Insights

Employees of large corporations may some day be faced with a major decision to make: whether or not to take a buyout offer, voluntarily terminating employment for some sort of financial incentive.  An offer of a certain number of weeks or months of severance pay can be very attractive, and may be the right choice, though certainly not an easy one. Here are some considerations for employees to make an informed decision.

Many investors utilize income-producing holdings such as dividend-paying stocks and/or bonds to generate cash flow within their portfolio. When analyzing the performance or appropriateness of these holdings, it is important to take into account not only the income generated, but also the change in principal value. The method of measuring performance that takes both income and capital appreciation/depreciation into consideration is known as total return.  Total return is considered by many to be the most accurate measure of performance.