THE AAII JOURNAL APRIL 2019 ISSUE

COVER ARTICLE

Health Insurance in Retirement: Medicare and Beyond

The risk of high medical bills during retirement calls for a well-thought-out plan, especially at age 65, when you’re eligible for universal medical coverage under Medicare. Many crucial aspects of health insurance have the potential to save you a lot of money—or cost a lot if you aren’t paying attention.

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Features

in From the Archives

Investment Basics: A Guide for the Newcomer

By Maria Crawford Scott

Individuals who are completely new to investing pose a common question: Where does one start? This archive article from the August 1988 issue of the AAII Journal answers the question with a clear explanation of basic investing concepts.

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in Portfolio Strategies

Stepping, Gradually, Back Into the Market

By Craig Israelsen

Diversifying across asset classes and systematically investing equal dollar amounts over a period of time can reduce the risk of a sudden drop in the stock market.

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in Small Cap Value Investing,AAII Model Portfolios

The Impact of Winter’s Volatility on the Shadow Stock’s Rules

By John Bajkowski

Volatile market conditions in December and January caused fluctuations in the market-cap breakpoint used to identify Shadow Stocks, but not enough to warrant altering it. Plus, two stocks were sold from the portfolio.

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in AAII InvestoGraphic

The Power of Compounding

By AAII Staff

An illustration of one of the most important concepts in finance: compounding. See an easily scalable table to use for estimating future wealth.

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in Technical Analysis

Using & Interpreting Point & Figure Charts

By Wayne A. Thorp

Point & figure charts offer a unique perspective on price activity, leading to more apparent trendlines, support and resistance levels and chart formations.

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in Portfolio Strategies

Will Stocks Always Outperform Bonds Over a Multi-Year Period?

By Brian Haughey

Investors price stocks for higher return because of their higher risk and dividend growth, but downturns can make bonds more favorable because of their contractual payments.

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in The Markets,The Big Question

How the Financial Crisis Has Affected Individual Investors 10 Years Later

By Charles Rotblut, Robert Baran, Ryan Reeh

Nearly half of our survey respondents changed their investment strategy or portfolio allocation due to the 2007–2009 financial crisis, and 12% said they still have not fully gotten back into stocks.

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Notes & Opinions

in Editor's Note

The Importance of Financial Literacy

By Charles Rotblut

April is National Financial Literacy Month. While many of you reading this are financially literate, a significant number of Americans are not. Tests on financial literacy revolve around a few key concepts.

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in Dispatches,Advisers,Value Investing

Investors and Advisers Disagree on Most Valuable Attributes

By AAII Staff

Investors and financial advisers don’t see eye to eye when it comes to what investors value in their advisers and what advisers believe is important to investors, according to a recent survey.

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in Dispatches,Retired Investor

Retirees' Happiness Correlates With Participation in Active Versus Passive Activities

By Anine Sus

A study looking at levels of happiness among retirees when engaged in various activities found that retirees are happier when they engage in active activities over passive activities.

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in Dispatches,Estate Planning,IRAs

State Law May Protect Inherited IRA Assets From Creditors

By AAII Staff

Whether an inherited IRA is protected from creditors may depend on the state it is held in: A U.S. bankruptcy court ruled that Idaho state law is broad enough to exempt such accounts from being seized for the purpose of paying debts.

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in Dispatches

Correlation Found Between Risk of Alzheimer’s and Asset Allocation

By AAII Staff

The higher the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, the higher the propensity to invest in lower-risk or higher-liquid assets, according to a recent study.

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in Letters to the Editor

Letters

By AAII Staff

Member insights on tax prep services and comments on Social Security spousal benefits. Plus, a different angle on Shadow Stock performance and a request for help building the O’Shaughnessy composite “What Works” screen.

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Expand to Read More

The AAII Journal, a leading investment publication, provides readers with a continuing stream of insights and ideas that focus on how you can improve your investment results. Unlike many investment magazines, ours is completely unbiased, educational and contains no advertising.

AAII has published this prestigious financial journal every month for more than 40 years. Members receive it for free and have access to thousands of evergreen articles online so they can reference information and strategies for previous market situations with a few clicks of the mouse.

Our stock journal helps individual investors manage their portfolios, build sound investment strategies and navigate all types of financial conditions. Articles range from optimizing target-date fund portfolios to retirement account withdrawal strategies and analysis on robo-advisor performance.

The magazine also has recurring features our members find invaluable. Every quarter, we dissect our model stock portfolio and provide updates to its holdings and performance. This analysis helps individual investors manage small-cap value investments.

We also offer an annual tax guide in our financial magazine. This detailed investment magazine issue covers many details that individual investors need to consider when filing their taxes. It keeps readers updated on any recent changes to tax laws and provisions and provides a handy guide to tax implications of personal investments to cut through any tax filing confusion.

Another annual feature covers ETFs (exchange-traded funds) and mutual funds. This edition helps individual investors understand what to look for when investing in funds. Online, we accompany those articles with sortable tables so that members have an interactive component to their investment research. This helps individual investors plan their portfolios and invest with confidence.

Other regular features in the AAII Journal include financial planning, stock ideas and investor professor. Financial planning articles walk investors through the process and difficulties of crafting strategies for creating wealth regardless of age. They also cover difficult situations, such as estate planning, and helpful advice for getting kids and grandchildren interested in investing.

Stock ideas, as the name implies, give readers a peek at new screens and the stocks that pass them. This part of our investing magazine helps readers identify new opportunities in the markets, flagged by a mix of quantitative and qualitative analysis. Because we all, as investors, need ideas, this remains one of the most popular categories.

Investor professor helps readers invest with knowledge and confidence. It deals with contingencies, such as “What happens to your investment if a company goes bankrupt?” and gives actionable advice on what resources you should use when considering a new broker. Our readers enjoy this section because of its practicality and enduring tips.

Frequent internal contributors include president John Bajkowski; AAII Journal editor and vice president Charles Rotblut; Stock Superstars Report lead analyst Wayne A. Thorp; and Dividend Investing editor Derek Hageman. Together, these internal contributors have nearly a century of market wisdom and research, which they share with clear and concise prose to help individual investors improve their knowledge and portfolios.

The AAII Journal also includes frequent guest contributions from the financial and economic space. Articles from outside industry experts differentiate our financial magazine from others and provide additional points of view for our readers. Previous guest authors have included John C. Bogle, founder of Vanguard; Jay Clayton, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; Charles Schwab; and Nobel laureate and Yale professor Robert Shiller.

We hope you’ll enjoy our articles and, if you’re not a member, consider joining the Association so you can get our prestigious magazine sent to your door every month.