Investment
Neurodiversity And Investment Finance – The Future Of Work? – Forbes
Looking at most statistics around inclusion of neurominorities we typically find a consistent picture of exclusion and discrimination. The Westminster Achieve Ability (WAC) report, published in 2018, indicated that 69% of respondents regretted disclosing their neurodivergence sometimes or always.
Conversely, The Diversity Project’s report published in October 2022, which focuses on individuals working in investments and savings, indicates that 70% of respondents have had positive responses to disclosure from their employer. What is responsible for this flip? Have we had four solid years of progress or, is there something special happening in investment and savings finance?
Comparing The Findings
The comparable statistics from the Diversity Projects report, which surveyed 150 neurodivergent investment sector employees, are as follows:
54% found it easy to get adjustments, compared to only 20% of the WAC respondents.
58% reported finding their employer supportive compared to only 27% of the WAC respondents.
41% were Autistic and 45% were ADHD, compared with only 22% dyslexic and 10% dyspraxic. This is disproportionate to the general population prevalence where dyslexics outnumber ADHDers two-to-one and Autistics ten-to-one.
The WAC report did not report the industries in which respondents worked, indeed even if they worked, but had a much larger sample of 600 people. They did ask about race and ethnicity, finding that those from minoritized backgrounds were much more likely to report discrimination than white British respondents.
Both reports singled out psychometric testing as a barrier to recruitment for neurominorities. In the Diversity Project report, one respondent is quoted as saying ““I have never got through any personality test-type interview. I was fine whenever anyone tested my ability to actually do the job.” Similarly, a WAC respondent said “I found it very hard to complete the online exercises as they were time dependent and for reading tasks I have no text to speech software.”
Can We Discern Progress Or Privilege?
The Diversity Project also look at race, gender and other forms of marginalisation such as socio-economic class and disability more broadly, but not in this report. They have compiled significant resources on diversity and inclusion activity on their website. They report that there has been an increase in the number people minoritized by race and ethnicity on FTSE100 boards since 2020 however absolute numbers are hard to find, and indeed their stated objectives for 2022 include encouraging 90% of firms to report on race and ethnicity. Similarly for gender equity, the numbers of women versus men, or non-binary people, are hard to find. These nuances are a good reflection of general picture in diversity and inclusion. Firstly, the lack of absolute numbers and disclosures upon which we could base a reliable interpretation of progress. Secondly, the need for intersectional data.
We need to understand whether the high numbers of ADHD and Autistic people in the Diversity Project survey were mainly white middle-class men and whether this privilege is therefore responsible for the comparative gains reported compared to the WAC report. It is well reported that there is a gender and race/ethnicity bias in diagnosis, this is likely following through into employment. We know that investment banking is the very epitome of privilege, where some of our most well-resourced businesses exist, alongside the technology giants and professional services. In these bastions of conservatism, progress is showing in the Diversity Project’s report. But can simultaneous attempts to move the dial on categorical silos of exclusion start to add up to genuine inclusion?
Interestingly, the participant quotes in the Diversity Project report themselves signalled the need for diversity to be considered more broadly, and an acknowledgement of privilege. One participant quoted the following imperative for making improvements:
“Enactment and enforcement of basic, well-researched interventions that ensure basic fairness in recruitment, advancement, pay, etc. My experience shows political manoeuvring plays too large a role and this undermines diversity of all kinds. I say this as someone who has been a beneficiary of politically motivated decisions at times.”
Another added their comments regarding the need for flexibility and accommodation of working conditions for all employees, circumventing the need for diagnosis which is stigmatizing and biased by race/ethnicity, poverty and gender:
“Discuss accommodations with all employees without the stigma of a diagnosis. Humans are diverse and even neurotypicals have lagging skills. Everyone could benefit from broader acceptance of accommodations.”
Now these are the sort of ideas that could truly change the workplace.
Neurodiversity = The Future Of Work?
The world is in a transition towards this undefined, slightly intimidating “future of work.” We don’t know what that looks like yet, but we can explore trends in wider society that might give us some clues. Our challenge is the symbiosis of complexity and personalisation. We’re increasingly aware of interdependence and how problematic it is to create simplicity with one dimensional categories. We’re also realising the error of designing systems exclusively for the average person. In medicine, for example, complex adaptive syndromes are increasingly being identified as causal mechanisms for systemic diseases – for example Mast Cell Activation Syndrome – and the treatments pathways are varied. More frequently, we are finding that people need personalised intervention, that they “one-size-fits-all” miracle drug only works for 67% (the average) so we need flexibility for the remaining 33%. In media, we have personalisation algorithms that feed us information that suits our interests, rather than all consuming the six o’clock news. These are the wider trends of the post-industrial world.
So it will be in the workplace. What neurodiversity is teaching us is how to apply personalisation in employment. Those of us in the margins can point to which areas of flexibility will make the most difference to productivity and wellbeing at work. In these endeavours, reports such as those from WAC and the Diversity Project are exceptionally useful in signposting us towards the barriers created by a neurotypical norm. The more we learn about how to make a workplace neurodiversity inclusive, the more we will learn about what is absolutely necessary versus what is outdated convention. That said, we have to make sure that all neurodivergent voices are included, or we will miss great chunks of opportunity and learning. Neurodiversity is making progress in industries of privilege. Will this “trickle down?”
(Bloomberg) — Ping An Insurance (Group) Co.’s profit dropped 4.3% in the first quarter as stock-market declines and falling bond yields eroded investment returns.
Net income fell to 36.7 billion yuan ($5 billion) in the three months ended March 31, from 38.4 billion yuan a year earlier, the Shenzhen-based company said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange Tuesday.
Operating profit, which strips out one-time items and short-term investment volatility, fell 3%.
China’s stock market rout at the start of the year and lower bond yields have weighed on insurers’ investment returns. They hurt profit even as more customers seek to buy savings products. Co-Chief Executive Officer Michael Guo said last month that profitability will recover after a 23% drop in net income last year.
“China’s macroeconomy gradually recovered in the first three months of 2024, but there were still challenges,” the company said in a statement, citing weak domestic demand. “In response to volatile capital markets and declining treasury yields, Ping An continued to pursue long-term returns through cycles via value investing.”
Read More: Ping An Trust Wins First Court Ruling Over Delayed Trust Product
Net investment yield of insurance funds dropped to 3%, the statement said, down from 3.1% a year earlier. Real estate investments fell to 4.2% of the 4.9 trillion yuan portfolio, from 4.6% the year earlier.
The CSI 300 Index slumped as much 7.3% this year through the start of February, before government intervention fueled a rally.
New business value, which gauges the profitability of new life policies sold, rose 21% in the first quarter. That followed a 36% jump last year as the company’s efforts to improve the productivity of life agents started to bear fruit. NBV per agent jumped 56% from a year earlier, the statement said.
Ping An shares rose 3% to HK$33.00 in Hong Kong trading on Tuesday, trimming the year’s loss to 6.7%.
(Updates with company comment in fifth paragraph, more details afterwards)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
Investment
Own a cottage or investment property? Here's how to navigate the new capital gains tax changes – The Globe and Mail
Two brown Adirondack chairs on a wooden pier with a yellow canoe. Across the calm water is a brown cottage nestled among green trees. Canada flag is waving on a pole.flyzone/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
New rules for taxing capital gains mean quick decisions are required for cottages that families have owned for decades, and investment properties as well.
Until June 24, you can sell a second property or cottage and pay tax on just half your capital gain, however much it is. After that date, the recent federal budget proposes to increase the inclusion rate on capital gains greater than $250,000 to two-thirds. Capital gains of this size can easily be envisioned in the property market after the massive price gains of the past 10-plus years.
“From now until June, we might be seeing some hasty sales to bypass the increase in capital-gains tax for those people who have held a property for long enough to realize that gain above $250,000,” said Diana Mok, adjunct professor at the University of Western Ontario and an expert on real estate finance.
But maybe you don’t want to rush into anything. Historically, the capital-gains inclusion rate has many times been adjusted up and down. The rate went from half to two-thirds in the late 1980s and then up to three-quarters from 1990 to 1999. In 2000, it was chopped back to two-thirds and then again to 50 per cent.
The next opening for a change would be after the next federal election, which is expected by fall of 2025 unless the minority Liberal government falls earlier. People may want to hold on to secondary properties until after that election. “I think this is a huge reason that people will be focused on the Conservative Party,” said Lani Stern, broker and senior vice-president of sales at Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.
Mr. Stern said he’s advising clients to sell only if they already had plans to do so. The federal government’s budget documents suggest there’s an expectation of a bulge of capital gains-generated tax revenue in general this year as people try to get ahead of the higher inclusion rate.
A capital gain is the difference between the purchase price of a home, stock or other asset and the sale price. The inclusion rate is the portion of the gain that is taxable. Currently, the 50-per-cent inclusion rate on a $500,000 capital gain means a taxable gain of $250,000.
The taxable amount of a $500,000 gain under the new rules would be $291,750. That’s $125,000, or 50 per cent of $250,000, plus $166,750, which is 66.7 per cent of the other $250,000 portion of the $500,000 gain.
Your margin tax rate would determine how much tax you actually pay on these gains.
Draft legislation for the new capital-gains rules has yet to be issued. But John Oakey, vice-president of taxation at Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, said he believes it will be possible for capital gains to be split on the sale of properties co-owned by spouses. Each spouse would be able to report up to $250,000 in capital gains at the 50-per-cent inclusion rate.
The higher inclusion rate was billed in the budget as a way of targeting high-net-worth individuals, but middle-class families could be caught up as well in selling family cottages bought decades ago at a fraction of their current value. A principal residence can still be sold tax-free, but the gain on a cottage or investment property is taxable.
“Whether/when to transfer cottages to the next generation is a perennial question for many Canadians,” Andrew Guilfoyle, partner at Chronicle Wealth, said by e-mail. “The time crunch could make this much more difficult to execute versus simply realizing capital gains in an investment account of public stocks, as there will be legal documents and valuations needed.”
Prof. Mok sees the impact of the higher capital-gains inclusion rate being felt more by long-term investors than those who are flipping properties. “I could hardly see even the hottest market in Canada, such as Toronto, gaining $250,000 within a year or two,” she said.
Longer-term real estate investors will adjust to the higher tax rate, Prof. Mok predicted. Her thinking on this is influenced by what happened in Toronto after the introduction of a municipal land-transfer tax in 2008. Some observers thought house prices would cool down or fall, but that never happened. Similarly, people will adjust to the new capital-gains tax rate.
Are you a young Canadian with money on your mind? To set yourself up for success and steer clear of costly mistakes, listen to our award-winning Stress Test podcast.
Investment
Looking for Once-in-a-Generation Investment Opportunities? Here Are 3 Magnificent Stocks to Buy Right Now – Yahoo Finance
I disagree with the adage that “opportunity only knocks once.” At least, I don’t think it’s always true with investing. That said, there are inflection points for some stocks after which things will never be the same.
Looking for these kinds of once-in-a-generation investment opportunities? Here are three magnificent stocks to buy right now.
1. Occidental Petroleum
You might be surprised to see an oil stock on this list. Aren’t companies based on fossil fuels in danger of becoming fossils themselves? Not if Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) has its way.
Occidental is at the forefront of developing direct air capture (DAC) technology. DAC extracts carbon dioxide directly from the air. Oxy CEO Vicki Hollub’s goal is to produce “net-zero” oil where the CO2 captured in the production of the oil effectively cancels out the emissions produced by using the oil. Hollub believes if DAC fulfills its potential, her company will be able to “produce oil and gas forever.”
Carbon capture could also open up a massive new opportunity for Occidental and other pioneers. ExxonMobil projects a carbon capture and storage market of $4 trillion by 2050. Unsurprisingly, the oil and gas giant is also investing heavily in the technology.
Occidental is potentially at another inflection point as well. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway currently owns 28% of the company. Buffett has made clear Berkshire doesn’t want to acquire Oxy. However, I suspect the conglomerate will continue to aggressively buy shares of the oil producer — especially considering Berkshire secured regulatory approval to purchase up to 50% of the company. Occidental could become a near-subsidiary of the conglomerate even if doesn’t have majority ownership.
2. UiPath
I think artificial intelligence (AI) will create many once-in-a-generation investment opportunities. And those opportunities aren’t limited to the tech giants that typically capture the headlines. UiPath (NYSE: PATH) is a much smaller company with a market cap of under $11 billion that could be on the threshold of a new era.
UiPath is a leader in robotic process automation (RPA). The idea behind RPA is to automate online tasks to improve productivity. RPA isn’t new: UiPath was founded in 2005. However, generative AI could be a game-changer that leads to explosive growth.
A recent survey UiPath conducted with consulting firm Bain found that 70% of corporate executives believe AI-driven automation is “very important” or “critical” to the future of their industry. Eighty-four percent of executives believe AI “will radically change how businesses operate in the next five (5) years.”
UiPath is seizing this opportunity. The company recently launched preview versions of its AI-powered Autopilot for Studio product for developing process automation using natural language and Autopilot for Test Suite to improve productivity in testing. In March, UiPath introduced new generative AI capabilities for its platform.
3. Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) commands a monopoly in treating the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis (CF). It’s in the early stages of the commercial launch of the first CRISPR gene-editing therapy, a one-time cure for two rare blood disorders. But those aren’t why I think this biotech stock is a once-in-a-generation investment opportunity.
The company could have another megablockbuster franchise waiting in the wings in treating pain. Vertex plans to file for regulatory approval of non-opioid pain drug VX-548 this summer and is already preparing for a near-term commercial launch. VX-548 could fill a big gap between anti-inflammatory drugs that are safe but not as effective and opioids that are effective but highly addictive. The biotech is also evaluating other promising non-opioid pain therapies in phase 1 and 2 clinical studies.
Vertex recently advanced inaxaplin into phase 3 testing for treating APOL1-mediated kidney disease (AMKD). It hopes to seek accelerated approval if an interim analysis at week 48 of the study looks good. There are no approved therapies that treat the underlying cause of AMKD. The disease affects more patients than CF.
There’s more. Vertex’s pipeline includes programs that hold the potential to cure type 1 diabetes. The company also recently announced the planned acquisition of Alpine Immune Sciences. Alpine expects to advance its lead candidate povetacicept into late-stage testing later this year in treating IgA nephropathy, another disease that affects more patients than CF and with no approved therapies for treating the underlying cause.
Should you invest $1,000 in Vertex Pharmaceuticals right now?
Before you buy stock in Vertex Pharmaceuticals, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Vertex Pharmaceuticals wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $466,882!*
Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.
*Stock Advisor returns as of April 18, 2024
Keith Speights has positions in Berkshire Hathaway, ExxonMobil, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway, UiPath, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool recommends Occidental Petroleum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Looking for Once-in-a-Generation Investment Opportunities? Here Are 3 Magnificent Stocks to Buy Right Now was originally published by The Motley Fool
Auston Matthews turns it up with three-point night as Maple Leafs slay Bruins in Game 2 – Toronto Sun
Bird flu raises concern of WHO – ecns
West Antarctica's ice sheet was smaller thousands of years ago – here's why this matters today – The Conversation
Silver investment demand jumped 12% in 2019
12 Bizarre Things People Did Just To Make Social Media Content
Global Media Markets, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F – TV and Radio Broadcasting, Film and Music, Information Services, Web Content, Search Portals And Social Media, Print Media, & Cable – GlobeNewswire
-
Business16 hours ago
Honda to build electric vehicles and battery plant in Ontario, sources say – Global News
-
Science16 hours agoWill We Know if TRAPPIST-1e has Life? – Universe Today
-
Investment19 hours ago
Down 80%, Is Carnival Stock a Once-in-a-Generation Investment Opportunity?
-
Health16 hours ago
Simcoe-Muskoka health unit urges residents to get immunized
-
Health13 hours ago
See how chicken farmers are trying to stop the spread of bird flu – Fox 46 Charlotte
-
News21 hours ago
Honda expected to announce multi-billion dollar deal to assemble EVs in Ontario
-
Science21 hours ago
Watch The World’s First Flying Canoe Take Off
-
Investment14 hours ago
Own a cottage or investment property? Here's how to navigate the new capital gains tax changes – The Globe and Mail
