Strategic advice

Businesses have different capital needs as they move past the start-up phase, grow, and support continuous innovation to stay competitive. Prior to joining digital media authentication company DoubleVerify as Managing Director last year, Marc Zagorski was familiar with these stages of a career that has included a variety of startups.

Most recently, he led DoubleVerify through an initial public offering (IPO) of shares to raise $ 340 million. The company has a market value of around $ 6.23 billion, based on its current stock price.

“We see the journey to an IPO as not a destination where the IPO was the destination. It was a step on a much longer path to continued growth over time, ”Zagorski said in this interview with Beet.TV. “The IPO has provided us with a lot of capital that we can continue to invest and grow in our mission to create a stronger, safer and more secure digital advertising ecosystem.”

As a company that seeks to make the digital advertising market more transparent by ensuring that real people see ads, not bots, DoubleVerify also aims to build confidence in their business by disclosing their financial performance as as a state-owned company, Zagorski said.

Before joining DoubleVerify, he was Managing Director of the Telaria sales platform, which last year merged with Rubicon Project to form Magnite. The deal was another sign of the continued evolution of the ad technology industry.

“It’s always evolving, and there is always a new opportunity for growth,” Zagorski said. “The companies I have been fortunate enough to be a part of have been… at the forefront of the future. This is what kept me engaged during all these years.

Investment partners

As important as fundraising is for startups, they also need to find strong investment partners who can provide strategic advice when needed.

“You need capital to keep growing, but the money is, I hate to say it, the money is not easy, but the money is plentiful,” Zagorski said. “It’s what comes with that money that is most important. What you really need to consider is who your partner is helping you bring in those new dollars, and what will they be after those dollars arrive. “

The best investment partners are those who think beyond transactions and a company’s long-term growth prospects. This perspective includes times when businesses face challenges.

“When times are good there are a lot of people who want to be your friend,” Zagorski said. “These are the ones who will be there when times get tough, when you need strategic advice, when selling your story isn’t a slam dunk to every investor you meet. These are the real partners, and this is what you should be looking for as a strategic advisor.

Results-oriented advertising

The digital advertising market is going through a period of upheaval as privacy concerns are driving tech companies to end support for tracking technologies such as third-party cookies and device identifiers. Moving away from people-based measurement will force advertisers to develop other ways to measure engagement in a multiscreen environment.

“Companies that not only follow this activity, but learn to interact with users on all these screens are exciting opportunities for companies like mine who want to partner with them, but also for investors who are looking for growth opportunities. “Zagorski said. .

You are watching “Innovation, Leadership and Value Creation: Explored Strategies”, a Beet.TV leadership series presented by Progress Partners. For more videos, please visit this page.

2020 taught IT professionals that the near future will be mobile, cloud-based, and digitally transformed.

Or will he do it?

While there is ample evidence to suggest that some organizations have accelerated digital transformation projects in 2020 to deal with the fallout from the global pandemic, others have slowed down transformation work at a breakneck pace due to a lack of of certainty.

Since the introduction of SAP S / 4HANA in 2015, SAP customers know they will one day have to leave SAP ECC. Until SAP extended its support deadline for ECC a year ago from 2025 to 2027, that day was important.

If you are a current ECC customer, you might think you have more time to wait. I suggest you do not do it. In my opinion, you will need to make one of three choices in 2021:

• Sit well with ECC for now.
• Make plans – if not take action – to migrate to S / 4HANA.
• Consider options, including SAP alternatives.

Here’s a closer look at the realities of each option and why I think you’ll need to make a decision sooner rather than later.

The regulatory focus on life insurance advice may seem disproportionate to the business, given that 84 percent of financial advisers spend the majority of their time providing strategic advice on pensions, investments and other non-insurance issues according to Investment Trends.

As such, the regulator’s attention may soon shift to strategic investment advice.

This will likely coincide with the inevitable end of Australia’s nearly three decades of record economic prosperity.

Advisors need to be prepared for some tough questions about their approach to managing other people’s money. They must be able to articulate and demonstrate the robustness of their investment philosophy, processes and performance, including how they build and personalize portfolios, how they manage risk, and how they monitor and measure current performance.

For some advisors, luck has undoubtedly played a large role in their success to date. Above all, this represents a major risk for the future.

Over the past 20 years, Australian stocks, which account for around 21 percent of the average MySuper fund, have returned more than 8 percent per year.

Over the past decade, global stocks, which account for 29% of the average MySuper fund, have generated 8.6% per year.

Analysis of the performance attribution of the average advised portfolio would likely reveal that market movement (not skills) generated most of the returns. A rising tide lifts all the boats.

This does not overlook the importance of diversification and asset allocation, which, according to one study (Brinson, Singer and Beebower, 1991), account for more than 91.5% of a portfolio’s return. However, he questions whether strategic asset allocation or – for that matter – stock and manager selection and market timing are part of the strategic advice proposition.

In most cases, these are inputs to the investment process.

A structured approach

There is no standard approach to retirement and investing in the financial planning industry. Each practice does things differently.

Some rely heavily on their licensee’s research and recommendations to build portfolios. Others have developed their own money management rules and systems or take a laissez-faire approach.

For advisers belonging to a licensee, support takes three main forms: support on asset allocation, research into investment products (for managed funds and equities, etc.) and lists of approved products (APL). Some licensees also provide model portfolios, which advisors can duplicate, reject altogether, or pick whatever they like.

As long as they operate within the prescribed asset allocation and APL limits, advisers are more or less free to provide strategic investment advice as they see fit. This statement does not imply judgment but an honest assessment.

The point is, this traditional approach is under pressure for two main reasons.

1. Global economic uncertainty and political unrest, exacerbated by COVID-19

The strong historical performance of Australian stocks and real estate has masked loose investment processes within some advisory practices.

But it’s against a backdrop of sluggish economic growth, extreme market volatility, and protracted, ultra-low interest rates that advisers will need to prove their worth and justify their fees.

2. Put more emphasis on the value of advice

The shift to fees paid directly by the client puts more emphasis on value for money.

It’s more important than ever for advisors to refine their value proposition and be clear about the services they are providing and not providing.

For example, it may be tempting to take credit for asset allocation at the right times, but it is very difficult to consistently choose the best performing asset classes. Advisors must accurately represent their services, after all, they are not fund managers or asset consultants.

They do not set asset allocation goals, conduct in-depth manager and equity research, and do not actively trade.

Advisors provide personalized strategic advice. As part of their role, they leverage external information and input to create personalized portfolios to meet a client’s unique needs, goals and risk appetite.

As such, the performance benchmarks that some advisers use are not conventional but they must still be relevant. This is necessary to demonstrate that strict governance and risk management controls are in place.

Too many advisors are using outdated references that do not pass the ad test. For example, if the CPI plus 2% is their benchmark and they got a CPI plus 4%, they think they outperformed even though the rest of the market got a CPI plus 7% for the same level of risk and price. costs.

This is fraught with danger for everyone involved.

While the biggest indictment against the industry to date has been no-service charges, the next big test for advisors will demonstrate the value of service in their investment proposition, especially if clients are charged separately for this service.

Ensuring a comfortable retirement for Australian workers is too important to be left to chance, thus ensuring even greater scrutiny in the future of counseling processes and service delivery. Obviously, there is much more to consider given the far-reaching implications for all stakeholders. Critical to any solution, licensees must invest heavily to expand their capabilities and ensure they have the support they need to effectively help advisors establish, articulate, and deliver these services for the benefit of clients.

* Neil Younger is Group CEO and Managing Director of Fortnum Private Wealth.

The selection and subsequent election of Senator Kamala Harris to the post of vice-president serves, for Jennifer R. Farmer, as a beacon of hope and validation of what black women can achieve with hard work, tenacity and the support of their village and the alignment of the stars.

Farmer, a seasoned activist, public relations expert and practitioner, recently published “First and Only: A Black Woman’s Guide to Thriving at Work and in Life,” which discusses the challenges black women face when in the workplace. both the first and the only in professional spaces. and provides a roadmap to success.

“The book talks about the unrealistic expectations, racism, sexism and thinly disguised hostility associated with being the first or onlysaid Farmer, founder of Spotlight PR LLC, a boutique company specializing in communications strategy and training leaders and groups committed to social and racial justice. “While the appointment, selection or ascension of a black woman to an important role is exciting, there is an underbelly associated with career progression. “

“I’ve been doing this for 17 or 18 years,” said Farmer, from Columbus, Ohio, whose mother is from Barbados and whose father has Southern roots.

“My mother was very strict. We lived in poverty in subsidized housing where there was a high incidence of violence. Fortunately, my mother protected us. I wanted to escape the city I was in. What attracted me to public relations was wanting to get involved in racial justice – to advocate and help people tell their stories.

Farmer, an author and speaker known as “the PR Whisperer,” said she was looking for a union whose members wanted or needed publicity and were looking to tell their stories. She appreciated the way unions benefit society as a whole and was eventually hired by the Service Employees International Union.

In 2016, she founded Spotlight PR, a boutique company specializing in public relations and training for leaders and groups committed to social and racial justice. She works with a host of top clients including activist, rapper and businessman Michael Render aka Killer Mike – host of the Netflix show, “Trigger Warning with Killer Mike” and half of the rap duo Run the Jewels, Art, Beats & Lyrics; the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II; author Edgar Villanueva (Decolonizing Wealth); Bankhead Seafood; and various social justice organizations such as the Funders’ Collaborative for Youth Organizing, Repairers of the Breach, United Methodist Women and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.

The mother-of-two said her motivation for writing the book was to approach and focus on the experiences of professional black women who were told they were too loud, aggressive, assertive, not nice enough, not enough or too much.

“I made the intentional decision not to speak to women of color because the experiences of black women need to be singularly mentioned,” said Farmer, a University of Rochester graduate. “I also feel like a lot of times people use women of color or people of color without distinguishing the unique experiences of various groups. I wanted to be clear that it’s okay to speak directly to black women without expecting our uniqueness to be overshadowed again. “

“I couldn’t manage like my white bosses and expected to hear the compliments they were getting. When I started to hear things like “you have to be nicer” I internalized it and believed that something was wrong with me as a human being.

“It wasn’t until I started being vulnerable and talking to other black women that I learned that we all heard comments that made us a problem with the workspaces around us. Hope black women find gems [in my book] to add to their toolbox to help them isolate themselves from noise, grow stronger, survive and thrive as a first or only Black woman in professional spaces or unique life experiences.

Farmer looks at the rise of women like Harris, Marilyn Mosby, Kim Foxx and Aramis Ayala who all broke barriers to become the first black women elected state attorneys in their respective cities and regions. The quartet represents trailblazers in an era when African American women broke glass ceilings and barriers in public spaces, including politics, commerce, media, medicine, and law enforcement.

Farmer said she was elated when President Joe Biden picked Harris as his running mate, but notes that from the moment Harris announced his intention to run for president, she faced headwinds of sexism, racism and gender bias.

“People expected Harris to put on a brave face, smile and perform superbly despite what she might have faced as the first and only one,” Farmer said months before Harris was picked.

“People will hold her accountable for things over which she has no control. Attacks will come from all sides, even from people you think are nearby. The obstacles she will have to overcome will be enormous, despite her partnership with a prominent Democrat. “

“She is still black, a person of color and a woman and with that she will have to face challenges,” she said.

“It’s not insurmountable, as his entire career has shown. But it is important that her village supports her, that she has spaces where she can be authentic and vulnerable, and that she walks to the beat of any drum that is comfortable and realistic for her.

Farmer took her own advice and said she always walked to be beaten with her own drum.

“This book is both a self-help guide and a business book focused exclusively on the unique challenges black women face in work and life,” she said.

Four in five CEOs want their general counsel to be a strategic business partner and valued member of the management team, according to a recent study. report by the Group CEO and BarkerGilmore.

However, the report found that only 61% of CEOs of public companies and 40% of CEOs of private companies consider their [current] GC as meeting the ideal.

John Gilmore, managing partner of BarkerGilmore, explained that for past reports, board members were interviewed. This year, they surveyed CEOs of 100 public and private companies to get their perspective. He said it was “not really surprising that boards and CEOs are well aligned with the need for a GC capable of serving as a strategic business partner.”

With 84% of public GCs and 57% of private GCs in the leadership team, GCs have the opportunity to contribute more strategically to their organizations. The top three areas CEOs would like their CGs to improve are business strategy, new market expansion, and industry knowledge.

Only 6% of CEOs of public companies and no CEOs of private companies believed their CGs added the most value by contributing to the discussion of corporate strategy.

The report shows that there is a mismatch between the strategy the CEO wants from his general counsel and where they have them in the management team, especially in small businesses.

If the General Counsel is not part of the management team reporting to the CEO but rather is informed of decisions after the fact, he is doomed to be performers without having the opportunity to add strategic value.

The general counsel who is not currently part of the leadership team should work with his supervisor, most likely the CFO or COO, to develop goals that will allow him to show his strategic value. Ideally, their boss can be their sponsor by developing roles and responsibilities that allow the general counsel to expand beyond legal work.

Most important impact areas

CEOs believe that CMs, in both public and private companies, have the greatest impact on litigation / investigation management, risk management and crisis management.

In terms of oversight, overall, companies do not understand the value that a legal perspective can bring to human resources and cybersecurity, with only 22% of GCs involved in human resources oversight and 17% with the cybersecurity.

GCs in private companies are more likely to oversee risk management (81%), compliance and ethics (50%), human resources (42%) and government relations (35%); compared to GCs of public companies who oversee compliance and ethics (84%), government relations (49%), risk management (44%) and confidentiality (31%).

In all areas, a good KM can “bridge the gap” between departments from a risk assessment perspective, and they can add value around strategy.

After analyzing how CEOs use their general counsel on the leadership team, CEOs need to ask themselves whether they have given their general counsel the opportunity to be the strategic partner they want them to be. .

Some questions CEOs should ask themselves:

• Has the CEO outlined his expectations to his GC?
• Have they jointly created annual SMART goals that reinforce this message?
• Does the Advocate General have the resources to devote his time to strategy?

Conversely, attorneys general must find the time to learn more about the profession by assessing their responsibilities and delegating where possible. They should also not outsource strategic opportunities to outside advisers.

Some questions that GC should ask itself:

• What can you do alone?
• What can you delegate?
• What can move outside of the legal system?

Finally, the General Counsel should be encouraged to step outside of the legal environment by learning about products, competitors and customers, and then use that knowledge to contribute to senior management discussions. They are responsible for understanding where they add the most value to the CEO, the board of directors, their senior management peers and their legal team, and, more importantly, taking action to deliver that value.

Successor planning

Research also shows that 58% of CEOs do not have an identified potential successor. This problem escalates as the size of the company’s annual revenue shrinks with 95% of CEOs at $ 100 million to $ 249.9 million in annual revenue not citing a potential successor, down from 45%. in $ 1 billion + businesses.

Most CEOs (63%) plan to compare internal candidates against external talent when hiring their next GC.

For more information on CEOs’ perspectives on their General Counsel, access the full report here.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. or its owners.

Author Info

Mary Rombaut is the Managing Director of Research and Analysis at BarkerGilmore LLC.

Marla persky is Senior Advisor at BarkerGilmore LLC and previously was Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Boehringer Ingelheim USA.

The SMSF association will work with professional accounting bodies and the Financial Planning Association to lobby policy makers to rethink the advisory framework that separates strategic advice from product advice, the association’s CEO said. , John Maroney, to attendees over breakfast prior to the opening of the annual group conference on the Gold Coast.

Maroney pointed out that the limited exclusion from licensing the accounting profession “hasn’t worked very well” because clients who seek advice do not want to be limited by regulations in terms of the advice they receive from their professional. of confidence.

“We should have the capacity to provide strategic advice [to be given by] highly skilled, highly ethical and highly skilled people, but it shouldn’t be done through all the trickery of SOA [statements of advice]Moroney said at a panel discussion at a BT Thought Leadership Breakfast alongside Rice Warner’s Michael Rice, Investment Trend’s Michael Blomfield and Challenger’s Jeremy Cooper.

“The whole framework has to change and I believe it, and more and more voices are supporting it,” said Maroney. He added that the supreme body of the SMSF industry had coordinated a lobbying effort with the three accounting bodies and the FPA to rethink the advisory policy framework to separate strategic advice from product advice.

Maroney confirmed with Professional planner he works with representatives of the three accounting bodies – Chartered Accountants of Australia, Institute of Chartered Accountants and Institute of Public Accountants – to gain recognition that strategic advice does not fall under the definition of general advice and products, and to have it recognized by legislators.

“We are trying to get people to recognize that the current system is broken, that it does not work. It is neither accessible nor affordable, ”he said.

“I think until we recognize that the current system does not work for most Australians and that something better needs to be put in place, it will not be possible to go the way forward,” he said. he declared.

Political headspace

Maroney’s comments also highlighted the challenges associated with getting decision-makers to step back and examine the entire advisory framework at a time when the Treasury is busy implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission to Hayne.

“It actually requires work with the government, with regulators, and it will take time because we are still implementing reforms that have taken the last 5 years to arrive, with FASEA, with an education superior and ethical standards, ”he noted.

“I don’t have the solution to deploy today, we are working with other groups on this,” added Maroney.

Senator Jane Hume, Minister of Pensions, Financial Services and Financial Technology, spoke at the opening session of the conference on Wednesday; During her speech, Hume referred to the time Maroney and representatives of the SMSF Association spent with her and Morrison government staff discussing policy in this area.

“You probably need to introduce a different form of financial advice, different from product-oriented advice,” Maroney said. “We think the world has changed from the idea of ​​financial advice to product advice, it’s a 20 year old idea.”

“Look at other sectors of society, we’re not repeating 20-year-old paradigms about what advice means, the cars you drive, the Internet you use; so I think there is a recognition that there is a real role for strategic advice separate from product advice, which needs to be clearly defined what that means, ”he said.

Former Home Secretary Amber Rudd today announced she will join City PR giant Teneo Blue Rubicon, offering clients of the company “strategic advice” after stepping down as MP before the December elections.

Rudd campaigned for ‘Stronger In’ during the EU referendum, where she worked closely with Teneo’s new colleague Sir Craig Oliver, who at the time was Head of Communication for No 10.

Rudd’s brother Roland Rudd is the head of public relations firm Finsbury and the former chairman of Open Britain, a pro-EU group which campaigned for a popular vote.

The public relations veteran resigned as chairman of Open Britain and People’s Vote after a coup against campaign leader James McGrory and Tom Baldwin, his communications chief, backfired him.

The move prompted massive staff walkouts after it was revealed Rudd had fired the duo in an email.

The former interior minister announced her post at Teneo on Twitter alongside his new role as administrator for a climate change NGO.

She announced that she was resigning from cabinet and the Conservative Party last September following Boris Johnson’s decision to expel 21 senior Tories.

A month later, she announced that she would not be running in the December general election.

A new audit of Western Australian state government entities found that ppurchasing policies could be improved by defining “strategic advisory boards”.

The Commissioner of Main Roads, Department of Training and Workforce Development, Department of Transport, Forest Products Commission, Housing Commission, Lottery Commission, Public Transport Authority of Western Australia and the Western Australian Land Information Authority were assessed.

The Audit reviewed whether they comply with reporting requirements and whether their policies, procedures and guidelines for engaging consultants for strategic advice are appropriate.

Entities generally comply with Premier’s Circular 2016/02, but there is room for improvement, Auditor General Caroline Spencer said.

Internal competency assessments should be conducted for consulting services below $ 50,000, and the definition of “strategic advice” needs to be clearer, according to the report.

The circular was issued after the state government identified the need for centralized control when public sector entities hire consultants for policy advice.

It requires entities to seek approval from the Prime Minister’s Department and Cabinet for proposals valued at $ 50,000 and over in order to establish contractual arrangements with external consultants.

The report recommended that tThe circular be updated by September 30, 2019 to provide additional guidance and consider points to entities as to what constitutes “strategic advice on which government must act.”

He also suggested that state government entities ensure that:

• The policies and procedures are up to date and refer to the requirements of the Prime Minister’s circular governing the procurement of consultants for strategic advice, where applicable.
• Policies require an in-house skills assessment for consulting projects to confirm that entity staff do not have the necessary skills before hiring a consultant.
• Consultant contracts for strategic advisory services valued at $ 50,000 and over are appropriately submitted to the DPC for approval prior to the consultant’s engagement.

Spencer said narrow-scope audits like this “give an indication of the health of various financial management controls.”

“It is important to note that the findings of these audits are likely representative of problems in other government entities that were not in our sample,” she said.

“I encourage all entities, and not just those audited, to periodically assess themselves against these risks and controls on an ongoing basis. “

Democratic presidential hopeful Pete ButtigiegPete ButtigiegThe Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by AT&T – US Steps Up Evacuations As Thousands Of Americans Stay In Afghanistan Pete and Chasten Buttigieg Announce They Will Become Parents. (D) said in a town hall on Monday that he supported impeachment President TrumpDonald TrumpDemocrats sound the alarm over loss in Connecticut suburb Abbott Laboratories orders employees to dispose of COVID-19 testing equipment promptly Sunday shows sneak peek: chaos in Kabul hampers US evacuation efforts United PLUS, but he would “think twice” before trying to give advice on the matter to the President. Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiPelosi says House is working on passing infrastructure bills by October 1. (D-Calif.), Who resisted impeachment efforts.

“I would also say even though I have proven to be ambitious in that I am a young presidential candidate, that I would also think twice before offering strategic advice to Nancy Pelosi,” said Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Ind. , told an MSNBC town hall hearing in Fresno, Calif.

Buttigieg’s comments come as Pelosi faces growing calls for impeachment from his caucus after special advocate Robert muellerRobert (Bob) Mueller Senate Democrats urge Garland not to challenge court order to release Trump’s obstruction note Why a special advocate is guaranteed if Biden chooses Yates, Cuomo or Jones as special advocate for AG Barr said last week that accusing Trump of a crime was “not an option” for the Department of Justice (DOJ), effectively throwing the issue back to House Democrats.

Some Democrats, including Pelosi, have expressed concern that Trump’s impeachment could work in his favor by rallying his base. Critics of the impeachment also point out that the push doesn’t stand a chance in the GOP-controlled Senate.

“I think part of what’s going on here is that I think for a lot of people impeachment means impeachment but it’s really a process and it’s the only process we have left because the GM has says you can’t indict a sitting president, and I don’t think it makes much sense to suggest the president is above the law, ”Buttigieg said.

“Basically it means the only place we can have a proceeding, the only place we can have due process, the only way we can get through the evidence and so on while it’s in the Oval Office is in Congress in the form of impeachment proceedings, which I think we’re going to have to do, ”he continued. “But to do that, it had better be an airtight process. So I recognize that while we are still trying to get information, investigations are ongoing, there are witnesses who have not yet appeared before Congress, that there may be some strategic wisdom in following this. sequence. I leave that to Congress. ”