Author: sHq_LoGiNz
Announces intent to vote AGAINST a new investment advisory agreement with
incumbent investment adviser Angel Oak Capital Advisors, LLC
FINS share price has declined by over 35% since inception (2019) and adviser Angel
Oak Capital Advisors, LLC should be held accountable
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Trevor Montano (“Mr. Montano” or “I”) today issued the letter below to shareholders of Angel Oak Financial Strategies Income Term Trust (NYSE: FINS) (“FINS” or the “Fund”) outlining the reasons why shareholders should join Mr. Montano (a shareholder) in voting AGAINST a new investment advisory agreement with adviser Angel Oak Capital Advisors, LLC (“Angel Oak“) at the upcoming Special Meeting of Shareholders (the “Special Meeting”). Angel Oak’s decisions have led to poor investment performance on an absolute and relative basis, and Angel Oak should be held accountable.
Dear Fellow FINS Shareholders –
Just two months ago, shareholders voted for change at the 2025 FINS Annual Meeting and DID NOT APPROVE an identical new investment advisory agreement to the one before shareholders at the upcoming Special Meeting. Additionally, two incumbent Trustees recommended by the Board of Trustees (“Board”), Keith M. Schappert and Andrea N. Mullins each received only 36%1 of the outstanding share vote at the Annual Meeting and were not duly elected to serve (majority requirement). However, FINS permits them to remain as Trustees until their replacement(s) are duly elected. These Trustees represent half of the independent Trustees on the Board, and they are supporting the new investment advisory agreement despite their unelected status and recommendations I shared with the Board to hold another Trustee election to allow the shareholders to properly elect independent Trustees. A web of governance provisions and Board actions have led to Trustee and Angel Oak entrenchment and a trampling of shareholder rights. The lack of accountability at both the Board and Angel Oak has led to poor financial performance on both an absolute basis and relative to peer closed-end funds.
I am voting AGAINST the new investment advisory agreement and AGAINST any potential adjournment of the Special Meeting and encourage all shareholders to join me.
I am voting AGAINST the new investment advisory agreement primarily for the following reasons:
1. The Board has a fiduciary responsibility to engage the best investment advisor for FINS at competitive investment advisory fees – it appears the Board, with the same four independent Trustees since inception, has never run a competitive selection process for the FINS investment adviser. Additionally, given the outcome of the Trustee election at the Annual Meeting, only two of six Trustees are both independent and duly elected by shareholders. How can shareholders trust that the Board is acting in their best interest, identifying the best investment adviser for FINS, when two-thirds of the Board is either unelected or an employee of Angel Oak?
2. FINS poor financial performance under Angel Oak – Angel Oak has been the investment adviser to FINS since inception, while the share price is down over 35%2 since inception. Additionally, shareholders have not been able to realize the full Net Asset Value (“NAV”) of their shares in over 5 years since February 27, 2020, as the shares have traded at a discount to NAV every day since, with a median discount of 9.4%3.
FINS has also underperformed on total shareholder returns relative to a group of peer closed-end funds, especially over 3- and 5-years where FINS has significantly underperformed (see table below). Additionally, FINS traded at a discount to NAV that was more than double the peer closed-end fund median discount to NAV as of June 30, 2025.
|
FINS Closed-End Fund Peer Performance Analysis (June 30, 2025)4 |
||||
|
Annualized Total Shareholder Returns (%) |
Discount to |
|||
|
1 year |
3 year |
5 year |
||
|
FINS Peers – NAV |
10.23 |
8.38 |
5.84 |
(2.59) |
|
FINS Peers – Market Price |
15.17 |
10.59 |
5.76 |
|
|
FINS – NAV |
10.11 |
3.38 |
2.39 |
(5.87) |
|
FINS – Market Price |
15.85 |
6.05 |
3.68 |
|
|
FINS vs. Peers – NAV |
(0.12) |
(5.00) |
(3.45) |
|
|
FINS vs. Peers – Market Price |
0.69 |
(4.54) |
(2.08) |
|
3. Angel Oak enrichment at expense of shareholders – FINS has paid Angel Oak more in investment advisory fees than cumulative net income generated for shareholders over the past 3- and 5- fiscal years, respectively.
|
FINS Cumulative Advisory Fees Paid and Net Income |
||
|
($MM) |
FY 2023-2025 |
FY 2021-2025 |
|
FINS Investment Advisory Fees Paid5 |
$20.0 |
$30.6 |
|
FINS Cumulative Net Income5 |
$9.0 |
$23.1 |
Additionally, Angel Oak is compensated based on managed assets and receives more fees when FINS has higher levels of financial leverage. I believe Angel Oak has inappropriately maintained FINS financial leverage through the interest rate cycle and yield curve inversions to enrich themselves, at the expense of shareholders.
4. Anti-shareholder actions by the Board and Angel Oak – I contend that the Board has been acting in the best interest of Angel Oak for some time, not in the best interests of shareholders. Numerous entrenchment governance provisions including the staggered board structure, unitary board, majority vote requirement without a plurality carveout for contested elections and lack of a resignation requirement for incumbent Trustees that are not elected seek to silence shareholders and prevent us from exercising our rights. The Board’s decision not to hold a Trustee election at the Special Meeting but instead permit unelected Trustees to recommend Angel Oak receive a new investment advisory agreement is another example of such actions.
Sincerely,
Trevor Montano
Concerned investor and advocate for FINS Shareholders
About Trevor Montano
Trevor Montano is a private investor focused on financial services, business services, financial technology and energy companies. He formerly served as the Chief Investment Officer at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and has 25 years of experience investing in, structuring, and underwriting, U.S. Bank capital instruments including subordinated debt, convertible debt, trust preferred securities, preferred shares and other forms of debt and equity regulatory capital securities. He is also a member of the Board of Directors at Blue Ridge Bancshares.
THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION OF AUTHORITY TO VOTE YOUR PROXY. DO NOT SEND MR. MONTANO YOUR PROXY CARD. MR. MONTANO IS NOT ASKING FOR YOUR PROXY CARD AND WILL NOT ACCEPT PROXY CARDS IF SENT. HE IS NOT ABLE TO VOTE YOUR PROXY, NOR DOES THIS COMMUNICATION CONTEMPLATE SUCH AN EVENT.
1 Per 2025 Annual Meeting certified results (LINK)
2 FINS inception 5/29/2019 (market price $20.00/share) through June 30, 2025 (market price $12.98/share)
3 Median FINS market price discount to NAV February 27, 2020 through June 30, 2025
4 Source: FINS and peer closed-end fund fact sheets as of June 30, 2025. FINS closed-end fund peers identified by Mr. Montano are tickers: FPF, LDP, JPI and NPFD. Figures may not compute exactly due to rounding.
5 Source: S&P Capital IQ Pro and FINS annual reports (2021-2025).
Contact:
West Potomac Capital LLC
info@westpotomaccap.com
View original content:SOURCE West Potomac Capital LLC
Two new automated systems, Click&Dig and Perception, are being introduced on CASE Construction Equipment’s wheel loaders to improve productivity and safety.
At CNH’s CASE Construction Equipment plant in Lecce, southern Italy, a team of young engineers are working toward a long-term goal of creating fully autonomous construction vehicles. The team, led by Advanced Electronics Manager Andrea Gravili, this year reaches a milestone, with two important automated functions coming to the market.
They are Click&Dig, which has three automated processes for wheel loaders — AutoDig, AutoDump and AutoMetering — and Perception, an AI-based system of cameras and sensors that detects obstacles and people around the vehicle to improve safety and support the operator’s decision-making.
Perception, CNH’s sensing system, was trained using AI to recognize different types of obstacles typically found on a construction site, from piles of rocks to other vehicles to people, says Gravili. Perception does not rely only on what it can ‘see’. “When the system is looking behind the vehicle, it can recognize or detect obstacles using both a camera and a radar,” he explains. “If there is dust on the camera, we can rely on the radar.” The operator is then alerted to press the brake.
The purpose of the advanced electronics team’s work is not to replace operators, according to Antonio Venezia, Director of Electronics for Construction Equipment at CNH. “I don’t spend eight hours a day every day in my car, but operators spend eight hours a day working in our vehicles,” he says. “The most important part of our job is to help them do their jobs better, in a more comfortable way.”
Read the full story here.
CINCINNATI, August 26, 2025 /3BL/ – The cost of pet care has reached an all-time high, with pet households estimated to spend an average of $1,733 annually, according to industry analyses – making it difficult for some pet owners to keep up with expenses.
Fifth Third (NASDAQ: FITB) supports pets and the people who care for them year-round through Provide, which helps veterinarians and other practitioners achieve their practice ownership dreams. Now, the Bank is supporting pet owners directly in conjunction with National Dog Day.
On Tuesday Fifth Third surprised about 750 pet owners at 37 pet-related businesses in Chicago, Knoxville, Nashville, Orlando & Jacksonville with gifts to help offset the cost of pet care, including $53 gift cards and packs of pet toys, treats and other goodies for their furry friends.
“To celebrate our pets – and help offset some of the cost of caring for them – we were excited to bring our popular Fifth Third Pets program back for a second year,” said Kevin Whitman, brand manager for Fifth Third. “At Fifth Third we put 166.7% into everything we do for our customers and supporting them on National Dog Day is just one example of how we can help build healthier, happier communities for pets and humans alike.”
The surprises took place at select veterinary offices, pet stores, groomers and day cares, including 10 Pet Paradise locations across Jacksonville, Orlando and Tennessee.
“As a longstanding partner, we’ve seen firsthand Fifth Third Bank’s dedication to both their clients and the communities they serve,” said Pet Paradise CEO Alex Miller. “Fifth Third Pets is a wonderful reflection of that commitment. We are proud to collaborate on this initiative and celebrate with Fifth Third Bank at our Pet Paradise resorts during National Dog Day.”
Among the goodies in each pet pack are treats from Beer City Dog Biscuits in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a company dedicated to supporting adults with disabilities in their personal and professional growth. Each of Beer City’s dog biscuits is hand-made and packaged by adults with intellectual and developmental challenges.
At Fifth Third’s corporate headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, Fifth Third also contributed $5,300 to SPCA Cincinnati and funded pet adoptions through the “Pups & Players” partnership associated with the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament. Fifth Third also brought back its popular Fur-nancial Pawdcast, a playful social media series where employees’ pets “talk” about financial wellness, for a second year.
From Aug. 26 through Sept. 30, the public also has the opportunity to participate in a social media sweepstakes via Instagram to win one of 53 $53 gift cards and a Fifth Third Pet Pack. More information and full sweepstakes rules are available online at 53.com/pets.1
1 NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of the U.S., excluding New York. At least 18 years old to enter. Odds of winning depend upon the number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited. Sweepstakes begins at 8:00 AM EST on August 26, 2025, and all entries must be received no later than 11:59 PM EST on September 30, 2025. For complete sweepstakes rules visit 53.com/pets. Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with, Meta Platforms, Inc.
###
About Fifth Third
Fifth Third is a bank that’s as long on innovation as it is on history. Since 1858, we’ve been helping individuals, families, businesses and communities grow through smart financial services that improve lives. Our list of firsts is extensive, and it’s one that continues to expand as we explore the intersection of tech-driven innovation, dedicated people and focused community impact. Fifth Third is one of the few U.S.-based banks to have been named among Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies® for several years. With a commitment to taking care of our customers, employees, communities and shareholders, our goal is not only to be the nation’s highest performing regional bank, but to be the bank people most value and trust.
Fifth Third Bank, National Association is a federally chartered institution. Fifth Third Bancorp is the indirect parent company of Fifth Third Bank and its common stock is traded on the NASDAQ® Global Select Market under the symbol “FITB.” Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Deposit and credit products provided by Fifth Third Bank, National Association. Member FDIC.
About Provide
Powered by Fifth Third Bank, Provide is on a mission to financially empower healthcare providers with great people and innovative technology. As the leader in tech-enabled financial services for aspiring and established healthcare practice owners, Provide offers an unmatched combination of industry expertise, personalized service, and customized financial products – enabling providers to achieve their ownership dreams, realize financial independence, and improve the industry’s standard of care. Founded in a one-bedroom San Francisco apartment in 2013, Provide was acquired by Fifth Third in 2021 and in 2023 was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies. Learn more at getprovide.com, and join the conversation on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok.
CONTACT
Amanda Nageleisen (Media Relations)
amanda.nageleisen@53.com
Matt Curoe (Investor Relations)
matt.curoe@53.com | 513-534-2345
BAD SÄCKINGEN, Germany and BOSTON, Aug. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — eschbach, a leading provider of enterprise software solutions for the process industry, is proud to announce it has been awarded a Silver Certification by EcoVadis, the global standard for business sustainability ratings. This recognition places eschbach among the top 15% of companies assessed worldwide.
“Quality and sustainability go hand in hand. This level of certification is a testament not only to our sustainable practices but also to the rigorous standards we apply in everything we do,” says Lisa Köpfer, head of quality management for eschbach.
EcoVadis evaluates companies across four key areas: Environment, Labor & Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. eschbach’s silver rating reflects its holistic approach to sustainability, with strong performance across all categories and industry-leading excellence in environmental responsibility.
“We are incredibly proud of this recognition,” says Andreas Eschbach, CEO of eschbach. “It reflects our deep commitment to sustainability—not just in our internal operations, but in the solutions we provide to our customers.”
eschbach’s flagship product, Shiftconnector®, helps industrial teams collaborate more effectively and safely, driving operational efficiency while supporting environmental goals. The company continues to invest in sustainable practices, ethical governance, and responsible supply chain management.
About eschbach
With its global headquarters in Southern Germany and its North America headquarters in Boston, MA, eschbach is the premier enterprise software developer for pharmaceutical, chemical and other process industry manufacturing. Shiftconnector incorporates AI technology and helps manufacturing teams take charge of facility operations, process safety, asset performance, and production quality. eschbach transforms digital manufacturing operations that helps managers, operators, and technicians to achieve the highest level of team communications. The award-winning solution is trusted worldwide by leading manufacturing companies such as BASF, Roche, and Bayer. For more information, visit www.eschbach.com.
Media Contact – North America
Dawn Fontaine
Ripple Effect Communications
T: 617-536-8887
dawn@rippleeffectpr.com
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eschbach-named-among-top-15-globally-in-ecovadis-sustainability-ratings-302539305.html
SOURCE eschbach
With decades of experience in nonprofit health care, Stuart’s leadership will focus on strengthening Blue Shield’s commitment to high-quality affordable healthcare coverage for all
OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Blue Shield of California today announced Mike Stuart as its new president and chief executive officer. A longtime executive and former chief financial officer of the nonprofit health plan, Stuart brings more than two decades of leadership experience in health care that will further Blue Shield’s mission of providing access to high-quality care that’s sustainably affordable for all.
“Mike Stuart is the right leader at the right time for Blue Shield of California,” said Kristina Leslie, chair of the Blue Shield of California board of directors. “He has a deep understanding of our mission, our members and the complex healthcare landscape we operate in. Mike’s financial expertise, collaborative approach and long-standing commitment to the nonprofit values that guide us make him uniquely positioned to lead our organization forward.”
As chief financial officer since 2022, Stuart has helped guide the organization through some of the most complex challenges the healthcare industry has faced. He has been instrumental in helping to make health care more affordable for Blue Shield’s members, supporting provider partnerships and ensuring financial sustainability of the health plan while staying true to the company’s nonprofit mission.
“Our industry is facing extraordinary challenges — from rising costs to regulatory shifts and increasing demands for equity and access,” Leslie said. “In this environment, we need a leader who not only understands the complexity of the healthcare system but also has the conviction and capability to drive real, sustainable change. Mike brings exactly that.”
As president and CEO, Stuart will lead over 6,500 employees who serve 6 million members with health, dental, vision, Medicaid and Medicare health service plans in California and beyond. He is also deeply committed to advancing the organization’s values across teams and partnerships, including recent collaborations to serve over 750,000 active-duty military members and their families, and expand our offerings for CalPERS members.
“I am honored to lead Blue Shield of California at such a critical moment for our state and industry,” said Stuart. “We have a responsibility as a nonprofit health plan to lead with integrity, partner with purpose and ensure care is both accessible and affordable. I’m proud to work alongside our talented leaders across the Ascendiun family of companies to build a healthcare system that works better for everyone.”
Stuart’s experience spans finance, operations and systemwide transformation. Prior to joining Blue Shield, he spent 11 years in senior leadership roles at the Daughters of Charity Health System, giving him firsthand knowledge of the challenges providers face and the importance of aligning incentives to improve outcomes and access for patients. He holds an MBA in Finance from Saint Mary’s College of California and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Cal State Chico.
About Blue Shield of California
Blue Shield of California strives to create a healthcare system worthy of its family and friends that is sustainably affordable. The health plan is a taxpaying, nonprofit, independent member of the Blue Shield Association with 6 million members, over 6,500 employees and more than $27 billion in annual revenue. Founded in 1939 in San Francisco and now headquartered in Oakland, Blue Shield of California and its affiliates provide health, dental, vision, Medicaid and Medicare healthcare service plans in California. The company has contributed more than $60 million to the Blue Shield of California Foundation in the last three years to have an impact on California communities.
For more news about Blue Shield of California, please visit news.blueshieldca.com.
Or follow us on LinkedIn or Facebook.
|
CONTACT: |
Margeaux Cardona |
|
Blue Shield of California |
|
|
(510) 607-2359 |
|
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blue-shield-of-california-announces-mission-driven-healthcare-leader-mike-stuart-as-president-and-chief-executive-officer-302539222.html
SOURCE Blue Shield of California
