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Best AI Design Tools (2026): CapCut Named a Top Choice for Creating Images and Marketing Assets by Software Experts

Published

2 months ago

on

NEW YORK, July 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Software Experts has recognized CapCut as a top choice among AI design tools for 2026, citing its AI Design Studio as a standout resource for creating images and marketing assets. The recognition points to the platform’s combination of automated layout generation, image editing, and campaign focused features built for marketers, e-commerce sellers, and content creators.

Best AI Design Tools

CapCut AI Design Studio – a web based design workspace that uses AI to help users create ads, product visuals, and branded content without prior design experience.

Core Capabilities of the AI Design Studio

The AI Design Studio is built around a conversational, infinite canvas that allows users to work with an AI design agent in real time. Instead of starting from a blank template, users type a prompt, upload reference images, and receive layout options generated automatically.

The latest version, Design 2.0, brings references, drafts, assets, and edits into a single workspace. Features include pencil prompting for visual editing, smart layer split for separating subjects and backgrounds, and a One More function that generates new creative directions from an existing design. Users can circle, brush, or mark up an image directly to guide how the AI adjusts a design, rather than relying only on written prompts.

An inspiration hub with built in assets and license free images is also part of the workspace, helping users start projects without sourcing outside materials. Layers for text, subjects, and backgrounds remain editable throughout the process, which allows for adjustments without regenerating an entire design from scratch.

Applications for E-Commerce and Marketing Teams

The AI Design Studio supports several common business use cases, including product content creation, trend based design remixing, and clothing visualization for fashion brands. These features are designed to reduce the time spent on repetitive production tasks, particularly for teams that need to update visuals frequently.

For e-commerce sellers, the tool can generate product main images, banners, and packaging designs from a single uploaded photo, and supports batch replacement across shared backgrounds. A seller managing multiple product lines can apply the same background and layout across different items with one click, rather than recreating each asset individually.

Fashion brands can use the AI clothing try-on feature to visualize how garments appear on different models, helping with catalog updates during seasonal campaigns such as Black Friday. Marketing and social teams can generate assets in multiple styles and resize them automatically for different platforms, which helps maintain consistency across channels without manual reformatting. The trend remixing feature also allows brands to reference the structure of a popular design while keeping the content original to their own products.

Design Automation Powered by Seedream 5.0

For marketing posters and layout heavy assets, the AI Design Studio incorporates the Seedream 5.0 model, which is ranked first on Artificial Analysis’ Text-to-Image Leaderboard. The model is used to arrange visual elements, generate multiple layout variations, and handle typesetting automatically based on uploaded product images.

This approach is intended to reduce the manual work involved in formatting marketing materials. Uploading one or more product photos allows the system to generate several layout options, positioning text, imagery, and other elements without requiring manual placement. Once a layout is generated, users can continue refining it with stickers, filters, or additional effects within the same workspace.

The process is designed to move from prompt to a finished, ready to use asset without requiring separate design software. For teams producing large volumes of seasonal or promotional content, this can reduce the number of tools involved in a single campaign.

Why AI Design Tools Matter for Small Teams

AI design tools are becoming useful because many teams need more visual content than traditional workflows can comfortably support. The Software Experts review notes that marketers, creators, and small businesses often need product images, social graphics, banners, email headers, event posters, and campaign visuals on tight timelines.

For small teams, the main advantage is not simply automation. It is the ability to get to a workable draft faster. Starting from a blank canvas can slow down campaign production, especially when a team is managing several platforms or product lines. AI-assisted design tools can generate starting points, resize assets, suggest layouts, and help keep visuals consistent across channels.

Access and Getting Started

The AI Design Studio is accessible through CapCut desktop by selecting Design Agent from the main dashboard. Users enter a text prompt describing the desired output, optionally upload reference images, and review the generated results.

A typical workflow might involve uploading a reference photo and entering a detailed prompt describing a desired style, color palette, or setting. The AI then generates initial design options based on that input. The built in editor allows for further adjustments, including color changes, auto cutout, element removal, and text overlays, before the final image is downloaded in high resolution.

Software Experts noted that the AI Design Studio is suited to a range of users, from e-commerce sellers managing large catalogs to individual creators producing social media content, as well as marketing teams handling multiple campaigns at once. The tool is offered as part of CapCut’s existing platform, with pricing details available directly through CapCut.

Readers can find the full review at Software Experts.

About CapCut

CapCut is an AI-powered photo and video editing platform designed to make high-quality video creation accessible across devices. The platform supports creators, businesses, and everyday users with tools for video editing, AI video generation, captions, templates, audio, and visual editing. CapCut is available across mobile, web, desktop, and iPad experiences, helping users create, edit, and prepare video content for social media, marketing, education, and personal projects.

About Software Experts: Software Experts delivers in-depth news on the digital tools shaping today’s consumer experience. As an affiliate, Software Experts may earn commissions from sales generated using links provided.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/best-ai-design-tools-2026-capcut-named-a-top-choice-for-creating-images-and-marketing-assets-by-software-experts-302828625.html

SOURCE SoftwareExperts.org

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WTE MIAMI TO EMBRACE AI-POWERED TECHNOLOGY AS IT SHAPES THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL TRADE

Published

45 minutes ago

on

September 22, 2026

By

For the first time, WTE Miami will utilize Fairfest’s SnapCard AI technology, bringing AI-powered matchmaking to the show.

MIAMI, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — WTE Miami is putting artificial intelligence into action, introducing AI-powered matchmaking for attendees while bringing industry experts together to explore how the technology is transforming travel.

WTE Miami brings AI-powered matchmaking to the show floor for the first time, shaping the future of travel trade.

Taking place October 27–28 at the Miami Beach Convention Center, WTE Miami will incorporate SnapCard AI, Fairfest’s AI-powered matchmaking app, for the first time. The technology allows attendees to describe the business connections they are seeking in their own words, helping identify relevant matches across the show. With 26 NTOs and CVBs confirmed to date, SnapCard AI will connect attendees with destinations and tourism organizations aligned with their business interests.

At OTM 2026, SnapCard AI attracted 7,291 active users from 140 countries, representing 42% adoption despite limited dedicated promotion. 82% of exhibitors secured meetings through the platform, while meeting requests increased 97% year over year.

“SnapCard AI is the first matchmaking platform I’ve used that genuinely feels built for how people actually do business. Bringing it to WTE Miami alongside programming exploring AI in travel means we’re not just talking about the future of this industry—we’re putting it to work on the show floor,” said Simon Press, Managing Director International, Fairfest Media.

WTE Miami’s AI-focused conference programming will include “AI Solutions for the Travel Industry,” featuring Grace Van Hollebeke of Tern and an invited Google speaker; “AI for Travel Professionals,” an MPI Certification Course led by Tim Luepke of MPI Academy; and “AI in Tourism,” a keynote from Karen Ring of Sabre Corp. exploring AI’s impact on travelers and the travel industry.

WTE Miami will take place October 27–28, 2026, at the Miami Beach Convention Center. To register, visit WTE Miami today.

Media Contact:

Olivia Forbis

oforbis@mmgy.com

About WTE Miami

WTE Miami is an international B2B travel trade event connecting destinations, tourism organizations, hotels, airlines, cruise lines, travel technology companies and tourism suppliers with qualified travel buyers across the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. The 2026 edition is expected to welcome 500+ exhibitors, 7,000 travel trade professionals, 500 hosted and VIP buyers, and 10,000+ pre-scheduled B2B meetings. Organized by Fairfest Media, WTE Miami takes place October 27–28, 2026, at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wte-miami-to-embrace-ai-powered-technology-as-it-shapes-the-future-of-travel-trade-302886688.html

SOURCE WTE MIAMI

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New Jersey Enacts Comprehensive Employee Ownership Finance Legislation Designed with Lafayette Square Institute

Published

45 minutes ago

on

September 22, 2026

By

Gov. Sherrill signs bipartisan package establishing Employee Ownership Transition Program and revolving loan fund at NJEDA; LSI releases state playbook laying out a development finance toolkit for states

TRENTON, N.J., Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — New Jersey has enacted comprehensive bipartisan legislation that equips the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) with tools to finance the conversion of businesses to employee ownership. Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed the legislation (A5016/S4218) on September 4, establishing an Employee Ownership Transition Program at NJEDA with reimbursements for feasibility studies, consultative services for firms making the transition, statewide outreach in partnership with the NJ/NY Center for Employee Ownership at Rutgers University, and an Employee Ownership Revolving Loan Fund to finance conversions directly. State Senators Andrew Zwicker and Shirley Turner and Assemblymembers Lisa Swain, Roy Freiman, and Al Barlas sponsored the legislation.

Lafayette Square Institute was proud to support partners in the New Jersey legislature, Governor Sherrill’s office, and NJEDA to achieve this outcome in the Garden State. The legislation builds directly upon recommendations from Lafayette Square Institute’s flagship employee ownership state policy white paper titled Employee Ownership as Economic Development released earlier this year at the National Conference of State Legislators annual convening. The publication details a toolkit for states to expand employee ownership including credit enhancement, institutional capital mobilization, and tax incentives. The playbook also evaluates various strategies to capitalize and fund various tools, build institutional capacity within state government, and implement a comprehensive employee ownership strategy.

The Employee Ownership Revolving Loan Fund revives a tool NJEDA pioneered 50 years ago, when the agency’s first loan financed the employee buyout of the Okonite Company in Passaic County, New Jersey. That loan was repaid and revolved ninefold. Today, Okonite remains 100% employee-owned and has paid more than $300 million in ESOP distributions to its workers. The Fund can be capitalized by state appropriations, federal sources such as U.S. Economic Development Administration grants, and philanthropic capital.

“Governor Sherrill is committed to expanding resources for sustainable business transition plans and employee ownership, protecting jobs, strengthening communities, and creating economic opportunities for workers and their families” said NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Evan Weiss. “We are proud to partner with the Lafayette Square Institute and the NJ/NY Center for Employee Ownership at Rutgers University to ensure the NJEDA’s Employee Ownership Transition Program will provide effective support for entrepreneurs, furthering the Administration’s objective of making New Jersey the best state in the nation to start and grow a business.”

“New Jersey is living through two economic transitions at once: a generation of business owners reaching retirement without a succession plan, and artificial intelligence changing who gains from work. Employee ownership addresses both challenges by keeping companies rooted in our communities and giving the people who build a business a share in what it earns. Lafayette Square Institute brought us this model and the evidence behind it, and this law equips EDA with the tools to use it,” said Senator Andrew Zwicker (D-16).

“This bill is bipartisan for a simple reason: it keeps New Jersey businesses in New Jersey hands without a new mandate or a new tax,” said Assemblyman Al Barlas (R-40). “A revolving loan fund lends, gets repaid, and lends again, which is how the EDA helped Okonite’s workers buy their company fifty years ago. Lafayette Square Institute built this concept on that record, and I was glad to help put it back to work.”

“When you align the financial success of a business with the success of the employees who help run it every day, the benefits are limitless. Employee stock ownership programs offer workers a meaningful path to financial security, while giving local business owners a better way forward in preserving the companies they have worked so hard to build and that make New Jersey flourish,” said Assemblywoman Lisa Swain (D-38). “I’m deeply grateful to Lafayette Square Institute, the NJ/NY Center for Employee Ownership, and the employee owners who helped us get this done.”

“At a moment when returns to capital are pulling away from returns to labor, employee ownership puts workers on both sides of the ledger. New Jersey has now built the financing tools to do just that, and this playbook shows every other state how to do the same,” said Julien Rosenbloom, Senior Associate at Lafayette Square Institute.

“This bipartisan legislative accomplishment is an exciting win for the Garden State at a moment of historically unprecedented business succession across the country,” said Jack Moriarty, Executive Director of Lafayette Square Institute. “By integrating employee ownership into the economic development toolkit, we can preserve and create jobs that build wealth for American workers and families.”

“The evidence from decades of research is consistent: employee-owned companies pay more, keep workers longer, build more retirement wealth, are more productive, and weather downturns with fewer layoffs. The New Jersey/New York Center for Employee Ownership looks forward to partnering with NJEDA so that every owner considering a sale knows selling to employees is a real option. We congratulate Governor Sherrill, Senator Zwicker, and Assemblywoman Swain on this important step,” said William Castellano, Executive Director, New Jersey/New York Center for Employee Ownership, Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations.

About Lafayette Square Institute

Lafayette Square Institute is a nonprofit policy and data analytics platform committed to aligning private capital with the public interest. Through deep bipartisan relationships, innovative finance tools, and data analysis, LSI mobilizes investment in the people and places that need it.

Media Contact:
Julien Rosenbloom
Lafayette Square Institute
rosenbloom@lafayettesquareinstitute.org

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-jersey-enacts-comprehensive-employee-ownership-finance-legislation-designed-with-lafayette-square-institute-302886690.html

SOURCE Lafayette Square Institute

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THE CANADIAN FORUM FOR FINANCIAL MARKETS: LOWERING THE PRICE OF CAPITAL MARKETS REGULATION IN CANADA

Published

45 minutes ago

on

September 22, 2026

By

TORONTO, Sept. 22, 2026 /CNW/ — Canada wants to attract and mobilize significantly more investments. But businesses and investors still pay for capital markets regulation through a fragmented system of provincial, territorial, and self-regulatory fees that treats Canada’s national capital markets as a collection of local ones.

A new paper from the Canadian Forum for Financial Markets (CFFiM), Fees and Fragmentation: Lowering the Price of Capital Markets Regulation in Canada, recommends that Canada’s system of regulatory fees be reformed as part of Canada’s drive for a “one Canadian economy”, which includes the elimination of interprovincial barriers and increased domestic and foreign investment.   

Canada has 13 provincial and territorial securities regulators as well as the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, which operates as a national self-regulatory organization. All of these regulators levy fees on market participants.  The result is a patchwork of charges based largely on individual regulatory structures and priorities rather than a coherent national approach to the fees that are charged to issuers and intermediaries for the benefit of accessing Canada’s capital markets.

This paper identifies overlapping and duplicative fees, inconsistent approaches to cost recovery, and a system of decentralized accountability as resulting in unnecessary costs for market participants, which are ultimately borne on Canadian investors.  These deficiencies contribute to the fragmentation of Canada’s capital markets and negatively impact the attractiveness of Canada’s markets from a global perspective.

“Canada is competing globally for investments.  We should not be adding costs simply because capital crosses a provincial border.” said Laura Paglia, President and CEO of the CFFiM.

The problems associated with Canada’s fee regime could be addressed through a national regulator.  In the absence of those reforms, the CFFiM calls on Canada’s policymakers to establish a simplified and consolidated fee schedule at a net reduction for market participants.  Substantive reform of Canada’s fee regime is needed to allow businesses to expand, to enhance consumer choice, and to promote open, efficient, and competitive capital markets in Canada. 

About CFFiM

The Canadian Forum for Financial Markets (CFFiM)/Forum Canadien des Marchés Financiers (FCMFi) is dedicated to advancing proposals that foster healthy, competitive financial markets and a resilient Canadian economy.

SOURCE Canadian Forum for Financial Markets

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Best AI Design Tools (2026): CapCut Named a Top Choice for Creating Images and Marketing Assets by Software Experts

Published

2 months ago

on

NEW YORK, July 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Software Experts has recognized CapCut as a top choice among AI design tools for 2026, citing its AI Design Studio as a standout resource for creating images and marketing assets. The recognition points to the platform’s combination of automated layout generation, image editing, and campaign focused features built for marketers, e-commerce sellers, and content creators.

Best AI Design Tools

CapCut AI Design Studio – a web based design workspace that uses AI to help users create ads, product visuals, and branded content without prior design experience.

Core Capabilities of the AI Design Studio

The AI Design Studio is built around a conversational, infinite canvas that allows users to work with an AI design agent in real time. Instead of starting from a blank template, users type a prompt, upload reference images, and receive layout options generated automatically.

The latest version, Design 2.0, brings references, drafts, assets, and edits into a single workspace. Features include pencil prompting for visual editing, smart layer split for separating subjects and backgrounds, and a One More function that generates new creative directions from an existing design. Users can circle, brush, or mark up an image directly to guide how the AI adjusts a design, rather than relying only on written prompts.

An inspiration hub with built in assets and license free images is also part of the workspace, helping users start projects without sourcing outside materials. Layers for text, subjects, and backgrounds remain editable throughout the process, which allows for adjustments without regenerating an entire design from scratch.

Applications for E-Commerce and Marketing Teams

The AI Design Studio supports several common business use cases, including product content creation, trend based design remixing, and clothing visualization for fashion brands. These features are designed to reduce the time spent on repetitive production tasks, particularly for teams that need to update visuals frequently.

For e-commerce sellers, the tool can generate product main images, banners, and packaging designs from a single uploaded photo, and supports batch replacement across shared backgrounds. A seller managing multiple product lines can apply the same background and layout across different items with one click, rather than recreating each asset individually.

Fashion brands can use the AI clothing try-on feature to visualize how garments appear on different models, helping with catalog updates during seasonal campaigns such as Black Friday. Marketing and social teams can generate assets in multiple styles and resize them automatically for different platforms, which helps maintain consistency across channels without manual reformatting. The trend remixing feature also allows brands to reference the structure of a popular design while keeping the content original to their own products.

Design Automation Powered by Seedream 5.0

For marketing posters and layout heavy assets, the AI Design Studio incorporates the Seedream 5.0 model, which is ranked first on Artificial Analysis’ Text-to-Image Leaderboard. The model is used to arrange visual elements, generate multiple layout variations, and handle typesetting automatically based on uploaded product images.

This approach is intended to reduce the manual work involved in formatting marketing materials. Uploading one or more product photos allows the system to generate several layout options, positioning text, imagery, and other elements without requiring manual placement. Once a layout is generated, users can continue refining it with stickers, filters, or additional effects within the same workspace.

The process is designed to move from prompt to a finished, ready to use asset without requiring separate design software. For teams producing large volumes of seasonal or promotional content, this can reduce the number of tools involved in a single campaign.

Why AI Design Tools Matter for Small Teams

AI design tools are becoming useful because many teams need more visual content than traditional workflows can comfortably support. The Software Experts review notes that marketers, creators, and small businesses often need product images, social graphics, banners, email headers, event posters, and campaign visuals on tight timelines.

For small teams, the main advantage is not simply automation. It is the ability to get to a workable draft faster. Starting from a blank canvas can slow down campaign production, especially when a team is managing several platforms or product lines. AI-assisted design tools can generate starting points, resize assets, suggest layouts, and help keep visuals consistent across channels.

Access and Getting Started

The AI Design Studio is accessible through CapCut desktop by selecting Design Agent from the main dashboard. Users enter a text prompt describing the desired output, optionally upload reference images, and review the generated results.

A typical workflow might involve uploading a reference photo and entering a detailed prompt describing a desired style, color palette, or setting. The AI then generates initial design options based on that input. The built in editor allows for further adjustments, including color changes, auto cutout, element removal, and text overlays, before the final image is downloaded in high resolution.

Software Experts noted that the AI Design Studio is suited to a range of users, from e-commerce sellers managing large catalogs to individual creators producing social media content, as well as marketing teams handling multiple campaigns at once. The tool is offered as part of CapCut’s existing platform, with pricing details available directly through CapCut.

Readers can find the full review at Software Experts.

About CapCut

CapCut is an AI-powered photo and video editing platform designed to make high-quality video creation accessible across devices. The platform supports creators, businesses, and everyday users with tools for video editing, AI video generation, captions, templates, audio, and visual editing. CapCut is available across mobile, web, desktop, and iPad experiences, helping users create, edit, and prepare video content for social media, marketing, education, and personal projects.

About Software Experts: Software Experts delivers in-depth news on the digital tools shaping today’s consumer experience. As an affiliate, Software Experts may earn commissions from sales generated using links provided.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/best-ai-design-tools-2026-capcut-named-a-top-choice-for-creating-images-and-marketing-assets-by-software-experts-302828625.html

SOURCE SoftwareExperts.org

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WTE MIAMI TO EMBRACE AI-POWERED TECHNOLOGY AS IT SHAPES THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL TRADE

Published

45 minutes ago

on

September 22, 2026

By

For the first time, WTE Miami will utilize Fairfest’s SnapCard AI technology, bringing AI-powered matchmaking to the show.

MIAMI, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — WTE Miami is putting artificial intelligence into action, introducing AI-powered matchmaking for attendees while bringing industry experts together to explore how the technology is transforming travel.

WTE Miami brings AI-powered matchmaking to the show floor for the first time, shaping the future of travel trade.

Taking place October 27–28 at the Miami Beach Convention Center, WTE Miami will incorporate SnapCard AI, Fairfest’s AI-powered matchmaking app, for the first time. The technology allows attendees to describe the business connections they are seeking in their own words, helping identify relevant matches across the show. With 26 NTOs and CVBs confirmed to date, SnapCard AI will connect attendees with destinations and tourism organizations aligned with their business interests.

At OTM 2026, SnapCard AI attracted 7,291 active users from 140 countries, representing 42% adoption despite limited dedicated promotion. 82% of exhibitors secured meetings through the platform, while meeting requests increased 97% year over year.

“SnapCard AI is the first matchmaking platform I’ve used that genuinely feels built for how people actually do business. Bringing it to WTE Miami alongside programming exploring AI in travel means we’re not just talking about the future of this industry—we’re putting it to work on the show floor,” said Simon Press, Managing Director International, Fairfest Media.

WTE Miami’s AI-focused conference programming will include “AI Solutions for the Travel Industry,” featuring Grace Van Hollebeke of Tern and an invited Google speaker; “AI for Travel Professionals,” an MPI Certification Course led by Tim Luepke of MPI Academy; and “AI in Tourism,” a keynote from Karen Ring of Sabre Corp. exploring AI’s impact on travelers and the travel industry.

WTE Miami will take place October 27–28, 2026, at the Miami Beach Convention Center. To register, visit WTE Miami today.

Media Contact:

Olivia Forbis

oforbis@mmgy.com

About WTE Miami

WTE Miami is an international B2B travel trade event connecting destinations, tourism organizations, hotels, airlines, cruise lines, travel technology companies and tourism suppliers with qualified travel buyers across the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. The 2026 edition is expected to welcome 500+ exhibitors, 7,000 travel trade professionals, 500 hosted and VIP buyers, and 10,000+ pre-scheduled B2B meetings. Organized by Fairfest Media, WTE Miami takes place October 27–28, 2026, at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wte-miami-to-embrace-ai-powered-technology-as-it-shapes-the-future-of-travel-trade-302886688.html

SOURCE WTE MIAMI

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New Jersey Enacts Comprehensive Employee Ownership Finance Legislation Designed with Lafayette Square Institute

Published

45 minutes ago

on

September 22, 2026

By

Gov. Sherrill signs bipartisan package establishing Employee Ownership Transition Program and revolving loan fund at NJEDA; LSI releases state playbook laying out a development finance toolkit for states

TRENTON, N.J., Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — New Jersey has enacted comprehensive bipartisan legislation that equips the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) with tools to finance the conversion of businesses to employee ownership. Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed the legislation (A5016/S4218) on September 4, establishing an Employee Ownership Transition Program at NJEDA with reimbursements for feasibility studies, consultative services for firms making the transition, statewide outreach in partnership with the NJ/NY Center for Employee Ownership at Rutgers University, and an Employee Ownership Revolving Loan Fund to finance conversions directly. State Senators Andrew Zwicker and Shirley Turner and Assemblymembers Lisa Swain, Roy Freiman, and Al Barlas sponsored the legislation.

Lafayette Square Institute was proud to support partners in the New Jersey legislature, Governor Sherrill’s office, and NJEDA to achieve this outcome in the Garden State. The legislation builds directly upon recommendations from Lafayette Square Institute’s flagship employee ownership state policy white paper titled Employee Ownership as Economic Development released earlier this year at the National Conference of State Legislators annual convening. The publication details a toolkit for states to expand employee ownership including credit enhancement, institutional capital mobilization, and tax incentives. The playbook also evaluates various strategies to capitalize and fund various tools, build institutional capacity within state government, and implement a comprehensive employee ownership strategy.

The Employee Ownership Revolving Loan Fund revives a tool NJEDA pioneered 50 years ago, when the agency’s first loan financed the employee buyout of the Okonite Company in Passaic County, New Jersey. That loan was repaid and revolved ninefold. Today, Okonite remains 100% employee-owned and has paid more than $300 million in ESOP distributions to its workers. The Fund can be capitalized by state appropriations, federal sources such as U.S. Economic Development Administration grants, and philanthropic capital.

“Governor Sherrill is committed to expanding resources for sustainable business transition plans and employee ownership, protecting jobs, strengthening communities, and creating economic opportunities for workers and their families” said NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Evan Weiss. “We are proud to partner with the Lafayette Square Institute and the NJ/NY Center for Employee Ownership at Rutgers University to ensure the NJEDA’s Employee Ownership Transition Program will provide effective support for entrepreneurs, furthering the Administration’s objective of making New Jersey the best state in the nation to start and grow a business.”

“New Jersey is living through two economic transitions at once: a generation of business owners reaching retirement without a succession plan, and artificial intelligence changing who gains from work. Employee ownership addresses both challenges by keeping companies rooted in our communities and giving the people who build a business a share in what it earns. Lafayette Square Institute brought us this model and the evidence behind it, and this law equips EDA with the tools to use it,” said Senator Andrew Zwicker (D-16).

“This bill is bipartisan for a simple reason: it keeps New Jersey businesses in New Jersey hands without a new mandate or a new tax,” said Assemblyman Al Barlas (R-40). “A revolving loan fund lends, gets repaid, and lends again, which is how the EDA helped Okonite’s workers buy their company fifty years ago. Lafayette Square Institute built this concept on that record, and I was glad to help put it back to work.”

“When you align the financial success of a business with the success of the employees who help run it every day, the benefits are limitless. Employee stock ownership programs offer workers a meaningful path to financial security, while giving local business owners a better way forward in preserving the companies they have worked so hard to build and that make New Jersey flourish,” said Assemblywoman Lisa Swain (D-38). “I’m deeply grateful to Lafayette Square Institute, the NJ/NY Center for Employee Ownership, and the employee owners who helped us get this done.”

“At a moment when returns to capital are pulling away from returns to labor, employee ownership puts workers on both sides of the ledger. New Jersey has now built the financing tools to do just that, and this playbook shows every other state how to do the same,” said Julien Rosenbloom, Senior Associate at Lafayette Square Institute.

“This bipartisan legislative accomplishment is an exciting win for the Garden State at a moment of historically unprecedented business succession across the country,” said Jack Moriarty, Executive Director of Lafayette Square Institute. “By integrating employee ownership into the economic development toolkit, we can preserve and create jobs that build wealth for American workers and families.”

“The evidence from decades of research is consistent: employee-owned companies pay more, keep workers longer, build more retirement wealth, are more productive, and weather downturns with fewer layoffs. The New Jersey/New York Center for Employee Ownership looks forward to partnering with NJEDA so that every owner considering a sale knows selling to employees is a real option. We congratulate Governor Sherrill, Senator Zwicker, and Assemblywoman Swain on this important step,” said William Castellano, Executive Director, New Jersey/New York Center for Employee Ownership, Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations.

About Lafayette Square Institute

Lafayette Square Institute is a nonprofit policy and data analytics platform committed to aligning private capital with the public interest. Through deep bipartisan relationships, innovative finance tools, and data analysis, LSI mobilizes investment in the people and places that need it.

Media Contact:
Julien Rosenbloom
Lafayette Square Institute
rosenbloom@lafayettesquareinstitute.org

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-jersey-enacts-comprehensive-employee-ownership-finance-legislation-designed-with-lafayette-square-institute-302886690.html

SOURCE Lafayette Square Institute

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THE CANADIAN FORUM FOR FINANCIAL MARKETS: LOWERING THE PRICE OF CAPITAL MARKETS REGULATION IN CANADA

Published

45 minutes ago

on

September 22, 2026

By

TORONTO, Sept. 22, 2026 /CNW/ — Canada wants to attract and mobilize significantly more investments. But businesses and investors still pay for capital markets regulation through a fragmented system of provincial, territorial, and self-regulatory fees that treats Canada’s national capital markets as a collection of local ones.

A new paper from the Canadian Forum for Financial Markets (CFFiM), Fees and Fragmentation: Lowering the Price of Capital Markets Regulation in Canada, recommends that Canada’s system of regulatory fees be reformed as part of Canada’s drive for a “one Canadian economy”, which includes the elimination of interprovincial barriers and increased domestic and foreign investment.   

Canada has 13 provincial and territorial securities regulators as well as the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, which operates as a national self-regulatory organization. All of these regulators levy fees on market participants.  The result is a patchwork of charges based largely on individual regulatory structures and priorities rather than a coherent national approach to the fees that are charged to issuers and intermediaries for the benefit of accessing Canada’s capital markets.

This paper identifies overlapping and duplicative fees, inconsistent approaches to cost recovery, and a system of decentralized accountability as resulting in unnecessary costs for market participants, which are ultimately borne on Canadian investors.  These deficiencies contribute to the fragmentation of Canada’s capital markets and negatively impact the attractiveness of Canada’s markets from a global perspective.

“Canada is competing globally for investments.  We should not be adding costs simply because capital crosses a provincial border.” said Laura Paglia, President and CEO of the CFFiM.

The problems associated with Canada’s fee regime could be addressed through a national regulator.  In the absence of those reforms, the CFFiM calls on Canada’s policymakers to establish a simplified and consolidated fee schedule at a net reduction for market participants.  Substantive reform of Canada’s fee regime is needed to allow businesses to expand, to enhance consumer choice, and to promote open, efficient, and competitive capital markets in Canada. 

About CFFiM

The Canadian Forum for Financial Markets (CFFiM)/Forum Canadien des Marchés Financiers (FCMFi) is dedicated to advancing proposals that foster healthy, competitive financial markets and a resilient Canadian economy.

SOURCE Canadian Forum for Financial Markets

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