Briefly Noted

Getting Started
American Depositary Receipts
An American depositary receipt (ADR) represents shares of a non-U.S. publicly traded company and is traded on the U.S. exchanges. ADRs make it easier for U.S.-based investors to buy and sell foreign stocks.

Features
Will the Real P/E Please Stand Up?
There are many ways to calculate price-earnings ratios, and they provide a wealth of information about stock expectations.

Stock Strategies
LBOs: Winners and Losers in the Buyout Game
The LBO boom shows no signs of abating, producing winners and losers among investors. A look at how some portfolio managers have been coping--and what it means to investors in general.

AAII Model Portfolios
Model ETF Portfolio Adds Foreign Funds to the Mix
A closer look at AAII's new experimental ETF portfolio, including which ETFs are in the portfolio, the selection rationale, and why foreign ETFs are being added.

Stock Screens
A Top-Line Approach: The Price-to-Sales Ratio Screen
Price-to-sales ratios came into their own during the dot-com era, when earnings-based valuation models proved useless. Several years after the bursting of the Internet bubble, price-to-sales ratios continue to be a useful stock selection methodology. A look at one approach

AAII Model Portfolios
Mutual Fund Portfolio Tracks Market, Stumbles and All
The Mutual Fund Portfolio is doing well year-to-date, up 9.7% compared to 7.5% for the total stock market. A portfolio review.

Insurance Products
Protect Your Assets: Don't Neglect Disability Insurance
Disability insurance protects a valuable asset--a worker's ability to earn a living. What to look for in your disability coverage--and how to ensure that you have enough insurance.

Offbeat Offerings
Offbeat Offerings: American Depositary Receipts
An investor reference for products that are not your typical offerings. This issue's focus is on American Depositary Receipts (ADRs).

First Cut
The First Cut: Low P/E Relative
A starting point for investors. This issue's focus is on companies with the lowest current P/E relatives versus their five-year average.

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

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

Investor Professor
Will the Real P/E Please Stand Up?
A brush-up on basic investing terms and concepts. This issue explores the many ways to calculate P/Es and the wealth of information they provide about expectations.

Hot Links
Getting an Options Education On-Line
In the good old days, options primarily covered equities—in other words, the underlying instrument was a stock. But the option universe has expanded immensely. Where to go on-line to learn more.