Remembering Jim Cloonan

DOUG H from MO posted over 5 years ago:

Jim was a true pioneer in his field. He built a phenomenal organization that is like no other. I am confident that AAII will build on Jim's foundational achievements while preserving his successful legacy.

W W from NC posted over 5 years ago:

I have been an AAII life member since the 1980s. I consider Jim Cloonan along with John Bogle and Warren Buffet as the key people who have educated and influenced me in developing my own investing principles. I know that I am not alone in my appreciation for what he has contributed to so many of us. He will certainly be missed! Warren W from NC

RICHARD W from CA posted over 5 years ago:

thank you, Jim for all that you have contributed to my own financial education and to the many of individuals worldwide! Now, You are indeed on another Level. I shall be looking for you "hand-up" in the years to come! Rick

RICHARD W from CA posted over 5 years ago:

In the AAII/ Jim Cloonan tradition of investor education, I, along with colleagues, look forward to presenting this October in Las Vegas our unique, powerful, reliable tool for determining the probability of not running out of retirement resources before joining you. We also promise to have fun, Jim! Rick

DANIEL B from MN posted over 5 years ago:

I always appreciated Jim’s thoughtful, logical and understandable methods on how the individual investor can prosper against institutional investors. I have incorporated his level 3 method in my own portfolio. I doubt that any single person in the world has had a bigger impact on the individual investor than Mr. Cloonan. I am a better investor because of him. Thank you Jim, you made your mark in the world and it made a difference.

MARIE F from NY posted over 5 years ago:

I did not know him, but I so appreciated his Level 3 Strategy. I follow it for my retirement withdrawal, and share the concept with others. I think it’s logical, fact based, just brilliant. I am saddened that he has gone, but his impact on me and others will remain. Marie F from Buffalo,NY

JEAN-CLAUDE D from MA posted over 5 years ago:

I haven’t met Jim but I do own him a great deal. He got me involved in reading AAII articles and joined AAII for life which propelled me in my long and fruitful investment journey. Jim even if you think you haven’t had a profound impact in investments, you have showed us the way. You’ll be sorely missed.

PAUL G from NY posted over 5 years ago:

This is the first I'm hearing of Cloonan's passing, so I'm a bit at a loss for words. I joined AAII as a lifetime member shortly after the Great Recession slashed my retirement portfolio by nearly 40%. So I was thrilled to meet Jim at the 2016 AAII Conference in Orlando, where he signed my "Level 3 Investing" book and was gracious enough to take a selfie with me. Now I need to get that photo framed. We'll miss you Jim.

DUANE L from IL posted over 5 years ago:

Dr. Cloonan was my professor for a Real Estate Finance course in my MBA program at DePaul University in 1982 and introduced us all to AAII and I have subscribed ever sine

M S from IL posted over 5 years ago:

Sad to hear about Jim's passing away. I have been life member of AAII and recommended to lots of my colleagues.I never met Jim personally but read his book and enjoyed his book thoroughly. I used to attend AAII monthly meeting which was held initially at Marriott down town Chicago with my friend Jim Rich MD I am reading AAII journal regularly and always learn something new. MSMD

JON H from MN posted over 5 years ago:

When IRA's 1st came out the concept appealed to me. IDS in the Twin cities was charging 7.5% loads. I lost money for 3 years and the 4th when they told me to stay the course I said I would but that even if I was to lose money I was going to save the 7.5%. I can't remember where I heard of AAII 1st but I subscribed for 2-3 yearas and then seeing the value I purchaed a lifetime membership and have never looked back. Also read Peter Lynch and John Bogles books and I firmly believe that with a little effort on your own and these sources for guidance anyone can certainly do better than most, including a mjority of active managers.

CHARLES C from CT posted over 5 years ago:

Thank you Mr Cloonan. Your 'Investing at Level 3' was a truly insightful work for purposes of individual investing. One of my financial mistakes was not becoming an AAII Lifetime Member sooner and discovering your wisdom (and that of the AAII team). Your attention to conflicts of interest, real or perceived, is something the finance 'industry' could certainly learn from. Your legacy is a larger body of clear-eyed and more informed individual investors, an important contribution few of us will be able to attain or replicate.

JASON P from WA posted over 5 years ago:

I had the good fortune to interview Dr. Cloonan when Level3 was first published. His comments about the difference between volatility and risk greatly influenced my thinking for my personal investments. The other bit of wisdom he shared with me was understanding historical time associated with market recoveries and how much safe money would be needed to weather most financial storms as you head into retirement. This second idea helped me shape the retirement calculator we built. Here are a few quotes from our interview. The first on volatility & risk: "Even if we found a better way to measure volatility including the [inaudible 00:07:39] or the problems with the ends of the distribution going out, we [inaudible 00:07:46] does it really make any difference to a long term investor? Giving the assumption that the market always comes back, which is a reasonable assumption I guess. In the United States, if you lose a war, maybe that wouldn’t be true. It has been true since the Civil War, and we’ve averaged 10.4% return on stock since the Civil War and it probably is going to go on. If you have that assumption, then why do you care about volatility? It looks pretty. It jumps up and down, but you can pretty well ignore it, at least until the time when you have to start to withdraw money, and then short term volatility comes more important." The second on having safe money when beginning the transition into retirement: " I think you look at how long the market can be down substantially before it returns, and then you want to have the money that you will need in that number of years in safe investments. We use the example, and I think it’s a pretty good one of keeping four years. Sometimes, market 1970 and 2008 may have run happy or longer than that. If you have four years out there that you can draw on and take without selling your stocks at the bottom, then I think that provides sufficient safety." Thank you Dr. Cloonan.

WILLIAM H from NJ posted over 5 years ago:

Jim's legacy is the wonderful Association he created and nurtured. Bill H

MARK N from MO posted over 5 years ago:

I am greatly saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Cloonan. However, he has left a legacy of knowledge bestowed upon individual investors that will last for generations through AAII. Thank you to those at AAII who continue to teach us.

Francis S from TX posted over 5 years ago:

I found Jim's book on Level3 Investing to be the best book on investing for individual investors that I have read. I have read numerous books on investing and found Jim's book to be the most useful with clear instructions and clear explanations on investing. I will really miss Jim's advice and was really looking forward to the next book he would write. Frank Simoes (Texas)

FRANK V from NLD posted over 5 years ago:

I deeply regret his pasing away, I am a newbe and live in the Netherlands, I just finished reading his book (Level3)and it is de best book about investing I ever read. Frank Visser, Malden The Netherlands.

DAVE G from WA posted over 5 years ago:

I have been an AAII lifetime member for the last 10 years or so and I too think Jim's book on Level3 investing is one of the best books I have read on the subject. One of the things that makes it a good investing book is the real definition of how your risk of investing should be evaluated. Not by the volatility of what you own, but rather real risk is defined as the likelihood that when you actually need to sell and withdraw your assets they will have a lower value than might otherwise be expected. In other words, the volatility of your equities is of little consequence if you have other income or assets that let you ride out the downside volatility of those equities. Jim's legacy is a credit to his lifetime vision for the "little guy" and the fact that education is a key to good investing.

DAVID D from CO posted over 5 years ago:

Thanks Jim for all you did for individual investors. Investing at Level3 is the best investing book I have ever read and it came at a perfect time for me. While everyone else has their hand in the investor's pocket, AAII has had our backs and that is because of the principles Jim founded the organization on. David (Colorado)

JAMES F from TX posted over 5 years ago:

AAII, Shadow Stocks, Investing at Level 3--What more can I say? I am so grateful to Mr. Cloonan for all he has done for me and my family financially. Thank you and RIP.

KEVIN S from CT posted over 5 years ago:

There used to be an ad in the NYT or WSJ that led with. "If I had a brother.."...well I have brother, Bob, and he directed me to AAII membership as he recognized my limited awareness of investing pitfalls and basics. I have been lifetime member for several years and AAII and James Cloonan have always been a clear beacon in the foggy days and nights of investing. Many thanks for his founding principles.

HARRY S from CA posted over 5 years ago:

Character in an individual is a quality that is hard to come by these days. The thing that demonstrated James Cloonan's character was the fact that when he established the AAII, he set it up as a non-profit organization because he was truly on a mission to help investors (rather than line his own pockets). By all accounts, I would say that he was immensely successful. Thank you Jim. You will always be remembered.

ASHOK K from TX posted over 5 years ago:

AAII has educated me to keep long term perspective and helped me build my portfolio. I enjoyed Jim's Level 3 book and many of his thoughtful articles. Jim did a great service to so many of us by founding the non-profit AAII. Thank you Jim.

STEVE E from VA posted over 5 years ago:

Thanks Dr. Cloonan for caring enough about the individual investor to found AAII. It has been a breath of fresh air for me since the 80's compared to the biased information from brokers, publications, etc. Thanks for thinking outside the box and sharing your common sense approaches through AAII and Level 3 Investing. These have really helped me gain perspective and plan my family's financial future.

JIM B from MO posted over 5 years ago:

I echo many of the same sentiments expressed by others... I am so grateful to Mr.Cloonan for all he has done for my overall investment knowledge. I have shared his insight/information countless times with friends and family over the years and am currently using the tools he influenced to drive change in my family legacy. THANK YOU and my prayers be with your friends and family...

JOHN W from WA posted over 5 years ago:

Like my wife or children, it's hard to remember life before AAII. Without it, life would be much more hollow. I'm grateful to James Cloonan and AAII for so many aspects, some financial, some just darn enjoyable.

Katharine B from NJ posted over 5 years ago:

I have worked in quantitative finance and financial accounting for many years--though not as a real quant, but a software engineer. So I know a decent amount about the kinds of models that are built based on the definition of 'risk' in terms of a statistical measure of short-term volatility. When I (finally) read Investing at Level 3 about a year ago, I felt that I had come across a genuine financial genius. Jim Cloonan's recognition that a different definition of 'risk' is more suitable for long-term individual savers, and his articulation of a better definition for such investors, was and is a major contribution to the theory of finance, and one with significant monetary value for those of us who have adopted his definition and applies its insights to investment choice and to retirement-withdrawal planning. I think it's a shame that the book happened to emphasize equal-weighted index funds, coming out as it did early in one of those periods of value-underperforming-growth. Judging from comments at AAII, some have dismissed much of his wisdom on these grounds. (There is also the possibility that one can achieve a functionally-equivalent portfolio to an EW index more efficiently by other means--the one genuine weakness in the book, as far as I can see.) No, Jim Cloonan was a financial genius, and his wrestlings with how to advise individuals with truth and integrity over the years at AAII deserve the respect and gratitude of every small investor. He certainly has mine! I send my condolences to those who knew him personally. I'm sure he is the kind of person who will be keenly missed.

Stephen C from NJ posted over 5 years ago:

Jim Cloonan was household name when I was growing up. My father was of the same generation as Jim, born in the same year. He discovered AAII a long time ago when I was just a kid, and I recall him talking about it all of the time at dinner, during drives in the car, talks on the phone, whenever he could in order to get me to become excited and involved about the world of stock investing. I went on to study finance in college, yet that didn't really teach me much at all about every day investing and portfolio management as an individual person, which I have found is an entirely different challenge. With so many people out there touting all kinds of crazy investment schemes, AAII's understated and academic presentation is what I was looking for. No sales pitches, no crazy claims, just presentation of fundamental concepts, the kind you learn about in b-school. So much learning potential is here at AAII if we want it. I assume much if not all of AAII reflects Jim Cloonan's mindset and influence. For me, there are precious few trusted "go-to's" in the investment world, but AAII is one of them. I am a second generation customer, and to me Jim's work represents a connection to my father. It gives me hope that I might learn how to use this information and that I and my family may prosper from it. Giving hope to a family for financial freedom - is there a greater legacy than that?

WILLI B from DEU posted over 5 years ago:

Mr. Cloonan has founded one of he best - if not THE best - organization to educate individuals about investing that can be found on the web. Thank you, Mr. Cloonan.

GREG S from FL posted over 5 years ago:

It is no exaggeration to say that Investing at Level 3 revolutionized my thinking about investing. Before reading it I could not even keep pace with the S&P, despite trying all sorts of approaches. Jim's ideas totally changed the way I saw the markets and the industry. Using his strategies I have handily beaten the market for the last four years. Who knows if that will continue but he has given me the best four years of my life-long investing career and for that I am deeply in his debt. I developed my own tactics for implementing his strategies, so we diverged in that regard, but his way of seeing things is being passed on to my children and grandchildren. I am hopeful that his ideas and their youthfulness will successful compound their investing success, well into the future. Jim may be gone but, at least in my family, I expect his legacy to transcend the generations. Not too many people can leave such a legacy. Thanks, Jim.

VIJAY C from NJ posted over 5 years ago:

I am a AAII life member thanks to Jim Cloonan. Jim’s legacy is far reaching. He will be dearly missed.

RAYMOND R from RI posted over 5 years ago:

In complete recognition and appreciation to Jim laying a foundation that has helped so many individual investors over the past 4 decades. One man helping so many is a such a gift and rarity. Also, Kudos for the continuation and growth of this organization by current leadership.

TINA P from MA posted over 5 years ago:

I have been an AAII member for several years and appreciate Jim Cloonan for creating such a great organization that both beginner and experienced individuals benefit from. Jim will be truly missed but never forgotten for all he's done to help us. Also, thanks to all others at AAII for all you do.

ED F from MA posted over 5 years ago:

I have been a AAII member and Life Member since 1998 and thank Jim and the AAII for their approaches to individual investing.

CHARLES D from GA posted over 5 years ago:

I will always be in debt to James Cloonan and staff at AAII. I joined AAII in the early 1980’s and then became a lifetime member in 1987. The dues that I paid to AAII is nil to what I have received in knowledge and building a strong long-term portfolio for retirement. Once I retired, I learned how to withdraw funds for a comfortable living and still be an active in investor in the stock market by growing my portfolio. Thank you, Jim and Staff, for your teachings. I’ll see you at the next conference on the East Coast. Charles P. Downey

JEAN H from AAII posted over 5 years ago:

Comment from Dilbert Deroscher, sent in during Jim's Webinar Tribute on 1/6/2021: "I have read many books on investing in my adult life. I read the Level 3 Portfolio book authored by Dr. Cloonan right after it came out in the fall of 2016. It was a good read. The three (3) main points I got out of it were these: 1.) Use equal-weighted indexes instead of cap-weighted indexes. 2.) Don't be afraid to invest in micro-cap, or Shadow Stocks over a long time period. 3.) Don't waste your time on stock options. They are a zero-sum game."

JOHN K from IN posted over 5 years ago:

Rest in Peace, Mr. Cloonan. You have left a legacy.