Briefly Noted

Portfolio Strategies
The Great Tax Fight: Managing Stocks in Taxable Accounts
The Fight of the Century is the continuous fight investors have with Uncle Sam over their return dollars. Who's the leading challenger? The Tax-Efficient Investor. A look at how to create a tax-efficient portfolio when managing individual stocks.

Stock Strategies
Large-Cap Growth: Can It Regain the Market Leadership?
Since the great Market Bubble burst in 2000, large-cap growth stocks have been perennial laggards, trailing small caps and value in each of the past five years. Can these stocks regain their market leadership? Reasons for optimism—and casues for concern.

Stock Strategies
Stock Investing ABCs: How to Read an Annual Report
Annual reports are like chapters in a company's life, giving a detailed account of the year past and the outlook for the future. While the financial numbers reveal part of the story, you can tell a lot just by reading the text. How to get the most out of an annual report.

Hot Links
Web Sites for Screening Mutual Funds
A list of Internet sites that offer free mutual fund screening to help you locate funds that meet your specific criteria.

AAII Model Portfolios
Shadow Stock Portfolio Still Leads as Market Runs Out of Gas
While the Model Shadow Stock Portfolio is starting to run on fumes alone, it still leads the market. A mid-year look at the portfolio--how it has fared, and what changes have been made.

Stock Screens
Mid-Cap and Growth Pull Ahead in Mid-Year Review
The year has been rough for value-oriented strategies relative to growth approaches, while strategies investing in smaller-cap companies have outperformed strategies that focus on larger firms.

Insurance Products
Variable Life Illustrations and the Problem of Stock Volatility
Variable life insurance policy illustrations can present a highly misleading picture to buyers who will be investing the policy primarily in equity subaccounts. Simulations of how the policy will fare based on various stock market results can paint a truer picture of how your premiums may change over time—and the risk of policy faliure if you neglect to adjust.

Departments
Briefly Noted
Current news items of interest to individual investors.

Departments
Letters
Member questions and comments on recent AAII Journal articles.