Credit Suisse appears to be exploring the possibility of creating an invitation-only social network for high-net-worth individuals, presumably with the intention of appealing to hard-to-reach, brunch-loving millennials. According to a recent filing on the Justia Trademark site, Credit Suisse has filed to trademark “The Eleven Group,” a play on the company’s own address at 11 Madison Ave in New York. The filing also reveals that The Eleven Group would provide both “online social networking services” and "a website in the field of financial services, financial investing, venture capital, private equity, real estate, art, wine, jewelry, boats, yachts, cars and other luxury items and philanthropy."
An App To End Economic Inequality?
A San Diego company says it’s developing a new web platform that it guarantees will stop economic inequality. Antilope LCC, the company behind the crowdsourced ratings platform FirstRateCrowd.com, says its patent-pending rating system – which gives companies a lower rating for being responsible for a larger amount of inequality – will succeed where generations of lawmakers, advocates and philanthropists have failed. Using an app, consumers can scan products to find out whether the company has a high or low inequality rating and purchase accordingly. “This system bypasses the usual political, tax and judicial gridlock by placing the power directly back into the hands of the 99%,” Shameem Heetum, CEO of Antilope, said in a statement. “One does not have to vote anyone into office, change any tax codes, or enact any new laws. All an individual has to do is make an economic choice based upon the data provided by FirstRateCrowd’s community, causing revenue to flow back to the 99%.” What isn’t clear, however, is how the inequality ratings are determined, or how it plans to spread adoption to consumer.
New Executive Director, HQ for Foundation for Financial Planning
The Foundation For Financial Planning has hired a new executive director and announced it is moving its headquarters to Washington, D.C. Jim Peniston, the group's executive director for 13 years, is retiring, and he will be replaced by Jon Dauphiné, the former senior vice president of education and outreach at AARP. He will become the FFP's second executive director, and is charged with strengthening the foundation's ties with partner organizations and leading fundraising efforts. To go along with that, he group will move from Atlanta to Washington to be closer to other key associations and nonprofits that assist underserved individuals. The transition is expected to take six months. "When people are struggling or in a financial crisis, often the help of a caring professional can make all the difference," Dauphiné said in a statement. " I am looking forward to working in partnership with the Board of the Foundation for Financial Planning to build on its wonderful legacy of delivering this service pro bono to those most in need, I'm excited by the opportunity to scale and enrich an organization with such a compelling purpose."
Gen X Wants Better Retirement Benefits
While baby boomers (ages 50-70) and millennials (ages 15-35) would rather have more vacation time, people in Generation X (ages 36-49) prefer richer retirement benefits, according to a new study by MassMutual. KRC Research surveyed 1,517 working Americans on behalf of MassMutual about their workplace benefit preferences. Overall, about half of American workers prefer more vacation time, while 44 percent favor better 401(k) matches, the study found.
