Pensions are likely to form the foundation of your retirement planning – helping ensure financial freedom through your later years. But what happens to your pension pot when you die. Jack Lear, UK Financial Planning Manager, looks at what to be aware of. Most of us carefully save into pensions for much of our working life. By the time you retire your pension might hold a significant sum, especially given…
When Mark DesJardine was working on his Ph.D., in 2015, he studied a few of the organizations that certify lumber harvested from responsibly managed forests. As he dug into the details, he noticed a troubling pattern. A CFA charterholder, Tuck professor Mark DesJardine teaches the MBA elective Social Entrepreneurship. He is focused on issues related to strategy, sustainability, and finance, with a specific focus on shareholder activism. The independent, not-for-profit…
Making cross-border payments cheaper, faster, and easily accessible would bring huge benefits to businesses and households alike, especially in emerging markets and developing economies. By Fabio Panetta In recent decades, the world has witnessed a remarkable surge in cross-border payments, driven by the globalisation of trade, capital and migration flows. Global payments are expected to skyrocket from USD 190 trillion in 2023 to a staggering USD 290 trillion by 2030.[1]…
Licensees, exchanges, and other market participants should prepare to comply with the listing, disclosure, capital, and other requirements that the new law imposes. By Jenny Cieplak, Nima Mohebbi, Parag Patel, Stephen P. Wink, Ian Irlander, Adam Zuckerman, Luca Marquard, and Deric Behar On October 13, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed California State Assembly Bill 39, which establishes the Digital Financial Assets Law (DFAL). The new law, which goes into…
One of the most common pricing questions we get from late-stage SaaS companies is: should we switch to a usage-based pricing model (also known as consumption-based pricing)? Often, these companies have an existing subscription model, and usage-based pricing sounds like it would further align their incentives with their customers’. After all, the more their customers use their product, the more revenue they capture. But just because usage-based pricing has worked…
What is an Intercreditor agreement? An Intercreditor agreement outlines the rights and obligations of multiple creditors when lending to the same borrower. These are often referred to interchangeably as Deeds of Priority, however, an intercreditor agreement tends to be a more complex document which does not merely order the priority of debt and distribute the proceeds upon a default of the borrower. Intercreditor agreements also include undertakings between the senior…
During the pandemic many people put more money aside than usual. So what is happening with these additional funds? The ECB Blog looks at which households built up excess savings and how they are using the money. By Niccolò Battistini and Johannes Gareis Being forced to stay home during the pandemic was tough. But it meant that people saved money because they had fewer opportunities to spend. Think of closed…
Imagine you’re a consultant and you notice a few eyebrow-raising behaviors, such as a colleague who misuses a client’s meal stipend or an executive who screams inappropriately at his staff. Should you step in and speak up? For consultants, especially those starting out, the tug of war of values and loyalties among clients, colleagues, and partners can present ethical issues that can be difficult to manage, says David Fubini, a…
Stablecoins are a form of digital asset that can be used to make payments. They tend to be less volatile than cryptoassets. That is because their value is tied to other, stable, assets.
What does it mean to "encrypt" information? And how does an organization know whether its existing encryption protocols are sufficient? The Protection of Personal Information and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) imposes an obligation on businesses to use security safeguards to protect personal information in a manner appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. Amongst the various forms of safeguards, Principle 4.7 states that methods of protection should include technological measures,…
Every successful team depends on its members to contribute effectively and work together cohesively. As a manager or team leader, it is important to make sure that your team is working effectively and efficiently. Every team should have people who do their job that lives up to the company’s standards of quality work. However, no team is perfect. There are some instances where team members may be underperforming for whatever…
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago, almost 10,000 civilians have been killed, most of them by air strikes on civilian infrastructures. This has been a wake-up call for other European countries, none of which could currently provide sufficient protection for its population or critical civil and military infrastructure. For this reason, Germany launched the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) in 2022 which…
The global economy is increasingly a digital one, and businesses are rapidly changing in response to keep pace with technology. Despite exponential-seeming increases in data, businesses, especially those in the legal sector, have not realised the potential gains. Law firms, specifically, are often partner-led organisations (Limited Liability partnerships, “LLP”) where decision-making is decentralised and requires consensus among partners who have varying levels of comfort and familiarity with new technologies. Partner-led…
It’s that time of year when parents are required to make school place applications. Deciding on a school for your child can be a challenging task, and when parents cannot agree on this important decision, it can add additional complexity to an already delicate situation. When must school applications be made? If your child is due to start school in September 2024, or is in their last year of primary…
Long-term financial services solutions for a pervasive financial problem With money talk at the top of the agenda, striking the right tone is paramount to the financial future of businesses – as well as their customers. With just over half of customers (52%) believing their financial provider hits the mark when communicating with them, plus the many people now experiencing increasing degrees of financial strife, the way financial services providers…
This week neuro-linguist Laura Gwilliams breaks down how sound becomes information in the human brain, specifically focusing on how speech is transformed into meaning. Welcome back to "From Our Neurons to Yours," a podcast where we criss-cross scientific disciplines to take you to the cutting edge of brain science. In this episode, we explore how sound becomes information in the human brain, specifically focusing on how speech is transformed…
If you’re an email marketer, building a strong subscriber list is one of your top goals. But it’s also crucial to keep those email subscribers over the long term. Sending them great content is a given. But there’s an underrated factor that also determines success: email deliverability. Email platforms Gmail and Yahoo recently announced new measures to help prevent spam from reaching readers’ inboxes, meaning new domain validation requirements for…
Contrary to what Martin Rufer, Director of the Swiss Farmers’ Union (SBC), wrote in his guest commentary for the NZZ on 4th September 2023, farmers and their families are not victims of a misguided fiscal policy. They are victims of Switzerland’s failed agricultural policy, that has been significantly shaped by the SBC in the last decades. Using farmers and their families What is at stake exactly? Rufer criticizes the federal…
Online shopping has become a staple of modern commerce, and with it comes the necessity for clear consumer protection laws. Here’s a comparison of the rights of consumers in Switzerland and the United Kingdom (UK) when it comes to returning goods purchased online. Switzerland: 1. Right of Withdrawal: Switzerland does not have a statutory right for consumers to change their mind and return non-defective goods unless it’s stipulated by the…
Thanks to the proliferation of APIs1 and the advent of Open Banking2, these FinTechs have specialised first and foremost in collecting, refining and structuring business data, notably banking and financial data. They mass process information such as bank statements, customer and supplier billing histories and activity data from e-commerce and advertising platforms. All this data is then fed into proprietary algorithms that evaluate and score businesses seeking funding. Their core…
Amid heightened fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East, our focus must turn to deterring and punishing terrorist aggressors in the region, led by Iran, instead of trying to appease the terrorists by making dangerous concessions. Oil represents the best leverage over Iran, even though it has been overlooked by media commentators, and strengthening sanctions on Iranian oil can help preserve peace. Iran is driving the Middle East…
Today, more and more are prioritizing sleep as it relates to health. The growing interest in sleep is clear from recent trends observed with the Samsung Health app. Over the past two years, there has been a 182% increase1 in the number of users who actively tracked sleep2 at least once a week for a year. Yet despite this, the question remains: have we been sleeping well? Samsung set out…
Right after I wrapped up my university degree, I was super excited to dive into my career. But let me tell you, it was no walk in the park trying to land my very first job. Finding a job, especially in my hometown, was a real challenge. After a whole lot of searching, I finally scored a full time job at an optical clinic. I worked really hard and did…
Nearly all of our electricity is generated from heat powering a steam turbine. Historically, this energy conversion has been achieved through burning wood or fossil fuels. However, while these sorts of reactions release a large amount of chemical energy, they are nothing compared to the energy of a nuclear reaction. Here is the specific energy, or the amount of energy (megajoules) per kilogram, in common fuel types. As you can…
Marketing today looks nothing like it did in the 1960s, the start of “The Golden Age of Advertising,” when television gave brands new opportunities to connect with audiences. by Betsy Vereckey Technology has transformed the space, whether that’s machine learning algorithms that can pick the perfect image or curated social media accounts that can attract followers. New ways of collecting and using consumers’ data has marketing executives taking out some…
In a recent case against the high-end restaurant Tattu, based in Soho, London, the Employment Tribunal found that instructing female employees to wear makeup can constitute sexual harassment under the Equality Act 2010. In this particular case, Tattu’s deputy manager, Ms Joanne Huang told 24 year old waitress, Ms Jahnayde Henry that she looked ‘tired and unpresentable’ and suggested that she should wear makeup in the future. Sexual harassment is…
Doris Duke, the heiress to a huge tobacco fortune, did not name a trusted family member as the executor of her Will. Instead, she chose her personal butler, Bernard Lafferty, to manage her estate. Concerns about his intentions grew when Duke became ill, and Lafferty already had a hearse waiting outside the house while she was still alive. Those close to her tried to intervene when she was on her…
In a welcome surprise to employers, the Alberta Court of King's Bench dismissed an employee's claim of wrongful dismissal. In its dismissal, the Court remarkably awarded both compensatory and punitive damages to the employer as a result of the employee's misconduct. Amid a pro-employee legal landscape, this decision serves as a vital reminder to high-level employees of their duty to represent their employer honestly. Background The Plaintiff, Patrick Breen, was…
As the old adage says (and I quote Marshall Goldsmith), “What got you here won’t get you there.” In other words, later in your career, moving fast and having all the answers is actually detrimental to your executive presence and your ability to motivate and engage others. Let’s unpack this a bit. First, raise your hand if you identify with any of the following statements: I have a high capacity…
Maintaining an expert’s independence is of utmost importance. All participants in an arbitration or court proceedings know that a situation where an expert’s independence is being questioned should be avoided. However, what is a reasonable level of caution for legal advisors to hold when working with experts? Rebecca Ruthven Associate Director, Forensic Accounting and Commercial Damages RebeccaRuthven@hka.com The use of and interactions with experts can vary between litigation and…
As part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress on November 15, 2021, BABA established a domestic content preference for federal financial assistance obligated for infrastructure projects. The domestic content preference applies to three separate product categories: (i) iron or steel products, (ii) manufactured products, and (iii) construction materials.[1] Who Does BABA Apply to? BABA applies to non-federal entities (e.g., state governments, local governments, Indian tribes, institutes…
From software that once came in a box to phone apps that do simple tasks, more products and services are moving to a subscription model—and consumers are feeling it. The average US consumer last year spent $273 a month on 12 paid subscriptions. People were already used to paying for streaming content, cell phone service, and meal delivery, but now there are subscriptions for toothbrushes, razors, pet food, and apparel.…
The technical term for platforms like AirBnb and Task Rabbit is “peer-to-peer exchanges,” but most people know them as part of the sharing economy. The sharing economy, or that part of commerce where individuals share their resources with others for a fee, has been around for thousands of years. Tuck professor Nailya Ordabayeva teaches the core marketing course in the Tuck MBA program. She also teaches Marketing Principles for Creating…
Amidst a landscape of uncertainty and volatility, business leaders are increasingly recognising the paramount importance of ensuring business resilience. The Global Economy today is experiencing cross-cutting forces. On the one hand, exports are back on the rise, supply chain pressures are disappearing, AI-driven technological disruptions are accelerating and the post-pandemic recovery is well underway (1). At the same time, our globalised economy is facing significant headwinds from geopolitical tension, economic…
Did you know that every third week of October is Workplace Bullying Awareness Week? It is a week to be daring and bold. This week is all about breaking the silence and shame that often surround this problem. In a perfect work setting, it should be a place where every employee feels safe, respected, and empowered to do their best. However, reality often falls short of this ideal. Workplace bullying…
Bio/pharma patents are rarely targeted in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings because their technical vulnerabilities often relate to written description and/or enablement. IPR, of course, is restricted in scope to grounds of unpatentability that are based on patents and printed publications. Claims in the unpredictable arts, even when challenged in IPR, can be relatively tougher to invalidate as compared to patents in the predictable arts. Section 112 (written description) issues…
Boss's Day, observed on October 16th in the United States, is a day marked on the calendar for employees to express gratitude toward their bosses. Patricia Bays Haroski, who registered "National Boss' Day" with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1958, had a more idealistic aim: to bridge the emotional and professional gap between managers and their teams. Still, Hallmark did not capitalize on this newly created holiday until 1979.…
The theory has held for decades: give people a choice and you’re also giving them an illusory sense of control. For example, a much-cited 1975 study found that if people are allowed to pick the numbers on a lottery ticket rather than having them randomly assigned, they’re more likely to think their ticket will win—even though every ticket carries the same odds. “We didn’t start our project questioning this assumption,”…
The act of challenging a superior necessitates more than just raising one’s voice; it involves understanding, navigating, and engaging in the subtle yet complex dance of power dynamics, diplomacy, and mutual respect. Approaching someone above you in the professional hierarchy requires a delicate balance and a deep understanding of both the person and the situation. For those keen on maintaining professional decorum and growing in their roles, this guide…
The famous daredevil Evil Knievel once said: “Risk is good. Not properly managing your risk is a dangerous leap.” While he was talking about jumping a motorbike over a line of school buses, the sentiment still holds true when thinking about investments. Without exposing your wealth to some level of risk, you may not be able to achieve as much growth as you otherwise could. But, adopting too much risk…