NH’S ALUMNI VENTURES SETTLES SEC INVESTIGATION
The Manchester-based parent company of a Madison, Wis.-based investment group that claims to solicit money for UW-Madison alumni-connected ventures, even though it isn’t affiliated with the university, settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly misleading investors, among other charges.
Alumni Ventures Group, which has affiliate firms all over the U.S. including Madison, has agreed to repay $4.7 million to affected funds, as well as a $700,000 penalty per the charges. The Group’s CEO, Mike Collins, is also to pay a $100,000 penalty, according to the SEC’s March 4 order.
The regulator found that the company’s website and “other marketing communications” told investors that they would be charged “industry standard” management fees, typically a rate of 2 percent annually over 10 years with 20 percent carried interest. The SEC said that, instead, Alumni Ventures charged 20 percent up front.
The SEC also found that the company allegedly commingled funds without informing investors.
UNH RESEARCHERS FIND SIGNIFICANT GENDER GAP IN EXECUTIVE SEVERANCES
Men in executive leadership positions receive over $500,000 more in severance compensation than women, according to researchers from the University of New Hampshire and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Researchers say a gender pay gap exists in average severance compensation packages between male and female executives in large, publicly traded American companies.
The study, recently published in the Journal of Business and Psychology, examines severance packages at the executive level through a series of analyses.
After accounting for other plausible reasons, a gender-based gap in severance payouts exceeding $500,000 in favor of male executives was identified.
Researchers found that executive severance agreements, which often include benefits received upon termination “without cause,” can be prone to bias due to ambiguity in how they are determined. Such ambiguity opens the door for preconceived notions and biases tying gender to performance, personality traits and expectations.
Researchers noted that female executives were more likely to be undervalued while male executives are more likely to be over rewarded. These findings hold true regardless of company performance. The study also showed that women were at a disadvantage in negotiating better agreements and often met with stronger resistance to negotiations than their male counterparts due to pre-existing notions of gender expectations and behavior.
TRANSGENDER TELEHEALTH SERVICES EXPANDS TO NEW HAMPSHIRE
Denver-based Plume, a telehealth company designed for the transgender community, has announced expansion of its services to four new states, including New Hampshire.
With the additions of the Granite State, along with Connecticut, New Mexico and Wisconsin, Plume now offers services in 37 states, reaching approximately 93 percent of the transgender population in the U.S., the company said.
Founded by Dr. Matthew Wetschler and Dr. Jerrica Kirkley in 2019, Plume has been growing substantially since its launch, receiving a $14 million Series A funding round in February 2021, led by Craft Ventures.
Plume offers a $99-a-month subscription through which members receive 24/7 access to gender-affirming care, personal consultations, lab monitoring and letters of support as well as home delivery of their hormone medications for an additional cost. Patients in New Hampshire will also have access to Estrogen+, Plume said.
MORAN JOINS LEDYARD AS PRESIDENT, CHIEF BANKING OFFICER
Josephine Moran has joined Hanover-based Ledyard Financial Group as president and chief banking officer. Ledyard Financial is the holding company for Ledyard National Bank. Moran has over 20 years of community banking, investment services and lending experience, most recently as executive vice president, chief corporate services and consumer lending officer at Provident Bank. She also served as executive vice president and director of retail banking at Provident, senior vice president/regional manager/retirement services director at Connecticut-based Webster Bank and executive vice president/director of retail banking at Columbia Bank in New Jersey.
