Minority Rights Group Releases Report on Ending Slavery in Mauritania

 

A senior communications executive in Chicago, Illinois, Sean Tenner has been leading promotional campaigns as president of KNI Communications since 2008. He also supports a range of nonprofit organizations. Sean Tenner co-founded a charitable nonprofit, the Abolition Institute, which opposes slavery in the West African country of Mauritania.

Although the federal government of Mauritania officially abolished slavery in 1981, it remains widespread due to a lack of anti-slavery law enforcement. Minority Rights Group International, working with its fellow anti-slavery groups SOS-Esclaves and Anti-Slavery International, released a comprehensive assessment of the ongoing fight against slavery in Mauritania on September 15, 2022. This 32-page report was titled “Ending slavery in Mauritania: The impact of legal advocacy and strategic litigation from 2010 to 2020.”

After outlining important events in the evolution of Mauritanian anti-slavery policy and advocacy, the report analyzed related advocacy and strategic litigation activities over the 2010s. It subsequently evaluated the outcomes of these activities both inside and outside the official legal system. The report concluded by offering strategic advice on overcoming persistent challenges and capitalizing on opportunities.

KNI’s Integral Role in Illinois Breast Cancer Legislation

 An alumnus of Georgetown University, Sean Tenner is a campaign strategist and political advocacy consultant with a successful track record of working on numerous campaigns for political leaders. Since 2008, Sean Tenner has served as the president of KNI Communications in Chicago.

A leading social media platform and public health advocate, KNI Communications takes pride in its history of success in facilitating strategic solutions to diverse matters of public concern. Its prime cancer advocate initiative led the effort that paved the way for the passing of four bills concerning breast cancer in Illinois.

Two of the proposed bills focused on providing insurance coverage for breast cancer screenings and medical costs associated with cancer treatment clinical trials. The third bill centered on taking legislative actions in Illinois to establish statewide programs to combat breast cancer. The fourth bill introduced insurance coverage for clinical breast exams that could potentially save lives. All four bills passed with majority votes in the Illinois General Assembly.

Benefits of Opening Multiple Brokerage Accounts

Investors use a brokerage account to buy and sell securities such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. They can set up a brokerage account at various licensed brokerage firms, including full-service stockbrokers, online stockbrokers, and robo-advisors. Investors can transfer money into and out of the account, similar to a bank account. However, unlike a bank account, a brokerage account provides investors access to the stock market and other investments.

Some people maintain a single brokerage account, as it requires less effort. One brokerage account is often sufficient if they tend to invest in similar assets. Managing various brokerage accounts entails working twice as hard to check in on the investments and rebalance their asset allocation. It can also be challenging to track asset allocation and performances across the entire portfolio. If there is one brokerage account that does not get enough attention or money invested in it, investors can run the risk of forgetting about it and losing the investment altogether.

However, opening multiple brokerage accounts also has advantages. Many investors open more than one brokerage account if they want to achieve different investment goals. For instance, investors who want to start a business, save for their children’s college education, purchase a home, and fund their retirement accounts can spread these objectives across multiple investment accounts to track the progress easily. Different brokerage accounts for different goals also entail different investment strategies.

Investors also open multiple brokerage accounts to take advantage of services and perks offered by specific firms. Commission-free trading of stocks is one of the perks some brokers offer account holders. Some firms also provide low-fee index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), enabling investors to save money and diversify their investments for the long term. Licensed brokerage firms are equipped with advanced research tools and trading strategies. Some even provide their clients access to educational resources and reports on the latest economic trends.

Investors may open multiple brokerage accounts to enjoy the benefits of actively trading stocks and bonds while maintaining a checking account to transfer money back and forth without delay. When delays happen, the investors are left with a smaller amount of money to invest quickly when an opportunity presents itself.

The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) insures investments in brokerage accounts up to $500,000. If investors have assets exceeding $500,000, opening additional brokerage accounts ensures that the money is protected. Even though the chances of a major brokerage firm going out of business and the investors losing their money are slim, they still enjoy the peace of mind that SIPC insurance provides.

Diversifying tax advantages is also one of the benefits of opening multiple brokerage accounts. Separating retirement-focused investments from investments in other asset classes can help reduce investors’ taxes. For example, people invest in Roth retirement accounts to grow their money tax-free during retirement.

Investors who want to dabble in more advanced or high-risk trading strategies should open multiple brokerage accounts to safeguard certain investment portfolios. For example, separating brokerage accounts that contain index funds and ETFs from more volatile instruments like cryptocurrencies, options, and foreign exchange trades allows investors to track the success of these strategies separately and compartmentalize risk.

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The Ocean Reef Club in Florida

Located at the northern end of Key Largo in Florida, 55 miles from Miami International Airport, the Ocean Reef Club is one of the most prestigious, coveted, and exclusive club memberships in the United States. It is a private paradise island accessible via private airport and the Card Sound Road.

The Ocean Reef Club is surrounded by water, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Card Sound to the west, Angelfish Creek to the north, and Dispatch Creek to the south. The Ocean Reef is also situated near Florida Reef, the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States and the third-largest in the world. This rich marine setting means that club members can enjoy fishing, sailing, snorkeling, yachting, and other water activities.

The Ocean Reef Club traces its roots back to 1945, when it began as a small fishing camp and lodge. Minnesota real estate developer Morris Baker expanded the site and transferred the ownership to Harper Sibley Jr. and Morris Burke, who created the Ocean Reef Club. In 1955, the club opened its first nine-hole course. Today, the club has two championship 18-hole courses.

The Dolphin is the longer of the two championship courses. It features lush fairways winding through coconut palms, tamarind, and mahogany trees. The golf course features large and whirling greens that require careful attention. In 2000, the Dolphin course underwent a major renovation to improve its playability and level of difficulty.

The Hammock may be shorter than the Dolphin, but it is the more scenic of the two. It is a mix of lush green fairways and colorful vegetation. Parts of the course pass through the mangrove and tropical hardwood hammock that are home to many endangered and rare species of plants.

The Buccaneer Island at The Ocean Reef is a favorite destination to enjoy a refreshing swim while soaking up Florida Keys’ sunshine. There are also umbrellas and chaise lounges by the pools. For a more adventurous experience, Buccaneer Island offers snorkeling, scuba diving, and laid-back eco-kayak tours.

Those who want to enjoy a relaxing stay while learning how to cook various cuisines can sign up for one of the cooking sessions at Carysfort Kitchen. The cooking school is also open for larger private parties and company functions. It teaches diverse culinary styles, from Asian and European cuisine to new twists on American classics.

The Cultural Center at Ocean Reef features a mix of films, lectures, concerts, and live theater performances. Inside the center is a campus dedicated to exploring exciting topics. Great Decisions is a series of virtual lectures that discuss some of the most dynamic problems facing the world today. Meanwhile, the Film Society presents carefully selected films mixed with culinary content.

Guests and members can also enjoy a game of tennis using one of the 10 courts at the Ocean Reef. A Tennis Pro Shop is equipped with tennis apparel if needed. The Ocean Reef Club also offers convenient access to club and fishing shops. Products range from clothing, pieces of jewelry, and shoes to electronics, books, wine, and gourmet food.

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Basic Golf Grips’ Advantages and Disadvantages

The golf grip is one of the most fundamental choices any golf player must make. Even slightly changing the position of their hands can dramatically impact where the ball will land. Deciding on a golf grip is also the first step toward establishing a great golf swing. Golfers can choose from three basic golf grips: strong, weak, and neutral.

A strong grip, also called an interlocking grip, is when the V-letters, formed between the player’s index fingers and thumbs, are pointing right of the center of the club’s shaft. Golfers who use an interlocking grip will typically use their dominant hand to hold the club from underneath, with the fist facing directly to the ground. Their little finger fits between the index and middle fingers of the other hand.

A strong grip facilitates more consistent right-to-left shots, securing the club during backswings and follow-throughs and enabling golfers to achieve optimal clubhead speed for longer distances. In addition, an interlocking grip can aid players with an inside-out swing or those who tend to push or slice the ball.

On the downside, this type of grip is not suitable for golfers with slower hip rotation because it can make them pull the ball. A pull shot lacks a lateral spin and goes straight to the left of the target. Also, by prompting golfers to swing inside-outside, the strong grip increases their risk of hitting hooking shots. A hook shot is when a ball’s trajectory starts on one side of the player, and during the flight, it curves around to the opposite side.

Also known as an overlapping or Vardon grip, a weak grip has the V-letters pointing left of the shaft’s center, and the knuckles of the player’s dominant hand are visible. Their little finger wraps over the bottom of their other hand’s index finger.

The Vardon grip is the most widespread grip used by amateur and professional golfers. With the two hands locked together, the overlapping grip facilitates swing uniformity. It also helps golfers reduce hook shots. This type of grip creates a natural fade and can benefit players with an outside-inside swing plane. In addition, it is also suitable for players with slower hips who can use it for centering the clubface when closed on impact or the moment during a golf swing between the downswing and the follow-through.

However, the Vardon grip has the least surface area of contact between the fingers and the club, which results in a weaker grip. If the player fails to square their clubhead at impact, a weak grip can cause them to slice the ball. It also results in a shorter distance compared to the other two grips.

Finally, with the neutral grip, the V-letters are pointing down the centerline of the golf’s shaft, and three of the knuckles on each hand are visible. Other names for this grip include the ten-finger grip because the golfer holds the club with all ten fingers and the baseball grip because of the resemblance with how baseball players grip their bats.

Due to its easy setup, the neutral grip is suitable for beginners, children, and players who have slower clubhead speeds. Having all ten fingers touch the club simultaneously allows golfers to maximize the power transferred from the clubhead to the ball at impact. In addition, this type of grip facilitates greater wrist rotation, which optimizes clubhead speed on downswings for a longer carry and total distance. The main disadvantage of the neutral grip is the disconnection between the two hands, which may result in an imbalanced swing and the consequent pushed and pulled shots.

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Three Main Types of Brokerage Firms

A brokerage firm is a company responsible for connecting buyers and sellers for transactions. The firm can also buy and sell securities on behalf of clients. It collects fees or commissions in exchange for the services offered. Individual brokers can be employed by brokerage firms or work as independent agents. Either way, they must always act in the best interests of the clients they represent.

Brokers and brokerage firms are essential players in the financial industry because they provide market investors and real estate buyers with relevant information to make the best decisions. The three major types of brokerage firms are full-service, discount, and robo-advisors.

Full-service brokerage firms are the most expensive of all brokerages and provide face-to-face service. A full-service brokerage firm assigns a financial advisor to serve as the primary point of contact for clients. Full-service brokers typically charge a flat fee of 1 to 2 percent for their services. They help their clients develop sound strategies by conducting thorough research on potential investment opportunities. In addition, they offer professional advisory services to clients and manage investment decisions on their behalf.

In addition to helping clients purchase stocks, bonds, options, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds, a full-service broker may provide access to other financial instruments that a typical online broker cannot, such as foreign-issued bonds and stocks. Clients may also gain preferential access to investment opportunities, such as initial public offerings and limited partnerships. Full-service brokers also provide customized financial and retirement planning services to their clients.

Discount brokerages provide clients with a platform upon which to complete buy and sell orders for clients. However, they do not give specific trading advice or other financial services. Active traders and investors who know what they want and what orders to execute benefit from these platforms. Compared to a full-service brokerage firm that handles the end-to-end investment process, investors using a discount brokerage often monitor their transactions using their personal charting or positioning methods. Discount brokerages charge significantly lower fees than full-service brokerage firms. Since most discount brokerages are operated online, the overhead costs are lower.

Robo-advisors are a relatively new type of brokerage that works exclusively online and offers investment management services using mathematical algorithms with minimal human intervention. These algorithms identify, allocate, manage, and track the clients’ assets as efficiently as possible.

Robo-advisors determine clients’ investment preferences by collecting information about their financial status, degree of risk-aversion, and desired return on investment. They then create optimal portfolios and allocate funds to a combination of assets based on the client’s risk profile. Robo-advisors also monitor and, if needed, rebalance the client’s investment portfolio when market or economic conditions change.

A robo-advisor is less expensive than a full-service brokerage. Robo-advisors are also more flexible and easier to use through mobile phones and websites. Some of them even come with the option to automate investments. However, robo-advisors tend to fall short in terms of the expertise human advisors provide.

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Asset Allocation – Overview, Risk Tolerance, and Strategies

Asset allocation is an investment strategy in which investors divide their investment portfolio among diverse asset classes to minimize risk and maximize returns. The asset classes fall mainly into three categories: cash and equivalents, fixed income, and equities. Real estate, art, and commodities do not belong to these categories, and are therefore referred to as alternative assets.

When creating a portfolio distribution, investors are influenced by personal goals, risk tolerance, and investment horizon. Goals refer to personal aspirations to obtain a level of return or savings for a specific reason. Some people invest to purchase a home, start a business, or change careers. Others invest to fund their retirement accounts and leave a significant inheritance to their children. Therefore, different goals affect an investor’s attitude towards investments and risk.

Risk tolerance determines an individual’s willingness to lose a portion of their original investment to get a potentially high return in the future. Investors who are risk-averse and focus on capital preservation prefer to take the least risk possible. As a result, they recognize and accept that the limited growth of minimal-risk instruments is balanced against the relative security they need to preserve the capital they already have.

Some investors want to achieve a balanced risk by investing in instruments with minimal to medium risk in exchange for some growth potential. They look for regular income from interest and dividend earnings and are willing to expose investments to a moderate level of risk of loss of capital. Meanwhile, investors with higher risk tolerance look for dynamic growth when investing. Often, they want to grow the value of their investments and accumulate wealth over time through price appreciation. They invest in instruments with very high risk but have greater potential for high returns.

Lastly, investors consider the time horizon depending on the duration when investing. For instance, investors with short-term goals may invest only in low-risk instruments to avoid losses. However, investors with a long-term investment strategy may have more leeway to invest in higher-risk or more volatile instruments, since the economy can change over time.

Financial advisors usually suggest that investors diversify their investment in various asset classes to reduce portfolio risk and overall volatility. For this reason identifying the right asset allocation strategy is important, since different asset classes will provide different returns.

Age-based asset allocation is one of the common strategies to distribute investments. With this approach, the investment decision depends on the age of the investor. Financial advisors suggest that investors invest in stocks by subtracting their age from a base value of 100. For example, if the investor is 30 years old, their portfolio will consist of 70 percent invested in stocks and the remaining 30 percent allocated among other assets. This allocation should be adjusted accordingly as they grow older.

A constant-weight asset allocation is a strategy based on the buy-and-hold approach. If a stock loses value, investors should buy more of it. Conversely, investors should sell a portion of the stock’s shares when the stock’s price increases substantially, as long as they keep 5 percent of the original mix. Investors who want to be actively involved use the dynamic asset allocation approach. They adjust their investment allocation based on the highs and lows of the markets and the gains and losses in the economy.

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