Category: Finance

Asset Management

How to Get Ahead Financially: 7 Tips for Success

Author ByCFI.co

If you’re living paycheck to paycheck and can’t get ahead, you’re in the company of 78% of workers.

It’s frustrating to constantly feel like you’re playing financial catch-up. The stress of being short on money or not being able to reach your financial goals can make you want to give up.

But taking small financial steps in the right direction gets the ball rolling. Those actions eventually help you gain traction and improve your financial standing.

Instead of ignoring your financial situation or accepting your money problems, put these seven tips into action.

1. Start With a Budget

Taking charge of your financial situation requires a plan. That comes in the form of a budget.

You need to know your exact income, expenses, and spending habits to make better use of your money.

Budgeting apps can help you, but you can also create your own simple budget on paper or using a spreadsheet program. 

Start by adding up all the money that comes in each month. That could include wages from your job, child support, interest, and other investments. 

Next, write down each individual bill or recurring expense you have. This includes things such as utilities, insurance, car payments, loans, and credit card payments.

Subtract those expenses from your income to see what you have left. This is the amount you can divide up between the rest of your expenses, such as groceries, clothing, and dining out.

Once you have your budget set, you need to follow up and make sure you stick to your spending limits. If you spend twice as much as you allocate for eating out, it’ll throw off the rest of the budget. 

Monitoring your spending compared to your budget can help you spot the trouble areas. You might notice you go overboard on clothing every month. Look at those areas to see how you can control your spending better.

You may need to adjust some categories while you figure out your budget. You might spend less in some areas than the amount you allocated, so you can lower those limits while raising others.

2. Set Up Multiple Bank Accounts

Do you use a single account for everything? Having multiple bank accounts can help you better manage your money.

If you have trouble sticking to your budget, consider creating different bank accounts for individual areas of your budget. You might have one for your mortgage and other loans, another for other recurring expenses, and a third for your discretionary spending.

When you pay your bills, you know you’ll have the necessary money in those accounts. Pulling from one account for your discretionary spending gives you a hard limit on those expenses. 

If you have all of your money lumped into one account, it’s easier to overspend on extras. You convince yourself that you can splurge on that leather jacket, but you end up using money that should go to the mortgage or your credit card payments. That can cause you to fall behind financially.

3. Create Financial Goals

Why do you want to get your finances under control? Setting specific goals can keep you motivated to handle your money better. You know cutting back on spending or increasing your savings is for something you really want.

Think in terms of short-term and long-term financial goals.

Short-term goals can keep you motivated because you can reach them quickly. They’re also building blocks for your larger goals and can help you gradually improve your finances. This could be things such as building an emergency cash fund, cutting your expenses by a set amount or paying off one credit card.

The long-term goals help you improve your financial standing over time. They’re the bigger goals that keep you going and get you to the place you want to be. Examples include paying off all debt, saving for a house, or reaching a larger number in your savings account.

If you’re not sure where to focus your attention, a financial planner can help. A financial pro can look at your current situation and make recommendations for short-term and long-term financial goals.

4. Pay Off Debt

In the UK, the average debt is £15,385. Deciding whether or not to go into debt is a personal decision, but carrying high levels of debt makes it difficult to get ahead financially. The interest and fees you pay eat up money that could go toward your financial goals.

Plan to pay off your debt as quickly as possible, especially if it’s holding you back financially. Put extra money toward your debt to get rid of it faster.

5. Create a Savings Plan

No matter how financially behind you feel, setting aside money in your savings account is a smart decision. Set up your bank account to transfer money to savings automatically on your paydays. That way you ensure you set aside the money before you spend it on other things.

Include retirement savings in your plan. Starting now helps you build your retirement savings faster, so you’re financially stable when you reach retirement age.

6. Increase Your Income

Having more money in your bank account gives you more financial stability and helps you reach your goals. You can either make more money or cut your spending to increase your usable income.

Asking for a raise at your current job or looking for a new job can help you increase your income. Another option is a temporary part-time job or side gig for extra money. Think of it as a temporary sacrifice of your time to accelerate your financial goals.

7. Change Your Mindset

Many people think of cutting back on spending or saving more as a negative thing. It feels restrictive, so you don’t want to do it.

Flip how you think about financial changes. Focus on what you get from the changes instead of what you’re losing.

When you’re tempted to make an impulse buy, as yourself if the item will get you closer to your financial goals. Having meaningful goals and keeping them in your mind can help you change your thinking.

How to Get Ahead Financially

When you’re struggling with money, it can be difficult to figure out how to get ahead financially. Confronting your situation directly and tackling it a little at a time helps you improve your finances. Visit our archives for more financial information.

Finance

Combating Insurance Fraud With Machine Learning

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

By Georgios Kapetanvasileiou, Analytical Consultant at SAS

Most insurance companies depend on human expertise and business rules-based software to protect themselves from fraud. However, people move on. And the drive for digital transformation and process automation means data and scenarios change faster than you can update the rules.

Machine learning has the potential to allow insurers to move from the current state of “detect and react” to “predict and prevent.” It excels at automating the process of taking large volumes of data, analysing multiple fraud indicators in parallel – which taken individually may often be quite normal – and finding potential fraud. Generally, there are two ways to teach or train a machine learning algorithm, which depend on the available data: supervised and unsupervised learning.

Predictive modelling

In predictive modelling or supervised learning, algorithms make predictions based on a set of examples from historical data. You can present an algorithm with historical claims information and associated outcomes often called labelled data. It will attempt to identify the underlying patterns in fraudulent cases. Once the algorithm has been trained on past examples, you can use it to infer the probability of a new claim being fraudulent. AKSigorta Insurance is using advanced predictive modelling as part of its investigation process. The company has managed to increase its fraud detection rate by 66% and prevent fraud in real time.

There is a wide variety of predictive modelling algorithms to choose from, so users should take into account issues such as accuracy, interpretability, training time and ease of use. There is no single approach that works universally. Even experienced data scientists have to try different methods to find the right algorithm for a specific problem. It is, therefore, best to start simple and explore more advanced machine learning methodologies later. Decision trees, for example, are an excellent way to start exploring complex relationships within data. They are relatively easy to implement and fast to train on large volumes of data. More importantly, they are very easy to understand or interpret, and can be a good starting point for new business rules.

Other options for more accuracy

Decision trees can, however, become unstable over time. When accuracy becomes a priority, practitioners should look at other options. Support vector machines (SVMs) and neural networks are capable of learning complex class boundaries and generalise well to unseen cases. They have been extensively used for fraud detection. Tree-based algorithms, such as gradient boosting and random forests, have also become more popular in recent years. Ideally, analysts should try multiple approaches in parallel before deciding what works best.

Supervised learning is effective in identifying familiar cases of fraudulent activity but cannot uncover new patterns. Another challenge is the limited numbers of fraud examples with which to train the algorithm. Fraud is a relatively rare event, after all. The ratio between fraud and nonfraud cases can sometimes be as much as 1 to 10,000. This means that predictive algorithms tend to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of nonfraud cases, and may miss the fraudulent ones. Labelling new data for training a model can also be time consuming and expensive.

Unsupervised learning

Unsupervised learning algorithms are trained against data with no historical labels. In other words, the algorithm is not given the answer or outcome beforehand. It is merely asked to explore the data and uncover any “interesting” structures within them. For example, given certain behavioural information, unsupervised learning algorithms can identify groups (or clusters) of customer transactions that appear similar. Anything that appears different or rare could be flagged as an anomaly (or an outlier) for further investigation.

Unsupervised learning methods can, therefore, identify both existing and new types of fraud. They are not restricted to predefined labels, so can quickly adapt to new and emerging patterns of dishonest behaviour. For example, a New Zealand health insurer used unsupervised learning methods to identify cases where practitioners were deliberately overcharging patients for a particular procedure or providing unnecessary treatment for certain diagnoses.

Unsupervised anomaly detection methods include univariate outlier analysis or clustering-based methods such as k-means. However, the recent move towards digitalisation means more data, at higher volumes, from a wider range of data sources. New algorithms, such as Support Vector Data Description, Isolation Forest or Autoencoders, have been introduced to address this. These may be a more efficient way of detecting anomalies and allow for faster reaction to new fraud.

Social network analysis

These methods are useful for identifying opportunistic fraud. However, many fraudsters today operate as part of professional, organised rings. Activity may include staged motor accidents to collect on premiums, ghost brokering, or collusion between patients and health practitioners to inflate claim amounts. These career fraudsters can repeatedly disguise their identities and evolve their way of operating over time.

Social network analysis is a tool for analysing and visually representing relationships between known entities. Examples of shared entities could be different applicants using the same telephone number or IP address, or a motor accident involving multiple people. Social network methods can automate the process of drawing connections from disparate data sources and visually representing them as a network. This significantly reduces the investigation time – in one case, from 10 days to just two hours. In the UK, a large P&C insurer made £7 million savings per annum by uncovering groups of collaborating fraudsters using network analytics.

A hybrid approach

No single technique, however, is capable of systematically identifying all complex fraud schemes. Instead, insurers need to combine sophisticated business rules and advanced machine learning approaches. This will allow them to cast the net wide, but improve accuracy and reduce false positives, making fraud detection more efficient.

Finance

Snow Software Acquires Embotics

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

Snow fortifies its ability to deliver complete technology intelligence with Embotics’ award-winning hybrid cloud management platform

UK – Dec. 4, 2019 – Snow Software, the global leader in technology intelligence solutions, today announced it has acquired Embotics, a hybrid cloud management company. This acquisition brings together two market leaders, enabling CIOs to understand and manage their full technology stack from software and hardware to infrastructure and applications, regardless of whether they live on-premises, in the cloud or in a hybrid environment.

Embotics offers a platform-neutral cloud management solution with one of the quickest time-to-value in the industry. It provides a fast and easy way to automate provisioning, reduce costs and ensure governance across private, public, hybrid and multicloud environments. Leading enterprises such as Nordstrom, NASA and HBO, and service providers like LG CNS and NTT Data, use Embotics to drive their digital transformation.

“The rapid adoption of hybrid cloud by the enterprise has created new challenges for technology and business leaders who must maximise the efficacy and efficiency of technology without sacrificing innovation, productivity or security,”said Vishal Rao, President and CEO of Snow. “Technology intelligence is the future of asset and cloud management, moving beyond the silos created by point tools to provide the insight and manageability organisations need to gain a competitive edge. Embotics is a highly strategic addition to Snow’s portfolio. We are thrilled to welcome the team to Snow and deliver even greater value to our customers and partners.”

“We built Embotics to provide enterprises and service providers with an easier, faster, platform-neutral and fully integrated solution for managing the hybrid cloud and beyond”said Jay Litkey, Founder and President of Embotics. “Today, these organisations are strategically blending on-premises, private, public and multicloud architectures, and that requires a flexible and multi-faceted approach to gain agility through automation while controlling costs and risks. By joining forces with Snow, Embotics will continue to address these issues and answer the next generation of challenges with integrated capabilities at a global scale. Both organisations have a customer-centric DNA and commitment to innovation that will help us achieve our shared vision of technology intelligence.”

Together, Snow and Embotics will offer the first platform that delivers CIOs an integrated perspective across their entire technology stack, empowering them to tackle use cases that require insight into both on-premises and cloud services, such as cloud migration planning, Bring-Your-Own-License (BYOL) optimisation and hybrid cloud cost management. The process of integrating Embotics into the Snow platform will begin immediately, and the companies will have a single go-to-market strategy starting in 2020. The combined business will be optimally positioned for strong growth with an expanded market presence as well as the field and operational resources needed to deliver cloud management at a global scale.

“As IT organisations work to balance transformation initiatives with day-to-day operations, hybrid and multicloud strategies are essential for today’s enterprise,” said William Fellows, Founder and Research Vice President at 451 Research. “Workloads now span public cloud, private cloud and legacy on-premises environments, and that mix is constantly changing to address the needs of the business. With Snow’s acquisition of Embotics, the market will benefit from the combination of their respective strengths on-prem and in the cloud, most notably when it comes to solving the unique challenges of hybrid environments.”

For more information on the acquisition and Snow’s platform, visit www.snowsoftware.com.

About Snow Software

Snow Software is the global leader in technology intelligence solutions, ensuring the trillions spent on all forms of technology is optimized to drive maximum value. More than 4,000 organizations around the world rely on Snow’s platform to provide complete visibility, optimize usage and spend and minimize regulatory risk. Headquartered in Stockholm, Snow has more local offices and regional support centers than any other software asset and cloud management provider, delivering unparalleled results to our customers and partners. To find out more about Snow Software, visit http://www.snowsoftware.com/ and follow Snow on Twitter @snowsoftware.

Banking

NDB Board of Directors meets in Shanghai, approves three projects with loans aggregating to USD 937 million

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

On December 2, 2019, the 22nd Meeting of the Board of Directors of the New Development Bank (NDB) was held in Shanghai, China.

The Board approved three projects with loans aggregating to approximately USD 937 million, bringing the NDB’s portfolio to 49 projects with loans aggregating to USD 13.7 billion.

Hubei Huangshi Modern Tram Project

The NDB will provide a loan of RMB 2.76 billion (approx. USD 400 million) to the People’s Republic of China for Huangshi Modern Tram Project. It will address urban transport connectivity problems in Huangshi, a municipality in the southeastern part of Hubei Province, through the construction of a modern tram network with a total length of 27.33 km. The components of the Project include: i) laying of tracks, construction of stations and installation of associated facilities for the tram network; ii) procurement of rolling stock; and (iii) consultancy support for commissioning, preparation of operations and maintenance plan, capacity building and project management.

Manipur Water Supply Project

The NDB will provide a loan of USD 312 million to the Republic of India for Manipur Water Supply Project. It will address serious challenges in clean drinking water supply in Manipur, a small mountainous state in the northeastern region of India, through construction and upgrade of drinking water supply infrastructure. The components of the Project include construction and upgrade of drinking water supply systems in: i) Imphal Planning Area, the capital city of Manipur; ii) additional 25 towns; and iii) 1,731 rural habitations.

Indore Metro Rail Project

The NDB will provide a loan of USD 225 million to the Republic of India for Indore Metro Rail Project. The Project is to implement a metro line of approximately 31 km in the city of Indore. The Project will provide mass rapid transit capacity for the city’s major mobility corridors, thereby contributing to local economic development and an improved urban environment by reducing traffic congestion and pollution.

The Board also approved technical assistance totaling to USD 0.7 million for two projects from India and Russia.

Mizoram Tuirini Small Hydro Project

The NDB will provide technical assistance of USD 300,000 to the Republic of India for Mizoram Tuirini Small Hydro Project. The NDB’s technical assistance will provide consulting services aimed at preparing the Mizoram Tuirini Small Hydro Project. The project envisages construction of a small hydropower plant with an installed capacity of 24 MW in the state of Mizoram, to increase installed power generation capacity of Mizoram.

Krasnodar Cable Car Project

The Bank will provide technical assistance of USD 400,000 to the Russian Federation for Krasnodar Cable Car Project. The NDB’s technical assistance will provide consulting services aimed at preparing the Krasnodar Cable Car Project up to the stage when it can be considered by external financiers to seek approval for its financing. The project envisages the construction of a cable car network to be used as an alternative public transportation modality in Krasnodar city, Russia to relieve traffic congestion.

It is the first time that the NDB Board of Directors approved the provision of technical assistance through the Bank’s Project Preparation Fund (PPF), a multi-donor fund open to contributions by all the Bank’s members. The PPF’s objective is to support preparation of bankable projects to facilitate borrowing member countries to raise funds for such projects from the NDB or other multilateral development banks.

During the Meeting, an update on the NDB project pipeline and status of approved projects was provided to the Board. The Board also discussed matters pertaining to equity investments, funding programme, treasury related matters, membership expansion, review of NDB’s General Strategy: 2017-2021 and development impact of the Bank’s operations.

On December 2, 2019, the 13th Meeting of the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee (ARC) of the New Development Bank was held in Shanghai. The ARC reviewed Quarterly Audited Financial Statements for the New Development Bank and the Project Preparation Fund of the NDB for the period ended September 30, 2019. The ARC also discussed matters pertaining to risk, internal audit and compliance.

The 8th Meeting of the Budget, Human Resources and Compensation Committee (BHRC) of the New Development Bank was held on December 2, 2019.  The Committee considered the Budget Utilisation Report for CY2019 and the Proposed budget for CY2020 as well as the three Year Budget for 2020-2022. The Committee also discussed matter pertaining to recruitment and diversity.

Background Information

The NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries, complementing the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development. To fulfill its purpose, the NDB will support public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments. According to the NDB’s General Strategy, sustainable infrastructure development is at the core of the Bank’s operational strategy for 2017-2021. The NDB received AA+ long-term issuer credit ratings from S&P and Fitch and AAA foreign currency long-term issuer rating from Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR).

Finance

High net worth millennials need professional advice. Here’s what those in finance need to know

Author ByCFI.co Blogger
High net worth millennials need professional advice. Here’s what those in finance need to know
Alpa Bhakta, CEO of Butterfield Mortgages Limited

Deloitte currently estimates that by 2020, millennials’ total net worth worldwide will be more than double what it was in 2015. There are several reasons that account for this trend, some of which include rising wages and the improving quality of life in developing countries.  

However, there is another driving force: one of the largest intergenerational transfers of wealth in history.

Baby boomers, the children of the late 40s, 50s and early 60s, were able to buy property at a low-cost relative to income. Their homes, over the ensuing decades, have hugely increased in value; in the UK the average price of a house has doubled since 1996––even after accounting for inflation.

For millennials, this has had two implications. Firstly, many are reliant on their parents if they want to purchase a house. Secondly, they could be set to collectively inherit a huge amount of wealth. Research from EY suggests that those born between 1981 and 1996 in the US will receive $30 trillion from their parents in the next 20 years[1].

Consider the fact that the global economy is valued at $80 trillion, and the scale of this wealth transfer begins to become apparent. For those who already have property, along with high net worth (HNW) and ultra-HNW individuals, investing their new wealth in stocks and shares will be the order of the day, resulting in a changing client base for financial advisers.

Some things will be consistent with what has come before, according to research from Deloitte[2]; 82% of millennials still want to discuss their financial situation face-to-face with an adviser, meaning a wholesale switch to digital communication is unlikely. Furthermore, the ultimate aim for millennial investors will still be healthy and sustainable returns.

What could change is the kind of assets new investors are interested in. The growth of “impact investing”, also known as environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, is particularly popular among millennials––EY predicts that almost a fifth of investments now under management worldwide are in sustainable financial products[3]. What’s more, two thirds of young people feel “obliged” to change the world for the better, meaning this is likely to inform their future investment decisions[4].

There are many examples of ESG investments providing good returns. The Cordes Foundation, headed by 29-year-old Steph Stephenson, has 100% of its $230 million in impact investments––and achieved an average yearly return of 8%[5].

The rise of millennial HNW individuals has one major implication for financial advisers: they need to be entirely up to speed with ESG financial products and the options available to millennial investors. With the importance of ESG products to the financial sector only likely to increase in markets around the globe, this is an important task that must be prioritised.

Alpa Bhakta is the CEO of Butterfield Mortgages Limited. Part of the Butterfield Group and a subsidiary of The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited. Butterfield Mortgages Limited is a London-based prime property mortgage provider with a particular focus on the needs of UK and international HNW individuals.

[1] EY (2017), Sustainable Investing: The millennial investor

[2] Deloitte (2015), Millennials and wealth management

[3] EY (2017), Sustainable Investing: The millennial investor

[4] Deloitte (2015), Millennials and wealth management

[5] Sarah Murray (2019), Rich millennials push to put family wealth into impact investments

Business

SMEs in cashflow black hole as they wait for £24bn in late payments

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

Late payments up more than £10bn in a year

15% of British freelancers spend 4 hours and above a week chasing invoices

CEO of ETZ Payments, Nick Woodward, provides commentary on how late and inconsistent payments are hurting businesses and freelancers alike

Today, new research showed that Small and medium-sized companies are waiting to receive £23.4billion, up from £13billion in 2018. More than half of businesses are chasing money owed, with the bill for trying to collect it hitting £4.4billion, says retail payment authority Pay UK. This comes as ETZ Payments reveals startling national representative research that shows that nearly a sixth of freelance and contract workers spend over 10% of their working week chasing invoices and payments. The new research from PayUK showed that the average amount owed to each firm had risen from £17,000 last year to £25,000 today. This demonstrates that across the board, self-employed contractors, freelancers, and small businesses are under strain. As we near the general election and with almost guaranteed further Brexit uncertainty, SMEs and workers are going through one of the most turbulent periods of their existence.

Nick Woodward, CEO of ETZ Payments, a back-office solution provider for the recruitment sector, offers the following commentary:

“This year and next year will undoubtedly be a turbulent period for small businesses and workers alike with myriad political and economic issues and an increasing amount of late payments. This issue is seriously harming cash flow, investment and growth across the UK economy. There are over 2 million freelancers and 5.7 million SMEs today, and with financial constraints such as chasing invoices, this will harm productivity and profit, and more needs to be done by the next government to ensure that these entrepreneurs, business owners, managers and workers, are paid justly and on time to keep the economy moving.”

Banking

Atos and Fintech Circeo develop innovative loan management solution for major worldwide retailer

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

A solution to help run Loan Management from a hybrid cloud leveraging Google Cloud Platform

November 20, 2019 – Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, and Circeo, a leading Fintech in developing next-generation retail loans software, today announce the development of an innovative loan management solution built with Google Cloud Platform. Developed initially for the bank subsidiary of a major worldwide retailer, Atos and Circeo will soon begin bringing the solution to market for other customers.

This offering is based on a hybrid cloud solution which combines Google Cloud Platform (GCP) together with Atos’ expertise in end-to-end cloud orchestration and management, and infrastructure services and support. It enables users to benefit from the advantages of a fully-managed and secure cloud service which is seamlessly integrated with Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

With this joint solution, clients can run Fintech software built on Oracle technologies on hybrid cloud infrastructures, and thereby benefit from elasticity, resilience, innovation and pay-per-use models – without the need to redevelop their existing systems. The Google Cloud Atos partnership ensures that the client benefits from direct, secure and high-performance network connectivity, for faster and optimised access to Google Cloud resources.

This new solution from Atos and Circeo will help the end-customer manage peaks of activity in Loans, particularly during sales and specific events such as black Friday thanks to the elasticity and resilience of GCP.

Circeo is an innovative Fintech delivering a next generation flexible digital lending platform, based in the Cloud, which enables tailor-made financial products to be made within just a few days. It is part of Atos’ FinTech Partner Program and one of Atos’ most dynamic Fintech partners.

“This solution demonstrates the unique value we deliver to our customers thanks to our ambitious Fintech Engagement program which aims to bridge the gap between banks and Fintech.” says Wim Los, SVP, global Head of Atos and Google Cloud enhanced Alliance at Atos. “Developed by Atos and Circeo, it is a framework which will be replicated for other clients, on other markets”.

“We are glad for this unique opportunity leverage our global partnership with Atos to promote and implement the Atos-Circeo Retail Lending Factory platform” says Laurent Clerc, Founder and CEO at Circeo. “By delivering unique value with Atos, we expand existing client portfolios and onboard new clients into production.”

We’re delighted that Atos and Circeo chose to develop this solution with Google Cloud Platform,” said Rayn Veerubhotla, Director, Partnerships at Google Cloud. “With this solution, customers can modernise their existing infrastructure and begin to take advantage of the core capabilities of Google Cloud.”

Atos was recently recognised as ‘Global breakthrough partner of the year’ by Google Cloud.

About Atos

Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with over 110,000 employees in 73 countries and annual revenue of over € 11 billion. European number one in Cloud, Cybersecurity and High-Performance Computing, the Group provides end-to-end Orchestrated Hybrid Cloud, Big Data, Business Applications and Digital Workplace solutions. The group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and operates under the brands Atos, Atos Syntel, and Unify. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea), listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index.

The purpose of Atos is to help design the future of the information technology space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education as well as multicultural and pluralistic approaches to research that contribute to scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the group enables its customers, employees and collaborators, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably and confidently in the information technology space.

Corporate Finance

Could this be the SME election? Small businesses employ 16million – over a third of the electorate

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

SME experts – IW Capital and the UKBAA – discuss the importance of SME success to the next Government

Today will see the three main party leaders set out their plans to secure the support of the UK’s business leaders at the CBI conference. Boris Johnson is set to make the case for getting Brexit done, while Jo Swinson is to claim that the Lib Dems are the “natural party of business”. Labour is to focus on apprenticeships and training for the business community.

When setting out their stall in business policy, one area that is set to have a huge impact is the support promised for small and medium enterprises across the UK. The SME community employs 16.6million of the roughly 45million eligible voters in the UK and contributes £2.2trillion (52%) to the economy. If the next Government can make it clear that they are the party to help this sector of business to grow and thrive they could see significant support from one of the biggest sections of voters to exist in the UK.

Luke Davis – CEO of SME investment house IW Capital says:

“The importance of the SME sector is hard to overstate, and in the context of the upcoming election will be hugely important to the future economy. With over a third of the electorate employed by small businesses this could really be a swing vote of society – if this section of the workforce feels more confident in their job security and business growth with one party, it will almost undoubtedly affect voting decisions.

“For SMEs to feel confident in their capacity to grow, employ more people and expand they need to trust that the incoming Government is going to look after them and deliver security. The range of innovative and agile firms in the space currently is reflective of the entrepreneurial spirit of the UK which if fostered correctly could kick-start the wider economy into a period of growth.”

Jenny Tooth, CEO of the UK Business Angels Association, has commented:

“Not only is it the employees of SMEs that are keeping a keen eye on this election, but also the investors involved within the SME arena. With Britain’s impending exit from the European Union, the loss of the Jeremie fund and Horizon 2020 are bound to leave regional SMEs proactively seeking private investment more fervently. However, the mindset of investors could change post-Brexit. Investors will be looking for greater longevity when assessing the potential of a business, and will now look to how scalable businesses are in terms of their international reach. The forthcoming election and the pledges that the parties sell to businesses needs to reassure investors that the environment they delve into is a sustainable one.”

Asset Management

The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development open for business

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

The Hague, November 15, 2019 – The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) has officially been launched in the presence of government officials, NGOs, investors, politicians and other interested parties. In May of this year, the DFCD was awarded to the consortium of Dutch development bank FMO, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-NL) and Climate Fund Managers (CFM). “Today’s launch means that the DFCD is officially open for business,” said Linda Broekhuizen, Chief Investment Officer at FMO. “The consortium is keen to connect with innovative entrepreneurs with climate-related businesses and with private investors keen to mobilize much-needed funding from the private sector to join us in our mission to create a more climate-resilient world.”

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges we face today. It is already affecting people and nature across the globe, with developing countries being most impacted. “The poorest communities are the most vulnerable to climate change. Poor farmers and others at the bottom of the pyramid suffer and lose their livelihoods even with small changes in rainfall patterns or temperature”, as Meike van Ginneken, Chief Executive Officer at SNV explained.

There is an urgent need for investment to enable vulnerable communities and ecosystems to adapt to climate change. Carola van Rijnsoever, Director of Inclusive Green Growth, and Ambassador for Sustainable Development, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: „The challenge we face to help communities adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change is enormous, and the case for action is incredibly clear. We cannot do this with governments alone. We need all stakeholders to be strong enough to confront this challenge. The set-up of this consortium in which finance and NGOs come together, is unique and uniquely positioned to do this.“ The government of The Netherlands has committed to addressing this need through the DFCD, making EUR 160 million available in the period 2019-2022 for climate adaptation and mitigation, of which at least 50% is earmarked for climate adaptation projects.

DFCD is a direct response to the increasing demand for climate adaptation projects that have to date suffered from a lack of funding compared with mitigation efforts. Linda Broekhuizen adds: “In 2018, USD 612 billion was invested in climate mitigation which is important and much needed. In contrast however, only 5%, USD 30 billion, was invested in adaptation. Adaptation may have to be USD 180 billion a year if the 2030 goal is to reach the USD 1.7 trillion as required according to the most recent report of the Global Commission on Adaptation.”

To help bridge this funding gap the DFCD aims to mobilize upwards of EUR 500 million from private sector investors. Andrew Johnstone, Chief Executive Officer of Climate Fund Managers adds: “The opportunities are there. Take water for example: 80% of the world’s wastewater enters rivers and oceans untreated and by 2025, half of the world’s population will be living in water stressed areas. Neither the private nor the public sector is doing enough, but together the investment potential is enormous, as is the impact to be delivered.”

This partnership of NGOs and financiers seeks to develop and finance sustainable private sector solutions to enhance resilience to the effects of climate change. These projects will boost the health of freshwater, forest, agricultural and ocean ecosystems, and improve water management.

“The consortium takes a landscape approach through investing in projects which are planned in an inclusive manner, and build on a solid understanding of the landscape, ecosystems and communities. In this way these projects will contribute to healthier ecosystems,” said Kirsten Schuijt, Chief Executive Officer of WWF-NL. “New and incredibly exciting in this consortium is that there is early-stage funding available to convert adaptation opportunities into bankable projects.” 

WWF and SNV take on the key role of developing climate-relevant projects from an early-stage idea to a bankable business case. Climate Fund Managers and FMO provide investment capital, delivering projects to full operations. This combination of early-stage involvement with full life-cycle funding will ensure lasting, long-term impact that contributes to the Paris Agreement and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Interested parties can contact the DFCD through: www.thedfcd.com.

The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development open for business
In picture from left to right the DFCD partners at the official launch event in The Hague: Andrew Johnstone, CEO of Climate Fund Managers, Kirsten Schuijt, CEO of WWF-NL, Linda Broekhuizen, CIO of FMO, Albert Bokkestijn, project manger DFCD at SNV, Carola van Rijnsoever, Director of Inclusive Green Growth, and Ambassador for Sustainable Development, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In picture from left to right the DFCD partners at the official launch event in The Hague: Andrew Johnstone, CEO of Climate Fund Managers, Kirsten Schuijt, CEO of WWF-NL, Linda Broekhuizen, CIO of FMO, Albert Bokkestijn, project manger DFCD at SNV, Carola van Rijnsoever, Director Inclusive Green Growth, and Ambassador Sustainable Development, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Finance

Onguard’s new machine learning function enables companies to predict customer payment behaviour

Author ByCFI.co Blogger

London, 14 November 2019 – Onguard, the fintech company that streamlines the entire order-to-cash process, has announced that in collaboration with Altares Dun & Bradstreet and Quantforce, machine learning will feature in its platform to enable businesses to predict the payment behaviour of debtors and act accordingly. 

Available from early 2020, the platform brings together historical data from Onguard’s software, external debtor information from business data expert Altares Dun & Bradstreet and the relevant invoice and payment history of the customer via machine learning on a scorecard generated by Quantforce. The resultant score ranks the debtors in order of the risk of non-payment which enables organisations to estimate and anticipate the payment behaviour of customers at an early stage.

Adjusting workflows based on debtor information
Once the customer’s risk profile is known, it becomes possible to adjust workflows directly to payment risk with the help of artificial intelligence. When it is predicted that a customer will not pay or pay too late, it is possible to immediately take the necessary actions. This saves the organisation time and limits exposure and unnecessary tasks, such as sending reminders or transferring it to collection agencies. Similarly, this avoids those customers who are shown to regularly pay on time being bothered unnecessarily. 

“There is an enormous amount of data available both within and outside organisations, which is currently not being used,” says Daniel van den Hoven, VP Alliances & Partners at Onguard. “With all available data, organisations can better understand customers.  In addition, credit managers see at a glance which customer needs extra attention and can easily prioritise. The advantage for the organisation is that there is more focus on high-risk customers and that the processing time for invoices becomes shorter.”

Thanks to the collaboration between Quantforce, Altares Dun & Bradstreet and Onguard, it is possible for businesses to predict in advance whether and when customers will pay. This is beneficial for both the organisation and the customer because immediate action can be taken to find a solution when a payment fails. In this way, credit management is organised more proactively and efficiently

Rob Berting, Managing Director of Quantforce adds: “The collaboration between these three parties from the same market is logical. All three have our own expertise and because we have joined forces, we can offer even more value to the customer. Quantforce assigns the scores on the basis of proven algorithms and also applies machine learning. This makes it possible to automatically adjust workflows on the Onguard platform to the debtor risk. In this way Onguard can optimally support the customer and their debtors in the order-to-cash process.”

Adriaan Kom, Director Partnerships at Altares Dun & Bradstreet: “We place great value on the customer relationship and thanks to this collaboration we can add even more value to the customer.  The combination of data gives organisations an insight into how a debtor will behave in the near and distant future. In this way a company gains a more in-depth understanding of the customer which will elevate the business to a higher level.”

About Onguard

Over the past 25 years, Onguard has grown from a specialist in credit management software to a market leader in innovative solutions in the field of order to cash. The integrated platform ensures that all processes in the order-to-cash chain are optimally linked and that critical data can be shared. Intelligent tools which interface seamlessly combine to provide an overview and control of the payment process and help build lasting customer relationships. Users in over 50 countries worldwide work with the Onguard platform on a daily basis to achieve successful management and tangible results in Order to Cash and Credit Management. Read more at http://onguard.com/.