Healthcare conference sets delegates onto a healthy path for life

With the fifth annual Cayman Islands Healthcare Conference just around the corner, delegates from last year’s conference have confirmed that the healthy messages imparted at the event have made a significant impact on their lives.

From 20th to 22nd November attendees at the Cayman Islands Healthcare Conference, taking place at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, will hear important advice on a wide range of health-related subjects, under this year’s theme: ‘Winning the war against chronic non-communicable diseases’.

But recent research has shown that delegates do more than simply listen to the information on offer; they act upon that advice as well.

Nine months after last year’s conference, delegates were sent a survey to find out what lifestyle changes they had made that had been prompted by attending the conference.

From that research, it was noted that over half the respondents had made changes to their physical health, with 21% making a ‘significant positive change’ and 42% making a ‘positive change’. Such changes included making better choices when it came to their diet, increased levels of activity and drinking more water.

However it wasn’t just the delegates who had benefitted from attending the Healthcare Conference last year, their families also gained as well. 8% of delegates who responded to the survey said that they had made a ‘significant positive change’ to the health of their family, while 37% had made a ‘positive change’ and 28% had made ‘some change’.

These changes included taking time to talk with the family, eating together as a family, creating a better work/life balance and eating healthier together.

An improvement in the way people dealt with their mental health was also recorded, as a result of people attending the conference, with an impressive 68% of respondents making a change such as taking breaks when feeling stressed, undertaking exercise, as well as breathing exercises, and meeting with a group of likewise individuals throughout the month to talk through any problems.

“Making a positive impact on the health and wellness of the Cayman Islands was always a core goal of these events and the Ministry is delighted that this survey demonstrates exactly the results we were hoping for”, Hon Osbourne Bodden, Minister for Health, Sports, Youth & Culture said.

Overall, the surveyed delegates felt that the Cayman community has promoted more wellness programmes and fun physical activities since last year’s conference, with 71% saying they had noticed more publicity on these types of programmes and events. As a result, some joined weight loss programmes and one attended a smoking cessation programme.

Committed sponsors this year include: Tenet Healthcare, Tower, Cayman Islands Health Services Authority, Dart, Health City Cayman Islands, CONCACAF, UnitedHealthcare Global, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Cleveland Clinic, Baptist Health International, Marsh, Cerner, BritCay, University of California-San Diego, Aitheras Aviation Group, Aon Risk Solutions, CINICO, Broward Health, The Wellness Centre, Fidelity, Heart Health Centre, Saint Luke’s Mid-America Heart Institute, Generali and many other exhibitors and not-for-profit organisations.

Visit www.healthcareconference.ky to register or stay up to date on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/CaymanHealthcareConference

DMS Hosts 4th Annual Offshore Investment Funds Summit in Brazil

DMS Offshore Investment Services Ltd. (DMS) will host its 4th Annual Offshore Investment Funds Summit in São Paulo, Brazil, on November 18, 2014. This year’s summit will focus on the opportunities and challenges for Brazilian asset managers seeking to raise capital offshore, and developments in the local market with investment diversification and institutional fundraising. The summit will also examine new international regulations impacting the fund industry.

DMS Founder Don Seymour and Executive Director Francine Balbina will be joined by several leading industry experts speaking at the conference. The roster comprises Alan Craig, Partner at Campbells law firm; Alper Ince, Managing Director and Partner of Pacific Alternative Asset Management; Fred Jacobs, Managing Director of SS&C Global Op Alternative Investment Division; Ana Cecilia Manente, Partner in the firm of Levy & Salomão Advogados’ Corporate & Capital Markets Group; Cary J. Meer, Partner in K&L Gates’ Washington, D.C. office; Daniel Walter Maeda Bernardo, who is responsible for the management of registrations and authorizations at Brazil’s Comissao de Valores Mobiliarios (CVM); Dara Chapman, Founder of DLC Consulting; Francisco Reis, Jr., an executive with the Pension fund Division of Grupo Icatu; Leonardo Camozzato, Managing Partner at HMC Itajuba; Luke Wilson, a Managing Director with ACA Compliance Group and Thomas Hickey III, Partner and business lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP.

“Changing dynamics in the international financial markets and new and increasing international regulations present us with a timely opportunity to discuss their impact on Brazilian fund managers and the Latin American financial markets in general,” stated Anne Storie, Chief Executive Officer of DMS. “We have assembled a strong line-up of experts who will each bring to the summit unique and well-informed perspectives, based on their market experiences.”

Previous summits have attracted hundreds of hedge fund managers, investors, lawyers and finance professionals and the organizers are expecting similar participation at this year’s event.

Allied with the summit, DMS will also host a workshop on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) for Brazilian media representatives. Brazil signed an intergovernmental agreement with the U.S. in September for the automatic exchange of tax information, under FATCA.

Ms. Balbina noted: “DMS is pleased to once again work with several partners to bring this summit to fund managers in Brazil. From our experience in the market, we are aware that many are looking for information and opportunities for pension and other investments that can be done offshore. We hope this summit will help them to better understand not only the market prospects, but the regulatory requirements that they will need to meet, as it has done in the past.”

DMS opened its São Paulo office in 2010 and hosts the annual summit to bring together industry professionals in Brazil to gain real insights into investor expectations, market developments and opportunities for business growth.

This year’s summit is supported by Campbells, SS&C Globe Op, the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), LatAm Alternatives, Brazilian American Chamber of Commerce, Bloomberg, CME Group, INOVA and Capital Aberto.

The summit will be held at the Tivoli São Paulo-Mofarrej hotel in São Paulo. Additional details on the summit and registration can be found on the summit website http://brazil.dmsoffshoresummit.com/