter.” The situation was the same for U.S. public pensions. MPI Transparency Lab estimates pensions have median return of 5.2% for the three quarters of 2023 fiscal year. The Oklahoma TRS has the highest return of 8.2%, with Georgia TRSGA being close second. Performance of the Global 60-40 benchmark, the key benchmark for pensions, was 5.8%, with a -6% loss in the third quarter of 2022, a 6.6% gain in the fourth quarter of 2022, and a 5.6% gain in the first quarter of 2023. This swing mirrors pension performance. As with endowments, the difference in performance rested with the balance between public and private market exposure. The lowest FY2023 estimated performers – state employees’ pensions of Oregon (0.6% estimated return), Pennsylvania (1.2%) and Washington (1.8%) – all had reported the highest performance last fiscal year, largely because of their outsized allocations to private assets. “Knowing how an endowment or pension is doing quarter by quarter and why not only serves to satisfy one’s curiosity,” Markov noted. “Rather, it prepares beneficiaries so that they are not caught by surprise at the year-end by the results. In addition, we see the main value of this feature in providing pension CIOs valuable datapoints about their narrow set of close peers.” For additional information on MPI’s proprietary data, visit the Transparency Lab. For further information, contact MPI at +1 (908) 608-1558 or info@markovprocesses.com. About MPI Markov Processes International Inc. (MPI) is a leading provider of solutions for investment research, analysis and reporting to the global wealth and investment management industry. MPI works with more than 200 client organizations, including pensions and endowments, sovereign wealth funds, global wealth management firms, institutional consultants, regulators, investment advisors and asset managers. Rooted in the principles of transparency, objectivity, and efficiency, MPI takes an innovative approach to problem solving in the areas of fund analysis, risk management, asset allocation, and reporting to ensure that its clients have the tools to succeed in ever-more-crowded markets. Follow us on Twitter @MarkovMPI and connect with us on LinkedIn. Contact Details For MPI info@markovprocesses.com Company Website https://www.markovprocesses.com/

May 22, 2023 10:20 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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