Growth stocks are back in the drivers seat in 2024, and the Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:VONG) is a great, straightforward way to invest in a wide variety of them. Im bullish on this growth-oriented ETF from Vanguard due to its strong portfolio of highly-rated growth stocks, impressive historical performance, sound diversification, and low expense ratio.

According to fund sponsor Vanguard, VONG invests in stocks in the Russell 1000 Growth Index, a broadly diversified index predominantly made up of growth stocks of large U.S. companies. Vanguard says that VONG is considered a gauge of large-cap growth U.S. stock returns.

The Russell 1000 Index is an index of the 1,000 largest stocks in the Russell 3000 Index (which represents about 97% of the U.S. public equity market by market cap), and this ETF encapsulates the growth stocks within this large cohort. VONG was launched in 2010 and is now a fairly popular fund, with $18.8 billion in assets under management (AUM).

While there is nothing particularly complicated about this strategy of investing in growth stocks within the Russell 1000, VONG has used it for a long time to generate good returns for investors.

As of January 31, the fund has returned a respectable 10.0% on an annualized basis over the past three years. Zooming out, VONG has returned a stellar 18.0% on an annualized basis over the past five years and an impressive 15.4% on an annualized basis over the past 10 years. Since its inception in 2010, VONG has returned 15.9% per year.

Looking at it from a different perspective, the fund has returned 318.1% on a cumulative basis over the past decade, meaning that if you had put $10,000 into it 10 years ago, your investment would be worth over $41,800 today.

Furthermore, the growth-oriented fund has returned an even more impressive 618.7% on a cumulative basis since its inception in September 2010, meaning that if you put $10,000 into it back then, your investment would be worth nearly $72,000 today, illustrating the power of investing in good funds over the long term.

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VONG offers investors good diversification, as it holds 442 stocks. However, there is also some concentration here, as its top 10 holdings make up 51.6% of the funds assets.

Below is an overview of VONGs top 10 holdings using TipRanks Holdings tool.

VONGs list of top holdings includes most of the mega-cap tech names that investors know and love, including the entire Magnificent Seven Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) plus Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO), which might as well be a member of this cohort at this point.

Given the way that these mega-cap tech stocks have come to dominate the broader market, and growth stocks in particular, the fund clearly has a technology bent. And while the technology sector has by far the largest weighting within the fund at 53.0%, growth isnt limited to the tech sector, and VONG owns plenty of growth stocks from other industries.

For example, Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) is a top 10 holding that has demonstrated surging growth based on the breakthrough success of its GLP-1 drugs for diabetes and weight loss. The company recently reported fourth-quarter revenue that was up 28% year-over-year, remarkable growth for a company of its size, and guided to 2024 revenue that would represent 20% growth at the midpoint. Eli Lillys strong performance has even prompted some market observers to say it should replace Tesla in the Magnificent Seven.

Just outside of its top 10 holdings, VONG owns a wide variety of growth stocks from other sectors, including global payment networks Visa (NYSE:V) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA), as well as massive retail winners like Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and Costco (NASDAQ:COST).

VONGs collection of growth stocks is viewed favorably by TipRanks Smart Score System. The Smart Score is a proprietary quantitative stock scoring system created by TipRanks. It gives stocks a score from 1 to 10 based on eight market key factors. A score of 8 or above is equivalent to an Outperform rating.

Seven of VONGs top 10 holdings feature Outperform-equivalent Smart Scores of 8 or higher, including Broadcom and Amazon, which have Perfect 10 Smart Scores.Just outside of VONGs top 10 holdings, Costco and Mastercard also enjoy 10 out of 10 Smart Scores. VONG itself features an Outperform-equivalent ETF Smart Score of 8.

Perhaps best of all, VONG is a cost-effective way for investors to tap into this strong long-term performance and diversified collection of highly-rated growth stocks. VONGs expense ratio of just 0.08% is extremely inexpensive. An investor will pay just $8 in fees on a $10,000 investment in VONG annually. This is a bargain for an ETF that has put up the types of returns that VONG has.

Assuming that the fund returns 5% per year going forward and maintains its current expense ratio, an investor initially putting $10,000 into VONG will pay just $103 in fees over the course of the decade. Investing in low-cost funds like this helps investors protect the principal of their investments over time and is an important but often overlooked consideration when building a portfolio.

Turning to Wall Street, VONG earns a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 357 Buys, 78 Holds, and eight Sell ratings assigned in the past three months. The average VONG stock price target of $93.84 implies 10.0% upside potential from current levels.

Theres nothing particularly fancy or exotic about VONGs strategy of investing in the Russell 1000 Growth Index, but it is a simple and effective way to invest in a large group of the markets top growth stocks for a low fee.Im bullish on this uncomplicated Vanguard ETF based on its track record of long-term performance, favorable expense ratio, and diversified portfolio of highly-rated growth stocks.

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VONG ETF: A Great Way to Invest in Top Growth Stocks - Yahoo Finance

The main state-controlled insurer in Italy is guaranteeing a petrochemical project in Uzbekistan that could be backed by Russias Gazprombank, an investigation showed, raising doubts about a potential indirect collaboration between Italian institutions and a lender under U.S. and U.K. sanctions.

The investigation by Re:Common, an Italian environment and corruption watchdog, drew a link between SACE, the state-owned Italian insurer, and an engineering company owned by Bakhtiyor Fazilov, a businessman from Samarkand, and allegedly bankrolled by Gazprombank.

Uzbekistans Ministry of Energy signed a memorandum of understanding in 2021 with Vnesheconombank (VBE), a Russian state-owned foreign investment bank, and Gazprombank, among others for the development of a new gas-to-chemical complex in Karakul, a special economic zone in the Bukhara region.

Shortly after the project was kickstarted, Versalis, the petrochemicals subsidiary of Italys ENI (which in turn is 30 percent owned by the Italian government), won a tender with the complexs main contractor, the Singapore-based Enter Engineering Pte. Ltd. Other Italian companies also won tenders for specific supplies.

With a $3 billion commitment, Singapore-based Enter Engineering Pte. Ltd. is the main contractor of the project and has unequivocal links to Russia through Fazilov, who also owns Eriell, an oilfield service group.

According to industry data seen by Re:Common, SACE is guaranteeing the financing of at least two deals worth 51.4 million euro. The first is an 11.4 million euro Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) service that Enter Engineering subcontracted to the Italian branch of Wood, a Scotland-based engineering company. Italys Unicredit, one of the countrys largest lenders, is the financial link of the operation, figuring in the contract as the facility agent. The second is a 40 million euro deal to supply industrial machinery, the financing of which was set up by Unicredit as the mandated lead arranger. An Italian company is poised to supply the machinery to a plastic bags factory in Uzbekistan.

Essentially, should Enter Engineering fail to meet its contractual obligations and pay the Italian suppliers, SACE would step in and compensate the companies, while attempting to collect the debt via other legal means. In case of default, according to Re:Common, Enter Engineering could be subjected to a previous put and call agreement that the company seems to have with Gazprombank.

Through a complex web of relations with Cyprus-based companies related to both Fazilov and Gazprombank, the worst-case scenario for Enter Engineering could mean that its shares could be transferred to the sanctioned Russian bank.

A worst-case scenario, though potentially unlikely, should be taken into account by the insurer, which manages 300 billion euro in savings of Italian taxpayers.

Investigations from 2023 support the findings by Re:Common, especially regarding the links between companies owned by Fazilov and sanctioned Russian entities and individuals.

Radio Ozodlik, RFE/RLs Uzbek Service, found that the granting of development and extraction rights [and contracts] to obscure offshore firms located in Cyprus, Singapore, China, and Great Britain, among other jurisdictions, are grounded primarily on decrees issued by [Uzbekistans President Shavkat] Mirziyoyev himself.

Within this context, the principal beneficiary has been Russias gas giant Gazprom, specifically via ties to Fazilov.

A detailed report of the investigation was published by Kristian Lasslett, a professor at the University of Ulster focusing on corruption.

The report indicates that companies tied to Uzbekistans and Russias governments formed an international consortium, or as the dossier puts it an octopus. Given that Russian stakeholders exercise significant control and that the consortium has secured a sizable share in Uzbekistans gas and oil fields, gas storage and oil/gas refining capability, the report concludes that the Kremlin [holds] potential leverage over Uzbekistan through one of its key industries.

Given the right of reply, Fazilov answered sharply: We hereby confirm you that your information is grossly incorrect, inaccurate and incomplete. The businessman, however, did not specify which part of the report contained factual mistakes.

While the agreements between SACE and the main contractors and backers of the petrochemical complex pre-date the start of Russias war of aggression in Ukraine, the contracts might have to be reconsidered in light of the current risks associated with the Russian role in the Uzbek project. As Re:Commons report concludes, over the long term SACE could now end up helping one of Russias most important banks.

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Italian Insurer Buttresses Russian Gas Investment in Uzbekistan - The Diplomat

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, February 29, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tribe Network, a community organization dedicated to empowering racialized individuals pursuing entrepreneurship, innovation and technology across Atlantic Canada, announced today an expansion of its partnership with Emera, a Nova Scotia-based leader in the clean energy transition. This collaboration aims to bolster diversity, equity, and inclusion within the entrepreneurial community in Atlantic Canada.

Emera is investing $500,000 over the next three years which will provide financial and business development support for an additional 3,000 entrepreneurs and community leaders as Tribes official Innovation Partner. This builds on Emeras support for Tribe Network, first announced in 2021, for a total investment of more than $800,000.

This renewed partnership will allow Tribe to focus on three key areas, helping to propel the work of Tribe forward:

Tribe Start Small Grant Program Powered by Emera: Grant funding and capacity building for up to 300 racialized entrepreneurs and community leaders (including Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) over the next three years.

Collaboration Spaces at Tribe HQ Powered by Emera: Tribe's co-working space in Halifax, which includes the Idea Zone, Idea Room, and Idea Studio. This collaboration will grant access to these dynamic spaces for up to 2,250 community members over a three-year period, enabling a vibrant exchange of ideas and fostering a culture of innovation.

Ecosystem Funding: Help create more inclusive pathways for technology and innovation including challenges, events, and mentorship and coaching programs designed to empower up to 450 diverse leaders in the tech and innovation sectors.

"Through this partnership with Emera, we are positioned to expand our impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem for racialized individuals in Atlantic Canada," said Alfred Burgesson, Founder and CEO of Tribe Network. "By providing people access to funding, resources, and a supportive community, we are not just empowering entrepreneurs, we are catalyzing a movement towards a more inclusive and innovative future in the region. We are grateful for Emeras continued support."

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"Since we first partnered with Tribe in 2021, its become clear theyre making an incredible impact on lives and diverse communities across Atlantic Canada," says Scott Balfour, President and CEO of Emera. "Were proud to continue supporting Tribes important work in breaking down barriers and creating opportunities to develop the next generation of leaders and innovators."

Together, Tribe Network and Emera demonstrate a shared commitment to creating a more equitable and diverse entrepreneurial ecosystem in Atlantic Canada.

About Tribe Network:

Tribe Network is a community of racialized people pursuing entrepreneurship and innovation in Canada. The organization supports its members by providing access to community, coaches, and capital, helping them thrive in entrepreneurship and innovation.

About Emera:

Emera Inc. is a geographically diverse energy and services company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with approximately $39 billion in assets and 2023 revenues of more than $7.6 billion. The company invests in electricity generation, transmission and distribution, gas transmission, and utility energy services with a strategic focus on transformation from high carbon to low carbon energy sources. Emera has investments throughout North America and in three Caribbean countries.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240229564894/en/

Contacts

Nicole Jackson Dina Bartolacci Seely

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Emera Extends Support for Racialized Entrepreneurs Across Atlantic Canada With Renewed Investment in Tribe Network - Yahoo Finance

The Chicago Red Stars and Wintrust Financial Corporation today announced a partnership that will see Wintrust become the clubs new front-of-jersey partner and community outreach investment partner. This unique new collaboration between the Red Stars and Wintrust will double the number of Red Stars camps and clinics that the club offers to young athletes across the city that help build confidence, leadership skills and personal growth through the game of soccer.

We have seen tremendous growth in womens sports and in the National Womens Soccer League in recent years, and this partnership will help expand the Red Stars reach said Laura Ricketts, Chicago Red Stars executive chairperson. Investing in the players and in the community are top priorities when it comes to our clubs success, and I look forward to working together with Wintrust in growing the Red Stars brand and investing in communities across Chicagoland.

The Red Stars partnered with various organizations in 2023 that work to serve underserved communities including: Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago; Brave Space Alliance, the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ+ Center; and Urban Initiatives. The new partnership will allow the Red Stars to significantly expand its community outreach and impact endeavors to serve an even wider range of Chicagoans. Part of Wintrusts investment also will be allocated towards supporting causes meaningful to Chicago Red Stars players, namely youth development, women/girls in sports and accessibility to sports.

We are so pleased to partner with the Red Stars organization and expand access to soccer in communities across Chicagoland, said Tim Crane, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wintrust. This collaboration goes way beyond what fans will see on the team jerseys. This is an investment in support of womens sports and the ongoing success of the Red Stars. This partnership will fund initiatives, such as doubling the number of girls soccer camps, and provide additional support to invest in causes close to the players hearts.

Red Stars camps and clinics service young athletes across the Chicagoland area, providing them with soccer specific activities in an inclusive, challenging and inspiring atmosphere for young female athletes to thrive. In 2023, the Chicago Red Stars held 15 camps across the city and 10 match-day clinics before select Red Stars home matches. With Wintrusts partnership, the club will double the number of camps and clinics offered across Chicagoland, making the game more accessible. For more information on Chicago Red Stars camps and clinics, fans can visit chicagoredstars.com/camps-clinics.

The Chicago Red Stars open the 2024 National Womens Soccer League regular season at Utah on Saturday, March 16, before returning to SeatGeek Stadium to take on Seattle Reign FC in the clubs home opener on Saturday, March 23. During Red Stars home matches this season, Wintrust will have a continuous presence in the Fan Zone, located at Gate C at SeatGeek Stadium, where fans can visit to learn more about Wintrusts community initiatives and services.

Tickets are available now at chicagoredstars.com/tickets.

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Chicago Red Stars, Wintrust Announce Partnership for Significant Community Investment - Chicago Red Stars

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 29 February 2024 - In a groundbreaking move to democratize access to premier, practice-based investment management education worldwide, the Wealth Management Institute (WMI) announced the global launch of the Dalio Market Principles (DMP) Online Program. The launch event was attended by over 80 distinguished leaders in wealth and asset management, as well as family offices, across Singapore and the region.

Fireside chat at the Global Launch of the Dalio Market Principles (DMP) Online Program with Ray Dalio, moderated by Foo Mee Har.

Based on the research and insights developed by the renowned investor Mr. Ray Dalio over five decades, this Program is designed to help learners understand the universal linkages driving markets and economies. The Program also offers a world-class pathway for participants to advance their skills and capabilities in investing. It benefits not only investors seeking to sharpen their insights, but also finance professionals across various sectors, including asset management, wealth management, family offices, reserves management, and policy. To ensure greater accessibility for learners worldwide, the Program leverages cutting-edge technology, such as generative AI, to provide an immersive digital learning experience that is accessible anytime and from any location.

As the world confronts what Mr. Dalio identifies as 'a changing world order,' the launch of the program is timely in providing investors with a practical, market-tested framework to understand market cycles and how to navigate them effectively.

"The world is changing in ways that we've not experienced in our lifetimes but have happened many times in the past," says Mr Ray Dalio, Founder, CIO Mentor and Member of the Board, Bridgewater Associates. "To deal with these changes well, investors need to recognize the deeper patterns of history and the underlying timeless and universal principles driving markets and economies. My hope for this course is that it provides this knowledge as well as an opportunity for investors to further refine their own investment principles."

Commenting on the launch, Ms. Foo Mee Har, CEO of WMI, says, "With Singapore being a leading global wealth management hub, we are thrilled to introduce this first-of-its-kind investment education initiative. The Dalio Market Principles Online Program is designed to empower finance professionals and investors with a strong foundation for understanding the forces driving markets, enabling participants to build investment portfolios tapping drivers of differential asset returns, economic and currency cycles, and paradigm shifts. Most importantly, this program is designed to fully equip those aspiring to establish successful careers in various sectors of the finance industry."

To support local residents with capability development, the DMP Program is accredited by the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF), and eligible participants may receive up to 70% course fee subsidies. The Program is also SkillsFuture Credit claimable.

The DMP Online Program is designed to provide a flexible and highly interactive online learning experience. Participants will be able to 'live through' major market events as an investor or policymaker, assess how their expectations for the future and investment decisions measure up, and learn from mistakes. The Program's purpose-built Portfolio Simulator will enable them to create and stress test portfolios, evaluating their investment performance across different macro scenarios with data from up to 40 major economies over the last 120 years.

Providing participants with a personalized learning experience, the Program's innovative Generative AI Tutor will guide learners through the curriculum. Fully integrated into the course, the Tutor will be able to answer questions, generate quizzes, get feedback, and search through a vast repository of Mr Dalio's writings over the past decades, for participants to learn at their own pace.

In addition, participants will also gain opportunities to learn, network and thrive with peers and leaders from the industry. Through cohort-based activities such as discussion forums and live online workshops, participants will be able to glean multiple perspectives on investments and the financial markets from industry players from diverse backgrounds. The Program also lays a foundational pathway for those seeking excellence as a great investor, which will later include opportunities to apply for a Dalio Fellowship to be launched in the future.

For more information about the Dalio Market Principles Online Program, please visit http://www.wmi.edu.sg/dmp-online.

Hashtag: #wealthmanagementinstitute

Homepage

https://sg.linkedin.com/school/wealth-management-institute/

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The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Wealth Management Institute

Established in 2003, the Wealth Management Institute (WMI) is committed to building capabilities for investing in a better tomorrow. Founded by GIC and Temasek, our vision is to be Asia's Centre of Excellence for wealth and asset management education and research. WMI is appointed as Singapore's Lead Training Provider for Private Banking by the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore (IBF) and supported by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

WMI also helms the Global-Asia Family Office Circle, a network platform that fosters a trusted environment to build capabilities and community in the family office sector. The GFO Circle is supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

WMI provides a comprehensive suite of practice-based certification and diploma programmes and collaborates with leading universities for master's qualifications. With over 20,000 annual enrolments, WMI provides training in asset management, wealth management, compliance, risk management, family office, as well as the development of the next generation across more than 100 programmes.

About Raymond T. Dalio, Founder, CIO Mentor, and Member of the Bridgewater Board, Bridgewater Associates, LP

A global macro investor for more than 50 years, Ray Dalio founded Bridgewater Associates out of his two-bedroom apartment in NYC and ran it for most of its 47 years, building it into the largest hedge fund in the world. Ray remains an investor and mentor at Bridgewater and serves on its board. He is also the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Principles: Life and Work, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order, and Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises. He graduated with a B.S. in Finance from C.W. Post College in 1971 and received an MBA degree from Harvard Business School in 1973. He has been married to his wife, Barbara, for more than 40 years and has three grown sons and five grandchildren. He is an active philanthropist with special interests in ocean exploration and helping to rectify the absence of equal opportunity in education, healthcare, and finance.

About the Dalio Market Principles (DMP) Online Program

The Dalio Market Principles (DMP) Online Program is a global initiative by the Wealth Management Institute and supported by Dalio Philanthropies, to help investors understand the underlying linkages driving markets and economies, and give them the investment skills to navigate the changes.

This first-of-its-kind programme is developed with Ray Dalio, Founder and CIO Mentor of Bridgewater Associates. Ray has been a global macro investor for over 50 years, and his investment innovations and thought leadership have made a lasting mark on the industry.

The Program provides a practical, market-tested framework to understand market cycles and the applied skills to navigate them effectively. It also covers Ray's key investment principles underlying his passive and active investment strategies.

The Program is designed to provide a flexible and highly interactive online learning experience, with cutting-edge tools including a Generative AI Virtual Tutor and a Portfolio Builder to create and stress-test portfolios. As the body of knowledge is captured online, it allows learners to access it anytime, anywhere at their own pace.

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The Wealth Management Institute Unveils First-of-its-kind Investment Education Program Based On The Market Principles Of Investment Legend Ray Dalio -...

Clearwater Brings Best-In-Class Solution to Stable Value Fund Holders

BOISE, Idaho, February 29, 2024Clearwater Analytics(NYSE: CWAN), a leading provider of SaaS-based investment management, accounting, reporting, and analytics solutions, today announced its Clearwater for Stable Value solution has been selected by T. Rowe Price to support the global investment management firms growing stable value fund business.

Clearwater for Stable Value will provide T. Rowe Price with a comprehensive technology solution designed specifically for stable value investment operations. The solution is purpose-built to address the complex needs of stable value funds, including the creation of custom trade tickets for investment contract issuers and other third-parties which will enable T. Rowe Price to enhance their stable value technology with a single SaaS solution that offers their front-office and back-office teams access to the same reconciled investment data each day.

Clearwater for Stable Value is the technology that will allow us to advance our stable value fund operations and support our continued business growth, said Antonio Tony Luna, Head of Stable Asset Management at T. Rowe Price. Clearwater has an innovative solution for the stable value industry that we believe will provide accurate, timely data. We are excited to further our partnership with Clearwater.

With Clearwater for Stable Value, T. Rowe Price will benefit from an enhanced view of market and contract value, accounting, external manager data, crediting rate calculations, and streamlined contract issuer trade documents.

We are delighted to extend our partnership with T. Rowe Price through Clearwater for Stable Value, said Scott Erickson, Chief Revenue Officer at Clearwater Analytics. As an industry leader, T. Rowe Price was looking for a trusted technology partner that could address the unique requirements of stable value investment operations. Clearwateris dedicated to transforming investing for our clients, and were confident Clearwater for Stable Value sets a high standard for effective stable value fund operations.

To learn more about Clearwater Analytics,speak to an experttoday.

About Clearwater Analytics

Clearwater Analytics (NYSE: CWAN), a global, industry-leading SaaS solution, automates the entire investment lifecycle. With a single instance, multi-tenant architecture, Clearwater offers award-winning investment portfolio planning, performance reporting, data aggregation, reconciliation, accounting, compliance, risk, and order management. Each day, leading insurers, asset managers, corporations, and governments use Clearwaters trusted data to drive efficient, scalable investing on more than $7.3 trillion in assets spanning traditional and alternative asset types.Additional information about Clearwater can be found atclearwateranalytics.com.

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Clearwater Analytics Selected by T. Rowe Price to Power Stable Value Investment Operations - Traders Magazine

Growth Capital to Accelerate Build-Out of its Full Suite of PSA Product Innovations, V4.0 Launch, UX Improvements, and AI Insights along with Operational Infrastructure

DENVER, Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --Bow River Capital, a Denver-based alternative asset manager, announced today that its Software Growth Equity (SGE) Team has been selected by Accelo to partner in its next phase of scale, software and AI innovation. Founded 15+ years ago, Accelo's cloud-based system is an industry leading Professional Services Automation (PSA) suite to enable strategic insights, accurate and real-time decision-making, and best-in-class execution for all sizes of professional services organizations and their respective markets.

As part of Bow River's SGE Fund II majority-controlled investment, fund managers John Raeder and Maitlan Cramer will join the Accelo Board of Directors, and Charles Chen with Level Equity will continue as a Board Director.

Charles Chen, Partner at Level Equity said of the transaction, "We have high conviction in Accelo's future and are thrilled to partner with Bow River Capital to unlock the potential value ahead. We're excited to participate in Accelo's next chapter of global growth with John Raeder and team."

John Raeder, Vice Chairman and Head of Software Investments at Bow River Capital stated, "We're elated to announce our third platform investment in SGE Fund II, and to partner with the global Accelo team to rapidly implement our SaaS value creation playbook and utilize all our resources for transformative change."

He added, "Accelo is well positioned to deliver compelling competitive advantages to clients worldwide and gain share via its comprehensive V4.0 Professional Services Automation (PSA) software suite."

Bow River Capital's Maitlan Cramer stated, "We've invested approximately three years developing a detailed action plan and investment thesis for Accelo and see enormous opportunity in the multi-billion-dollar addressable PSA market; we're poised to kick-off our plans with Accelo on day one."

Morrison & Foerster LLP served as legal counsel to Bow River Capital's Software Growth Equity Team on the transaction. Vaquero Capital served as exclusive financial advisor to Accelo. Thinktiv served as Bow River's strategic technology partner throughout the due diligence process.

About Bow River Capital

Founded in 2003, Bow River Capital is a private alternative asset management company based in Denver, Colorado focused on investing in the lower middle market in four asset classes including software growth equity, private credit, private equity, and real estate. Through its subsidiary Bow River Advisers, LLC, Bow River Capital also offers a registered, closed-end mutual fund Bow River Capital Evergreen Fund (EVERX) designed to provide institutional-quality private market access to a broader set of investors. Collectively, the Bow River Capital team has deployed capital into diverse industries, asset classes and across the capital structure.

Bow River Capital Evergreen Fund is distributed by Foreside Financial Services, LLC which is not affiliated with Bow River Capital or its affiliates.

For more information on Bow River Capital, please visit http://www.BowRiverCapital.com

About Accelo

Accelo is a cloud-based market leader of professional services automation (PSA) software serving more than 1,200 global clients across all professional services sub-verticals. Its V4.0 comprehensive software suite enables rapid change and is considerably easier for the best run firms to execute and manage the entire value stream for their customers and stakeholders.

Learn more at http://www.accelo.com

Media Contact:

Jane Ingalls, Bow River Capital

303-861-8466

SOURCE Bow River Capital

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BOW RIVER CAPITAL'S SOFTWARE GROWTH EQUITY TEAM MAKES MAJORITY PLATFORM INVESTMENT IN ... - PR Newswire

BEFORE REACHING THE MANDATORY RETIREMENT AGE OF 70. BOSTON IS LAUNCHING A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR PLAN TO UNCLOG ONE OF THE BUSIEST AND DANGEROUS ROADS, BLUE HILL AVENUE. ITS A THREE MILE STRETCH RIGHT THROUGH DORCHESTER AND MATTAPAN. ITS THE TARGET OF A $44 MILLION UPGRADE THAT WAS ANNOUNCED TODAY. ITS CENTERPIECE WILL BE BUS LANES RUNNING RIGHT DOWN THE CENTER OF THE ROAD. PASSENGERS WILL BOARD AND EXIT THROUGH RAISED PLATFORMS. A FEDERAL GRANT WILL PAY FOR ABOUT A THIRD OF THAT PROJECT, AND THIS IS WHAT THE END RESULT MIGHT LOOK LIKE. DESIGNERS SAY THAT THE NEW CONFIGURATION COULD CUT THE TRAVEL TIME FROM GROVE HALL TO MATTAPAN, AND MATTAPAN SQUARE IN ABOUT HALF FROM

Boston announces $44M investment to remake Blue Hill Avenue

Plans feature changes for bus service

Updated: 10:23 PM EST Feb 28, 2024

A dedicated bus lane, safety improvements and other upgrades are part of a $44 million plan to upgrade Boston's Blue Hill Avenue, which runs through Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan.Mayor Michelle Wu announced the plan Wednesday, saying the project will begin with short-term improvements this spring, followed by full roadway construction in 2026.Of the $44 million for the project, $15 million will come from a federal grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration, Wu said. Other funds will come from the city and MBTA, according to the mayor's statement. The addition of a center-running bus lane along the corridor will serve more than 37,000 bus riders every weekday, the mayor said. With a crash requiring Boston EMS occurring along Blue Hill Avenue once every three days on average, Wu's announcement said the plan aims to cut back on the estimated 3,000 hours per weekday lost by bus riders stuck in traffic.A bus trip down the length of Blue Hill Avenue, which currently takes up to 1 hour, could be slashed to 25 minutes. Free rides along MBTA bus routes 23, 28 and 29, which run along Blue Hill Avenue, were recently extended for another two years. From the majority of commuters in Blue Hill Ave. who are stuck in traffic waiting on the bus, to seniors and families who cant safely cross the wide roadway to get where they need to go, weve heard community feedback that improvements are needed for all road users," Wu said in a statement. Additionally, Wu's announcement said the project would create wider sidewalks and additional crosswalks while increasing trees throughout the area, upgrading street lighting and adding opportunities for benches, bike parking and public art.The next steps for the project will include a spring effort to collect community input on the block-by-block layout, including the right proportion of parking and loading zones. Short-term work will include refreshing pavement markings, lighting upgrades and repairs for damaged sections of the road or sidewalk.

A dedicated bus lane, safety improvements and other upgrades are part of a $44 million plan to upgrade Boston's Blue Hill Avenue, which runs through Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan.

Mayor Michelle Wu announced the plan Wednesday, saying the project will begin with short-term improvements this spring, followed by full roadway construction in 2026.

Of the $44 million for the project, $15 million will come from a federal grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration, Wu said. Other funds will come from the city and MBTA, according to the mayor's statement.

The addition of a center-running bus lane along the corridor will serve more than 37,000 bus riders every weekday, the mayor said. With a crash requiring Boston EMS occurring along Blue Hill Avenue once every three days on average, Wu's announcement said the plan aims to cut back on the estimated 3,000 hours per weekday lost by bus riders stuck in traffic.

A bus trip down the length of Blue Hill Avenue, which currently takes up to 1 hour, could be slashed to 25 minutes. Free rides along MBTA bus routes 23, 28 and 29, which run along Blue Hill Avenue, were recently extended for another two years.

From the majority of commuters in Blue Hill Ave. who are stuck in traffic waiting on the bus, to seniors and families who cant safely cross the wide roadway to get where they need to go, weve heard community feedback that improvements are needed for all road users," Wu said in a statement.

Additionally, Wu's announcement said the project would create wider sidewalks and additional crosswalks while increasing trees throughout the area, upgrading street lighting and adding opportunities for benches, bike parking and public art.

The next steps for the project will include a spring effort to collect community input on the block-by-block layout, including the right proportion of parking and loading zones. Short-term work will include refreshing pavement markings, lighting upgrades and repairs for damaged sections of the road or sidewalk.

More:
Boston announces $44M investment to remake Blue Hill Avenue - WCVB Boston

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

Read the original:
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

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