Have you ever noticed that the best humor usually has an edgy element of truth to it?  Take, for example, this StockCats “Headline Generator” spoof on the commentary that floods our sensibilities every time the market moves a whisker. Admittedly, we financial professionals may be hard up for humor, but I got a good belly laugh out of their creative spin on what (sadly) often passes for intelligent observations. So, yes, there is an abundance...

NJMoneyHelp.com asked Sheri Cupo to answer a reader's question: “What is dollar cost averaging? I’ve heard it’s a good way to invest so I don’t have to worry about the ups and downs of the stock market. Will it protect my money?” Read the answer here: NJMoneyHelp.com ...

Long-time readers of the SAGEbroadview Blog are already familiar with my story but permit me a moment to fill in our new readers. On May 4th, 2008 (just as the Great Recession got under way!) my family and I were in a serious car accident. My husband and two sons were banged up but otherwise fine; I had multiple abrasions and contusions and my neck was fractured in two places....

NJMoneyHelp.com asked for Sheri Cupo’s advice  for their readers in “What’s better? A SEP-IRA or a Solo 401(k)?” The question was: “ I’m self-employed. How do I decide on the right retirement account: a SEP-IRA, or a Solo 401(k) or a regular IRA?” Read the answer here: NJMoneyHelp.com ...

If you haven’t noticed, we’ve been on a blog roll lately, explaining common mishaps investors face when assessing how their investments are performing in ever-turbulent markets. We’ve covered Time-Weighted vs. Internal Rates of Return and Confusing Cost Basis with Fund Performance. Today, we’ve got one more area to explore: Comparing your returns to popular benchmarks such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) or the S&P 500 indexes. Compared to What? “How...

In our last post, we introduced two investment terms that are a little more technical than we normally prefer, but worth knowing when you want to accurately measure your portfolio’s performance:  Time-Weighted Rate of Return (TWR) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR). Since calculating rates of return and portfolio performance requires complex formulas and computer software that may not be readily available, we often see investors turning to an investment’s cost basis...

USAToday.com via AdviceIQ.com published Sheri Cupo’s post "Is It Better to Buy or Rent Your First House?" "Spring – a time for fresh starts and, for some, a new home. Before you head out to open houses, your first question should be: Should I own a home at this time? Your second: Or should I remain a renter?" Read the full article here: USAToday.com ...

If you’ve been reading our blog posts for a while, you know that we try to avoid financial-speak whenever possible. But until the rest of the world follows our lead, sage investors are best served by familiarizing themselves with two weird, but worthy terms: Time-Weighted Rates of Return (TWR) vs. Internal Rates of Return (IRR). We’ll explain what we’re talking about in a moment. But first let’s talk about why it...

  As a follow up to our recent blog post, “Five Warning Signs That It’s NOT the IRS Calling,” a handful of SAGEbroadview clients and others have let us know that they have experienced another form of fraud. Some have received mailings from the IRS (the real IRS), alerting them that they may have fallen victim to identity fraud in the form of a bogus tax return being filed in their name....