The passage of time feels like it creeps, then pounces: Suddenly, party conversation focuses on real estate, how we are going to bed earlier and our realisation that we have no idea what type of jeans to wear.

For years, millennials have been the target of financial jokes: They spend all their money on lattes and avocado toast! and Why dont they get a minimum wage job to pay for college like I did? But the cliches got old quickly.

And now, as millennials move deeper into their thirties and forties, there are some things to consider changing up. Most notably, their investments.

For those lucky enough to invest early on, the advice was pretty standard: Invest often, and invest in aggressive assets to take advantage of long-term growth.

Maybe the most aggressive of us dipped our toes in cryptocurrency and meme stocks at some point. After all, you have got all the time in the world to ride out the highs and lows of the market when you are 24.

But now, we are more mature. And with that wisdom comes new responsibilities, such as adjusting our asset allocation.

Asset allocation is simply a fancy phrase for what percentage of your portfolio is in each investment.

For example, a 20 year olds investment portfolio of $100 (for easy maths), might be 90 per cent in stocks and 10 per cent in bonds, or $90 and $10, respectively.

As you get closer to retirement, it is a good rule of thumb to shift that allocation to a less risky position, such as 60 per cent stocks and 40 per cent bonds, although the exact percentages will depend on your personal financial situation.

In general, as we get older we tend to take fewer risks, says Aaron Hatch, a certified financial planner and founder of Woven Capital in California.

In your early twenties, when you have nothing to lose and time on your side, you can afford to take all kinds of risks. However, as we millennials accumulate assets and we inch towards retirement, it might be worth considering taking a little risk off the table by slightly decreasing exposure to stocks or other risky investments.

One easy way to figure out if it is time to shift your asset allocation is to look at model portfolios. You can consider these illustrations and adjust yours accordingly.

For example, if you are 30 and planning to retire when you are 65, you could check out portfolios that show what a target-date fund looks like for those retiring in 2060.

You may see a majority of stock-based funds with about 10 per cent in bonds. If you are in your forties, that recommended portfolio may be closer to 15 per cent in bonds.

Model portfolios can be helpful, but they are not perfect. Maybe you own a chunk of cryptocurrency or some property. These kinds of investments should be considered when shifting your assets.

When you are shifting your asset allocation now, it pays to think strategically about your future.

The types of accounts an individual has when they retire, along with their cash needs, should determine their withdrawal strategy in retirement. It is important to keep taxes in mind when deciding from which account types to pull money for living expenses in retirement, Mr Hatch says.

Think ahead to retirement. When you sell your investments so you can have spending money in retirement, you will likely have to pay capital gains tax on those earnings.

But if you know you will need to pay taxes on that money, it is worth calculating what you will owe and setting it aside.

And you may still need to be invested throughout retirement, says Marigny deMauriac, a financial planner and founder of deMauriac, a financial planning company in New Orleans.

Since you might live to be in your nineties, chances are you cant just shift everything to cash and call it a day, Ms deMauriac says.

Most people need to plan for growth in their accounts to outpace inflation, even in retirement.

Asset allocation, like many of the chores of millennial middle age, may not feel glamorous, but it may help us pay for all that avocado toast we will enjoy in retirement.

Updated: March 01, 2024, 5:00 AM

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Why it's time for millennials to change their investment strategy - The National

You recently reported on how the new president of the European Investment Bank had signalled an openness to invest more in defence, and that some EU states had proposed that the EIB should finance weapons purchases (Interview, February 28).

With Russian aggression and doubts about the future reliability of the US as an ally, it may seem sensible to ask whether the EIB mandate should now be expanded to include direct military expenditures? Unfortunately, the answer is likely to be no.

Multilateral development banks such as the EIB perform due diligence to ensure the environmental, social and governance standards of the investments they support. What happens in the case of defence? Even if investors are ready to fund defence and many are not as a matter of principle it is clearly not possible for any third party to take a view on the number of bombs that should be produced, nor how they should be procured. This means the EIB would simply provide its balance sheet as a funding vehicle for the budgets of the governments in question. It becomes nothing more than an indirect government funding agency incidentally competing with similar national agencies.

The balance sheet of the EIB, as other MDBs, is limited. The EIB is lending between 50bn and 100bn annually. The question is not whether increased defence spending is necessary it is but where can that money, combined with the knowledge of the institution, be best deployed to stimulate broader investment that supports its policy goals.

In short, the approach of funding dual use technologies technologies that are justified as commercial propositions in the civilian sector, but also have defence uses, drones being a commonly cited example is as far as the EIB, or any other similar organisation, should go.

Christopher Hurst Senior Visiting Fellow School of Transnational Governance European University Institute, Florence, Italy

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Letter: Where the European Investment Bank is on the defensive - Financial Times

Cathie Wood stands out as a notable figure in the investment realm, renowned for her emphasis on groundbreaking innovation. She holds key positions as the founder, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of ARK Invest.

For those unfamiliar, Wood established ARK Invest in 2014, a firm dedicated to investment management with a specialization in disruptive innovation. She is a firm believer that innovation plays a crucial role in achieving sustained long-term growth, directing her attention towards pinpointing public market prospects in domains such as DNA sequencing, robotics, artificial intelligence, energy storage, and blockchain technology.

Wood is highly praised within her entrepreneurial community for her positive and forward-thinking investment strategy. Her success as an investor can be attributed to her active management approach, frequently directing investments toward companies with substantial growth prospects, albeit accompanied by higher risks. Here are several fundamental tenets of Woods investment approach:

Emphasize disruptive innovation: At the core of Woods strategy is the recognition of companies leading the way in transformative technologies and trends that have the potential to disrupt established industries significantly.

Extended time horizon: Wood underscores the importance of adopting a long-term investment horizon, typically spanning five years or more. She believes that disruptive innovation requires time to mature and realize its full potential. This strategy demands patience and a capacity to endure short-term volatility.

Proactive portfolio oversight: In contrast to passive investing, which follows broad indexes, Wood engages in active research and handpicks individual companies for investment. This approach allows her to customize her portfolio according to her distinct vision of disruptive innovation.

Prioritizing growth over value: Wood gives preference to companies with substantial growth potential, even if they have higher valuations in comparison to traditional value investing strategies. She thinks that such companies have the potential for significant price appreciation and long-term market outperformance.

Unconventional perspective: Wood is unafraid to adopt contrarian positions, frequently investing in companies that are currently unpopular in the broader market. While this approach entails risk, it also holds the potential for substantial rewards if her investments in these companies prove successful.

Positive outlook and future-oriented vision: Woods overarching strategy is marked by a positive outlook on the future and a conviction in the transformative capabilities of technology. This optimistic mindset propels her emphasis on disruptive innovation and her commitment to a long-term investment horizon.

Although Woods strategy has yielded substantial returns on certain occasions, it also comes with inherent risks. Her concentration on disruptive innovation entails investing in fledgling companies with uncertain prospects and fluctuating stock prices. Moreover, investors must comprehend these risks and align them with their risk tolerance and investment objectives before contemplating investment based on Woods principles.

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6 investing principles of Cathie Wood that underline her success in ploughing through market risks | Mint - Mint

The co-head of Goldman Sachs investment bank in Europe is leaving the bank after more than two decades.

Gonzalo Garcia, who is co-head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa investment bankingconfirmed his departure in a memo sent to staff on 29 February seen by Financial News.

His exit follows a report by the Financial Times that he was...

Originally posted here:
Goldman Sachs co-head of Emea investment banking Gonzalo Garcia confirms exit - Financial News

The House GOPs largest caucus is advancing a bill that includes new, stringent restrictions on outbound investment in sensitive tech sectors linked to Chinas military, National Review has learned.

The Republican Study Committee, a group of more than 150 conservative lawmakers, included this proposal in a broader China-focused legislative package that it is unveiling today.

The bill also bans former U.S. officials from lobbying for China and other U.S. adversaries, implements new restrictions on the purchase of farmland by individuals linked to the Chinese Communist Party, and allocates new funds to the Treasurys sanctions-enforcement office.

But the investment restrictions are the buzziest parts of the new legislation, which is set to be introduced this afternoon.

Helping China develop military technology to use against the United States is a self-defeating national-security liability that must be stopped, Bryan Burack, a senior policy adviser at the Heritage Foundation told National Review.

A recent report issued by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party found that U.S. venture-capital firms have funneled billions of dollars to companies involved in Chinas military buildup and human-rights abuses.

The White House has taken some tentative steps toward addressing these investments, with President Biden signing an executive order last year that requires venture-capital and private-equity investors to inform the U.S. government about their investments in sensitive industries, including semiconductors, quantum electronics, and AI.

But China hawks on both sides of the aisle worry that this executive orders list of sectors is too narrow and the notification system not far-reaching enough.

The RSC bill would build on a bipartisan proposal introduced last year by House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Michael McCaul and the panels top Democrat, Gregory Meeks, to codify and expand the Biden order.

The RSC proposal goes further by adding biotechnology and satellites to the list of sectors covered by outbound-investment restrictions. It also includes a version of a bill by Representative Andy Barr, which would push the Treasury Department to impose full-blocking sanctions on Chinese-military-linked firms that have already been blacklisted by the government. The RSC version of the bill would make it tougher for the president to waive the sanctions and, in the event that a waiver is invoked, still prohibit Americans from investing in the blacklisted companies.

Yet House GOP leaders have been divided over the possibility of implementing tough China-investment curbs,as House Financial Services Committee chairman Patrick McHenry has stymied such efforts.

McHenry, who is retiring at the end of his term, has quickly made himself one of the lone voices arguing against these broad restrictions against U.S. investment in Chinese-military-linked firms. Groups such as the Heritage Foundation, the America First Police Institute, and American Compass knocked McHenrys stance in a letter last year urging congressional leaders to insert the Senate provision in the annual defense-policy bill.

They criticized McHenry for arguing that more Americans should invest in and sit on the boards of Chinese firms linked to Beijings military-civil fusion system: It is both unwise and unconscionable to finance the capabilities of an adversary hostile to American interests and values.

The RSC legislation, called the Countering Communist China Act, shows that House conservatives are taking the side of the China hawks, Burack said.

The RSC is Congresss largest caucus, and its strong stand is the clearest sign yet that conservatives want to stop Wall Street from funding our own destruction.

Read more:
House GOP Group Wants Major Crackdown on U.S. Investment in Chinese Tech - National Review

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Mr. Speaker, earlier this month, the 20th Legislative Assembly affirmed its commitment to building a strong economic foundation.

We live in a digital world where so much economic potential exists in digital economies because, for starters, that is where consumers are. Today, consumers purchase more goods and services online, looking for more convenience through e-commerce, and expecting more personalized offerings. Today, there is a much greater need for businesses to have a strong online presence and tap into market spaces into living rooms down the street, beyond our territory, to other areas of Canada, and even internationally.

Prosper NWT, formerly the Northwest Territories Business Development and Investment Corporation, plays a lead role in helping NWT businesses pursue these opportunities and adopt new and emerging digital technologies to increase their competitiveness.

Prosper NWT has partnered with the Government of Canada to deliver the Canada Digital Adoption Program and revamped its contribution program to offer matching funds with the Accelerate Digital Adoption Projects for Tomorrow Fund, aptly known as ADAPT.

Through these two initiatives, NWT businesses can apply for up to $5,000 in grants and contributions for their digital projects and have access to digital advisors who provide expertise, guidance, and support along the way. These programs have already helped over 50 NWT businesses expand their digital footprint.

Mr. Speaker, today I am thrilled to announce that Prosper NWT has secured an additional $534,000 over three years from the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency to bolster digital adoption. This additional investment will continue to help businesses with their digital transformation as they can now apply for up to $12,500 for their digital projects.

This additional funding is not just an investment in technology, it is an investment that strengthens our economic foundation, supports NWT northern business to evolve to consumer expectations, and makes it easier for NWT businesses to access global markets. We are supporting businesses to lay down the infrastructure needed for a more connected, innovative, and competitive economic presence.

Let us continue to support local, encourage NWT businesses to build their web presence, and celebrate them as they work to thrive. I look forward to working together to help build a stronger, more prosperous Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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Caitlin Cleveland: Additional Investment to Bolster Digital Adoption by Businesses - Government of Northwest Territories

Rivian Automotive (RIVN 0.18%) has more of its vehicles on the road than ever before. If you live in one of the cities where Rivian's electric delivery vans are operating, the company looks like it's thriving. But Rivian is yet another example of why a company's perceived popularity and its stock price are different.

Rivian has lost half of its value so far in 2024. Last week was particularly brutal, as Rivian's fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 earnings release unleashed a rampage of selling, with the stock falling over 36% in the three-day period between Feb. 21 and Feb. 23.

Let's determine if the electric car company's investment thesis is officially broken or if the Rivian sell-off has gone too far.

Image source: Getty Images.

Rivian just lost the one tailwind it couldn't afford to lose -- production growth. Production is now expected to be flat year over year, which is terrible news for Rivian because its manufacturing expansion now looks excessive and unwarranted.

Here's a look at what Rivian has produced and delivered since going public.

Metric

Q4 2021

Q1 2022

Q2 2022

Q3 2022

Q4 2022

Q1 2023

Q2 2023

Q3 2023

Q4 2023

Production

1,003

2,553

4,401

7,363

10,020

9,395

13,992

16,304

17,541

Deliveries

909

1,227

4,467

6,584

8,054

7,946

12,640

15,564

13,972

Data source: Rivian.

Its run-rate production as of Q4 2023 was 70,164 vehicles per year. However, its 2024 production guidance calls for just 57,000 vehicles, which is an average of 14,250 per quarter.

Part of the reason for the slowdown is that Rivian is shutting down its passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle production lines during the second quarter to improve plant efficiency and boost production rates by 30%. But even if you assume Rivian produced no vehicles for an entire quarter, 57,000 units over three quarters is still just 19,000 units per quarter -- which isn't exactly the increase investors were looking for relative to Rivian's record Q4 2023 production.

Rivian's muted production forecast isn't solely due to production changes, it is also due to demand challenges. To quote the shareholder letter:

For 2024, we expect our total deliveries to be derived from our existing order bank as well as new orders generated during the year. Our full year targets rely on an improvement in order rate driven by our planned go-to-market strategies. The conversion of our existing order bank to sales can be impacted by several factors including delivery timing, location of order, monthly payments, and customer readiness. Our order bank has notably reduced over time as deliveries more than doubled in 2023 versus 2022, and we have incurred cancellations due to macro and customer factors.

Rivian talked at length about customer demand during its earnings call. Rivian is addressing demand challenges with a focus on its brand, including opening more showrooms and offering test drives. That sounds like high sales, general, and administrative expenses to me.

Rivian is guiding for an adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) loss of $2.7 billion for 2024 and capital expenditures of $1.75 billion compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $3.98 billion and capital expenditures of $1.02 billion in 2023. 2022 capital expenditures were $1.4 billion.

Rivian is guiding for its highest capital expenditures in three years during a time when it is pledging cost cuts and operational improvements. The investment may pay off, but now seems to be a time when Rivian needs to be more careful with its spending.

It's also worth mentioning that Rivian's gross margin was negative 46% in Q4 2023 compared to negative 36% in Q3 and negative 37% in Q2 2023. So Rivian has a lot of work to do to reverse the downward trend and get its margins profitable by the end of the year.

The main issue with Rivian is a lack of meaningful cost-cutting and too much focus on the long-term story. Normally, an investment thesis focuses on multiyear, sometimes multidecade concepts. That certainly applies to Rivian, electric passenger vehicles, and electric commercial vehicles. But Rivian isn't profitable, and it isn't expected to be profitable in the near term.

It has made sizable long-term manufacturing investments by assuming exponential growth in demand. As Rivian said during the Q4 earnings call, it is transitioning from a business that was merely fulfilling a multiyear order backlog to having to go out and get new demand for its vehicles. That transition doesn't seem to be going poorly per se, but it is coming at the added cost of marketing expenses.

Investors who hoped 2024 would be a year of major cost reductions, margin improvement, and sustained growth have been disappointed. 2024 adjusted operating expenses are expected to be approximately flat compared to 2023 while capital expenditures are expected to be over 50% higher than last year. There is 0% forecast production growth. And it looks like the company will simply deplete its cash reserves even further with too little to show for it.

A single quarter may not matter as much for a proven company with a track record spanning several decades, but it does for Rivian. Many investors are running for the exits, and it's easy to see why.

The Rivian investment thesis isn't entirely broken, but it has become more speculative than in the past. Rivian has always been a high risk/high potential reward company. But at least it had production growth and the prospect of near-term cost-cutting to back it up. Neither of those factors are there now to support the investment thesis. Rivian is promising production growth and significantly lower costs in 2025, but it isn't providing investors any reason to give it the benefit of the doubt.

Investors who have been waiting to buy Rivian and believe in the long-term growth story are getting their best chance yet. Expect it to be a very bumpy ride for Rivian until it gives investors something to cheer about. For most investors, it is probably best to wait to buy Rivian until it shows clear signs of a turnaround.

Daniel Foelber has positions in Rivian Automotive and has the following options: short March 2024 $15 puts on Rivian Automotive and short March 2024 $17.50 calls on Rivian Automotive. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Is the Rivian Investment Thesis Officially Broken? - The Motley Fool

Secretary Visits New Hampshire to Highlight Biden-Harris Administrations Efforts to Lower Prescription Drug Costs

This week, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra toured New England to highlighted how President Bidens agenda is delivering for communities across the country. The Secretary joined First Lady Jill Biden in Boston to announce $100 million investment in womens health research, toured Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire to highlight lowering health care costs, sat down with the Wall Street Journal for their annual Health Forum, and spoke with students at Harvard Kennedy Schools Institute of Politics.

Event with First Lady Jill Biden

On Wednesday, Secretary Becerra visited Boston, Massachusetts, for an event with the First Lady to announce $100 million in research and development for womens health through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency within HHS.

The issue of healthcare for women has faced challenges longer than any of us have been alive: scientific challenges, clinical challenges, political challenges, and now this week, down in Alabama, another legal challenge, said Secretary Becerra in remarks at the event. The key here is that President Joe Biden made [ARPA-H's announcement] possible: $100 million. That is everything. And with the First Lady launching this White House initiative on women's health research, we have the focus we need. And so at the Department of Health and Human Services, she had us at hello: we are ready to go.

Visit to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire

On Tuesday, Secretary Becerra visited Dartmouth Hithcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, New Hampshire as part of the Biden-Harris Administrations Investing in America Tour. Secretary Becerra, along with U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (NH), started their visit by touring DHMCs birthing pavilion and meeting with leaders of the Moms in Recovery Program, a program for pregnant and parenting women who struggle with substance use. They also discussed rural maternal health equity.

The Biden-Harris Administration has prioritized maternal health, including by urging all states and territories to provide a full year of continuous postpartum coverage through Medicaid and CHIP under the American Rescue Plan Act. To date, CMS has approved these postpartum coverage extensions in states and DC and the Virgin Islands, including New Hampshire since November 2023.

Secretary Becerra and Senator Hassan toured the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Centers birthing pavilion.

Afterwards at a fireside chat, Secretary Becerra discussed how President Bidens lower cost prescription drug law (the Inflation Reduction Act) is generating savings for people with Medicare. HHS estimates 73,000 Granite Staters will save an average of $490 per year on prescription drug costs when new policies go into effect in 2025.

Sit-Down with the Wall Street Journal

Secretary Becerra also spoke in Boston at the Wall Street Journal Health Forum about HHSs work on COVID, health care enrollment, closing health equity gaps, and lowering drug prices.

Secretary Becerra being interviewed at The Wall Street Journal Health Forum in Boston.

Visit to Harvard Kennedy Schools Institute of Politics (IOP)

Closing out the Secretarys travel in Boston, Secretary Becerra visited Harvard Kennedy Schools Institute of Politics for a wide-ranging conversation with undergraduate, graduate, and medical students. The Secretary answered questions about mental health, reproductive health care, and expanding health care access.

Secretary Becerra answers questions from students at The Harvard Kennedy Schools Institute of Politics in Boston.

Read and watch more about Secretary Becerras events in New England:

Boston Herald: Biden administration will commit $100 million toward womens health research

We know we have more to do to advance our knowledge and medical treatment for conditions that affect women. ARPA-H is joining an HHS-wide effort to take up that challenge, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said. Women are dramatically under-represented in research into critical issues, including coronary issues and autoimmune diseases. Women have their needs overlooked or are left out entirely from scientific and health research overall.

WBTS (NBC) - Boston, Massachusetts

AP: Jill Biden announces $100 million for life-changing research and development into womens health

The money is the first major deliverable of the White House Initiative on Womens Health Research, which was announced late last year. The money comes from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H, which is under the federal Department of Health and Human Services.

Axios: Biden admin commits $100M for womens health research

The investment is part of federal efforts to close gender gaps in research, which supporters say have led to insufficient funding for endometriosis, MS and other conditions that disproportionately affect women... Startup founders, investors and health advocates gathered with ARPA-H officials after the announcements to discuss various problems affecting women's health. The agency's program managers will develop focus areas for the women's health research efforts and solicit ideas for potential solutions, ARPA-H Director Renee Wegrzyn tells Axios. That could range from medical treatments and detection tools to new research models or gene-editing technology.

WMUR: HHS Secretary Becerra discusses rural maternity care in Lebanon

Access to maternal health care for women in rural areas is shrinking across the country, and on Tuesday, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services heard more about the problem in New Hampshire.

Secretary Xavier Becerra said that Washington needs to do more to address the issue.

In the birthing pavilion at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Lebanon, Becerra and U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, heard from providers about the expectant mothers in New Hampshire and Vermont who rely on the hospital....

Maternity deserts are the growing swaths of the United States where women do not have nearby access to obstetric care.

Clearly, we could do better, especially in rural communities where it takes forever to get to one of those major hospitals if you really need them, Becerra said. So we're going to try to do more and put assets in place in rural communities, so they can access the care they need faster.

The Wall Street Journal: Pushing Healthcare Forward

President Biden has received challenges on a number of healthcare issues, including costs, female reproductive rights and immigration. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra shares how the administration is pushing to retain the progress it has made.

WMUR (ABC) - Manchester, NH

WMURs Adam Sexton: On his trip to the Granite state, Secretary Becerra is also touting new price controls on insulin and progress on the government's ability to negotiate the cost of certain drugs covered by Medicare.

Secretary Becerra: We submitted our proposed pricing to the to the nine companies that have the ten most expensive drugs on Medicare, about $46 billion last year alone for just ten drugs. We're expecting a response by the end of this month. And by September, we will let you know what the price is that we negotiate with these companies.

WCAX: HHS secretary visits Upper Valley to discuss drug price reforms in Inflation Reduction Act (video)

Addiction, access to rural health care, and high drug prices were just some of the issues U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra discussed during a stop in the Upper Valley Tuesday. For the third time in as many months, a member of President Bidens cabinet traveled to New Hampshire touting the work of the administration.

Drug prices were at the top of the agenda during Tuesdays meeting at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center with HHS Secretary Becerra answering questions from Dartmouth Health CEO Joanne Conroy and New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan.

The Biden administrations so-called Investing in America Tour is highlighting provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act designed to lower health care costs by capping out-of-pocket payments.

No senior is going to have to pay more than $2,000 out of pocket for prescription drugs. That may not seem like a lot for some people but there are thousands and thousands of Americans that are paying tens of thousands of dollars every single year for their drug prices, Becerra said....

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HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra Tours New England, Announces $100 Million Investment in Women's Healthcare ... - HHS.gov

Topline

ATP, the mens professional tennis tour, and Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund agreed to a five-year partnership Wednesday that will make the country a major sponsor of the league, the latest in a series of moves by the kingdom to invest in professional sports.

As part of the deal, the PIF, the Saudi wealth fund, will have naming rights for the ATP rankings which were previously sponsored by Pepperstone, an Australian online trading firm, ATP said Wednesday.

PIF will partner with ATP for other events in Beijing, Indian Wells, Madrid and Miami, ATP said in a statement.

Before Wednesdays announcement, Saudi Arabia had a deal to host the Next Generation ATP finalsa tournament for younger playersin Jeddah from 2023 to 2027.

Womens tennis is also exploring the possibility of partnering with the Saudis. The WTA womens tennis tour has reportedly been in negotiations with Saudi Arabia to play its WTA Finals in the country.

This is the latest in a series of investments the Saudis have made in professional sports in recent years. Most notably, the PIF made major investments in professional golf when they allocated billions of dollars to start LIV Golf, in 2022 as a direct competitor to the PGA Tour. With that money, LIV recruited some of the PGA Tours best known golfers and challenged PGAs control of professional golf. Then competing golf tours surprised the world last year when they suddenly announced they were merging. The Saudis have made investments to host major soccer tournaments in their country including the 2027 Asian Cup and 2023 Club World Cup.The Saudis also appear interested in investing in Formula 1 after they signed a 10-year contract in 2020 to host a race in the country each year beginning in 2021. Bloomberg reported the PIF considered making a $20 billion bid for Formula 1 in 2022. This heavy investment in sports is part of Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salmans Vision 2030, a government program aimed at diversifying the oil-rich countrys economy.

Some athletes have been critical of the growing relationship between professional sports and Saudi Arabia. The country has been accused of sportswashing or involving itself in sports in an attempt to distract from the countrys human rights violations. The United Nations Human Rights Council last month criticized Saudi Arabias restrictions on LGBTQ+ peoplesame-sex relations are punishable by death in Saudi Arabia and all forms of LGBTQ+ advocacy are banned in the country. The Saudis also faced criticism, including from President Joe Biden, over the purported role of bin Salman in the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

I am a Washington D.C. based reporter. My previous work includes USA Today, E&E News, the Baltimore Sun, NBC News and Maryland Matters. I am a graduate of Saint Joseph's University with a degree in political science. Email me at afaguy@forbes.com and follow me on Twitter @AnaFaguy.

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ATP Tennis Inks 5-Year Deal With Saudis In Countrys Latest Sports Investment - Forbes

As part of the transaction, John Raeder and Maitlan Cramer will join the Accelo board of directors.

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Software firm Accelo grabs investment from Bow River - PE Hub