Promoting socially responsible investing to high net worth individuals

As sustainability considerations gain popularity among individual investors, financial insitutions need to expand their Sustainable Finance strategy as to encompass, namely, Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) solutions. At ING Luxembourg, in the Private Banking department, one specific area for sustainability improvement concerns the investment fund offer. This Work Project is dedicated to developing a process in order to give the ING Aria European Bonds sub-fund a SRI focus. The transformed sub-fund must, in addition to provide a sustainable investment alternative to investors, be designed in a competitive way relative to other products in the market and outperform its agreed-upon benchmar

Pensions 4-2 au Québec : Vers un nouveau partenariat

Les Québécois ayant des revenus de 40 000 $ et moins, et ayant contribué au RRQ toute leur carrière, sont généralement bien couvert par les programmes de revenus de retraite actuellement en vigueur, lesquels sont aussi présentés comme les Piliers I et II des systèmes de pension québécois et canadien. Moins bien couverts sont les travailleurs du secteur privé avec des revenus dépassant les 40 000 dollars qui ne font pas partie d’un régime de pension d’employeur. Leur nombre serait de l’ordre de 800 000 travailleurs. Les enjeux auxquels font face ces travailleurs sont d’autant plus grands que la réalité financière indique que l’épargne doit commencer lorsque l’on est jeune pour avoir un effet tangible sur les revenus à la retraite. Toutefois, cette réalité incontournable de la planification financière se confronte aux besoins et exigences de la vie pratique au jour le jour. À trente ans, les soucis reliés à la retraite sont moins pressants que le développement de sa carrière, l’établissement et le support d’une famille et le maintien d’un style général de vie approprié selon ses revenus présents et attendus. Dans ce contexte, il est probablement trop optimiste de présumer que des décisions rationnelles et optimales d’épargne soient effectivement prises. Par contre, l’objectif d’épargner en vue de la retraite demeure important. En effet, l’espérance de vie augmente et ce phénomène entraîne non seulement une période plus longue à financer pour la retraite mais aussi une augmentation potentielle de dépenses médicales, avec la crainte que certaines ne soient pas complètement prises en charge par le système de santé public. Les Québécois sont-ils prêts à faire face à une telle éventualité? L’objectif principal de ce rapport est de proposer des mécanismes à travers lesquels les Québécois sont encouragés à épargner davantage. Ceux-ci sont regroupés sous le titre général de Pensions 4-2., Pensions, REER,financement retraite

Tilting-Pad Journal Bearings—Frequency-Dependent Dynamic Coefficients and Pivot Flexibility Effects

Tribologists have generally accepted that the dynamic modeling of tilting-pad journal bearings (TPJB) must consider the frequency dependency of the dynamic properties. Industrial compressors, turbines, and other rotating machines are subjected to instability drivers, such as blades, impellers, and seals, leading to dominant vibratory frequencies that are generally quite different from rotational frequency. Though the literature has provided related methods and numerical results, full understanding of the physics of TPJB frequency dependency is not generally available to the design community, and theorists and experimentalists are often not in agreement. This investigation hinges on a single-pad, two degree-of-freedom model that creates a basis for understanding the various geometries and operating conditions related to frequency dependency for a full bearing. The analytical results indicate that both stiffness and damping coefficients show frequency dependency, and that the dependency is primarily associated with the pad rotational damping and the flexibility of the pivot contact region that provides support for the pad. Understanding the role of pivot flexibility in combination with the fluid film provides a key to improving agreement between theory and experiment. This article is a revised and expanded version of the paper presented at the ASME 2019 Turbo Expo in Phoenix, Arizona from 17 to 21 June. The paper number was GT2019-90195 and it was titled “On the Frequency Dependency of Tilting-Pad Journal Bearings”

Measuring the maximum diameter of native abdominal aortic aneurysms: review and critical analysis.

International audienceOBJECTIVES: Maximum diameter is a determinant parameter for the clinical management of asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). However, its measurement is not standardised. We review the different methods used to measure AAA maximum diameter, with ultrasound (US) or computed tomography (CT). METHODS: A review of maximum diameter measurement methods with US and CT was performed, focussing on screening, surveillance before repair and decision for intervention. Diameter measurement methodology was described according to four parameters: plane of acquisition, axis of measurement, position of callipers and selected diameter. A quality score to evaluate methodology descriptions was defined (plane, axis, callipers placement and selected diameter), ranging from 0 (worst) to 4 (best). RESULTS: Review showed a wide range of definitions and practices. The mean value of the quality score was 2.52 in screening studies, 1.66 in guidelines for screening, 2.81 in follow-up studies and 1.63 in studies describing decision for intervention. CONCLUSION: To improve the efficiency of AAA management (in screening programmes, follow-up and decision for intervention), and enable comparison between future studies, a standardised methodology for AAA maximum diameter measurement is necessary. Until such a consensus is reached, publications should at least clearly report the method of measurement

Institutional Analysis to explain the Success of Moroccan Microfinance Institutions

This paper looks at whether Morocco meets the usual criteria of a country where MFIs can succeed and what distinguishes Morocco from its North African neighbors (Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt) where a priori the culture is similar even though institutions may be different. The paper uses the similarities and differences of these five countries to identify cultural, institutional, economic and geographic factors which explain why Microfinance in particular and development in general arrives sooner in some environments than in others. The objective of the research is to identify controllable institutional factors which can be introduced in regulation to enable Microfinance to succeed in a country. We used a case study approach combined with a little bit of correlation analysis. The case study approach is the most adapted to studying small samples in more detail. The success of Microfinance is linked to population density, smallness of a country's geographical size and its poverty as well as the amount of international donor funds it has received. The availability of oil exports as revenues may lead to a delay in developing microfinance. Establishing a specific legal framework for Microfinance, such as in Morocco, may help foster the growth of Microfinance. The existence of Apex organizations for centralizing international aid and redistributing funds may in fact lead to lower donor participation since their choices are reduced and an extra level of bureaucratic costs is imposed. The results also indicate the need for a better quality database than that currently provided by the MIX. Biases may come in from the small sample size as well as from the lack of data on Libya. Future research may focus on correlation with violence, corruption, women's rights, political risk and economic sanctions. The findings would lead microfinance institutions to lobby for specific laws, more initial direct donor funding, less government apex distribution and better information databases. This kind of comparative institutional analysis has not been performed, at least for this region.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

3D ultrasound applied to abdominal aortic aneurysm: preliminary evaluation of diameter measurement accuracy

International audienceFollow-up of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) consists in monitoring its maximal diameter with 2D ultrasound (2D U/S). But this technique has limits. An original protocol for 3D U/S analysis of AAA including U/S volume acquisitions and software prototype was developed. This protocol allows : 3D visualization of the AAA geometry in space, navigation in the volume along axial, sagittal and coronal, planes and diagnostic review at any time, automatic and manual selections of the cross-section of interest, automatic extraction of quantification parameters. Its accuracy was evaluated for AAA diameter measurements. The complete version of this document is available on the EPOS website by using the doi: 10.1594/ecr2011/C-049

Etude volumique des anévrysmes de l'aorte abdominale : une nouvelle approche en ultrasons

Objectifs : Evaluer la faisabilité de l'imagerie volumique ultrasonore des anévrysmes de l'aorte abdominale (AAA) natifs ou traités par endoprothèse dans le but clinique d'améliorer leur suivi. Mise au point d'un prototype de quantification volumique. Matériels et Méthodes : Les acquisitions volumiques d'AAA natifs ou traités par endoprothèse ont été effectuées chez respectivement 4 et 13 patients à l'aide d'une sonde 3D mécanique (V6-2) sur un échographe IU22 (Philips, the Netherlands), après réalisation d'une imagerie conventionnelle en 2D à l'aide de la sonde abdominale C5-1. Le traitement des acquisitions a été réalisé en différé sur un ordinateur muni du logiciel d'analyse QLab. Résultats : Après transfert des images, l'outil a permis sans limitation dans le temps : (a) la navigation dans le volume de l'AAA selon les trois plans de l'espace, (b) la reconstruction surfacique de l'AAA et sa visualisation 3D, et a donné l'accès à de nouveaux paramètres en échographie tels que le volume ou une mesure de diamètre sur une incidence optimisée. Conclusion : Ce travail préliminaire a montré que l'échographie volumique des AAA était envisageable et autorise l'évaluation clinique de l'outil

3D duplex scan for peripheral vascular applications: major progress or gimmick?

ISBN 13: 978-88-7711-663-5The use of specific 3 dimensional (3D) ultrasound equipment now enables to (i) explore a volume in real time and navigate inside using a virtual plane; (ii) perform 3D reconstruction and visualization of structures of interest in off-line post-processing. This technique is based on the same concept as the other modes of imaging (CT, MR) and thus allows: diagnostic review at any time, better reproducibility of measurements, volume measurements, less operator-dependent examinations. 3D ultrasonography has not yet been widely used in vascular pathology while it should be of major interest in two main applications: (a) abdominal aortic aneurysms, for which angio-CT demonstrated that volume follow-up is superior to diameter measurement, and (b) carotid plaque, with evaluation and monitoring of plaque volume, morphology, and surface (ulcerating lesions)

“Wanting” versus “needing” related value: An fMRI meta‐analysis

Consumption and its excesses are sometimes explained by imbalance of need or lack of control over "wanting." "Wanting" assigns value to cues that predict rewards, whereas "needing" assigns value to biologically significant stimuli that one is deprived of. Here we aimed at studying how the brain activation patterns related to value of "wanted" stimuli differs from that of "needed" stimuli using activation likelihood estimation neuroimaging meta-analysis approaches. We used the perception of a cue predicting a reward for "wanting" related value and the perception of food stimuli in a hungry state as a model for "needing" related value. We carried out separate, contrasts, and conjunction meta-analyses to identify differences and similarities between "wanting" and "needing" values. Our overall results for "wanting" related value show consistent activation of the ventral tegmental area, striatum, and pallidum, regions that both activate behavior and direct choice, while for "needing" related value, we found an overall consistent activation of the middle insula and to some extent the caudal-ventral putamen, regions that only direct choice. Our study suggests that wanting has more control on consumption and behavioral activation.Keywords: consumption; fMRI; motivation; needing; wanting