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How important are dividends to a stock investors profits? Speaking before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on October 15, 2007, investing guru John Bogle laid out the case: Over the past 81 years reinvested dividend income accounted for approximately 95 percent of the compound long-term return earned by the companies in the S&P 500. These stunning figures would seem to demand that mutual funds highlight the importance of dividend income. So in other words, dividends are pretty important! Of course, right now the average stock on the S&P 500 is only paying about a 2% dividend yield, which isnt a lot. If you want to do better than that, though, the REIT sector is a great place to begin your search for high-yield dividend stocks. REITs are companies that acquire, own, operate, and manage real estate portfolios, usually some combination of residential or commercial real properties, or their associated mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities. Tax law requires that these companies return profits directly to shareholders, and most of them choose dividends as their vehicle of choice for compliance, resulting in frequent high dividend yields across the sector. The slowly ebbing COVID pandemic was hard on real estate managers, as tenants had trouble making rents and owners had trouble leasing vacant space. However, BTIG analyst Tim Hayes believes there are reasons to stay bullish on CRE properties specifically. "While we recognize the headwinds to commercial real estate (CRE) fundamentals and the potential risk to equity/earnings power, we believe there are several reasons to be constructive, especially with the sector trading at a discount to historical levels and offering attractive dividend yields at wide spreads to benchmark rates," Hayes commented. Against this backdrop, weve opened up the TipRanks database to get the latest stats on Hayes CRE choices. These are stocks that the analyst initiated Buy ratings on, pointing out their high dividend yield. We are talking about at least 9% here. Ares Commercial Real Estate (ACRE) The first dividend pick we are looking at is Ares Commercial Real Estate, a company focused on the commercial real estate mortgage sector. Ares boasts a diversified portfolio featuring office space, apartments, hotels, and mixed-use properties mainly across the Southeast and West. The company has over $2 billion invested in 49 separate loans, 95% of which are senior mortgage loans. At the end of October, the company released 3Q20 earnings (the last reported quarter), showing $22.4 million in total revenue, for a 13% year-over-year gain. The 45-cents earnings per common share was up 40% since the prior year. Furthermore, Ares closed a $667 million commercial real estate collateralized loan obligation, with firmed up funding on 23 senior loans. On the dividend front, Ares declared in December its 4Q20 dividend. The payment, at 33 cents per common share, was paid out on January 15 and is fully covered by current income levels. At current rates, the dividend annualizes to $1.32 and gives an impressive yield of 10.50%. Among the bulls is Hayes, who wrote: We believe shares of ACRE are unfairly discounted relative to other commercial mREITs given strong Ares sponsorship, a very healthy balance sheet, and limited exposure to at-risk assets. In his view, this leaves the company well positioned to face the headwinds from COVID-19. In line with these comments, Hayes rates ACRE a Buy, and his $13.50 price target implies a 10% upside from current levels. (To watch Hayes track record, click here) Only one other analyst has posted a recent ACRE review, also rating the stock a Buy, which makes the analyst consensus here a Moderate Buy. Shares are priced at $12.28, and their $12.75 average price target suggests room for modest ~4% growth. (See ACRE stock analysis on TipRanks) KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (KREF) Next up we have KKR, which operates in the commercial real estate sector, with almost half of its holdings in the states of New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. The company both owns and finances commercial properties; 83% of its activities are with apartment dwellings and office spaces in desirable urban locations. KKRs quality can be seen in the companys quarterly results. The liquidity position was strong KKR reported $700.6 million available at the end of 3Q20, the last quarter reported. The 56-cent EPS was up 7% sequentially, and 36% year-over-year. Further evidence of KKRs sound position came at the beginning of January, when the announced it had closed 7 new commercial loans in Q4, totaling $565.4 million. This level of activity is a clear sign that KKR is recovering from the pandemic-related economic turndown. The solid foundation put the company in position to continue its dividend which has been kept reliable for four years now. The most recent declaration, made in December, was for a 43-cent per common share dividend that was paid out in mid-January. That rate gives an annual payment of $1.72 per common share, and a robust yield of 9.7%. Covering KREF, Hayes is most impressed by the companys move back toward proactive loan origination, saying, We view 4Q20 origination activity to be in line with pre-pandemic production, and demonstrates a shift from defense to offense as transaction activity has picked up and the capital markets remain accommodative. We expect increased capital deployment to support earnings power and dividend coverage, and could potentially warrant an increase in the dividend as the macroeconomic outlook improves. To this end, Hayes gives KREF a Buy and sets a $19.50 price target that indicates ~6% growth from current levels. (To watch Hayes track record, click here) Wall Street has been keeping quiet on all things KREF, and the only other recent review also recommends a Buy. Put together, the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating. Meanwhile, the average price target stands at 19.26 and implies a modest ~5% upside. (See KREF stock analysis on TipRanks) Starwood Property Trust (STWD) For the third stock on Hayes list of picks, we turn to Starwood, a commercial mortgage REIT with a varied portfolio of first mortgages and mezzanine loans, in the $50 million to $500 million range. The company operates in the US and Europe, boasts a $5.9 billion market cap, and has offices in New York, London, and San Francisco. Starwoods high-end portfolio has brought it solid earnings, even during the corona recession of 2020. The company recorded $152 million in GAAP earnings for 3Q20, coming out to 53 cents per share, for gains of 8% sequentially and 6% year-over-year. With that in the background, we can note the companys dividend, which has been held steady at 48 cents per share for over two years. The last declaration was made in December, and the dividend was paid out on January 15. At the current rate, it annualizes to $1.92 and the yield is 9.23%. Once again, were looking at a stock that Hayes recommends to Buy. We view STWD to be one of the few blue chips in the commercial mREIT sector given its size, liquidity, best-in-class management team, strong balance sheet, and diversified investment platform which has consistently generated stronger ROEs than peers. To that end, STWD is one of few commercial mREITs that neither restructured its liabilities with expensive rescue capital nor cut its dividend since the onset of COVID-19, Hayes opined. Overall, there is little action on the Street heading STWD's way right now, with only one other analyst chiming in with a view on the company's prospects. An additional Buy rating means STWD qualifies as a Moderate Buy. However, the $21 average price target suggests shares will remain range bound for the foreseeable future. (See STWD stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for dividend stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

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International Condom Day: DKT International Highlights Importance of Condoms with Virtual and In-Person Activities Around the World - Yahoo Finance

LinkedIn can be a great channel to build your personal brand, and even establish yourself as an influential thought leader within your niche. But in order to maximize the benefits of the platform, you need to understand how it works, what generates best response, and how you can utilize its various tools to optimal effect.

To help with this, in this post,we'll go over 10 things that you can do to become more influential on LinkedIn, including how much you should be posting, when to post, what to post, as well as how to take advantage of some of LinkedIn's cool features such as LinkedIn Live, discovering hashtags by popularity and post analytics.

Follow these tips and you'll be well on your way to building a stronger LinkedIn presence in 2021.

Maintaining a consistent posting process is important on LinkedIn - but posting too much can hurt your presence.

Through my research at Onalytica we've found that influencers who post more than 50 times a month on LinkedIn see an average of 26 engagements per post, while those who post between 30-50 times a month see an average of 56 engagements,and those who post less than 30 times see even more engagement, on average.

Based on this, we recommend posting at least 2-3 times a week -but no more than 30 times a month for optimal engagement.

When you post is also significant -try to post in the mornings, perhaps on your way in to work. Then you can revisit those posts later in the day/evening, to reply to any comments youve had and boost your engagement.

Automation can be a great time-saver -but it can also be damaging to your visibility.

Its easy, for example, to set up a rule saying, if theres a blog mentioning 'X'keywords, post it on my LinkedIn feed. However, weve seen this used to the extreme, with some people posting hundreds of times per month.

As noted in the previous point, posting too much on LinkedIn can actually reduce your engagement, while LinkedIn's systems can spot when people are using automation, and can hide your posts so no one will see them.

If you are going to use automation tools on LinkedIn, you should still look to limit the number of posts to no more than 30 times a month.

Research shows that articles with images get 94%more total views. Its not just including images though, you can also add videos, slides, or podcasts to a post -or even documents, which LinkedIn added back in 2019.

Documents can actually be turned into carousel posts on LinkedIn - if you upload a series of visuals as a document, LinkedIn will display that as a carousel which users can side-swipe through.

When adding content, it is worth noting that LinkedIn prefers users to upload their content directly to their platform, rather than posting a link to another site that hosts it. For example, if you're posting a video, it's better to upload it to LinkedIn, rather than posting a YouTube link.

The 4-1-1 Rulewas coined by Tippingpoint Labs and Joe Pulizziof the Content Marketing Institute. While it was originally created with Twitter in mind, it can also be applied to LinkedIn.

The rule states that:

For every one self-serving post, you should repost one relevant post and most importantly share four pieces of relevant content written by others.

By following this rule, you're not just sharing your own content, but you're also providing helpful insights relevant to your audience written by others. This can be industry thought leader content, news, and trends.

At the same time, its also important to add your opinion. Many people just like or share posts that they've read, or sometimes without even reading them.You can set yourself apart by adding your own opinions, questions, or other commentary within the comments.

Tell people what you think about the points being made in the article, and dont be afraid to respectfully disagree with something and suggest a different point of view. This can start a debate, and youll find that the post gets a lot more engagement.

Although you're obviously looking to market yourself and your business, it's best to avoid being too pushy on this within your LinkedIn posts.

For example, try not to post directly about your product, as it can feel like an advert and turn people away. Its better to engage in thought leadership-style conversations, and if people like what you're saying, they'll go and check out your website and product offering.

At this stage it is more about building relationships and making new contacts.

Try LinkedIn live.This could be anything from a monologue to the camera, or a webinar with guests, or live streaming from an event.

Some 79%of marketers say that live video leads to more authentic audience interactions, while 82%of audiences would rather watch live video from a brand than read a social post.

LinkedIn live videos also see more engagement, with 7Xmore reactions and 24Xmore comments, on average, compared to regular video uploads.

When you tag another user within your LinkedIn post, they'll get notified of the mention, encouraging engagement.

You dont need to be directly connected to people you tag, you can tag people who are second-degree connections as well. Its important, however, to only tag people who are relevant to the post, otherwise it could be seen as spam.

Be strategic in who you mention, and try not to over-mention the same people all the time. Dont tag too many people in the post either -a post containing a long list of names looks a bit spammy.

When you create a post, there's a temptation to upload it everywhere -on your LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Pages, etc. However, keep in mind that you will have several of the same followers on each of those channels, and they're going to see the same post from you wherever they go, which can quickly become repetitive and boring.

Its much better to create original posts for each platform.

Adding hashtags to your posts will help your content get discovered, as well as help LinkedIn to categorize your posts and differentiate them from other content.

Its important to always add relevant hashtags, not just popular ones. When hashtags are used well it enables others to more easily find your content in their searches. Using hashtags will also ensure that when members are looking for information on a certain topic, your article will come up as one of the options.

Try clicking on 'Discover more'under 'Followed Hashtags'at the bottom of the left of your LinkedIn homepage to see a recommended list of popular hashtags related to the hashtags you follow. You can also access this by clicking on the hashtags you follow and then clicking the 3 dots and then 'Discover new hashtags'.

Whats really useful about the recommended hashtags page is that it shows you the number of people that follow the hashtags, so you can prioritize those with the biggest following. Its important not to use hashtags that are really niche with no followers.

To access analytics on the posts youve shared click the 'Me'icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.

Under 'Manage', tap on 'Posts & Activity'. There you'll see all of your recent posts, with an analytics icon below each. Here you'll find real-time information on the posts youve shared, which can help you better understand your audience, as well as which posts have performed better than others.

With these insights, you can better understand if you were successful in optimizing your post to gain visibility with the right people. Make a note of which posts performed the best, and consider why they worked and what you can replicate.

Was it because you used a certain hashtag, or because you tagged a certain influencer? Was it because that particular topic struck a chord with people?

Once you have an idea as to why, you can experiment with replicating that style of post, and test to see if you get better levels of engagement or not.

LinkedIn continues to grow, and is likely to become an increasingly influential platform as we move beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, and into a new period of economic re-building. That will lead to new opportunities - and those that start on building their platform presence now will stand the best chance of capitalizing on this, and maximizing their potential on the platform.

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10 Tips to Boost Your LinkedIn Presence in 2021 - Social Media Today

OTTAWA, ON, Feb. 9, 2021 /CNW/ - Everyone has the right to feel safe and live free from violence. Women's organizations across the country provide vital services and support adapted to the individual realities of survivors of gender-based violence. The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring these organizations have the resources they need to continue their essential work.

Today, Gudie Hutchings, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, announced an investment of over $4.76 million for ten projects that will address gender-based violence across Ontario.

This investment will support organizations including:

Quotes

"Women's organizations across the country work tirelessly each day to create spaces and services to help women and girls feel safe. This essential work has increased in volume and urgency during the COVID-19 pandemic and our government is pleased to contribute to these organizations to ensure that the resources and services they offer continue. By supporting them, we are providing the most qualified people with the tools they need to better serve their communities."

Gudie Hutchings, M.P.Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development

"The Canadian Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference Model project will help WomanACT implement multi-agency high-risk domestic violence tables in three communities across Ontario. Building off the MARAC model, a successful model that has been used across the United Kingdom since 2003, the project brings together justice and community agencies to respond to cases in which women are at risk of serious harm and domestic homicide. The project is implementing the model in Grey Bruce County, Perth County and Toronto and will help reduce repeat victimization and connect women to the services and supports they need."

Harmy MendozaExecutive Director, Woman Abuse Council of Toronto (WomanAct)

"This project aims to invest in the critically needed skills and best practices for delivering video counselling to marginalized survivors of sexual violence. Our interviews with practitioners have identified the lack of best practices as a key barrier to adopting video counselling practices and developing more comprehensive and accessible modalities for supporting survivors. As a result, the project focuses on creating best practices to support individuals who identify as Indigenous, rural, youth, and survivors of color. Our organization and the gender-based violence sector recognize these four groups in particular, face significant additional barriers to accessing services. Additionally, COVID-19 has highlighted the critical need for these distance counselling practices specific to the needs of marginalized communities. We hope to share knowledge learned and adopted with other practitioners and community agencies, in order to improve professional growth and better serve our community as a whole."

Maryam Pandi Executive Director, Sexual Assault Centre of Kingston, Ontario

"Our Allies for Gender Equality project enables White Ribbon, along with our diverse feminist partners, to embed intersectionality and accountability within the field of engaging men and boys. Those that engage with men as allies in the prevention of gender-based violence and all forms of oppression will benefit from promising practices in the development of programming and organizational policies that are equitable and inclusive for all.

White Ribbon's Call to Men: Promote Gender Equality and Prevent Violence public education campaign will inspire men and young men across Canada to be agents of change in the social movement to end gender-based violence and discrimination, to seek help when needed, and to embrace their roles as allies in a modern era. Men will benefit from their stance on gender equity, our collective connectedness to humanity, and our value of human rights."

Humberto Carolo - Executive Director of White Ribbon

Quick Facts

Associated Links

Follow Women and Gender Equality Canada:

SOURCE Women and Gender Equality Canada

For further information: Marie-Pier Baril, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, 613-295-8123; Media Relations, Women and Gender Equality Canada, 1-855-969-9922

http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/

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Government of Canada invests in organizations across Ontario to help address gender-based violence - Canada NewsWire

Reddit has announced that it has raisedmore than $250 million in Series E funding, which it will look to use to fuel the next stage of the platform's development.

Now with more than 430 million users, Reddit is eyeing expansion, and it's planning to invest in new ad products and video improvements, among other elements, to advance the platform.

As explained by Reddit:

"We've come a long way in recent years to focus more on the needs of the hundreds of thousands of communities that make up Reddit and on creating feature-rich, safe, engaging, spaces for meaningful conversations for our 50+ million daily users. We've also continued to scale our Advertising business, which is now poised to deliver performance and engagement in addition to brand awareness. Advertisers have responded favorably to our efforts and the authenticity of community on Reddit, with direct advertising revenue increasing 90% in the last quarter, year-over-year."

Reddit has made its ad business a much bigger focus in recent years, going from a more controversial, free-speech aligned corner of the web, to one that has clearer parameters around what's acceptable, and what it will tolerate in the best interests of its community.

Reddit's biggest move on this front came in June last year, when it announced a significant update to its policies around hate speech, which resulted in the removal of thousands of the most controversial subreddits. The change was in line with rising user expectation, while it also helped Reddit improve the brand safety of the platform, and attract more business interest as a result.

Reddit says that its latest funding will be used to improve its video, advertising and consumer products,as well as its expansion into international markets.

"We're also readying to double the number of Reddit employees this year; its surprising not only for the pace of growth but also that such a relatively lean team has been behind one of the most visited websites in the world. We are confident in our mission to provide community and belonging to everyone and are well-positioned for the growth we have planned."

Despite its audience reach and presence, Reddit still hasn't become a key consideration for marketers, but this new funding could help to take the platform to the next level, and provide more appealing ad options to attract different types of businesses.

If you haven't considered Reddit for your digital marketing efforts in the past, it may well be worth spending some time in the app, and getting a feel for the types of discussions around your niche, and among your target audience.

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Reddit Raises New Funding Round for the Next Stage of its Growth - Social Media Today

Former HearSay CEO returns to her mother corporation Focus Financial Partners debt levels soar 50% on fresh debt issuance Goldman adds diversity, but snubs Marcus partnerships

Clara Shih is back where she started,rejoining Salesforce as CEO of its Service Cloud CRM software.

The co-founder of automated content mill Hearsay Systems tradedlife as an entrepreneur for a senior Salesforce role, Jan. 25, after a five-month sabbatical. See: After picking a CEO and securing Salesforce cash, Clara Shih leaves Hearsay's exec suite and 2.0 questions behind.

Like manydrawn to the adrenaline rush of leading a startup, Shih, 39, got religion on the merits ofa more bourgeois existence.

"Being a start-up CEO came at a tremendous personal cost, with no weekends, days off, or downtime. It was time to pass the torch and take a break ... while my[six-year-old] son was still young," she says, in a LinkedIn post.

That said, her banker's hours at Salesforce may, ironically, boost her startup, where she remains executive chair and a significant owner.

Salesforce backed Shih's companywith an undisclosed investment last July. See: Clara Shih gets Salesforce to cough up RIA CRM data and venture cash to charge up Hearsay after 2.0-model upstarts draw a target on her back.

"It was an easy decision ... [and] we're going to do amazing things together," Shih says.

Shih replaces Bill Patterson, who stepped up as general manager for all of Salesforce's CRM software in early January.

Under Shih's tenure, an estimated170,000 advisors bought a licensefor Hearsay's software. That said, a source stated last year that just 10% actually used it.

Now, as chief of Salesforce Services Cloud, Shih faces a similar juggling act. She must meld her AI evangelismwithconvincingclients -- including RIAs -- that automation increases the human factor where and when it matters most. See: Salesforce cryptically discloses upcoming RIA CRM product.

It's a high-wire act Shih was born to solve, according Patterson.

"With Clara's leadership, her passion for innovationand relentless drive for customer success, the future looks incredibly bright for a more human-centric world of service," he writes in a Jan. 25 tweet.

At Salesforce, Shih will contend with many of the same problems she faced when she ran product marketing for the firm's software marketplace, AppExchange 11 years ago. Those problemsprompted her to start Hearsay in 2009. See: Salesforce's new advisor-focused CRM upgrades slammed.

Sales, client communicationsand social marketing remain disparate fiefdoms at many firms. Ensuring compliance through client relationship management (CRM) software is tricky -- especially for RIAs and otherfinancial services companies.

"The difference is that there are a lot more companies that realize this imperative, now," Shih told BusinesInsider late last month.

Salesforce Service Cloud is the largest of the San Francisco giant's CRM businesses.

In the third quarter last year alone, it brought in $1.3 billion, or 24% of the company's total $5.42 billion in revenues -- a 20% year-over-year bump in the Q3 and Q4.

The software is the fourth most popular CRM among RIAs with 5.97% adoption, according to T3 data.

Focus Financial Partners -- the only top three roll-up firmyet to close a U.S. deal in 2021 -- has raised $500 million in fresh debt to pay off a short-term revolverand boost its M&A kitty.

The New York RIA roll-up also announced it had raised $125 million more than initially intendedin the late January financing round.Its long-term loan debt loadrose to $1.63 billion.

Like any leveraged trade, it is brilliant while the market is rising. But theperil heightens if the market reverses, cautions Matt Crow, president of Mercer Capital in Memphis, Tenn., via email. See: CI Financial tops its 2020 MVP year with a grand slam $23 billion AUM January deal but its CEO hints that 2021 is just getting going.

"Im sure managements perspective is to borrow money when its cheap and plentiful, which it is [but] leveraged growth is not without risk, and I wonder when Focus will be able to finance growth with internally generated cash flow."

Focus' debt-to-EBITDA ratiostood at 5.08 at the end of its fiscal year, according to Wall Street JournalMarkets -- a figure the roll-up disputes.

A ratio exceedingfouris usually considered scary unless tangible assets cover the debt, according to financial references.

Yet Focus has pushed the envelope on debt before.

In Nov. 2019, the company assured analystsit would pare debt and relegate most acquisitions to its partner firms.See:Focus Financial CFO admits firm needs to 'de-lever' and assures analyst $14-million splurge for posh new offices won't soon repeat

"We intend to de-lever gradually, starting in 2020 as we execute against this solid pipeline and satisfy earn outs associated with the transactions we have closed in the past and plan to operate with a net leverage ratio between 3.5-times and 4.5-times," saidCFO Jim Shanahan at the time.

A month earlier, Shanahanrevealed thatFocus ended the Q2with about $1.1 billion in outstanding debt and a net leverage ratio of 4.05 times. See:Focus Financial files a shelf registration as debt swells above critical '4X' level then its shares dropped to new low in after-hours

Back then,its stock was tanking, down 39% from its IPO price of $33 only five quarters earlier and off60% from its then-52-week high of $49.52.

This time around,Wall Street sees Focus on the right side of a very favorable arbitraging dynamic.

Focus closed today (Feb. 5) at $52.00 up $0.71, or +1.38%, compared with its 52-week low of $12.17 on Mar 18.See:Focus Financial shares soar after Rudy Adolf pumps the pipeline and stiff-arms analyst who presses him on a Focus sore point--organic growth, or lack thereof.

Shanahan saidin a Jan. 19 releasethe latest transaction"resets our dry powder."

"M&A momentum is strong, and we expect it only to increase this year as more of our partner firms accelerate their growth through mergers," he explained.

Prior to its latest debt raise, Focus owed $380 million through a revolving credit line that taps out at $650 million and matures in 2023. The new loan, partly payable at a 2.6% fixed rateand partly at Libor plus 2%, matures in 2024

"We increased the amount we raised because there was enormous demand for our credit at a very low interest rate [and] the initial transaction was heavily oversubscribed," says company spokeswoman Tina Madon, via email.

"Theres no shortage of acquisition capital chasing RIA deals, so the challenge is finding productive uses for the debt capital ... [but] if they can do sub-acquisitions at modest multiples, its worth financing," says Crow.

Focus, which buys firms itselfand through subsidiary partners, uses revolving credit to fund its M&A strategy.

It raised its latest tranche of debt -- its first debt raise since July 2019 -- because of "strong demand" and rock-bottom rates, says Shanahan.

The cash Focus earns from current partners makes it prudent to borrow more, he says.

"Strong cash flow generation enables us to optimize our use of debt as we grow our business.

"We're taking advantage of the positive credit and interest rate environment ... and the additional debt capital enhances our financial flexibility in a highly cost-effective manner," he explains.

It has already acquired one UK RIA this year, Watterson Financial Planning, through subsidiary Connectus Partners. That brings its British tally to three, including Skeet Kaye Hopkins and Greystone Financial Services.

Last year Focus was the third most active buyer of RIAs and the second largest buyer in terms of acquired AUM.

It closed seven deals withAUM of $14.4 billion, not including acquisitions made by its partners, according to Los Angeles-based investment bank and valuation services firm Echelon Partners.

Again not including sub-acquisitions, HighTower Advisors closed eight deals with combined AUM ofof$11.8 billion.

Creative Planning also closed eight, with $5.1 billion in managed assets.

And, US M&A rookie CI Financial closed nine onRIAs managing a combined$27.4 billion.See: Todd Morgan thinks third time will be the charm, as Hightower, in its biggest deal yet, scoops up his Hollywood RIA.

In all, RIA roll-ups acquired 205 firms in 2020, including sub-acquisitions, up from 203 in 2019, according to Echelon data.

The bulk of the deals came in the second half of the year, after a slump in the first two quarters, which accounted for 81 deals, or 39% of the total. See: COVID-19 throws a curve ball at RIA M&A market.

Goldman Sachs recently announced 60 fresh partners, including 16 women, but executives at retail banking flagship Marcus hoping to make the cut were left disappointed.

Announced in November, the promotions reduce the susceptibility of Goldman and its CEO David Solomon to charges that the New Yorkinvestment bank isa bastion of white males like its high-profile chiefs.

Four African-American executives also became partners at the New York giant.

The major surprise was the lack of recognition for Marcus, the retail bank central to Solomon's modernization of the Goldman brand.

"[The list] reflects the highly selective process to identify each new generation of ... senior leaders," Solomon writes in a noteusing the language of M&A, where "accretive" beats all.

"Importantly, the class is accretive to the diversity of the partnership," he added.

Westlake, Texas, giant Charles Schwab & Co. recently echoed Solomon's message.

"The biggest worry in this space is we have to have more diversity," head of advisor services, Bernie Clark told analysts during the firm's Feb. 2 Winter business update.

Although Goldman's 2020 partners list is more diverse, traders and deal-makers still comprise a two-thirds majority, a heavier emphasis on recognizing software engineers notwithstanding.

Late last year, Goldman also agreed to share profits from its private investment funds with partners, in order to address growing complaints about stagnant bonuses and the firm's at times meandering share price, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Goldman formally finalized its three-score of newpartnerships on Jan. 1. The firm will next add partners in 2022.

It declined a request for comment.

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Oisn's Doubletakes: Clara Shih returns to Salesforce after 11-year hiatus Focus reloads for M&A with $500 million debt raise, taking its credit north...