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Ascensus Continues Focus on Financial Wellness and Extends Relationship with Financial Finesse Including AI-Powered Coaching

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Partnership supports advisors and plan sponsors in helping participants improve retirement preparedness and overall financial wellness

DRESHER, Pa., Oct. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Ascensus announced today it has extended its relationship with Financial Finesse—the nation’s leading provider of unbiased financial coaching as an employer-paid benefit—to support increased plan engagement and improve participants’ overall financial wellness.

Since 2018, Ascensus has seamlessly integrated Financial Finesse’s capabilities with Ascensus’ other financial wellness tools and resources, like the READYSAVE app, which are tailored for retirement plan participants. Ascensus was also the first recordkeeper to introduce Aimee (Artificial Intelligence Motivating Employees Everywhere), Financial Finesse’s AI-powered financial coach, in 2021. In 2023 alone, users who utilized Aimee saw a 60% increase in their overall financial wellness score.1

Financial Finesse encourages key participant behaviors such as reviewing retirement projections, taking advantage of company match, and evaluating how effectively investments are allocated according to each saver’s goal retirement date. Pairing financial coaching and education with the consultation of a plan advisor, together Financial Finesse and Ascensus can have a deeper impact on the financial wellness of entire workforces and help advisors grow their businesses in the process. Ascensus participants using Financial Finesse achieved the following results:1

99.2% of users felt better prepared to make a financial decision.90.9% felt more prepared for their future after their coaching session.80% took at least one action within 30 days of working with a coach.63% who did not have emergency savings now have at least $1,000 set aside for unplanned expenses.

Plan sponsors benefit from this data and gain insight into the effectiveness of their plan and overall financial wellness of their employees.

Financial advisors looking to deliver innovative retirement plan solutions can also benefit from leveraging Financial Finesse. The suite of services can help advisors to expand and scale their practice by addressing the needs of participants who are not yet ready for fee-based financial advice. As a result, advisors recently voted for Ascensus to win an Advisor Choice Award in the Financial Wellness category for small market plans.2

“The opportunity for this unique solution to benefit our clients for years to come is exciting to us all,” said Jason Crane, head of Core Retirement at Ascensus. “We’re committed to empowering savers to take control of their financial wellness and prepare for the future, and Financial Finesse has proven to be an effective partner in helping to boost plan engagement and get more savers saving more.”

“We are thrilled to deepen our relationship with Ascensus,” said Liz Davidson, founder and CEO of Financial Finesse. “The scale of this expanded partnership underscores their commitment to innovation and relentless focus on supporting retirement plan advisors and plan sponsors while helping millions change their financial lives and save for a better future.”

1 Financial Wellness Think Tank™, Financial Finesse. Updated through 8/21/2024.
2 NAPA. 2024 Advisor’s Choice Awards. September 2024. https://www.napa-net.org/news/2024/9/2024-advisors-choice-small-market-plans/

About Ascensus 
Ascensus is a market-leading enabler of tax-advantaged savings—providing technology, services, and expertise that help millions of people save for a better future.

The company is a premier savings program service provider, third-party administrator, and government savings facilitator. Its platforms, industry knowledge, and data-based insights enhance the growth and success of its partners, their clients, and savers through co-branded, private-labeled, and governmental partnerships.

Ascensus offers comprehensive qualified and nonqualified retirement plan solutions, third-party retirement plan administration, 529 education and ABLE savings program administration, corporate- and bank-owned life insurance solutions, and fiduciary and total rewards services.

The company’s brands include Ascensus; Newport, an Ascensus company; and FuturePlan by Ascensus. Ascensus has more than $818 billion in assets under administration and employs more than 5,700 associates as of June 30, 2024.

For more information, visit ascensus.com and newportgroup.com.

About Financial Finesse
Financial Finesse is the country’s leading independent provider of unbiased workplace financial wellness coaching programs. Since 1999, the firm has helped tens of thousands of organizations improve their bottom lines and become more competitive by empowering their employees to achieve financial security. The company’s award-winning financial wellness programs are made available to employees at no cost as an employer-sponsored benefit. With highly personalized and ongoing one-on-one coaching from CFP® professionals, AI-powered virtual coaching, live workshops, webcasts, educational tools, and content, Financial Finesse has worked with millions of employees to build better financial lives for themselves and their families. For more information, visit www.financialfinesse.com.   

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SOURCE Ascensus

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Earth’s pulse monitored: a review highlights remote sensing time series progress

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As urbanization accelerates and environmental dynamics shift, the need for accurate and timely terrestrial monitoring has never been more urgent. A review has introduced a novel approach to remote sensing time series analysis, integrating multi-source data to enable near real-time monitoring. This innovative methodology promises to transform environmental conservation and urban planning by providing unprecedented insights into terrestrial changes and offering a more precise understanding of environmental dynamics.

GUANGZHOU, China, Dec. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — An international team of researchers from South China Normal University, the University of Connecticut, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has made a significant breakthrough in remote sensing. Their review, published (DOI: 10.34133/remotesensing.0285) in the Journal of Remote Sensing on December 11, 2024, addresses key challenges in remote sensing, such as incomplete data and noise interference. The team’s new time series analysis technique leverages advanced data reconstruction and fusion methods, significantly enhancing the precision and efficiency of remote sensing for monitoring environmental changes.

The research team has developed an advanced time series analysis technique that combines deep learning algorithms with traditional remote sensing methods to integrate data from various remote sensing sources. This innovative approach allows for the extraction of subtle patterns from large, complex datasets, which is crucial for monitoring critical environmental parameters such as land use and vegetation health. Unlike conventional techniques that struggle with incomplete or noisy data, this new methodology offers enhanced accuracy and more reliable insights into terrestrial dynamics, paving the way for more effective environmental monitoring.

Central to the study’s success is the integration of Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) to address the challenges posed by missing or noisy data. The LSTM networks capture temporal trends over time, while the GANs generate synthetic data that mimics real-world observations to fill gaps and correct for atmospheric distortions. This dual approach has resulted in a cleaner, more accurate time series dataset, which was validated against independent ground truth measurements. The researchers demonstrated significant improvements in key vegetation indices, such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), setting a new benchmark in the field of remote sensing.

Experts in the field have lauded the study’s potential to revolutionize remote sensing applications. They see the method as a transformative tool for enhancing high-resolution monitoring and extending its coverage, particularly in agricultural surveillance, urban planning, and environmental management. “This method represents a crucial advancement in our ability to monitor environmental changes,” says Professor Fu. “As it evolves, it could play a key role in addressing climate change and other global challenges.”

The methodology’s future applications are vast, especially in global environmental monitoring and supporting sustainable development goals. By integrating multi-temporal data from Landsat and Sentinel-2 satellites, the team has created a framework for accurate and continuous terrestrial analysis. As computational power advances and algorithms improve, this technology is expected to become a vital tool for natural resource management, disaster response, and climate change mitigation. In the years to come, it could provide critical data to help policymakers address pressing environmental issues on a global scale.

References

DOI

10.34133/remotesensing.0285

Oiginal Source URL

https://doi.org/10.34133/remotesensing.0285

Funding information

This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 42425001 and 42071399).

About Journal of Remote Sensing

The Journal of Remote Sensing, an online-only Open Access journal published in association with AIR-CAS, promotes the theory, science, and technology of remote sensing, as well as interdisciplinary research within earth and information science.

Media Contact

George Hua, Chuanlink Innovations, 1 8656606278, TranSpread1@gmail.com, http://chuanlink-innovations.com/

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SOURCE Journal of Remote Sensing

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ZINZINO AB (PUBL.): ENTERS INTO AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE DIP FINANCING TO ZURVITA INITIATING CHAPTER 11 PROCESS

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GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Dec. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Zinzino has in a press release dated 20240617 announced that a letter of intent to acquire 100% of the shares in the North American direct selling company Zurvita Inc. “Zurvita or the Company” was signed. Since then, Zinzino has negotiated with the owners of Zurvita Inc. and instead concluded that the purchase of Zurvita’s assets in a Chapter 11 proceeding for the Company is in Zinzino’s best interest.

Zinzino is providing a debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to Zurvita, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings on the 20th December 2024. By entering as a financier in Zurvita’s Chapter 11 with loans totaling USD 4.5 million, Zinzino simultaneously makes an offer to acquire the company’s assets via a so-called stalking horse bid. If the bid is accepted, the DIP loan will be converted into part of a debt-settled purchase price, which will be determined after Zurvita has completed the sale process that is subject to higher and better offers in accordance with the applicable terms of Chapter 11. Other bidders have the right to submit bids for Zurvita during the process and if another bid is accepted, Zinzino’s loan will be repaid and certain of its costs associated with the process will be reimbursed. 

Zurvita is a direct selling health company with operations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The brand portfolio offers a range of innovative health and wellness products. The business has total annual sales of approximately USD 30 million with good gross margins. A potential transaction with Zinzino is expected to add growth through the synergies arising from the joint networks, combined with Zinzino’s test-based product concept. The profitability of the Company will thus be able to develop well by utilizing Zinzino’s existing technical platform and organization.

A visionary mindset, tech first perspective, test-based nutrition at the cellular level and a strong position to capitalize on current trends will form the basis of the new partnership. Following the acquisitions of VMA Life in 2020, Enhanzz in 2022, the strategic partnership with ACN and the recently completed asset acquisition of Xelliss, Zinzino has been looking for further strong investments to maintain its sustainable, profitable growth, strengthen its distribution power, expand into new markets and leverage the product portfolio in new consumer areas.

– “Individualized advice and tailored solutions are the future, and not just in health and wellness,” says Dag Bergheim Pettersen, CEO of Zinzino. “Together, we have years of combined industry experience and everything it takes to drive the modern, personalized shopping experience through direct sales”. Jay Shafer, CEO and co-founder of Zurvita, states “After considering multiple options for the company and under the guidance of our attorneys and third-party advisors, we feel this presents the best opportunity to continue Zurvita’s mission, deliver the highest quality products, and provide continuity for our staff and consultants. We are excited to see what the future holds for Zurvita.” 

For more information:
Dag Bergheim Pettersen CEO Zinzino +47 (0) 932 25 700, www.zinzino.com

Pictures for publication free of charge:
marketing@zinzino.com

Certified Adviser:
Carnegie Investment Bank AB (publ.)

Zinzino AB (publ.) is obliged to publish this information in compliance with current EU regulations governing market abuse. The information was provided by the above contact person for publication at 20.00 on the 21st of December 2024.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/zinzino/r/zinzino-ab–publ–enters-into-agreement-to-provide-dip-financing-to-zurvita-initiating-chapter-11-pr,c4086040

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Meet With Culture: Exquisite Craftsmanship of Traditional Chinese Architecture

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BEIJING, Dec. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Temple of Agriculture in Beijing played a significant role during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Over nearly 600 years, 25 emperors personally visited or sent ministers to perform spring farming ceremonies and offer sacrifices to Shennong, the god of agriculture.

 

Built in 1420 during the Yongle reign, the temple’s predecessor was the Temple of Mountains and Rivers in Nanjing. When Emperor Zhu Di moved the Ming capital to Beijing, he constructed a larger temple inspired by the Nanjing temple, which gradually evolved into the Temple of Agriculture.

The Taisui Hall, the largest building complex in the temple, now serves as a major exhibition hall of the Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum, showcasing models of classical Chinese buildings and demonstrating the solemnity of royal architecture.

Ancient Chinese architecture is predominantly wooden-structured, chosen for its availability, versatility, and earthquake resistance. Artisans developed sophisticated techniques in material selection and construction. The wooden framework consists of columns, beams, girders, and purlins, with innovative structural forms like lifting-beam and piercing-bracket structures.

A unique architectural element is the dougong (bracket sets), which supports weight and connects beam frames with column walls. Mortise-tenon joints were invented to create elastic frameworks by connecting different components.

While discussing the Temple of Agriculture, it’s worth noting another remarkable example of architectural hierarchy which could be found in the Temple of Heaven. The hierarchy of architectural designs reflected social stratification, with eave structures like the triple-layered eaves of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest representing the highest-level architectural design.

Over centuries, the Temple of Agriculture has transformed from an imperial garden to a public park and a museum for historical architecture, now standing as a significant cultural landmark that symbolizes China’s agricultural civilization and architectural heritage along Beijing’s Central Axis.

Quickly join Alexandre to study and explore the traditional Chinese architecture.
https://youtu.be/YpA03WiZ9Wc

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SOURCE China International Communications Group

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