Tag: Business

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Business Regulations & Security Technology

VRM Investor Alert: Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC reminds Vroom, Inc. shareholders of class action and encourages investors to contact the firm

NEW YORK — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Attorney Advertising–Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC notifies investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Vroom, Inc. (“Vroom” or “the Company”) (NASDAQ: VRM) and certain of its officers, on behalf of shareholders who purchased or otherwise acquired Root securities between June 9, 2020 and March 3, 2021, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”). Such investors are encouraged to join this case by visiting the firm’s site: www.bgandg.com/vrm.

This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defandants made materially false and/or misleading statements and failed to disclose that: (1) Vroom had not demonstrated that it was able to control and scale growth in respect to its salesforce to meet the demand for its products; (2) as a result, the Company was forced to discount aged inventory to move through its retail channels or liquidated in its wholesale channels; (3) as a result, the ecommerce gross profit per unit was reasonably likely to decline; and (4) consequently, Defendants’ positive statements about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint you can visit the firm’s site: www.bgandg.com/vrm or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Investor Relations Analyst, Yael Hurwitz of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 212-697-6484. If you suffered a loss in Vroom you have until May 21, 2021 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn’t require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a corporate litigation boutique. Our primary expertise is the aggressive pursuit of litigation claims on behalf of our clients. In addition to representing institutions and other investor plaintiffs in class action security litigation, the firm’s expertise includes general corporate and commercial litigation, as well as securities arbitration. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Contacts

Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC

Peretz Bronstein or Yael Hurwitz

212-697-6484 | info@bgandg.com

Categories
Regulations & Security Technology

UAVS upcoming deadline: Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC reminds AgEagle Aerial Systems, Inc. investors of class action and lead plaintiff deadline: April 27, 2021

NEW YORK — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Attorney Advertising–Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC notifies investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against AgEagle Aerial Systems, Inc. (“AgEagle” or “the Company”) (NYSE: UAVS) and certain of its officers, on behalf of shareholders who purchased or otherwise acquired AgEagle securities between September 3, 2019 and February 18, 2021, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period). Such investors are encouraged to join this case by visiting the firm’s site: www.bgandg.com/uavs.

This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements and specifically that: (1) AgEagle did not have a partnership with Amazon, and had never had a business relationship with the e-commerce giant of any sort; (2) the Company actively contributed to the rumor that it held a partnership with Amazon; (3) based on these facts, the Company’s public statements were false and materially misleading throughout the class period; and (4) when the market learned the truth about AgEagle, investors suffered damages.

A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint you can visit the firm’s site: www.bgandg.com/uavs or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Investor Relations Analyst, Yael Hurwitz of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 212-697-6484. If you suffered a loss in AgEagle you have until April 27, 2021 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn’t require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a corporate litigation boutique. Our primary expertise is the aggressive pursuit of litigation claims on behalf of our clients. In addition to representing institutions and other investor plaintiffs in class action security litigation, the firm’s expertise includes general corporate and commercial litigation, as well as securities arbitration. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Contacts

Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC

Peretz Bronstein or Yael Hurwitz

212-697-6484 | info@bgandg.com

Categories
Business

Best’s Special Report: Auto insurers lead 2020 U.S. Property/Casualty Impairments

OLDWICK, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Seven insurance company impairments were identified in the U.S. property/casualty industry in 2020, six less than in the previous year, with all placed into insolvent liquidation, according to a new AM Best special report.

The Best’s Special Report, titled, “2020 U.S. Property/Casualty Impairments Update,” notes that five of the impairments involved auto insurers, with the remaining two a workers’ compensation insurer with business written primarily in New York and New Jersey and a title insurer that underwrote policies primarily for owners and mortgagees of residential properties in New York. Overall, from 2000 to 2020, 395 property/casualty insurers became impaired. These impairments consisted of 321 insolvent liquidations and 74 rehabilitations, of which 37 were closed during the period and 37 remained open. In addition, there were 54 conservatorships, all of which led directly to either rehabilitation or liquidation. AM Best defines impairments as situations in which a company has been placed, via court order, into conservation, rehabilitation or insolvent liquidation. Supervisory actions undertaken by state insurance department regulators without court order are not considered impairments, unless delays or limitations were placed on policyholder payments.

Specific causes have been identified for some of the impairments, with most falling into the category of general business failure arising out of some combination of poor strategic direction, weak operations, internal controls weaknesses or underpricing and under-reserving of the business. The most relevant aspect of these impairments may be the products these companies offered and the products’ potential risks.

Primary line of business details were identified for 387 of the 395 impaired companies, with workers’ compensation being the leading line of business, accounting for 26% of the impairments. Personal lines insurers accounted for 28%, split between private passenger automobile (20%) and homeowners (9%). Commercial lines insurers, excluding workers’ compensation, accounted for 22%, and the remaining 24% was split among specialty lines. Despite the number of workers’ compensation impairments, one of the most notable shifts over the 20-year study period have been the reduction in workers’ compensation insurer impairments, along with the re-emergence of difficulties for insurers in the medical professional liability segment and the general reduction in impairments overall.

The rise in risk retention group (RRG) impairments in recent years continued in 2020, accounting for one of the seven impairments. During the 2000-2020 period, 42 RRGs became impaired, representing 11% of the total. The growth in RRG impairments reflects the growth in the structure’s popularity, but they may also be due to business plans with unrealistic loss, operating expense and pricing assumptions as these self-insurance entities are formed and undertake operations.

To access the full copy of this special report, please visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=307620.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2021 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Contacts

Joseph Roethel
Director
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5630
joseph.roethel@ambest.com

Christopher Sharkey
Manager, Public Relations
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159
christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

Jim Peavy
Director, Communications
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644
james.peavy@ambest.com

Categories
Business

Katena Products announces the acquisition of ASICO, LLC.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Katena Products, Inc. (Katena) a leading global provider of premium ophthalmic instruments, biologics, and devices to hospitals, surgical centers, and ophthalmic and optometric offices announces the purchase of ASICO, LLC (ASICO).

ASICO has been an industry leader for over 35 years – providing high-quality ophthalmic surgical instruments, with special focus on the design of new products and technologies. ASICO’s product range encompasses over 1,500 items including stainless steel and titanium instruments, single-use cannulas and blades, and selection of diamond knives.

“Acquiring the ASICO business complements our ophthalmic surgical portfolio and provides Katena increased reach globally, capitalizing on ASICO’s network of renowned clinical key-opinion-leaders. Once integrated, we expect to provide our customers with an even more-comprehensive value proposition,” says Steve Blazejewski, CEO of Katena.

“We are happy to bring our track record of high-quality, high-performance surgical instruments to Katena, where ASICO’s portfolio will fit naturally,” says Ravi Nallakrishnan, former President of ASICO, LLC.

About Katena Products, Inc.

Katena is a recognized worldwide leader in specialty surgical and consumable ophthalmic and optometric products. Katena markets a comprehensive line of surgical instruments, biologics, medical devices and optical lenses to physician offices, hospitals, and ambulatory surgery centers through their direct salesforce and to international customers in over 110 countries through an extensive distributor network. Katena continues to strengthen its position in these key markets through organic growth and merger and acquisition strategies. For additional information please visit www.katena.com.

Katena Products, Inc. is owned by Audax Private Equity, a Boston-based private equity firm. Since its founding in 1999, the firm has raised over $27 billion in capital across its private equity and private debt businesses. Audax Private Equity has invested over $6 billion in more than 135 platforms and over 925 add-on companies, and is currently investing out of its $3.5 billion, sixth private equity fund. Through its disciplined Buy & Build approach, Audax seeks to help platform companies execute add-on acquisitions that fuel revenue growth, optimize operations, and significantly increase equity value.

About ASICO, LLC.

ASICO, LLC, located Westmont, IL, has a 35-year history of providing high-quality ophthalmic surgical instruments to healthcare providers, while also remaining at the forefront new products and technologies. ASICO’s product range encompasses over 1,500 items ophthalmic products. The Walden Group (Tarrytown, NY) advised ASICO as merger and acquisition advisor. For additional information please visit www.asico.com.

Contacts

Steve Blazejewski, President & CEO
Katena Products, Inc.
Phone: 973.989.1600
sblazejewski@katena.com
www.katena.com

Categories
Business Technology

Iron Mountain data centers among the first to track renewable energy by the hour

Hourly tracking of renewable energy load matching illustrates a future view of how companies will transition to a carbon-free energy supply

BOSTON — (BUSINESS WIRE) — $IRM #CarbonFree–Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE:IRM), the storage and information management services company, today announced that it has taken a significant step forward in the development of enhanced solutions for purchasing renewable energy, through readily available retail channels, by entering into an agreement with RPD Energy and Direct Energy to track the hourly renewable energy load of Iron Mountain data centers.

The innovative structure will source 100% renewable energy aimed at matching the hourly usage of all Iron Mountain facilities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey (over 60 buildings), including two data centers. Conventional renewable power solutions seek to only match a buyer’s load on an annual or monthly basis without ensuring renewable power is available when clients are using electricity. Tracking hourly usage from the generator and comparing it to Iron Mountain’s hourly usage demonstrates a future view of how firms can transition to truly carbon free energy supply.

“Iron Mountain is seeking to move beyond the conventional approach of matching renewable power on an annual basis, to matching renewable power generation with its hourly energy use. This is ultimately the path needed to decarbonize energy use,” stated Chris Pennington, Global Energy Manager at Iron Mountain Data Centers. “We are proud to push the marketplace and be at the forefront of embracing and adopting this unique approach and believe that RPD and Direct Energy have assembled a highly repeatable product that will become a readily available retail product.”

“It is so gratifying to witness the power of collaboration and we hope transactions like these can demonstrate that the market is capable of greater flexibility to meet increasingly aggressive demands for truly 24/7 renewable power,” said Eric Alam, CEO of RPD Energy. “RPD Energy’s role was to identify the right committed generator and retail supplier to ensure that Iron Mountain could achieve a truly unique outcome. Working with Axpo U.S. to design a wholesale transaction that worked for EDP Renewables North America, and with the team at Direct to create the retail product that fit Iron Mountain’s requirements required the kind of patience, resolve, and cooperation across all parties that results in these breakthrough transactions.”

RPD Energy in conjunction with Direct Energy, will provide Iron Mountain a monthly report to document the match of average hourly generation and Iron Mountain’s actual hourly offtake from the grid. To maintain the integrity of the renewable impact of the transaction, traceability and environmental claims are ensured by renewable energy credits provided via EDP Renewables North America and sourced from the same renewable developer.

About Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), founded in 1951, is the global leader for storage and information management services. Trusted by more than 225,000 organizations around the world, and with a real estate network of nearly 93 million square feet across approximately 1,450 facilities in 56 countries, Iron Mountain stores and protects billions of valued assets, including critical business information, highly sensitive data, and cultural and historical artifacts. Providing solutions that include secure records storage, information management, digital transformation, secure destruction, as well as data centers, cloud services and art storage and logistics, Iron Mountain helps customers lower cost and risk, comply with regulations, recover from disaster, and enable a more digital way of working. Visit www.ironmountain.com for more information.

About RPD Energy

RPD Energy architects green energy solutions for corporate America. RPD offers directly sourced, variable term (2-8 years), right-sized contracts for green energy and RECs from utility-scale wind and solar facilities without the complexity of traditional PPA/VPPAs. Fortune 500 energy buyers have chosen RPD Energy work with their suppliers to provide green energy contracts for their data centers, production facilities and corporate headquarters in several regions across the US. RPD is headquartered in Houston, Texas. www.rpdenergy.com.

Contacts

Iron Mountain

Global Communications:
media@ironmountain.com

Investor Relations:
Greer Aviv

Senior Vice President, Investor Relations

617.535.2887

Greer.Aviv@ironmountain.com

Categories
Business

Dr. Praeger’s launches new Cauliflower Veggie Burger

A percentage of sales of the new burger will support Farmers Against Hunger

ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Today, Dr. Praeger’s Sensible Foods, the family owned and operated leader in the all-natural, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, and kosher frozen food categories for over 25 years, announces the latest addition to their famous line of veggie burgers – the Cauliflower Veggie Burger.


The Cauliflower Veggie Burger contains six different vegetables including cauliflower, zucchini and peas, and offers 9g of protein per serving. The new burgers are non-GMO, certified gluten-free, vegan, kosher and soy free and feature the same veggie-forward look and flavor profile that Dr. Praeger’s customers know and love.

In their continued mission to support local and sustainable agriculture, Dr. Praeger’s is donating a percentage of sales of the Cauliflower Burger to Farmers Against Hunger. Since 1996, Farmers Against Hunger has been working behind-the-scenes as a bridge between New Jersey’s agricultural sector and hunger relief organizations. Their mission is to reduce food waste, by helping farmers and wholesalers throughout New Jersey share their surplus product with those in need, and to reduce food insecurity by ensuring access to fresh and healthy produce for every family in New Jersey.

“Dr. Praeger’s is honored to partner with Farmers Against Hunger to support their efforts to create a more cooperative system that benefits local farmers, the New Jersey community, and the planet,” said Larry Praeger, CEO, Dr. Praeger’s.

“Farmers Against Hunger is excited to work with a brand that shares our organization’s values of supporting local New Jersey farmers and providing healthy food options to our community,” said Elyse Yerrapathruni, Director of Programming & Outreach, Farmers Against Hunger. “We look forward to continuing to educate and serve the local agricultural and lower income communities through our partnership with Dr. Praeger’s.”

Dr. Praeger’s Cauliflower Veggie Burger is available now and sold in packs of two four-ounce burgers for the price of $4.99. The new burger can be purchased online at shopdrpraegers.com and at retailers nationwide including Fresh Direct, Meijer, Wegmans, Publix and Kroger. The burger is available now at Whole Foods northeast locations and will be available at Whole Foods nationwide this summer.

For more information, visit www.drpraegers.com and @drpraegers on social.

About Dr. Praeger’s

For over 25 years, Dr. Praeger’s Sensible Foods has offered delicious and convenient frozen food options for the whole family. Founded by two heart surgeons determined to make healthy food easily accessible, the company remains family-owned and operated. Dr. Praeger’s is a leader in the all-natural, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and kosher frozen food categories and has the #1 selling SKU, California Veggie Burger, at Whole Foods as well as a wide range of products including Veggie Burgers, Bowls, Cakes, Puffs and Hash Browns, sustainable Seafood items, kids Littles and more. For more information visit www.drpraegers.com.

About Farmers Against Hunger

Since 1996, Farmers Against Hunger has been working behind-the-scenes as a bridge between New Jersey’s agricultural sector and hunger relief organizations. The organization aims to reduce food waste, by helping farmers and wholesalers throughout the state share their surplus produce with those in need, and to reduce food insecurity, by ensuring every family in New Jersey has access to fresh and healthy produce. Farmers Against Hunger helps farmers harvest surplus crops and distributes the crops, along with supplemental produce donations from grocery stores and wholesalers, among a network of New Jersey food banks, churches and other organizations working to feed their communities. For more information visit http://www.njagsociety.org/farmers-against-hunger.html.

Contacts

Media
Alison Brod Marketing + Communications

Tatum Murray

abdpraegers@alisonbrodmc.com

Categories
Business Technology

iQor selects NICE Workforce Management cloud solutions as its global platform to take customer experience to the next level

NICE WFM cloud-based suite helps iQor augment employee scheduling flexibility and improve engagement

HOBOKEN, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — NICE (Nasdaq: NICE) today announced that iQor has selected the NICE Workforce Management (WFM) cloud-based suite to help teams augment customer experience across its global service locations. iQor, a managed services provider of customer engagement and technology-enabled BPO solutions, is leveraging NICE’s AI and machine learning-based scheduling solution to further engage employees and boost customer satisfaction.

“iQor is dedicated to putting our employees at the forefront,” said Loren Dennis, Senior Vice President Workforce Management, iQor. “NICE helps streamline our workforce management activities so we can plan intelligently and adapt quickly to changes as the market, our customers and employees require them. We are also focused on helping employees feel empowered and experience a better work-life balance.”

iQor is taking its workforce management to the next level by leveraging several key capabilities in NICE WFM. These include AI-enabled forecasting, machine learning-based simulation for scheduling and real-time monitoring of adherence, automated intraday reforecasting and schedule re-simulation. The BPO company is also tapping into NICE’s Employee Engagement Manager (EEM) solution to extend the reach of NICE WFM-based scheduling to agents regardless of their physical location.

“NICE’s accurate, reliable forecasting and staffing solution will enable us to help clients effectively address their workforce management needs,” said Prabhjot Singh, Senior Vice President Technology Innovation, iQor. “We are excited to leverage NICE’s WFM and EEM capabilities to drive further improvements in productivity, employee engagement and customer satisfaction.”

NICE will benefit iQor’s clients by ensuring the right balance of staffing in its operations. It will also further enhance iQor’s ability to rapidly respond to unexpected fluctuations in call volume and accurately plan for seasonality, campaigns and product launches.

“As an organization that understands the power of experiences, we are excited to collaborate with iQor to deliver the benefits of industry-leading workforce management to their employees and customers,” commented Barry Cooper, NICE Workforce & Customer Experience Group President. “In these challenging times, customer service becomes even more critical for business success and so we are pleased to partner with iQor to deliver optimized staffing while consistently increasing the engagement of their employees.”

About NICE

NICE (Nasdaq: NICE) is the world’s leading provider of both cloud and on-premises enterprise software solutions that empower organizations to make smarter decisions based on advanced analytics of structured and unstructured data. NICE helps organizations of all sizes deliver better customer service, ensure compliance, combat fraud and safeguard citizens. Over 25,000 organizations in more than 150 countries, including over 85 of the Fortune 100 companies, are using NICE solutions. www.nice.com.

Trademark Note: NICE and the NICE logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of NICE Ltd. All other marks are trademarks of their respective owners. For a full list of NICE’s marks, please see: www.nice.com/nice-trademarks.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements, including the statements by Mr. Cooper, are based on the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of NICE Ltd. (the “Company”). In some cases, such forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as “believe,” “expect,” “seek,” “may,” “will,” “intend,” “should,” “project,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “estimate,” or similar words. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results or performance of the Company to differ materially from those described herein, including but not limited to the impact of changes in economic and business conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; competition; successful execution of the Company’s growth strategy; success and growth of the Company’s cloud Software-as-a-Service business; changes in technology and market requirements; decline in demand for the Company’s products; inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications; difficulties or delays in absorbing and integrating acquired operations, products, technologies and personnel; loss of market share; an inability to maintain certain marketing and distribution arrangements; the Company’s dependency on third-party cloud computing platform providers, hosting facilities and service partners; cyber security attacks or other security breaches against the Company; the effect of newly enacted or modified laws, regulation or standards on the Company and our products and various other factors and uncertainties discussed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). For a more detailed description of the risk factors and uncertainties affecting the company, refer to the Company’s reports filed from time to time with the SEC, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise them, except as required by law.

Contacts

Corporate Media
Christopher Irwin-Dudek, 201-561-4442, chris.irwin-dudek@nice.com

Investors
Marty Cohen, +1-551-256-5354, ir@nice.com, ET

Categories
Education

WGU appoints Windrum as government relations director for Northeast Region

Public affairs veteran to develop regional outreach efforts for university

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Online, nonprofit, accredited Western Governors University (WGU) has appointed Matthew Windrum to serve as government relations director, northeast region. Windrum has more than 15 years of experience in government relations and public policy and will develop relationships with elected officials, policymakers, and leaders of state agencies from Maine to Virginia.


WGU’s government relations team supports the university’s core mission to expand access to career-relevant post-secondary educational opportunities, especially to historically underrepresented populations, including working adults, low-income earners, rural residents, students of color, military personnel, and first-generation college students.

Prior to joining WGU, Windrum was director of government and community affairs at New York City-based nonprofit The Doe Fund, which designs, develops, and manages affordable housing across the city and runs a work training program for homeless and formerly incarcerated men. He was previously head of the political and economic affairs team at the British Consulate General, where he worked to promote and defend the United Kingdom’s economic, foreign policy, and national security priorities across New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

“Matthew’s passion for improving lives by building relationships and trust makes him a valuable addition to our team,” said Rebecca Watts, Ph.D., regional vice president of the northeast region. “As a representative of WGU’s student focus and commitment to integrity, Matthew will make a positive difference in helping us to increase student access, improve affordability, and enhance the student experience in the Northeast.”

Windrum has an M.A. in international relations from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in political science and Spanish from Lafayette College. He is a volunteer advocate for the Epilepsy Foundation, working to raise awareness and understanding of epilepsy and seizures. He and his wife, Susan, live in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., with their two children.

WGU offers more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the in-demand career fields of business, K–12 teacher education, information technology, and health professions. For more information about WGU, visit wgu.edu.

About WGU

Established in 1997 by 19 U.S. governors with a mission to expand access to high-quality, affordable higher education, online, nonprofit WGU now serves more than 133,000 students nationwide and has more than 222,000 graduates in all 50 states. Driving innovation as the nation’s leading competency-based university, WGU has been recognized by the White House, state leaders, employers, and students as a model that works in postsecondary education. In just 24 years, the university has become a leading influence in changing the lives of individuals and families, and preparing the workforce needed in today’s rapidly evolving economy. WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, and was featured on NPR, NBC Nightly News, CNN, and in The New York Times. Learn more at wgu.edu.

Contacts

Dulcey Antonucci, PR manager northeast region

717-803-2034

dulcey@wgu.edu

Categories
Business

Retail drove the investor revolution in Q1

DriveWealth’s Q1 Global Retail Trends Report shows aggregated retail trading activity moved markets with strong growth in engagement, trading, account openings and assets

CHATHAM, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Retail investing surged in Q1, as quarterly trading volume and asset growth rose 45% and 33% respectively from 4Q20, according to new data released today from DriveWealth, a leading global brokerage infrastructure platform.

This quarter saw market volatility led by Reddit users, a growing number of Covid vaccinations, and trial reopenings of schools and business. Collectively, these activities contributed to strong growth in trading, account openings and assets in Q1.

The data is derived from DriveWealth’s Q1 Global Retail Trends Report, which is based on aggregated data from millions of retail investors around the world who trade fractional shares of U.S. equities through a network of global partners, including Hatch, MoneyLion, Stake, Revolut, and Unifimoney.

Key Q1 findings include:

  • Trading volume: DriveWealth volume rose 45% in the first quarter, compared to a 13% rise in volume on the S&P 500 and 50% on NASDAQ.
  • Account openings: Investors ages 20-29 fueled net new account growth in Q1, helping drive a 40% increase in total accounts in 1Q21.
  • Asset growth: Assets rose 33% since year end, outperforming the markets − NASDAQ (2.8%), S&P 500 (5.8%), and DJIA (7.8%) in the first quarter.
  • Number of trades: There was a 66% increase in the number of trades in the first quarter, while the average trade size decreased across the board.
  • Engagement: On average customers traded more frequently, 12 times in 1Q vs. 9 times in 4Q20, but smaller amounts

“Our partners are finding that investing is a highly engaging experience, especially when you can offer fractional shares. This quarter, we saw investors on our platform making about four trades per month with an average trade size of $286; less than half the cost of a single share of Tesla,” said Bob Cortright, founder and CEO DriveWealth. “It’s great to see that our partners are successfully attracting engaged investors.”

Investors migrated away from the previously heavily traded pandemic names such as Zoom, Netflix, Pfizer, and Moderna. Headline-grabbing names captured the attention of self-directed investors, with the Reddit-inspired short squeeze trades such as GameStop, AMC Entertainment, Nokia and Blackberry featuring prominently.

Self-directed

Advised

APAC

LATAM

EMEA

AMC

VOO

GME

TSLA

GME

TSLA

VTEB

TSLA

AAPL

AMC

GME

VXF

AMC

GME

TSLA

AAPL

SUB

AAPL

AMZN

NIO

NIO

VEA

GPRO

DIS

AAPL

AMZN

VWO

PLTR

FB

PLTR

NOK

AOR

NIO

NIO

BB

TLRY

IXUS

BB

MSFT

PLUG

PLUG

IJH

ARKK

IAU

SPCE

GE

VXUS

CCIV

GOOGL

XPEV

About DriveWealth

A pioneer in fractional investing and embedded finance, DriveWealth is a cloud-based B2B brokerage infrastructure provider that powers both traditional and innovative investment experiences for more than 90 partners in over 150 countries. DriveWealth’s mission is to reshape the world of retail investing by enabling banks, global brands, and fintechs to provide the level of investment access and advice, previously reserved only for the wealthy, to underbanked and underserved customers across the globe. DriveWealth was the first company in the world to get a license to offer fractional U.S. equities through our proprietary, patent-pending and award winning API-driven brokerage infrastructure. For more information, please visit drivewealth.com.

Contacts

Malea Ritz, BackBay Communications

Malea.Ritz@backbaycommunications.com

Categories
Business Technology

NICE Robotic Process Automation receives 2020 TMC Labs Innovation Award

NEVA impresses judges with its innovative functionality and ability to drive fast ROI

HOBOKEN, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — #NICE—NICE (Nasdaq: NICE) today announced that NEVA, its attended automation solution, has won the 2020 TMC Labs Innovation Award from CUSTOMER Magazine. Part of the NICE Robotic Process Automation (RPA) offering, NEVA received the accolade for its impressive functionality and ability to deliver fast ROI, among others.

NICE Employee Virtual Attendant or NEVA is the first employee-focused virtual attendant to hit the global market with the most comprehensive real-time integration and intelligence capabilities. With a proven track record of effectively supporting organizations’ operational and customer service needs, NEVA enables employees, both in the office and at home, to respond instantly and intuitively to customer queries while ensuring full compliance and processing accuracy. NICE was named a Leader by Everest Group and NEVA emerged as a top attended RPA offering in its RPA PEAK Matrix 2021 assessment. NEVA was also ranked as a Market Leader in Intelligent Attended RPA by Zinnov in their 2020 RPA leadership report.

Amardeep Modi, Practice Director at Everest Group, said, “NICE’s attended automation offering, NEVA, is a key contributor to NICE’s leading position in the RPA space and demonstrates the company’s focus on innovation. Clients have attested to NEVA as one of the company’s key strengths and appreciated its functionalities such as customizable callouts that help provide guidance to agents.”

“Congratulations to NICE for earning a 2020 TMC Labs Innovation Award. NEVA (NICE Employee Virtual Attendant) impressed us with its functionality, assistance in ensuring compliance, ability to reduce mundane contact center tasks, and capacity to help customers have their needs taken care of more quickly,” said Rich Tehrani, CEO, TMC. “The solution’s best feature may be its ROI, as well-designed RPA solutions pay for themselves quickly.”

“The past year has demonstrated just how important innovative technology such as NEVA is in preparing businesses to adjust to new and dynamic situations in an agile way”, Barry Cooper, President, NICE Enterprise Group said. “We believe industry recognition from organizations such as TMC serves to validate the strategy and success and are proud to be the recipient.”

About NICE

NICE (Nasdaq: NICE) is the world’s leading provider of both cloud and on-premises enterprise software solutions that empower organizations to make smarter decisions based on advanced analytics of structured and unstructured data. NICE helps organizations of all sizes deliver better customer service, ensure compliance, combat fraud and safeguard citizens. Over 25,000 organizations in more than 150 countries, including over 85 of the Fortune 100 companies, are using NICE solutions. www.nice.com.

Trademark Note: NICE and the NICE logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of NICE Ltd. All other marks are trademarks of their respective owners. For a full list of NICE’s marks, please see: www.nice.com/nice-trademarks.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements, including the statements by Mr. Cooper, are based on the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of NICE Ltd. (the “Company”). In some cases, such forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as “believe,” “expect,” “seek,” “may,” “will,” “intend,” “should,” “project,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “estimate,” or similar words. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results or performance of the Company to differ materially from those described herein, including but not limited to the impact of changes in economic and business conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; competition; successful execution of the Company’s growth strategy; success and growth of the Company’s cloud Software-as-a-Service business; changes in technology and market requirements; decline in demand for the Company’s products; inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications; difficulties or delays in absorbing and integrating acquired operations, products, technologies and personnel; loss of market share; an inability to maintain certain marketing and distribution arrangements; the Company’s dependency on third-party cloud computing platform providers, hosting facilities and service partners;, cyber security attacks or other security breaches against the Company; the effect of newly enacted or modified laws, regulation or standards on the Company and our products and various other factors and uncertainties discussed in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). For a more detailed description of the risk factors and uncertainties affecting the company, refer to the Company’s reports filed from time to time with the SEC, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise them, except as required by law.

Contacts

Corporate Media
Christopher Irwin-Dudek, +1 201 561 4442, ET, chris.irwin-dudek@nice.com

Investors
Marty Cohen, +1 551 256 5354, ET, ir@nice.com