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College Admissions Part I: Preparing for the Admissions Journey
Planning for College It never rains but it pours, or so the saying goes. As it applies to sending our beloved adult children to college, many of us here at SageBroadview have been getting deluged lately. As Sheri described, Dominic flew the coop in 2014. This fall Devon, her youngest son, is entering the University of Hartford’s music performance and composition program via The Hartt School. Lynn has also recently completed “the...
Models vs. Reality, Indexes vs. Investing Part II: A Fund Isn’t an Index (and Why That Matters)
A Fund Isn’t an Index (and Why That Matters) In our last post, we covered how not all indexes are created equally, which means that results may vary, even when they are supposedly tracking the same market. In today’s post, let’s look at how and why a fund’s performance may deviate from its closest benchmark index. Indexes vs. Evidence-Based Funds: Similar But Different Take one more step away from the real-life market,...
Models vs. Reality, Indexes vs. Investing Part I: What’s in an Index?
In recent posts (part I and part II), we covered some of the ways people try to determine how their investments have been doing, and how mismatched measures can generate misguided views. Determining your portfolio’s Time-Weighted Rate of Return (TWR) is one way to reach a relatively accurate sense of how your portfolio is doing compared to its most appropriate benchmarks during particular periods of time. One good two-part series deserves...
Another Helpful Take on Fiduciary Duty
Well, speaking of the devil. Or, in this case, the devilish ways that some financial representatives make investment recommendations that may or may not be in your best interest. It depends on whether they are in a fiduciary relationship with you … or not. No sooner had we wrapped our own post explaining why the term may be as important as it is unfamiliar, Dimensional Fund Advisors published its own handy...
What is a Fiduciary? Demystifying “Fiduciary” Financial Advice
So, have you heard about the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) new fiduciary rule, now governing the advice you receive for your retirement plan assets? If so, congratulations, you’re in an elite group. Maybe the news would have received wider coverage if the election year weren’t in full swing. Maybe not. As one of my colleagues observed, “Sad to say, ‘fiduciary’ is boring.” The word alone causes eyes to glaze and...
What is a Financial Advisor Worth? A Nerd’s Eye View of an Advisor’s Value
The credentials alone may say it all about Michael Kitces and his Nerd’s Eye View on financial planning. With two master’s degrees in financial services and taxation, a CFP® mark, and five other financial certifications to his name, that’s some serious nerd power. But what’s decidedly cool about Kitces is his passion for sharing his “journey of continuous education” with fellow advisors as well as with investors looking for a...
You and Your Investments: How Are You Doing? Part II: Your Portfolio and Its Parts
Part II: Your Portfolio and Its Parts In our last post, we discussed why it’s best to avoid comparing your own investment returns to “the market” or the latest popular portions of it. There’s one more misleading measurement that can trip up an investor: [message_box title="Your Portfolio" color="gray"] = Pursing the market’s expected returns (by investing in asset classes with higher expected returns but higher volatility) + Managing the risks involved (by investing in asset classes with more...
You and Your Investments: How Are You Doing? Part I: Coveting Your Neighbors’ Returns
Part I: Coveting Your Neighbors’ Returns It’s ironic. One of the biggest questions we ask ourselves as investors is: “How am I doing?” While the question is a good one, if the answers are off-base, you risk changing course when you should be sitting tight, or sitting tight when you should be considering a change. This is not only frustrating, it can detract from … how you are doing. It’s a...