Finance
4 best tips for financial health in 2024
In today’s complex and ever-changing world, a secure financial future is not attainable without careful planning for a specific outcome.
Using best practices for the journey and attaining your financial goals will not occur — unless you possess a winning lottery ticket, which is certainly not a good strategy.
Additionally, both personal and professional financial well-being has become increasingly dependent on our ability to connect, communicate, and collaborate effectively.
With these things in mind, a look in 2023’s rearview mirror is helpful in identifying strategies and approaches that have worked well, and these will continue to do so in this coming year.
Here are five lessons learned in 2023 that will enhance your financial health as you plan for your future.
Set measurable financial goals
Goals give direction to your financial journey, helping you focus on what’s important. Set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) financial goals. This could be saving a certain amount by year-end, investing in specific assets, or reducing debts.
Regularly review and adjust these goals as needed. And tie these goals to your “why” – what will these financial goals help you to do? To what lifestyle or opportunities do you aspire?
Financial planning needs to be connected to the larger goal and aligned with your values, so that you are inspired to continue building, even when times get tough.
Cultivate a robust advisory team
You are no doubt an expert at what you do. However, unless you also possess formal education and expertise as a wealth advisor, estate planning attorney, and certified professional accountant all rolled into one, you need a team comprised of these experts. This allows you to continue doing what you do best, as these professionals work apply their acumen to support you in your goals.
Many of us have in our circle someone who thought they could do it alone, ending up in financial disaster.
A case in point was when a business owner having toiled and sacrificed for more than 20 years to develop something she could leave her children, left nothing. Why? She was a do-it-yourselfer who did her own taxes, financial and estate planning.
When she passed away, her children found they had to sell the business to pay for the taxes, and so much more. Don’t let that be you.
Keep learning
The landscape is constantly evolving. Staying informed and adaptable is crucial for making sound decisions not only for your finances, but for all other aspects of your life.
Dedicate time each week to keep up with trends and developments in the world that can affect your goals and future. This continual learning will help you to ask better questions of your financial team and to recognize new opportunities. Frankly, it will also keep you more relevant, more interesting, and younger in spirit!
Mend your fences
I have heard so many sad stories of families intending (or not!) to repair relationships “someday.”
If your ideal future is riddled with stress and loss due to a family rupture, repair it now. One of my friends has a child from whom he is estranged.
Even though this friend has reached his financial goals and appears to be enjoying a beautiful life with his wife, they are full of sorrow because of the loss of their relationship.
Moreover, how they have more recently made financial decisions about their future has shifted drastically because they are not courageous enough to reach out and seek to bridge this conflict.
In some cases where it is harmful or destructive, keeping strong fences up is important. But in others, wherever, possible, having courageous and vulnerable conversations to repair the rupture makes future life so much more rewarding. If you are someone who longs to reconcile and you aren’t sure how to go about it, seek help.
Enhance communication skills
Effective communication is key in contracting and negotiations, whether for salaries, business deals, or investments.
You recently read a series of articles about how to work with contracted workers and avoid pitfalls. If you find it challenging to communicate well, invest in communication workshops or coaching.
Practice active listening, assertiveness, and clarity in your daily interactions. Before any negotiation, prepare thoroughly, know your needs, understand the other party’s needs, and work to set clear expectations and a win-win outcome together.
The integration of interpersonal skills, communication, and relationship-building with financial acumen is more important than ever in 2024. By integrating these lessons learned from the past year, you can enhance your financial health and pave the way for both personal and professional success. Remember, the journey to financial well-being is continuous and requires a comprehensive approach encompassing both soft skills and financial strategies.
Patti Cotton serves as a thought partner to CEOs and their teams to help manage complexity and change. You can reach her via email at Patti@PattiCotton.com.
Finance
Canadian and UK finance groups pause new ventures with DP World over CEO’s emails with Epstein
Financial groups in Canada and the United Kingdom said they’ve paused future ventures with the company DP World after newly released emails showed a yearslong friendship between the company’s CEO, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, and Jeffrey Epstein.
The emails — some referencing porn, sexual massages and escorts — surfaced in the cache of Epstein-related documents recently released by the U.S. Department of Justice. DP World is a logistics giant that runs the Jebel Ali port in Dubai and operates terminals in other ports around the world.
Sulayem, its chairman and CEO, made headlines this week when U.S. officials appeared to associate him with an email in which Epstein wrote, “I loved the torture video.”
In response to the released emails, British International Investment, the UK’s development finance agency, said they “will not be making any new investments with DP World until the required actions have been taken by the company.” One of Canada’s largest pension funds, La Caisse, gave a similar statement.
Epstein killed himself in jail in 2019 after he was charged with sex trafficking. The emails do not appear to implicate Sulayem in Epstein’s alleged crimes. DP World has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
What’s in the ‘torture video’ email?
In 2009, Epstein wrote in an email, “where are you? are you ok , I loved the torture video.”
The recipient, whose email was redacted, replied, “I am in china I will be in the US 2nd week of may.”
On Monday, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie posted a picture of the redacted emails on X, saying “A Sultan seems to have sent this” and that the Justice Department should “make this public.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche responded to Massie’s post that “the Sultan’s name is available unredacted in the files” and cited another document that names “Sultan Bin Sulayem.”
What have La Caisse and British International Investment said?
La Caisse said in an statement that it’s pausing new “capital deployment” with DP World. “We have made it clear to the company that we expect it to shed light on the situation and take the necessary actions.”
British International Investment said through a spokesperson that they “are shocked by the allegations emerging in the Epstein files regarding Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.”
Neither organization is an investor in DP World, but they both have invested alongside the company in port projects around the world.
What do the emails between Epstein and Sulayem say?
The topics range widely, including President Donald Trump, sex and theology.
In one email from 2013, Epstein wrote to Sulayem that “you are one of my most trusted friends in very sense of the word, you have never let me down.”
In response, Sulayem said, “Thank you my friend I am off the sample a fresh 100% female Russian at my yacht.”
That same year, Sulayem sent Epstein an email showing a menu for a massage business which included sexual offerings. Two years later, Sulayem texted Epstein a link to a porn site, and, in 2017, Epstein sent Sulayem a link to an escort website.
Epstein e-mailed with Sulayem about Steve Bannon, the Trump acolyte, in 2018, saying “you will like him.” In another exchange, Sulayem asked Epstein about an event where it appeared Trump would be in attendance.
“Do you think it will be possible to shake hand with trump,” Sulayem asked.
Epstein replied: “Call to discuss.”
Who is Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem?
He’s chairman and CEO of logistics giant DP World, which has long been a pillar of Dubai’s economy.
The company runs the city’s sprawling Jebel Ali port and operates cargo terminals in ports around the globe.
Sulayem previously had a larger role as chairman of the Dubai World conglomerate, which at the time included the property developer Nakheel. That company was behind the creation of manmade islands in the shape of palm trees and a map of the world that helped cement Dubai’s status as an up-and-coming global city.
___
The AP is reviewing the documents released by the Justice Department in collaboration with journalists from CBS, NBC, MS NOW and CNBC. Journalists from each newsroom are working together to examine the files and share information about what is in them. Each outlet is responsible for its own independent news coverage of the documents.
HALIFAX COUNTY, Va. (WSET) — The newly appointed director of finance for Halifax County has now resigned from the post, citing comments that she believes are questioning her integrity.
On Monday, supervisors named the school system’s finance director, Dr. Karen Bucklew, to also serve as the county’s interim finance director.
RELATED: Halifax County Schools finance director to assist county as interim finance director
In her resignation letter, Bucklew cites public comments from members of the board and to the media regarding whether serving both entities is a conflict of interest.
The letter lays out her professional and ethical standards, and said the comments have eroded the professional working environment, so she will remain as the school’s finance director only.
Bluespring Wealth Partners has purchased SHP Financial, a firm based in Massachusetts that manages about $2.3bn in assets for mass-affluent and high-net-worth clients.
Financial specifics of the deal remain undisclosed.
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SHP Financial was established in 2003 by Derek L. Gregoire, Matthew C. Peck, and Keith W. Ellis Jr., who began their financial careers together in the insurance sector.
The company employs around 50 staff across three offices in Plymouth, Woburn, and Hyannis. Its team includes seven advisers and 18 other financial services professionals.
The firm is known for providing fiduciary advice and offers services such as its SHP Retirement Road Map, aimed at making retirement planning more accessible to clients.
Peck said: “We are deeply protective of the culture we’ve built over the last two decades and were intentional about choosing a partner we felt could help us fuel SHP’s next stage of growth while helping us remain true to our goals.
“And we found that partner in Bluespring. We believe Bluespring can provide the resources and support needed to grow and invest in our team, while preserving the client experience that defines SHP.”
In 2025, Bluespring added over $6bn in assets under management to its business.
Bluespring president Pradeep Jayaraman commented: “SHP is a team that has already built meaningful scale and is still hungry to grow. That’s what makes this an acceleration story, as opposed to a transition story.
“SHP’s founders are seasoned leaders in the prime of their careers, still deeply engaged in their business, with decades of success yet ahead.
Last month, Bluespring added Coghill Investment Strategies, managing around $600m in assets, to its network.
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