Global Consultancy Recognised for Purpose, Culture and Impact Delivered to Clients

GENEVA, July 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Geneva-based dss⁺, a global operations management consultancy with over 1,500 experts operating in 41 countries and a broad, diverse roster of industrial clients, has been named one of Switzerland’s Best Managed Companies for 2024, an award sponsored by Deloitte Private, Julius Baer and SIX Swiss Exchange.

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Switzerland’s Best Managed Companies programme recognises privately held companies for their organisational success and achievement. The programme provides a distinct framework for management teams to challenge themselves and benchmark against some of the best private companies in the world. 

dss+ provides operations consulting services that empower organisations to enhance safety, manage risk, achieve sustainability, optimise performance, and cultivate organisational and human capabilities for more resilient and sustainable operations. 

“We pride ourselves in helping our clients save lives and create a sustainable future, which makes this recognition especially meaningful and underscores the passion and impact of our work not only in Switzerland, but also around the world,” said Davide Vassallo, CEO of dss⁺. “We are grateful for this honor, and I’m particularly proud of my dss⁺ colleagues and stakeholders whose expertise, acumen and insight serve as the foundation of our success.”

The programme’s jury singled out dss⁺ for its achievements in several areas, including its purpose of saving lives and creating a sustainable future through its commitment to delivering impactful, quality outcomes to its clients. The jury also distinguished dss⁺ for its culture that empowers employees and encourages innovation and for creating value for its shareholders – investors, employees and clients alike. 

“This award underscores and recognises the record of achievement among the dss+ team,” said Alistair Cox, Chair of the Board, dss+. “The designation of ‘best managed’ connotes exemplary levels of commitment to deliver on our global priorities and a dedication to people development and our culture.”

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About dss⁺

dss⁺ is a leading provider of sustainable operations management consulting services with a purpose of saving lives and creating a sustainable future. dss⁺ enables companies to build organisational and human capabilities, manage risk, improve operations, achieve sustainability goals and operate more responsibly. Additional information is available at https://bit.ly/dssplus-best-co.

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LONDON, July 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Aquiline Capital Partners LP (“Aquiline”), a private investment specialist in financial services and related technologies, has agreed to a majority investment in Isio Group Limited (“Isio”), one of the fastest growing pensions, reward and benefit and investment advisory businesses in the UK.

Since Isio was launched in 2020 it has undergone four successive years of double-digit organic growth and continues to gain market share. It has completed two acquisitions which expanded the company’s scale, geographical footprint, and range of services. Isio is now one of the UK’s largest retirement advisory businesses, with 1,200 employees and 10 offices across the UK.

Aquiline is well-established as an investor in the global retirement and wealth management services sectors.  In the UK, Aquiline has invested in Smart Pension, the global pension software and solution provider, Wealth at Work, the provider of workplace financial education, guidance and advice and Landytech, the private markets investment management technology provider, among others.  In addition, Aquiline has invested in Ascensus, the US’s largest provider of independent retirement and college savings services, Mirador, a tech-enabled middle office solution for private markets investors and SageView, a registered investment advisor serving retirement plan sponsors and individuals.

Aquiline’s investment will support Isio’s growth strategy of innovation by expanding its core services and growing adjacent practices, including rewards & benefits, investment advice and private capital. This will be achieved through a combination of targeted M&A to build additional service lines and advisory capabilities, and by attracting new talent to the business.

Aquiline is acquiring its majority shareholding from Exponent Private Equity LLP, who have backed Isio since its carve out.  Isio’s management team will continue to retain a significant minority investment.

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Igno van Waesberghe, Managing Partner at Aquiline, said: “We are delighted to be investing in Isio.  It operates in sectors where we have extensive experience and deep networks. 

“Isio is a business we have admired and got to know well, not simply as an investment, but first as our advisor and then our partner.  We have been particularly impressed by the depth of their expertise in creating better outcomes for clients.  It has delivered impressive organic growth and successful expansion through strategic M&A. We look forward to working with Isio’s management team to continue to develop their offering, diversify the business, and support them in further accelerating growth.”

Andrew Coles, Isio’s CEO, said: “This new investment from Aquiline will enable us to continue the journey of bringing high quality service and better outcomes to our clients. Key to this is having a culture that appeals to the best talent in the sector with long-term, high quality career opportunities. I am personally excited about the future and look forward to continuing to lead Isio in its next phase of evolution and growth.”

The transaction is subject to standard regulatory approvals. 

Aquiline were advised by RBC Capital Markets and Herbert Smith Freehills LLP.  Exponent and Isio were advised by Evercore (financial adviser) and Macfarlanes (legal adviser).  Isio’s management were also advised by Liberty Corporate Finance and Proskauer.

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Notes to Editors

About Aquiline Capital Partners LP

Aquiline Capital Partners LP is a private investment firm based in New York, London, Philadelphia, and Greenwich, Connecticut, that is dedicated to financial services and related technologies. The Firm has approximately $10.4 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2024.

For more information about Aquiline, its investment professionals, and its portfolio companies, visit www.aquiline.com 

About Isio

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Isio is a leading independent UK provider of actuarial & consulting, pensions administration, investment advisory, employee reward & benefits and wealth advisory services. With a national team of 1,200 people across ten UK offices, Isio is committed to promoting financial wellbeing for all and works with companies, trustees and individuals to help them make informed decisions to protect their financial future.  

For more information about Isio, please visit www.isio.com 

About Exponent

Established in 2004 with a presence in London, Dublin and Amsterdam, Exponent is a leading private equity firm. The Firm invests in mid-market companies headquartered across Europe (UK, Ireland, Benelux and Nordics). Exponent has a distinctive approach, central to which is identifying the potential in corporate, family or founder owned businesses.

Exponent has raised more than €3 billion to date. A selection of Exponent’s current and past investments include market leading businesses such as Trainline, Moonpig, Ambassador Theatre Group, H&MV, Xeinadin and Quorn Foods.

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Exponent has been investing in corporate carve out deals since its inception, with the acquisition of TES from News Corporation in 2005. In recent years the Firm has acquired Enva from DCC plc in 2017, SHL from Gartner, Inc. in 2018, Gü from Noble Foods in 2021 and most recently, in 2023, Natara from International Flavors and Fragrances, Inc.

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VICTORIA, Seychelles, July 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Ripple, developers of top 10 coin XRP, along with the leading cryptocurrency exchange Bitrue, have recently released a new promotional video highlighting the history of support that Bitrue has shown towards the XRPL community.

This short video, filmed at Paris Blockchain Week in April of 2024, details Bitrue’s involvement in the XRP ecosystem since its launch in 2018. The messaging is delivered by Shruti Kohli, Bitrue’s Global Head of Business Development, and touches on Bitrue’s future plans for the coin.

In the present time support for the coin is growing, not only amid the wider cryptocurrency community but also from Bitrue directly. New tokens that launch on the exchange are often paired with XRP for trading, allowing token developers to directly tap into the XRP community while simultaneously increasing the direct utility of XRP. XRP is also included in all current features on Bitrue, including staking, loans, futures trading, and more.

The exchange has additionally launched an exclusive new staking opportunity celebrating the release of this promotional video. For a limited time only, all users are able to stake their XRP with Bitrue to receive 7% APY over a 7 day period. New users to the exchange also have an additional opportunity in the form of a 50% APY staking option over a 3 day lockup period. Users are encouraged to head to Bitrue.com today to participate.

XRP remains the #1 focus of the exchange, with several projects building on the XRP Ledger set to launch on the exchange within the upcoming months.

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Since its launch in 2018, Bitrue has been on a remarkable journey, always championing the utility and adoption of XRP. What follows is a short history of how Bitrue has been at the forefront of driving support for XRP, fostering innovation, and standing strong during challenging times.

2018: Embracing XRP’s Potential

In July 2018, Bitrue was one of the first centralized cryptocurrency exchanges to list XRP, recognizing its immense potential when others overlooked it. They immediately elevated XRP to one of their Top 4 base currencies, allowing users to trade dozens of altcoins directly with XRP as a base. The response was overwhelming, with hundreds of thousands of XRP holders finding solace in Bitrue’s unwavering support. Moreover, users have been enjoying 0 withdrawal fees for XRP on Bitrue since then.

In addition, Bitrue also became the first exchange to list XRP as its base currency. Today, Bitrue is still the only exchange that lists XRP as a base currency, with dozens of XRP-based trading pairs.

Later in 2018, Bitrue proudly introduced the investment tool Power Piggy, offering XRP holders a passive income instrument. Moreover, they were among the first to offer a passive income instrument for XRP Holders, Power Piggy, making it part of the initial batch of tokens eligible for investment.

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2019: Pioneering Innovative Features

Throughout 2019, Bitrue continued to prioritize XRP in all newly launched features. They launched a low-interest crypto lending platform, becoming the first exchange to provide XRP-collateralized lending services for the XRP community.

Furthermore, Bitrue has taken a significant step by running a UNL XRPL validator, demonstrating a strong dedication to the growth of the XRP ecosystem. This validator is part of the Unique Node List (UNL), a compilation of validators that network participants, including servers, trust not to engage in fraudulent activities.

Notable events during the year included Ripple’s endorsement of its partnership with Bitrue in supporting XRP adoption when Bitrue attended Ripple Swell 2019 in Singapore. Bitrue also participated in #XRPMeetupJapan as an official sponsor.

2020: Upholding Resilience in Challenging Times

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In June 2020, they further solidified support for XRP by becoming the first exchange to embrace PayString, simplifying XRP addresses into an email-like format. In late 2020, many exchanges delisted XRP due to the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit. However, Bitrue stayed loyal to the XRP community, categorically refusing to delist XRP and providing continuous trading and investment opportunities for the community. Bitrue never delisted XRP, which remains true today.

2021-2023: Continued Holistic Support for the XRP Ecosystem

In January 2021, Bitrue again proved its dedication by being the first exchange to complete $FLR distribution in the form of IOUs and supporting $FLR trading. They continued to extend holistic support during the largest XRP community airdrop event in January 2023, reaffirming the commitment to the XRP community.

Since launching in 2018, Bitrue has also listed and supported XRP native tokens like CasinoCoin ($CSC), Sologenic ($SOLO), Coreum ($CORE), Equilibrium Games ($EQ), and many more. All XRP native tokens can be found listed here. Bitrue is also one of the first exchanges supporting manual relocation and recovery of missing deposits where there are missing tags or incorrect tags for the XRP community.

Today: Looking into the Future

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Looking towards the future, Ripple’s recent landmark victory against the SEC is a potential turning point for the broader crypto ecosystem. It highlights the unique opportunities offered by elements like smart contracts and algorithmic currencies. Bitrue is committed to wholeheartedly supporting and actively exploring opportunities to grow in tandem with the XRP ecosystem, fostering its future endeavors and development.

Bitrue is proud to have been part of the XRP journey since 2018. As the crypto landscape evolves, they remain committed to empowering the #XRPCommunity, embracing potential opportunities, and contributing to the bright future of XRP. With XRP continuing to gain strength among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, they stand firm as the steadfast partner that has always prioritized the usage of XRP and supported its ecosystem. Together, let’s move forward into a world where XRP adoption and utility thrive.

About Bitrue

Launched in July 2018, Bitrue is a diversified digital asset exchange that supports trading, loans, and investments. Bitrue aims to utilize blockchain technology to bring financial opportunities to everybody regardless of their location or financial position. It has offices in Asia and Europe and continues to develop new features at a rapid speed to fully service the new wave of the digital economy. More information is available on Bitrue’s website.

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