Latest news with #Shaver
Gulf Today
7 days ago
- Business
- Gulf Today
GOP states embrace paid parental leave for teachers
Anna Claire Vollers, Tribune News Service More Republican-led states are giving paid parental leave to public school teachers and other state employees, signaling a broader acceptance of family-friendly workplace policies once championed primarily by Democrats. 'All of these red states, I think we're late to the party,' said South Carolina state Rep. Beth Bernstein, a Democrat who sponsored a bill this year to increase state employees' paid parental leave from six to 12 weeks. It passed the majority-Republican South Carolina House in April with strong bipartisan support. This year, Alabama, Iowa and Mississippi joined 37 other states in granting paid parental leave to thousands of state workers. The trend has gathered steam in recent years. Some experts link it to the cascade of state abortion bans that followed the US Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs decision, which dismantled the federal right to abortion. Under fire from critics to do more to care for babies once they're born, at least a dozen conservative-led states with abortion bans have since granted or expanded paid parental leave for their state employees. But others say the increasing bipartisan support for measures that help working parents is also a reaction to economic realities. 'What we've seen, especially in more conservative states, is the public sector has experienced a lot of turnover,' said Kameron Dawson, legal director of the Southern Office of A Better Balance, a legal organization focused on workplace rights. 'They're looking for tools to recruit younger employees.' Paid parental leave is the time off granted to workers for the birth or adoption of a baby, to care for a child, or to recover from a stillbirth or miscarriage. Without it, employees are left to cobble together their sick leave and vacation leave — or go unpaid — to stay home with a child and heal. Alabama Republican state Rep. Ginny Shaver watched her daughter, a public school teacher, struggle to get the leave she needed after the births of her children in recent years. 'With her second, she had complications in her pregnancy and used up her [paid vacation and sick] leave before she even had the baby,' Shaver told Stateline. Her daughter contracted COVID-19, and the baby had to spend time in neonatal intensive care. 'It was a very difficult time, and she had to take unpaid leave.' Last year, Shaver and Democratic state Sen. Vivian Figures worked to win approval of a paid parental leave bill for state employees. It failed. But they tried again this year. With the support of Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, the state legislature — which has a Republican supermajority — passed it nearly unanimously. The new law gives female state employees, including teachers, eight weeks of paid parental leave in connection with birth, stillbirth or miscarriage, and gives male employees two weeks. Adoptive parents get eight weeks for one parent and two for the other. Shaver said she thinks the law passed thanks to vocal support from the governor and increased awareness of the issue due to the work she and Figures did in previous sessions. 'And the fact that all of the southeast states around us offered it,' Shaver said. 'We're trying to attract and retain state employees and teachers, and we're in competition with everyone around us, and the private sector as well.' For many Republicans, the workforce development argument for paid leave is a persuasive one. For states such as Alabama and South Carolina that have some of the lowest workforce participation rates in the nation, paid leave can be a tool to keep more people — particularly women — working. And it can be a way to retain educators as many states struggle with teacher shortages in K-12 schools. 'For several years we've seen state legislatures acknowledging the importance of child care to businesses and the economy,' said Feroza Freeland, policy director at the Southern Office of A Better Balance. 'But in the last few years, we've seen a growing recognition that paid leave is another piece of that puzzle.' States have taken up the issue because the federal government has not. The United States is a global outlier; among 38 peer nations, it's the only one that doesn't mandate paid parental leave, according to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. The group comprises 38 democracies with market-based economies. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act, passed in 1993 and extended in 2020, only requires public agencies and companies with at least 50 employees to give up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for parents of newborns or newly adopted children, or caregivers of sick family members. During his first term, President Donald Trump publicly supported some forms of paid family leave and signed a defense bill that gives 12 weeks of paid parental leave to most federal employees. Paid family leave was a signature issue for his daughter Ivanka Trump, at the time a senior adviser to the president. She even held a paid leave and child care summit at the White House in late 2019. That set the stage for other Republicans to take up the issue more publicly. And after the Dobbs decision, family-friendly policies have increasingly become conservative talking points in states with restrictive abortion laws. After the Mississippi House unanimously passed a paid parental leave bill earlier this year, Republican House Speaker Jason White celebrated the bill as a reflection of Mississippi's status as a ' pro-life state.' In a recent post on X announcing her signing of a new paid parental leave law, Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds called Iowa 'a pro-family state.' North Carolina was one of the first Southern states to grant paid parental leave to state workers in 2019 when then-Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, signed an executive order. In 2023, several months after the Dobbs decision, the state's majority-Republican legislature extended paid parental leave to public school employees by tacking it onto a law banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy. Meanwhile, Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Braun signed an executive order in March to add up to eight additional weeks of paid leave for 'childbirth recovery' to the state's existing four weeks of paid parental leave. The new laws won't apply to most residents, because they only cover state employees. But they could have a downstream effect. Shaver, the Alabama lawmaker, said she hopes her state's new law will not only help the state be competitive with the private sector, but also set a precedent for other employers to follow. 'I hope they will see it's in their benefit to offer what they can,' she said. 'It may not be eight or 12 weeks, but even offering a reduced or flexible work schedule can help families.' Just over a quarter of private-sector workers have access to paid family leave through their employer as of March 2023, according the most recent data from the US Department of Labor. Among the lowest-wage earners, that share drops to 6%. State paid leave programs run the gamut in terms of what they offer. While Alabama's new law offers up to eight weeks of leave for all state employees, including teachers, Mississippi's offers six and does not require public schools to offer paid parental leave to their employees.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
More GOP states embrace paid parental leave for teachers, public employees
A woman holds her newborn baby in her Los Angeles home. More legislatures in Republican-led states are passing paid parental leave for public employees. (Photo by) More Republican-led states are giving paid parental leave to public school teachers and other state employees, signaling a broader acceptance of family-friendly workplace policies once championed primarily by Democrats. 'All of these red states, I think we're late to the party,' said South Carolina state Rep. Beth Bernstein, a Democrat who sponsored a bill this year to increase state employees' paid parental leave from six to 12 weeks. It passed the majority-Republican South Carolina House in April with strong bipartisan support. This year, Alabama, Iowa and Mississippi joined 37 other states in granting paid parental leave to thousands of state workers. The trend has gathered steam in recent years. Some experts link it to the cascade of state abortion bans that followed the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs decision, which dismantled the federal right to abortion. Under fire from critics to do more to care for babies once they're born, at least a dozen conservative-led states with abortion bans have since granted or expanded paid parental leave for their state employees. But others say the increasing bipartisan support for measures that help working parents is also a reaction to economic realities. 'What we've seen, especially in more conservative states, is the public sector has experienced a lot of turnover,' said Kameron Dawson, legal director of the Southern Office of A Better Balance, a legal organization focused on workplace rights. 'They're looking for tools to recruit younger employees.' Paid parental leave is the time off granted to workers for the birth or adoption of a baby, to care for a child, or to recover from a stillbirth or miscarriage. Without it, employees are left to cobble together their sick leave and vacation leave — or go unpaid — to stay home with a child and heal. We're trying to attract and retain state employees and teachers, and we're in competition with everyone around us, and the private sector as well. – Alabama Republican state Rep. Ginny Shaver Alabama Republican state Rep. Ginny Shaver watched her daughter, a public school teacher, struggle to get the leave she needed after the births of her children in recent years. 'With her second, she had complications in her pregnancy and used up her [paid vacation and sick] leave before she even had the baby,' Shaver told Stateline. Her daughter contracted COVID-19, and the baby had to spend time in neonatal intensive care. 'It was a very difficult time, and she had to take unpaid leave.' Last year, Shaver and Democratic state Sen. Vivian Figures worked to win approval of a paid parental leave bill for state employees. It failed. But they tried again this year. With the support of Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, the state legislature — which has a Republican supermajority — passed it nearly unanimously. The new law gives female state employees, including teachers, eight weeks of paid parental leave in connection with birth, stillbirth or miscarriage, and gives male employees two weeks. Adoptive parents get eight weeks for one parent and two for the other. Shaver said she thinks the law passed thanks to vocal support from the governor and increased awareness of the issue due to the work she and Figures did in previous sessions. 'And the fact that all of the southeast states around us offered it,' Shaver said. 'We're trying to attract and retain state employees and teachers, and we're in competition with everyone around us, and the private sector as well.' For many Republicans, the workforce development argument for paid leave is a persuasive one. For states such as Alabama and South Carolina that have some of the lowest workforce participation rates in the nation, paid leave can be a tool to keep more people — particularly women — working. And it can be a way to retain educators as many states struggle with teacher shortages in K-12 schools. 'For several years we've seen state legislatures acknowledging the importance of child care to businesses and the economy,' said Feroza Freeland, policy director at the Southern Office of A Better Balance. 'But in the last few years, we've seen a growing recognition that paid leave is another piece of that puzzle.' New rules protect pregnant workers, but red states sue over abortion provisions States have taken up the issue because the federal government has not. The United States is a global outlier; among 38 peer nations, it's the only one that doesn't mandate paid parental leave, according to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. The group comprises 38 democracies with market-based economies. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act, passed in 1993 and extended in 2020, only requires public agencies and companies with at least 50 employees to give up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for parents of newborns or newly adopted children, or caregivers of sick family members. During his first term, President Donald Trump publicly supported some forms of paid family leave and signed a defense bill that gives 12 weeks of paid parental leave to most federal employees. Paid family leave was a signature issue for his daughter Ivanka Trump, at the time a senior adviser to the president. She even held a paid leave and child care summit at the White House in late 2019. That set the stage for other Republicans to take up the issue more publicly. And after the Dobbs decision, family-friendly policies have increasingly become conservative talking points in states with restrictive abortion laws. After the Mississippi House unanimously passed a paid parental leave bill earlier this year, Republican House Speaker Jason White celebrated the bill as a reflection of Mississippi's status as a 'pro-life state.' In a post on X this week announcing her signing of a new paid parental leave law, Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds called Iowa 'a pro-family state.' North Carolina was one of the first Southern states to grant paid parental leave to state workers in 2019 when then-Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, signed an executive order. In 2023, several months after the Dobbs decision, the state's majority-Republican legislature extended paid parental leave to public school employees by tacking it onto a law banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy. Meanwhile, Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Braun signed an executive order in March to add up to eight additional weeks of paid leave for 'childbirth recovery' to the state's existing four weeks of paid parental leave. The new laws won't apply to most residents, because they only cover state employees. But they could have a downstream effect. Shaver, the Alabama lawmaker, said she hopes her state's new law will not only help the state be competitive with the private sector, but also set a precedent for other employers to follow. 'I hope they will see it's in their benefit to offer what they can,' she said. 'It may not be eight or 12 weeks, but even offering a reduced or flexible work schedule can help families.' Just over a quarter of private-sector workers have access to paid family leave through their employer as of March 2023, according the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Labor. Among the lowest-wage earners, that share drops to 6%. Abortion-ban states pour millions into pregnancy centers with little medical care State paid leave programs run the gamut in terms of what they offer. While Alabama's new law offers up to eight weeks of leave for all state employees, including teachers, Mississippi's offers six and does not require public schools to offer paid parental leave to their employees. Iowa's new law grants four weeks of paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child and one week of paid paternity leave. Tennessee's law, passed in 2023, only offers paid leave to workers in the state's executive and judicial branches. But a few states are already expanding their offerings: Last year, Georgia legislators voted to double paid parental leave from three to six weeks. And some states have gone further than just state employees: 13 states and the District of Columbia have mandated paid family leave for all workers, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. Most of those states are located in New England or on the West Coast and all are Democratic-led. Ten more offer voluntary paid family leave statewide that's provided through private insurance. Experts say the shift in attitude toward family-friendly policies can also be attributed to a generational shift. 'A lot of younger lawmakers are more willing to champion the issue of paid leave,' said Freeland, of A Better Balance. 'They're understanding it because they're seeing it in their own lives, or seeing friends and family members going through this.' In South Carolina, Bernstein's bill faced some opposition from members of the state's ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus and Family Caucus. Some lawmakers questioned the potential costs of the bill, or criticized it as government overreach. South Carolina Republican state Rep. Josiah Magnuson, a member of the Freedom Caucus, said he believed the bill would be a financial burden on public school districts that could lead to raised taxes. 'You're saying, let's tax the people of South Carolina, most of whom don't get paid parental leave, and give them to state employees who already have six weeks' paid parental leave,' Magnuson told lawmakers in April before the House voted to pass the bill. He also said he doesn't like that the increased paid leave 'puts the foot in the door a little more for the government to be involved in the home.' The opposition frustrated Bernstein, who pointed out that the state's 2022 law that granted six weeks of paid parental leave passed the legislature almost unanimously. This year's bill expanding that leave passed the House but hasn't seen movement in the Senate. It can be picked up again when the legislature returns in January. Other South Carolina Republicans backed the bill, citing their own families' experiences following the birth of their children, reported the South Carolina Daily Gazette. More conservative states are also responding to the needs of 'sandwich generation' employees who may be caring for aging parents as well as children, Freeland said. Earlier this year, Tennessee became the first Southern state to expand its state paid leave policy beyond just parental leave. The state legislature voted almost unanimously to extend its six-week paid leave policy to cover state workers providing end-of-life care to a family member. 'We're seeing a growing recognition that people need support for these types of family or caregiving needs,' said Freeland, 'and that it strengthens the workforce and economy to be able to provide that.' Stateline reporter Anna Claire Vollers can be reached at avollers@ SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Knoxville police seek sexual battery suspect who may be in Gatlinburg area
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Knoxville detectives are searching for a former high school coach facing multiple sexual battery charges who may be in Sevier County. The Knoxville Police Department Special Crimes Unit is searching for 57-year-old Richard Shaver. He was indicted on four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and two counts of attempted sexual battery by an authority figure. Alabama drug bust: Knoxville man accused of hiding 15 pounds of fentanyl in car battery Investigators believe he may be in the Gatlinburg area and driving a white Chrysler Pacifica van with Tennessee tag 315-BDVN. A spokesperson for Knox County Schools said he was a football coach at West High School and has resigned. Anyone who may have information on Shaver's whereabouts is asked to contact East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers. This is a developing story. or for updates. There are multiple ways you can provide anonymous information to Crime Stoppers. You can call 865-215-7165 or **TIPS, and go online at via the free mobile app, P3 Tips, or the East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers Facebook page. Tipsters can remain anonymous and are eligible to receive a cash reward. Last month, West High School assistant football coach Chad Brooks was indicted on multiple counts of statutory rape. He was placed on unpaid leave and a school spokesperson said his contract would not be renewed for the next school year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
RTÉ News
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Meet the woman who turned the Met Gala into the biggest party of the year
Analysis: Diana Vreeland took the reins of the Met Gala in 1973 and elevated this formerly stuffy charity ball into a global media sensation By Elizabeth Castaldo Lundén, University of Southern California The annual Met Gala in New York City is a dazzling collision of celebrity, fashion and media frenzy. The event is ostensibly a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, which houses a vast collection of historical costumes and fashion artefacts. But for many people, it's that time of year when their social media feeds become awash with posts, stories and live streams of A-list actors, musicians and influencers ascending the iconic steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art to showcase their elaborate outfits. The gala has come a long way since its early days as an intimate fundraising event for the local fashion industry and New York's old-guard elite. Through my research at the Met's Thomas J. Watson Library, I discovered the ways in which a former fashion editor named Diana Vreeland elevated this formerly stuffy charity ball into a global media sensation. A low-key affair Philanthropist and arts patron Irene Lewisohn launched the Museum of Costume Art in 1937 to promote the preservation and study of historical clothing. In 1946, New York fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert helped bring the museum's collection under the purview of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with the caveat that it would operate independently of the museum's budget. It was then renamed the Costume Institute. In 1948, Lambert organised the inaugural gala to raise funds for the institute. The following year, Lord & Taylor president Dorothy Shaver established a formal management structure for both the institute and its annual gala, streamlined operations, and helped burnish the reputation of the fledgling institution among New York's social elite. During her tenure, gala revenues climbed steadily, from US$31,723 in 1949 to $118,775 in 1958 – roughly $1.3 million (€1.1m) in today's dollars. The Met Gala that Shaver shaped looked similar, in many ways, to today's: There was a theme, a formal dinner, live entertainment and a fashion parade that attendees could participate in. There were also a photographers row, where guests could be snapped by famed fashion photographers for a fee, and raffles with department store prizes. After Shaver's death in 1958, department store executives continued to steer the gala, but attendance and revenue waned. In 1961, in an effort to cut costs and revive interest, the event was moved into the museum itself. The gala needed a reinvention. Soon, it would get one. Vreeland's vision Diana Vreeland took the reins of the Met Gala in 1973. She'd had a storied career in fashion journalism, including stints as fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar and editor-in-chief of Vogue. Vreeland, however, understood that in order for the gala to grow, it needed to become a newsworthy event that would be of interest to those who might not even attend the gala itself. So she selected spectacular, sometimes controversial themes that would generate interest from the press. Vreeland's first exhibition in 1973 was bold: a tribute to a single designer, Cristóbal Balenciaga. " The World of Balenciaga" was funded by the Spanish government, Iberia Airlines and five Spanish banks – a controversial move, considering Spain was still under Francisco Franco's dictatorship. The show featured Franco's granddaughter's wedding dress as one of the central pieces. Some curators also bristled at Vreeland's unorthodox approach to exhibition planning, such as blurring time periods, displaying clothes without providing historical context and prioritising beauty over scholarship. "She knows fashion and who wore it," one former museum official said, "but she doesn't know history." Nonetheless, critics deemed the gala and its accompanying exhibition a huge success. American designer Stan Herman declared that the garments " belong in a museum, like good paintings." In the coming years, Vreeland's other themes included "Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design," "The '10s, '20s and '30s," and " American Women of Style." The latter was accompanied by a Vogue magazine spread starring actress and model Marisa Berenson, who channeled iconic American "it girls" like Irene Castle, Consuelo Vanderbilt and Josephine Baker. Buzz and pizzazz Before Vreeland, coverage of the gala was limited to society pages and publications like Women's Wear Daily. Vreeland knew how to generate buzz because she thought like an editor. She also knew how to charm the press. Vreeland popularided words like " pizzazz," " splendeur" and "deeveen." She told tales of discovering model and actress Lauren Bacall and the work of fashion designer Roy Halston. She regaled reporters with stories of allegedly visiting Buffalo Bill in Wyoming. Under Vreeland's leadership, media coverage of the gala and exhibitions exploded, with articles appearing in The New York Times, The New Yorker, New York Magazine, People, Interview, Le Figaro, Le Monde, Revista Hola!, ABC de las Americas, Il Tempo, Paris Herald Tribune and Tokyo's High Fashion, among others. During her tenure, she also opened the doors to reporters and photographers so they could cover the night of the event. In an interview with Women's Wear Daily she said, "I am an entertainer. And I believe in wit, and good nature, and laughter." Corporate controversies With "The World of Balenciaga," Vreeland also pioneered the use of corporate sponsorships to finance the exhibitions and parties. In 1982, Pierre Cardin Management funded " La Belle Époque," a Met Gala theme associated with the relaunch of the famed Paris restaurant Maxim's, in which Cardin had invested. In 1983, Vreeland courted controversy again with the first exhibition honoring a living designer — Yves Saint Laurent — underwritten by the Pierre Bergé Foundation. Bergé was Saint Laurent's life and business partner. The show was launched amid rumors of the designer's declining health and growing criticism of the museum being exploited as a publicity platform. "One day the god of the Temple of Dendur will cry: 'I am not on earth to share a museum with a bunch of fashion freaks!'" critic John Heilpern groused in the East Side Express. The following year, Ralph Lauren became the central sponsor and guest of honor for " Man and the Horse." The Met set Under Vreeland, a new kind of guest list also emerged. The rise of celebrity culture in the 1960s gave birth to the " jet set" – beautiful people whose fame transcended traditional society circles. Vreeland embraced this shift. She made space at the gala for the likes of Andy Warhol, Bianca and Mick Jagger, Halston and his Halstonettes, David Bowie, Cher, Diana Ross, Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson. Their presence helped transform the gala from society soirée to pop culture phenomenon. After Vreeland's death in 1989, the event lost some its splendour under the guidance of museum curators. Women's Wear Daily columnist Aileen Mehle later lamented the decline, writing that the event had become"a far cry from the dear old Diana Vreeland days when that fashion oracle called the Costume Institute's shots, and elegance and anticipation abounded." From The Met, What Is a Black Dandy? | Superfine: Tailoring Black Style In the late 1990s, however, the museum curators who had run the event since Vreeland's death ceded control back to the fashion industry. High-end brands like Chanel, Versace and Christian Dior sponsored the Met Gala, while fashion editors such as Liz Tilberis and Anna Wintour chaired the event. By channeling Vreeland's vision, they were able to turn the gala into the global media spectacle it is today, which now thrives in an era of social media and global branding. This year's theme, " Superfine: Tailoring Black Styles," is co-chaired by rapper-producer Pharrell Williams, who is also the artistic director of Menswear at Louis Vuitton. The LVMH conglomerate – Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton – is the sponsor, showing how the gala continues to operate as a platform where corporate branding, celebrity culture and high culture converge.
Business Insider
29-04-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Energy-focused stock picker Electron Capital is raising funds while 'waiting in the bush' for the right market moment
After tackling succession, one of the biggest hurdles in the $4.5 trillion hedge fund industry, Electron Capital is on to its next challenge: raising money in the current, chaotic environment. Electron, which invests in infrastructure, utilities, and companies powering the "energy transition," believes its strategy will succeed regardless of who is in the White House, according to current CIO and managing partner Ran Zhou, who noted it began managing money when George W. Bush was president. The firm declined to specify a specific figure it hopes to raise, but the manager believes it has a strong pipeline of potential backers even as the industry has moved away from single-manager funds and toward multistrategy behemoths. Zhou, speaking with Business Insider during a recent interview in New York, stressed that the firm's long-term focus, in particular on companies' rising energy demands and the need to provide this power cheaply and sustainably, is still viable. For example, infrastructure for artificial intelligence's power needs has become a hot topic for big-name investors to talk about, but Electron has been thinking about the burgeoning field's energy needs for years. Regulatory filings show the manager first invested in Quanta Services, an electricity infrastructure company, in 2019 when the stock, now trading at nearly $300 a share, could be bought for less than $50. "The power thesis is not changing," said Zhou, who joined Electron in 2005 from a Columbia grad program and never left. Even clean energy, which is "facing a lot of headwinds," Zhou said, could be attractive soon as capital leaves the sector and valuations drop. The Trump adminstration has pledged to support the oil-and-gas industry and cut support to cleaner intiatives. The firm is "like hunters waiting in the bush, waiting for the right moment," Zhou said. One of those moments may be happening now: An investor document states that the firm is up more than 3% in its long-short strategy in April through the 25th, cutting losses this year to 1.8%. The S&P 500 is down more than 6% on the year as of press time. Last year, the manager made more than 21%. Shaver departs, but capital stays The $2.8 billion asset manager was started by Jos Shaver, who first ran the strategy as a standalone fund from 2005 to 2008 before joining Steve Cohen's now-shuttered hedge fund, SAC Advisors. Shaver then relaunched the manager in 2013. He passed the reins to his longtime lieutenant Zhou in October 2023, although he remains a senior advisor to the firm and has a majority of his net worth still invested in the manager. Unlike many single-manager funds, which are often molded by and marketed around their founders, Electron was able to successfully transition to the next generation, in part thanks to a global roadshow Shaver and Zhou embarked on in 2023 to explain the change to existing LPs. The result: Net inflows in 2023 despite the leadership change. The manager has enjoyed long-lasting relationships with many backers — more than half of Electron's top 10 investors have been with the manager for more than a decade. Zhou said the firm's message during the roadshow was that there was no star at Electron but instead an investing team that "hunts as a pack," which resonated with LPs. The connection with its backers has allowed Electron think beyond the next quarter or year, and the manager has built out its team to handle more capital and more work. The field since Electron's strategy started trading nearly 20 years ago has grown significantly, and Zhou said there are now 700 stocks in the firm's investible universe. Given the expansion, the manager has slowly built out its investing team over recent years, hiring five analysts since 2019 to support Zhou, utilities-focused portfolio manager Neil Choi, and Shaver. "The majority of gains come from long-term holdings and identifying the structural changes coming early," Zhou said, and the firm plans to keep to that script.
