AAII.com has been undergoing enhancements and reorganization over the last several months and in the process we have been expanding the investment discovery, analysis and tracking resources for all members.

This month we want to discuss new tools and resources available to AAII members interested in investing in mutual funds.

Fund Evaluator

Members who are mutual fund (and exchange-traded fund) investors will find a wealth of new data and resources at AAII.com. Chief among them is the new Fund Evaluator. Using the new search box at the top of the AAII website, you can search a universe of over 25,000 mutual funds, with data provided by Morningstar. Just type in the fund name or ticker and then click on the desired fund when the autofill drop-down list shows the name you are looking for (Figure 1).

This will take you to the new Fund Evaluator page, as shown in Figure 2.

The Fund Evaluator is divided into sections: Overview, Performance, Portfolio, Purchase and Definitions are accessible to all AAII members, while the Insights section is a unique benefit to subscribers of AAII’s new suite of online tools called A+ Investor. Overview is a collection of summary data related to the selected fund, including grades for a variety of performance periods, expense ratio and risk relative to other funds in its category. The Performance section offers trailing and annual performance figures for up to 10 years, along with grades to show how the fund stacks up against funds in its category. The Portfolio section has summary statistics related to the fund’s portfolio holdings, as well as data on the current portfolio composition and risk measures. Lastly, the Purchase section provides important information such as whether a fund is open to new investors, the minimum purchase requirements, load fees (if applicable) and overall expense ratio.

Dedicated Funds Home Page

If you have visited AAII.com recently, you may have noticed the new Funds page link on the navigation bar at the top of the page (if you haven’t, you are missing out on some added value to your AAII membership). Clicking on it takes you to a newly designed page dedicated to the mutual fund resources provided by AAII, as shown in Figure 3.

Some new features for mutual fund investors include:

• Featured “First Cut” fund screen
• Consistent performers listing
• Top & bottom fund lists
• Fund openings & closings notices

First Cut Screens

AAII has developed a series of “first cut” screens to help you narrow down the universe of over 25,000 funds in a variety of ways. We are starting out with 15 first cut mutual fund screens, with a featured screen rotating on the Funds home page. Members can access the latest passing funds for the featured mutual fund first cut screen.

In Figure 3 you can also see that we now offer mutual fund grades for a variety of data fields. These grades quickly show how an individual fund stacks up against other funds in the same category on a variety of metrics, including annualized returns, risk and expenses.

From this list (and any mutual fund listing on AAII.com) as well as the Fund Evaluator, you can click on the “+” sign next to any ticker to add that fund to an existing or new portfolio in the new My Portfolio tool.

Subscribers to A+ Investor can access all the first cut screens and the passing funds lists from each screen.

Consistent Performers

The Consistent Performers lists show mutual funds that have exceeded or fallen short of their category over the last three-, five- and 10-year periods. There is a toggle between all funds and no-load funds.

Here too you will find fund grades for the different performance periods and risk, which show how a fund rates relative to others in its category.

The My Funds tab will list any mutual funds you have entered into My Portfolio that fall into high or low performer listings.

Top/Bottom Performing Funds

The Top and Bottom Funds lists show the best and worst-performing mutual funds over the last one, three, five and 10 years, broken down by U.S equity funds, international equity funds, sector equity funds and fixed-income funds. There is a drop-down menu where you can specify a time period.

A+ Investor Mutual Fund Screener

The fund screener is a new addition to AAII.com for A+ Investor subscribers. The screener is designed to help you identify funds that match your needs. This holds true when filtering for return, risk and cost (Figure 4).

The Mutual Fund screener allows you to:

• Filter the 25,000+ fund universe using nearly 30 different screening variables
• Save personalized screens for future use
• Select from 15 predefined mutual fund screens
• Edit and resave the predefined screens
• Compare selected funds
• Add funds to personal portfolios

The Mutual Fund screener’s filters are divided into several categories: fund type, returns, cost & fees, fund characteristics, purchase, risk & volatility and manager tenure.

More to Come

This has just been an overview of the enhancements we have made to AAII.com for mutual fund investors. Be sure to visit the website to try out these new features and stay tuned for continuing updates in the coming months.