In April 2023, Credendo became a member of Wo·Men in Finance. This organisation was created in 2019 with the aim of accelerating gender balance at all levels within the financial sector.

Why did Credendo become a member?

Through this membership, Credendo wants to further strengthen its inclusive and diverse working environment, in which everyone is able to achieve their full potential. As you can read in our CSR report, supporting social and sustainable projects is important to us. Furthermore, one of our core values is to pay special attention to the mix of different cultures, experiences and backgrounds within our own organisation. It is also part of the Credendo Cares programme, which has been in place since a long time. It is for good reasons that we have earned the Leading Employer Quality Label.

Wo·Men in Finance will help us position ourselves even better in terms of diversity and inclusion.

By becoming a member, we are committing to:

• measuring glass ceilings within Credendo;
• sharing our gender progression at different levels and gender equality initiatives with Wo·Men in Finance;
• participating in the advisory board of Wo·Men in Finance.

Being a member gives us access to:

• 10 yearly workshops organised by Wo·Men in Finance on various themes, ranging from how to use AI inclusively and how to start employee resource groups, to sexism prevention or inclusive job offers;
• free consultancy services such as in-house training or presentations, adaptation of job offers to make them more inclusive, a review of our gender KPIs, etc.;
• our own benchmarking report with personalised advice, comparing our gender results with those of the sector;
• a Febelfin toolbox with 25 tools to improve inclusion.

Credendo is proud to have achieved significant gender diversity. Our workforce is made up of a balanced mix of men and women, with a total of 50.6% women across all subsidiaries. This result is not just a statistic for us. It demonstrates our commitment to equity and inclusion.

“We have an issue with the economic model in which China is producing more and more cheaper industrial devices because it could be a threat not only for the EU, not only for the US, but for the global world economy,” Le Maire said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “We need to address that issue.”

Leading industrialized nations are coalescing for a tougher and more united challenge to overcapacities in China, which they say threaten their domestic manufacturers. 

G-7 finance chiefs meeting in Stresa, Italy cited the country by name as they agreed to “respond to harmful practices” and “to consider taking steps to ensure a level playing field.” Those words marked an escalation from the sparse and more neutral language on trade they standardly use in communiques. 

Their statement followed Washington’s announcement on Friday that President Joe Biden will reimpose tariffs on hundreds of goods imported from China. Meanwhile the EU is nearing the end of an electric-vehicle subsidy investigation that is likely to lead to defensive measures against China’s auto exports.

The EU’s potential levies are expected to be significantly lower than the US’s and based on a different approach within World Trade Organization rules and procedures.

Le Maire said at the G-7 meeting that member countries need to strengthen information exchange and establish a shared assessment of China’s industrial practices. Nonetheless, he insisted that the EU has all the necessary tools to reestablish a level playing field .

“Don’t make any mistake about the determination of the EU countries and the French determination,” Le Maire said. 

AI Cooperation

The French minister said he is seeking to preserve gains from years of government policies and investment to build its own industry and technology sectors. 

A key priority is Artificial Intelligence, where France intends to preserve its leadership in Europe. That has attracted foreign capital, with Microsoft Corp. announcing €4 billion in investment in French cloud and AI infrastructure this month. Paris-based Mistral AI has also announced a partnership with Microsoft in February. 

Asked if he could used state screening rules to prevent foreign investors taking over French tech companies, Le Maire said the point at the moment is to increase cooperation, not to block it. 

“We will see what are the options of cooperation between Mistral and Microsoft,” Le Maire said. “For the time being, Microsoft is investing in France, is opening data centers in France and investments of Microsoft in France are most welcome.”

ORLANDO, Fla. – This week on “Black Men Sundays,” host Corie Murray interviews Jude Wilson, the Chief Wealth Strategist at Centrus Financial Strategies.

Wilson has an impressive educational background with two bachelor’s degrees — one in marketing, and one in finance from Florida State University — as well as a master’s degree in business administration from Rollins College.

Wilson spoke with Murray about the steps one should take when selecting a financial advisor.

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“You want to look for someone who is actually providing comprehensive financial advice, looking at all aspects of your life,” Wilson said. “If the first thing someone says to you is ‘You would be a good candidate for a life insurance policy. We want to make you rich through growing your assets safely and getting a tax-free income from it.’ Oftentimes, people hear that and they get interested, but they don’t understand that that’s one strategy, and you have to be ready for that strategy for it to work.”

Wilson says it’s important for a financial advisor to ask about your future goals and putting together a step-by-step process to achieve them. He introduces his clients to a bucket plan.

“My strategy that we’ve been using to help hundreds of clients get from accumulation, where they’re working to build their net worth to distribution is called the bucket plan. Each dollar should have a purpose, a timeframe, and a goal for dollars that you’re setting aside. So those three buckets all are coordinated with a time and a purpose and what they’re to do for the client.”

When it comes to retirement, most of Wilson’s clients tell him they don’t want to retire at 65 or 70. They want to retire as early as feasible.

“We are challenged to help them figure out a way to get there but to be realistic about it. Some people say, ‘I want to retire in five years’, well, if you’ve got $100 in your 401(k), and you don’t have the ability to put significant money away, you’re not going to retire in five years. We need something that we can document that we can follow, and we can be strategic to help you get from point A to point B.”

Centrus Financial Strategies is located in downtown Orlando. For more information on services, click here.

Hear the full interview in Season 4, Episode 20 of “Black Men Sundays.”

Black Men Sundays talks about building generational wealth. Check out every episode in the media player below.