A Waco, Texas, financial advisor has been sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay more than $9 million in restitution for running a Ponzi-type fraud scheme. Charles D. Jones, 61, owner of Charles D. Jones Capital Management Inc., pleaded guilty in February to wire fraud. He faced 30 years in prison, but got a lighter sentence from U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. after apologizing and pleading for mercy. Since the scheme was uncovered, Jones closed his business, surrendered his law license and has been delivering sandwiches for a fast-food restaurant, according to the Waco Tribune. Smith, in his sentencing, said Jones made “irresponsible and stupid” choices.
"Unicorns,” or start-ups valued by early investors at over $1 billion, are becoming more common; according to CB Insights, there are some 113 unicorns collectively valued at over $400 billion. Uber, the on-demand car service, is valued at some $50 billion alone. But while there are more unicorns out there, fewer are going public as quickly as they once did, according to wealth tracking firm Wealth-X. Why? Most likely, public investors would not value these firms as highly as venture capital firms. For advisors looking to entrepreneurs as clients, this translates to less liquid wealth than many may think. For instance, "Evan Spiegel, CEO of tech company Snapchat (valuation: US$15 billion), has a net worth of US$1.7 billion according to Wealth-X, but liquid assets of US$14 million – less than 1% of his fortune."
Millennials – the generation often seen as narcissistic with an outsized sense of entitlement – might actually have a leg up on the baby boomers in one area: financial responsibility. According to a recent study by T. Rowe Price, more millennials than baby boomers are keeping track of their expenses (75% versus 64%). They are also making a better effort to adhere to a budget (67% versus 55%). “[Millennials] are exhibiting financial discipline in managing their spending and are defying stereotypes that this generation is prone to spend-thrift, short-sighted thinking,” said Anne Coveney, senior manager of Retirement Thought Leadership at T. Rowe Price. Approximately 58% of millennials said it would be beneficial to receive help with managing their spending and debt, compared to only 24% of baby boomers.
“Part of being productive is to piggyback on the shoulders of greatness,” writes James Altucher on TechCrunch.com. So what do the most productive people do on a daily basis? For Altucher, it’s not creating to-do lists, cramming in extra meetings or finding quicker ways to absorb the news. It's reading, sleeping, eating at home, throwing stuff out, avoiding the news, limiting email, staying off the phone and out of meetings, and "maximizing experiences". In short, he says, being productive are doing all these things that increase his well-being, defined by competence, relationships and freedom.
