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Ping An CIO Benjamin Deng: Maintaining a “Double Barbell” Asset Allocation Strategy, Seeing Potential in Investment Opportunities Brought by Energy Transition

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HONG KONG and SHANGHAI, June 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — China’s macroeconomy and capital market development remains steady this year, and Ping An will maintain a balanced “double barbell” asset allocation to ensure stable returns, said Benjamin Deng, Chief Investment Officer of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (hereafter “Ping An“, the “Company” or the “Group”, HKEX: 2318 / 82318; SSE: 601318). Mr. Deng was speaking at Asian Investor’s Asian Investment Summit in Hong Kong.

Mr. Deng said he also sees growth potential in sustainable investment opportunities brought by China’s energy transition.

Maintaining a “double barbell” allocation in different macroeconomic cycles

Ping An’s insurance funds investment portfolio reached RMB4.93 trillion at the end of March 2024. Ping An has always upheld a balanced and prudent approach towards long-term strategic asset allocation. Over the past decade, the average comprehensive investment yield of Ping An’s insurance funds investment portfolio was 5.4%, higher than the embedded value long-run investment return assumption.

Mr. Deng said: “Asset allocation strategy requires patience to maintain a balanced and prudent approach across different macroeconomic cycles. The ‘double barbell’ allocation structure can ensure a very stable investment allocation and has given us quite good returns this year.”

The “double barbell” allocation refers to investment in a large number of long-duration interest rate bonds on one end, including high-quality fixed-income products such as government bonds and local government bonds and risk assets, including equities, real estate, private equity funds and other investments, on the other end.

There is also a “small barbell” in risk assets – one end with growth stocks that can contribute to China’s high-quality development and the construction of a modern industrial system, and the other end with stable stocks with high dividends, accounting for more than half of the risk asset portfolio. Its main allocation comprises state-owned enterprises (SOEs) across sectors such as financial services, energy, telecommunication, and infrastructure.

“These state-owned enterprises have stable cash flows and business foundations and are characterized by low valuations and high dividends,” Mr. Deng said. Since the beginning of this year, Ping An’s high-dividend stock portfolio has risen 18%, higher than the approximately 6.4% increase of the CSI 300 Index.

Seeing huge investment opportunities in China’s energy transition 

According to China’s Green Finance Committee (GFC), the total demand for green and low-carbon investments in China will reach RMB487 trillion over the next 30 years.

Mr. Deng is optimistic about investment opportunities arising from the transition to sustainable energy, including renewable energy and electric vehicles (EVs). He noted that he observed EVs everywhere during a recent visit to a township in Guangdong province. This indicates the consumption potential of EVs in fourth-tier cities, and the booming development of EVs in lower-tier markets.

“Sales and market penetration of EVs are growing at a rapid pace,” he said, “and the trend is set to continue steadily, making it attractive to invest in EV-related infrastructure such as charging stations.”

Mr. Deng also noted that China’s energy transition is bringing some unanticipated benefits. He referenced a solar farm built in the desert in Xinjiang. Millions of solar panels not only generate clean electricity, but also minimize sand erosion and enhance soil moisture. As a result, the area has been transformed the desert into grasslands, attracting shepherds and their sheep.

Welcoming cooperation with overseas institutions for China’s long-term development

Mr. Deng said he expects China’s GDP to achieve a growth rate of around 5% this year. He is confident in the long-term stability and growth of China’s economy and looks forward to working with foreign investors who are willing to allocate funds to the Chinese market to seize investment opportunities in new energy and sustainable development in China.

Ping An has its own asset management company as well as platforms for private equity and private debt,” noted Mr. Deng. “”Under China’s carbon neutrality target, local expertise is crucial for identifying long-term investment opportunities. Foreign investors engaged in this field can consider partnering with local experts like Ping An,” he said. “We are willing to provide the professional knowledge and support them to explore investment opportunities related to China’s carbon neutrality together.”

As one of China’s largest asset owners, Ping An is a major investor in green and sustainable projects and enterprises. The Group is the first asset owner in China to be a signatory of the UN-sponsored Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and Climate Action 100+. As of December 2023, Ping An’s responsible investment accounted for 15% of its insurance funds investment portfolio, reaching RMB725.3 billion, and its green investment reached RMB128.6 billion.

– End –

About Ping An Group

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (HKEx:2318 / 82318; SSE:601318) is one of the largest financial services companies in the world. It strives to become a world-leading provider of integrated finance, health and senior care services. Under the technology-driven “integrated finance + health and senior care” strategy, the Group provides professional “financial advisory, family doctor, and senior care concierge” services to its 234 million retail customers. Ping An advances intelligent digital transformation and employs technologies to improve financial businesses’ quality and efficiency and enhance risk management. The Group is listed on the stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai. As of the end of 2023, Ping An had RMB11,583,417 million in total assets. The Group ranked 16th in the Forbes Global 2000 list in 2023 and 33rd in the Fortune Global 500 list in 2023.

For more information, please visit www.group.pingan.com and follow us on LinkedIn – PING AN.

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SOURCE Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd.

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SHE Media Launches Finding Flow Video Podcast

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Expanding Its Award-Winning Conversations About Women’s Health to an Engaging New Format

NEW YORK, May 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Mission-driven media company SHE Media is bringing its award-winning conversations about the future of women’s health to the podcasting space with Finding Flow, a new video podcast launching on June 1. Hosted by SHE Media’s CEO Samantha Skey, the monthly video podcast will feature in-depth conversations with interesting women (and a few men!) about how they find flow in their everyday lives. From health and wellness to personal growth, overcoming challenges, and the transformative power of connection and community, Finding Flow will spark thoughtful, empowering conversations that inspire listeners to find their own flow.

The debut episode of Finding Flow will air on National Cancer Survivors Day, June 1, featuring the first in a special series called This Moment Belongs to Me, produced in partnership with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, the makers of Kisqali® (ribociclib). This Moment Belongs to Me will feature candid conversations with women impacted by breast cancer about their life after diagnosis, and how they have moved forward with purpose to embrace their passions and live life to the fullest.

“For the past three years at SXSW, we have hosted leading health experts, policymakers, and celebrity advocates on the SHE Media Co-Lab stage to drive dialogue around critical women’s health issues. We are excited to expand these conversations to an even wider audience in an intimate setting through the podcast format,” said SHE Media CEO Samantha Skey.

Added Skey: “We’re living in a fast-paced, stressful world right now, and many of us are searching for ways to manage anxiety and stay present—that’s what we mean by ‘flow.’ It’s that space where you’re fully grounded in the moment. I can’t wait to explore with my guests how they find their perfect flow space—whether through surfing, yoga, or family time—and share practical tips for getting out of your head and into your body.”

Finding Flow is hosted on the ACAST Podcast Network, and available on major podcast platforms, as well as Flow Space (www.theflowspace.com), SHE Media’s digital and live media platform dedicated to women’s whole life health. For more information or to subscribe, visit https://www.theflowspace.com/h/finding-flow-podcast/

About SHE Media:

As a top 10 media company reaching 74+ million monthly visitors, SHE Media focuses on the power of content and community to move our culture forward.  SHE Media believes that media companies can and should be a force for good in the world. The company’s rich editorial ranges from health, food, and family to career and entertainment.

SHE Media’s flagship brands SheKnows, Flow Space, StyleCaster, Soaps and TVLine produce award-winning lifestyle content and events that reflect the passion and purpose of the company. In addition to the flagship brands, the SHE Media Collective supports thousands of independent publishers and content creators with technology, education, and monetization opportunities to grow their businesses.

SHE Media has a longstanding commitment to the advancement of equity and inclusion through media. In 2021, SHE Media launched Meaningful Marketplaces enabling advertisers to buy media at scale from a community of women and minority-owned publishers, ensuring that independent media receives the economic support to thrive. 

SHE Media is dedicated to advancing women’s health. In 2023, SHE Media launched Flow Space, a digital and live media platform providing content, community, and commerce that supports women’s whole life health, earning accolades such as an Anthem Award and a Viddy Gold Award. For three consecutive years, the SHE Media Co-Lab Whole Life Health event at SXSW has spotlighted groundbreaking health innovation, featuring a star-studded line-up of thought leaders and earning both a Fierce Pharma and Anthem Award.

Part of Penske Media Corporation (PMC), SHE Media is based in New York, with offices in Los Angeles. Follow SHE Media on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/she-media-launches-finding-flow-video-podcast-302449400.html

SOURCE SHE Media

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Scripps National Spelling Bee welcomes 243 spellers for historic 100th anniversary

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CINCINNATI, May 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A field of 243 top young spellers will converge on National Harbor, Maryland, from May 27-29 to compete in a historic Scripps National Spelling Bee. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the iconic American competition, which was first held on June 17, 1925, with just nine participants.

“Reaching 100 years is more than a milestone – it’s a testament to the enduring power of words, learning and the human spirit,” said Corrie Loeffler, executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. “For a century, this competition has brought people together through eras of profound change – from world wars to the digital age – and still, the Bee continues to inspire excellence, curiosity and connection. It’s a living piece of American history, and we’re honored to celebrate its legacy.”

This year’s 243 national qualifiers advanced through local and regional bees that took place through the end of March. All rounds of this year’s national competition – preliminaries, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals – will take place at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.

Highlights of the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee field:

The spellers range in age from 8 to 14.Only 53 spellers return from the 2024 field and 178 spellers – 73% – are competing in their first Scripps National Spelling Bee.Only one 2024 finalist advanced to the 2025 national competition: Faizan Zaki, who finished second last year behind Bruhat Soma following his record-breaking spell-off.Tarini Nandakumar is competing in her fifth consecutive Scripps National Spelling Bee. She was a finalist and finished ninth in 2023. Navtaj Singh, Micah Sterling and Avinav Prem Anand are competing in their fourth straight national competition. Harini Murali is in her fourth Bee overall, as is Zaki.There are spellers from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Texas has the largest representation with 22 national competitors. California is next with 20, followed by Ohio with 15 and Illinois with 13. Florida and New York have 12 each.There are 13 competitors from outside the 50 United States, representing the Bahamas, Canada, Germany, Ghana, Guam, Kuwait, Nigeria, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Here is the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee Media Guide.
Find more information on the national competitors at spellingbee.com.

Celebrating a 100-year tradition
The Bee has launched several 100th anniversary initiatives for both spellers and the public:

A historical microsite, capturing news, names and fun facts of the first 100 years of the Bee will launch in the coming weeks at history.spellingbee.com. Content will be added to the site, which will remain live after 2025.A special limited-edition coffee-table book capturing 100 years of the Bee’s history will be published in August and is available for preorder at Bee100Book.com.A museum-quality exhibit will be on display at the Gaylord during Bee Week, showcasing the Bee’s wealth of historical memorabilia, highlighting key milestones in the competition’s history and examining the Bee’s place in popular culture and the American experience.

The Bee on Scripps Networks (All times Eastern)
The 2025 broadcast/livestream of onstage competition follows this schedule (all times Eastern and end times approximate):

The preliminaries will be streamed on Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, Laff More and spellingbee.com from 8 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. on Tuesday, May 27.The quarterfinals will be streamed on Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, Laff More and spellingbee.com from 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28.

Two-night ION special event:The semifinals broadcast will air 8-10 p.m. on ION on Wednesday, May 28. (The live semifinals will be streamed on Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, Laff More and spellingbee.com from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. earlier that day.)The finals will air live in primetime on ION from 8-10 p.m. on Thursday, May 29.

In addition to ION, the semifinals and finals will also air on Scripps’ other popular national entertainment networks, Bounce, Grit, ION Mystery and Laff, as well as its free, ad-supported streaming channels ION Plus, Scripps News, Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, Laff More and spellingbee.com. Scripps News will stream an encore of the semifinals on Thursday, May 29, from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. and the finals on May 29 from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. The Scripps Networks can be found free over-the-air as well as on cable, satellite and streaming platforms.

If you are watching the Bee over the air with an antenna,
check out Tablo, which allows you to record over-the-air programs.

The 2025 Bee also will celebrate three special recognitions:

2025 Educator of the Year, presented by Teach For America: Nikki Montana, teacher leader at Edwin Forrest Elementary School in Philadelphia. Montana, who serves as the school’s bee coordinator, grew the school’s bee program from a sixth grade-level bee to a school-wide event that today includes students from grades 1-5.2025 Regional Partner of the Year: Akron Beacon Journal, which has remained a steadfast regional partner of the National Spelling Bee since its inception in 1925.2025 Regional Volunteer of the Year: Tom Wadsworth, pronouncer for the Regional Office of Education No. 47’s Spelling Bee in Sterling, Illinois, has helped prepare and inspire spellers for 43 years.

Introducing the “Beelieve” program 
In partnership with the Scripps Howard Fund, the Scripps National Spelling Bee has created a new fund to help increase access to the Bee at every level. The first year of the Beelieve program will focus on funding the participation of Teach For America schools interested in enrolling in the 2025-26 Bee program. The Bee and Fund received a $100,000 per year donation from the Adam R. Scripps Foundation for the next five years to support the Beelieve program and the Fund’s “If You Give a Child a Book …” campaign, which provides books to children at low-income schools across the U.S. This year, the Adam R. Scripps Foundation is also matching donations to both programs up to $500,000. Visit spellingbee.com/give to learn more about the program or to donate. 

For media covering the Bee:

Media can submit a request for credentials to cover the national competition in person at the Gaylord here.Media interested in following the action remotely should contact media@spellingbee.com to receive updates during the competition.

Media contact: Becca McCarter, 513-410-2425, Rebecca.mccarter@scripps.com

About the Scripps National Spelling Bee:  
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational program, having launched in 1925. By inspiring the exploration of words, the Scripps National Spelling Bee illuminates pathways to lifelong curiosity, celebrates academic achievement and enriches communities.
Visit spellingbee.com for more information about the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which is administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP).

About Scripps
The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is a diversified media company focused on creating connection. As one of the nation’s largest local TV broadcasters, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of more than 60 stations in 40+ markets. Scripps reaches households across the U.S. with national news outlets Scripps News and Court TV and popular entertainment brands ION, Bounce, Grit, ION Mystery, ION Plus and Laff. Scripps is the nation’s largest holder of broadcast spectrum. Its Scripps Sports division serves professional and college sports leagues, conferences and teams with local market depth and national broadcast reach of up to 100% of TV households. Founded in 1878, Scripps is the steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and its longtime motto is: “Give light and the people will find their own way.”

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SOURCE The E.W. Scripps Company

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Shipman & Goodwin Secures Order Certifying Class of Former Barbour Gardens Tenants in Dispute Over Substandard Living Conditions

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HARTFORD, Conn., May 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Shipman & Goodwin LLP has secured an order certifying a class of former residents of Barbour Gardens, once a publicly subsidized housing complex situated in Hartford’s North End. After regulators shuttered the complex based on deficient inspection scores and associated safety violations, several tenants filed suit for the proposed class against the complex’s owner, its manager, and certain of the owner’s members.

As defined by the Superior Court for the Complex Litigation Docket in Hartford, the certified class comprises all tenants who resided at Barbour Gardens at any time from January 1, 2015, through when the last tenants were evacuated in 2019.

As the class-certification decision recounted, before a late 2018 federal inspection on short notice, one defendant’s “employee predicted that Barbour Gardens ‘will come back as possibly the lowest score ever received.’ This prediction proved accurate: Barbour Gardens received a score of 9c—the lowest score received by any project in Connecticut’s history. During the inspection of 20 rental units, 138 health and safety deficiencies were observed, including electrical hazards, inoperable windows and doors, mold and mildew, water damage, and a bedbug infestation.” This inspection report extrapolated that the whole complex had “a total of 423 health and safety deficiencies.”

As the Court’s decision further noted, “defendants did not correct any of the deficiencies documented,” leading the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to cancel Barbour Gardens’ participation in the federal project‑based rental‑assistance program. “Given the limited number of housing units that qualify for federal subsidies,” however, “the low-income residents at Barbour Gardens struggled to find affordable housing. Many residents who had nowhere else to go were forced to remain at Barbour Gardens, despite the deplorable living conditions.”

As alleged, the crisis culminated in June 2019—when, as the Court’s decision recited, “three feet of standing wastewater flooded into the basement of one of Barbour Gardens’ four buildings. The plumbing system pumped the sewage from one building into another. As a result, the city evacuated the families who had remained at Barbour Gardens while awaiting the opportunity to transition to safe and habitable affordable housing. HUD deemed the property too unsafe for residents to return, and these families were permanently displaced.”

The quoted passages from the class-certification decision incorporated the Connecticut Supreme Court’s description of the evidence in an earlier interlocutory appeal, which set the stage for the more recent certification order. 

Weighing this and other evidence, and the parties’ arguments, the Superior Court granted class certification on plaintiffs’ claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment and violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, arising from defects relating to Barbour Gardens’ common areas. The certification order specifically allows plaintiffs to pursue classwide remedies of disgorgement of rental or other income, punitive damages and attorney’s fees.

The case team includes Partners Eric Del Pozo (who argued the motion and preceding appeal), Mark Ostrowski, Joette Katz and Jim Bergenn, with Associates Sarah Dlugoszewski and Sarah Niemiroski. As class counsel, Shipman & Goodwin is proud to have achieved this significant milestone and will continue to seek appropriate justice for the tenant class.

About Shipman & Goodwin LLP
Shipman’s value lies in its commitment to its clients, to the profession, and to the community. With more than 140 lawyers in offices throughout Connecticut and New York, the full-service law firm serves the needs of local, regional, national, and international clients that include public and private companies, educational institutions, governmental entities, non-profit organizations, and individuals. Shipman is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion within the firm, the legal profession, and the community. Shipman has participated in Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Rule since 2019 and earned Mansfield Certification Plus status for the fifth consecutive year in 2024. Shipman was also recognized by Women Inc. Magazine as one of the “Top 100 Law Firms for Women.” The National Law Journal also ranked Shipman as the eighth most inclusive firm for women in their 2021 national survey. For more information, visit www.shipmangoodwin.com.

Contact:
Jennifer Stokes (860) 251-5014 | jstokes@goodwin.com

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SOURCE Shipman & Goodwin, LLP

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