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Trident Financial Planning Joins Connectus, Further Expanding Connectus’ Footprint in the United Kingdom

NEW YORK, US – ACCESSWIRE – October 4, 2021 – Focus Financial Partners Inc. (NASDAQ:FOCS) (“Focus”), a leading partnership of independent, fiduciary wealth management firms, announced today that Trident Financial Planning Limited (“Trident”) has been acquired by Connectus Wealth Advisers (“Connectus”).

Trident is a boutique chartered financial planning and wealth management firm headquartered in Berkshire, England with a satellite office in East Lothian, Scotland. Founded in 2010 by Vincent Reeves, Duncan Forbes and Andrew Wagstaff, Trident provides customized wealth management and financial planning advice to individuals and families throughout the United Kingdom. Through a high touch, personalized service model for clients across all phases of their financial lives, Trident has established long-standing and loyal multi-generational relationships.

“We are very excited to announce our partnership with Connectus,” said Vincent Reeves, Founder and Director of Trident. “This is the next step in the evolution of our firm, and we are pleased to be gaining a strategic partner who appreciates our entrepreneurial and client-centric mindset. Similarly, we look forward to gaining access to the collaborative community and resources Connectus offers to support our growth and our long-term succession plan.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Trident as the second firm to join Connectus in the United Kingdom following Connectus’ initial entry into this market earlier this year,” said Rajini Kodialam, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Focus. “Joining Connectus will enable the Trident team to broaden their capabilities and access a consortium of like-minded advisers while they maintain autonomy over their client relationships. Connectus’ unique value proposition has allowed us to sustain strong momentum in the United Kingdom. By providing advisors with the technology and tools to efficiently deliver an exceptional client experience, while also giving them the resources to achieve substantial operating efficiencies, Connectus remains highly differentiated in the wealth management market globally.”

About Focus Financial Partners Inc.

Focus Financial Partners Inc. is a leading partnership of independent, fiduciary wealth management firms. Focus provides access to best practices, resources, and continuity planning for its partner firms who serve individuals, families, employers and institutions with comprehensive wealth management services. Focus partner firms maintain their operational independence, while they benefit from the synergies, scale, economics and best practices offered by Focus to achieve their business objectives. For more information about Focus, please visit www.focusfinancialpartners.com.

#FocusFinancialPartners

About Connectus Wealth Advisers

Connectus is a global consortium of client-centric advisers that deliver comprehensive wealth management advice through access to expanded services, shared resources and best practices. Connectus exemplifies the spirit of partnership and collaboration yet celebrates the entrepreneurial mind-set of its advisers. Connectus is designed for founders and teams who want to continue to manage their client relationships and maintain their boutique cultures, while gaining the operational efficiencies of shared infrastructure and access to expanded client service capabilities.


Through Focus, Connectus advisers gain a strategic growth partner with specialized expertise. They benefit from Focus’ scale and extensive network, continuity planning, insights and best practices. Focus is also a source of permanent capital to accelerate growth and enhance business and client outcomes. For more information, please visit www.connectuswealth.com.

Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect Focus’ current views with respect to certain current and future events. These forward-looking statements are and will be, subject to many risks, uncertainties and factors relating to Focus’ operations and business environment, including, without limitation, uncertainty surrounding the current COVID-19 pandemic, which may cause future events to be materially different from these forward-looking statements or anything implied therein. Any forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Focus on the date of this release. Focus does not undertake to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that any statements expressed or implied therein will not be realized. Additional information on risk factors that could affect Focus may be found in Focus’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Residents of Luang Prabang Province Pay In To Disaster Relief Fund

Luang Prabang

Residents of Luang Prabang Province have been asked to pay a fee to the government for the establishment of a provincial disaster management and social welfare fund.

More Support from Employers Needed to Achieve Better Mental Wellness

  • Employees (64%) have reported experiencing fair and poor mental wellness at work in the last 12 months.
  • Since the start of COVID-19, employees (41%) reported a deteriorating state of mental well-being at work.
  • Majority of employees (79%) recognise the presence of a stigma attached to mental wellness issues at their workplace, with 61% of them unlikely to discuss their issues at work with their employers.
  • Many employees engage in ‘leaveism’ (58%) and ‘presentism’ (40%) to catch up on work and deadlines.
  • More than half of employees (54%) say that they are ‘not really satisfied’ or ‘not satisfied at all’ with the current mental wellness initiatives by their company.

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 4 October 2021 – Mental well-being has been a forefront concern on the nation’s agenda recently, with the outbreak of the pandemic highlighting the vulnerabilities of employees as they struggle with various stressors in the workplace. Despite that, many employees believe that more can be done by their companies to establish a safer and more conducive working environment.

 

NTUC LearningHub (NTUC LHUB)’s Mental Wellness at the Workplace Report 2021, which seek to investigate perceptions regarding mental well-being at the workplace in Singapore. With mental wellness defined by employees (84%) as the ‘ability to cope with stresses of daily life, including work-related stress’, the report details findings from an online poll conducted with 200 employees in Singapore.

While companies should strive to actively promote good mental well-being at the workplace[1], more than three in five employees revealed that their mental wellness at work has been either ‘fair’, ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ in the last 12 months, with nearly half of them reporting feeling constantly stressed due to ‘poor work-life balance’ (52%) or ‘feeling undervalued’ at work (51%). More than eight in ten employees claim that their state of mental well-being at work has either remained consistent or worsened since the start of COVID-19, with the top reasons being that of ‘heavier workload’ (64%), ‘decreased job security’ (54%) and ‘blurred lines between work and personal life’ (52%). According to employees, having poor mental well-being at work ‘reduces motivation to do tasks well’ (69%), ‘decreases productivity’ (68%) and ‘affects decision making’ (60%).

Existing Stigma and Engaging in Presenteeism and Leaveism


With the majority of employees (79%) recognising the existence of a stigma surrounding mental wellness and well-being issues at the workplace, around three in five employees voice discomfort towards discussing issues regarding their mental wellness at work, with the ‘fear of being perceived differently’ (60%) being the key reason inhibiting discussions on mental wellness at work.

 

Instead, employees engage in ‘presenteeism’ and ‘leaveism’. More than half of employees (58%) engage in leaveism, working outside official office hours or even on their leave days to catch up on work. In the case of presenteeism, 40% of employees reveal reporting to work even though they were feeling unwell in order to cope with the workload and deadlines. In order to reduce such company cultural practices, the key solution raised by employees was to ‘build trust and open communication’ (60%) between their employers and themselves.

 

More Initiatives to Safeguard Employee Wellness Needed

 

Most employees believe that their companies could do more to safeguard their mental wellness. With more than half (54%) of them being ‘not really satisfied’ or ‘not satisfied at all’ with the current mental wellness initiatives by their company. In fact, issues related to mental wellness at the workplace are ‘not discussed regularly with employees’ (58%), ‘not being well understood by managers or HR’ (46%), or ‘not taken seriously at all’ (44%). This shows that companies and their leaders need to place an increasing emphasis on the value of employees’ mental wellness.

 

Commenting on the findings, President of the Healthcare Services Employees’ Union, and Chairman of NTUC LHUB’s Healthcare Academy, K. Thanaletchimi, says “In this current era of uncertainty, workers are faced with many challenges in relation to family and work, which are key facets of their lives. While striving to do their best at the workplace to secure a livelihood, many are forced to compromise on achieving a work-life balance. Therefore, employers are in the best position to provide assurance beyond job security, but also ensuring there are initiatives in place to advance employees’ overall welfare and well-being at work.”

 

According to Soh Hooi Peng, NTUC LHUB’s Director of Strategy, Special Projects and Corporate Development, “Demands at work have increased as companies navigate through the transformed business landscape. As a result, employees carry additional stress as they try to cope with higher expectations and unprecedented changes at the workplace. This can lead to heavier workloads, which may result in employees spending longer hours working, thereby causing fatigue and affecting mental wellness. Careful consideration by employers must be taken to prevent employee burnout.”

 

CEO & Chief Psychologist at iGROW, Benedict Lim, elaborates, “Safeguarding mental well-being creates a workplace that is safer for everyone. In doing so, companies will be able to address the intangible aspects of work such as morale, engagement and team cohesion which contribute to work outcomes.”

 

To download the Mental Wellness At The Workplace Report 2021, visit https://www.ntuclearninghub.com/mental-wellness-2021 or contact NTUC LearningHub here to find out more on how you or your company can improve mental wellness and foster greater resilience.


[1] Organisations need to take proactive and preventative steps promote good mental well-being. (CIPD, 2018)

About NTUC LearningHub

NTUC LearningHub is the leading Continuing Education and Training provider in Singapore which aims to transform the lifelong employability of working people. Since our corporatisation in 2004, we have been working with employers and individual learners to provide learning solutions in areas such as Cloud, Infocomm Technology, Healthcare, Employability & Literacy, Business Excellence, Workplace Safety & Health, Security, Human Resources and Foreign Worker Training.

To date, NTUC LearningHub has helped over 25,000 organisations and achieved over 2.6 million training places across more than 500 courses with a pool of over 900 certified trainers. As a Total Learning Solutions provider to organisations, we also forge partnerships and offer a wide range of relevant end-to-end training solutions and work constantly to improve our training quality and delivery. In 2020, we have accelerated our foray into online learning with our Virtual Live Classes and, through working with best-in-class partners such as IBM, DuPont Sustainable Solutions and GO1, asynchronous online courses.

For more information, visit www.ntuclearninghub.com

#NTUCLearningHub

Laos Hopes to Develop Own Digital Currency

Lao kip to go digital

Laos hopes to issue its own digital currency in the near future as part of cooperation with a Japanese financial technology startup.

Hong Kong Photo Contest 2021 Organized by National Geographic Magazine (Traditional Chinese Edition) Presented by Wheelock

Visual Storytelling for Hong Kong Official Launch

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 4 October 2021 – Hong Kong Photo Contest 2021 officially kicks off. The Contest invites both enthusiasts and novices aged 16 and above to discover and capture the special moments of Hong Kong’s unseen sides to deliver a positive message to the public.

 

The Hong Kong Photo Contest has been organized by National Geographic Magazine (Traditional Chinese Edition) and presented by Wheelock Properties since 2017.

The Hong Kong Photo Contest has been organized by National Geographic Magazine (Traditional Chinese Edition) and presented by Wheelock Properties since 2017. As the filming of short videos become even more popular and accessible, this year’s Contest will introduce the brand-new SHORT VIDEO category, which will be added to the five current categories: CITY, PEOPLE, MOBILE, LANDSCAPE, and WILDLIFE.

 

We hope to enable cultural exchange through photography and bring Hong Kong photographers’ skills to the next level, on a par with international standards. To do this, we are aspired to create an educational and interactive platform, where photography workshops and talks led by renowned industry experts will be organized to help photography lovers to learn new skills and share ideas.

 

“This year marks the fifth-year milestone for the Hong Kong Photo Contest. In the past four years, we have witnessed an increase in both the quality and quantity of the submitted entries, with a number of winning photographs, such as Wong Kai-Lok’s Drying Salted Fish and Joan Pabona’s Sacrifice garnering extensive media and public attention both at home and abroad. More recently, the students and staff of South Island School were inspired to use some of last year’s entries to create poems, effectively taking the visual storytelling of Hong Kong into the poetic realm,” says Ivan Tsoi, the Chief Operating Officer of Boulder Media Inc, which is the licensee for National Geographic Magazine (Traditional Chinese Edition).

 

According to Tsoi, this year’s Contest will build on past successes and would like to encourage our contestants to experiment with documenting the stories of Hong Kong in this medium. “Hong Kong Photo Contest is the ideal platform for photographers,” Tsoi adds. “It is the perfect place to showcase their talents and achieve their dreams.”

 

Managing Director of Wheelock Properties Ricky Wong said, “Hong Kong’s reputation of The Oriental Pearl is not without reason; whether in our manifest nature and adventurous outdoors, colorful metropolis city living or affectionate people and their Hong Kong spirit. We’re honored to have co-operated with National Geographic Magazine (Traditional Chinese Edition) for the fifth year in the ‘Hong Kong Photo Contest’. As a revered industry event in the city, we hope to help talented photographers realize their dreams through this photo contest and to reveal spectacular images and stories to our audiences. We hope this Contest can span internationally so people around the world can learn of Hong Kong’s authentic beauty. Through the Contest our hope is also for the public to pay more attention to the city we love so dearly, to be able to find a moment or two in their daily grinds to appreciate all the things we are blessed with – in our places, people, and happenings.”

 

Hong Kong Photo Contest 2021 is now accepting entries from 16-year-old and above photography enthusiasts. The Contest is divided into six categories: “Landscape,” “Wildlife,” “City,” “People,” “Mobile Photography,” and “Video.” From now until December 3rd, 2021, contestants can upload their works onto www.hkphotocontest.com. The winners will receive prizes worth up to HKD100,000. In addition, works by first, second, and third place from each category will have a chance to be featured in the National Geographic Magazine (Traditional Chinese Edition,) which is distributed to more than 100,000 readers in five markets including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, and Singapore.

 

Categories and Prizes:

1.    Landscape: Capture the beautiful scenes and precious moments of Hong Kong’s countryside.

2.    Wildlife: Explore Hong Kong’s natural beauties and wildlife wonders.

3.    City: Cityscapes, images depicting underlying potential and pulses of city lives, and photos that capture the charms of the metropolitan Hong Kong city.

4.    People: Portraits, everyday encounters, photos with stories, and Hong Kong spirit.

5.    Mobile Photography: Photographs taken by mobile phone on the above themes.

6.    Short Video: Within 120-sec short video on the above categories.

1st Place Category Winner

Cash Prize HK$10,000; 12-issue subscription of the Traditional Chinese version of National Geographic Magazine

2nd Place Category Winner

Cash Prize HK$5,000; 12-issue subscription of the Traditional Chinese version of National Geographic Magazine

3rd Place Category Winner

Cash Prize HK$2,000; 12-issue subscription of the Traditional Chinese version of National Geographic Magazine

Merit Award

 

12-issue subscription of the Traditional Chinese version of National Geographic Magazine

 

For more information about “Hong Kong Photo Contest,” please visit www.hkphotocontest.com

#NationalGeographic #WheelockProperties

Viet Nam Pavilion’s Opening Ceremony At Expo 2020 Dubai, UAE

The opening ceremony of the Viet Nam Pavilion was held in spectacular fashion on October 1 at the Expo 2020 Dubai.

HANOI, VIETNAM – Media OutReach – 4 October 2021 – Attending the event were Prof. Dr. Ta Quang Dong, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Mr. Nguyen Manh Tuan, the Ambassador of Viet Nam to the UAE; Mrs. Nguyen Phuong Hoa, Commissioner General of Viet Nam at EXPO 2020 Dubai, Director General of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and international guests including Mr. Omar Shehaded, Expo 2020 Dubai’s Chief of International Participants, Mr. Graham Cooke, Founder and President of World Travel Awards as well as Ambassadors and Commissioner Generals, Pavilion Director of International participants especially ASEAN member states and ASEAN Secretariat at EXPO 2020 Dubai and many more.

This year marks Viet Nam’s seventh presence at the World EXPO under the direction of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Speaking at the Opening ceremony, Mr. Ta Quang Dong – Deputy Minister said: “The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most memorably devastating catastrophes of modern history, causing a tremendous impact on every aspect of social life. The participation of Viet Nam at EXPO 2020 demonstrates the firm commitments and great efforts of the Vietnamese Government to promote its national image, raise the cultural and creative values of Vietnamese people, and to add Vietnamese colour to the vivid-coloured painting of the world.”

Covering an area of more than 850 square metres, Viet Nam Pavilion is located at the Opportunity District, featuring the theme “Distilling the past, Shaping the future”.

Compared to previous Expos, this year, in addition to promoting national culture and traditions, the Viet Nam Pavilion also highlights numerous new achievements in science and technology. Visitors can experience Viet Nam through 3D VR glasses, touchscreens and learn more about technological achievements of “Make in Viet Nam” (a special campaign to emphasise the initiative in the creation and design of high-tech products by Vietnamese), such as the Dragon satellite line, sneakers made from recycled coffee and plastic, 3D-printed carbon fiber unibody products and Viet Nam’s own artificial intelligence robot and many more.

According to Ms. Nguyen Phuong Hoa, Viet Nam’s Commissioner General at EXPO 2020 Dubai, Viet Nam Pavilion will actively promote international collaboration, trade, investment and tourism through seminars, forums and B2B and B2C meetings. Viet Nam will also participate in international events at Expo 2020 Dubai such as ASEAN Day on December 13, 2021 and Francophonie Week (March 2022). Viet Nam is the only Asian country to take part in the virtual reality tour hosted by the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).

The most anticipated event is the Viet Nam National Day (December 30) when Viet Nam is in the spotlight with a series of activities including the Vietnamese flag raising ceremony, a parade, projection of the Vietnamese flag on the surface of Al Wasl Plaza’s dome, Vietnamese outdoor arts and fashion performance, a country business briefing and trade promotional event for investors and businesses, and the Vietnamese Film Week.

For more information, please contact: Ms. Do Lan Phuong – Viet Nam Pavilion’s Media Liaison Officer, Email: vietnamexpo2020dubai@gmail.com, phuonglan.do@gmail.com

Website: http://www.vietnamexpo2020dubai.com

#MOCST

Telstra now providing direct connection to Microsoft Azure Peering Service and Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 4 October 2021 – Telstra today announced it is a selected carrier for Microsoft Azure Peering Service, a networking service that enhances customer connectivity, and Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams, a new programmatic approach to operator-provided calling in Teams.

 

Today’s announcement builds on the long-standing relationship between Telstra and Microsoft to help enhance connectivity to Microsoft cloud services and provide an integrated calling experience via Teams.

 

With the ongoing shifts in the business landscape, networking solutions for remote workers and accelerating the migration of workloads to cloud services for business continuity have risen as top ICT investments for Asia Pacific businesses[1]. In the future workplace, global connectivity and cloud solutions that enable telephony services are expected to form the backbone for organisations looking to streamline their operations.

 

Microsoft Azure Peering Service provides reliable and optimised internet connectivity to Microsoft cloud services such as Microsoft 365, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and Azure. Customers can register for the offering in the Azure portal, and Telstra and Microsoft will work closely to provide enterprise customers with end-to-end, high-performing public connectivity with optimal routing in their selected region.

 

This offering is integrated with Telstra Global Internet Direct (GID) to ensure robust connectivity service and secure access through a single network. Additionally, customers will enjoy high levels of availability of service and lower latency connections. Telstra is now offering Azure Peering Service to customers in Asia, with plans to expand availability to Europe and the United States next calendar year.

 

Building on the momentum from the launch of Telstra Calling for Microsoft Teams in August last year, Telstra has streamlined calling for users by providing a simplified and unified collaboration experience for organisations through Operator Connect for Microsoft Teams.

 

This offering will enable organisations to speed up and simplify the provisioning of telephony services and reduce deployment time by using advanced automation that integrates architecture components between Telstra and Microsoft. Additionally, business users will experience enhanced voice call quality through the use of private network infrastructure and administrators will gain ability to provision and manage telephone numbers via the Microsoft Teams Admin Center.  

 

Sanjay Nayak, Telstra Executive of Fixed Connectivity Products said as organisations accelerate their digital transformation journey, underlying technologies like cloud and network connectivity need to work smoothly with reduced complexity.

 

“Microsoft Azure Peering Service provides direct access between Telstra and Microsoft’s networks – providing users with robust connectivity service at a location nearest to them, thereby reducing latency when accessing Microsoft’s workplace services. By leveraging Telstra’s connectivity and professional services capabilities and Microsoft’s focus on intelligent cloud services, we aim to help organisations across the region and globally enable a modern work experience,” said Mr. Nayak.

 

Taimoor Husain, Modern Workplace Strategy and GTM Lead for Microsoft said: “Telstra has been a long-standing partner for Microsoft since 2008. With internet traffic growing at an exponential rate, coverage has become critical for effective virtual collaboration. We look forward to tapping the breadth of Telstra’s network to build the modern workplace and enable more seamless collaboration for organisations.”

 

Telstra is recognised for its Microsoft Azure expertise and is a Microsoft Gold Partner in ten categories including Cloud Platform, Cloud Productivity and Communications, as well as a member of the Azure Expert MSP Program.

 

Please find more information below on:

 

About Telstra

Telstra is a leading telecommunications and technology company with a proudly Australian heritage and a longstanding, growing international business.

Today, we operate in over 20 countries outside of Australia, providing services to thousands of business, government, carrier and OTT customers. Telstra Enterprise is a division of Telstra that provides data and IP networks and network application services, such as managed networks, unified communications, cloud, industry solutions and integrated services. Telstra Purple, our new professional and managed services business in Australia, Asia and the UK, brings together people and innovative solutions to define and deliver a clear vision of our customers’ transformation journey, network foundation, and the protection they need to thrive.

Telstra’s global network includes more than 26 cable systems spanning over 400,000 kilometres, with access to multiple cable landing stations and more than 2,000 points of presence around the world. Our subsea cable network is the largest in Asia Pacific, with access to the most lit capacity not just in Asia, but also from the region to Australia, USA and Europe.

For more information, visit www.telstra.com.hk.

#Telstra

Minh Tien Group proudly presents circular economy model at World Expo 2020 Dubai

Since October 1, 2021, Minh Tien Group, a member of Vietnam Coffee – Cocoa Association, has presented the Circular Economy Model at World Expo 2020, organised in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.


HANOI, VIETNAM – Media OutReach – 4 October 2021 – World Expos, a non-commercial exhibition series with over a century of history, is organised every five years. The Expos are dedicated to endorse national culture, encourage bi-partisanship, assert reputation, and world-changing innovations.

Minh Tien Group’s booth at Vietnam Pavilion

This year, the Expo will be organised in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. With the central theme “Connecting minds, Creating the future”, the Expo opens opportunities for bipartisanship that would lead to a better future for world society.

The Expo will be divided into three main districts: Mobility – Sustainability – Opportunity. The Vietnam Pavilion is located in the Opportunity District with the theme: “Distilling the past, Shaping the future”.

Minh Tien Group proudly presents the Circular Economy Model which revolves around the coffee tree including Green coffee bean; Coffilia; Ha Chuc Cascara Tea; Namigo bio-packaging, and Organic fertiliser. Essentially, the by-product of a production stage will become the input material for subsequent productions.

Minh Tien Group desires to promote the model, to realise the opportunity for entering the Arabian Gulf’s market; most importantly, to present the world a different perspective of Viet Nam’s modern and sustainable agriculture.

Madam Nguyen Thi Hong Minh, Chairwoman of Minh Tien Group, said: “Coming to the Expo this year, we aim to announce and assert our business principle in the implementation of the Circular Economy Model in our company’s ecosystem, which has fully explored the “quintessential” value of our product life cycle and minimising our carbon footprint. To realise the vision of sustainable agriculture, Minh Tien Group is committed to being a successful contribution to the Vietnam Pavilion.”

Minh Tien Group is a leading coffee corporation with over 20 years of history. Determination to appreciate the value of Vietnamese coffee beans, continuous investment in research and development, and requisition of expertise from different farmlands across the globe are principles that made the company a well-trusted coffee supplier to international partners.

With the vision “Shaping the green economy”, Minh Tien Group continuously put efforts to innovate towards sustainable developments, and confidently affirm the stature of Vietnamese coffee on international markets.

#MinhTienGroup