My name is John Bajkowski, and I am the president of AAII. I recently sat down with the expert behind our new six-week Income Investing Seminar, Charles Robtlut, to ask why he created it and what he hopes participants will achieve.
Join our six-week Income Investing Seminar today for just $199 to get live and on-demand access to all sessions so you can learn on your schedule.
Rotblut is vice president and a financial analyst at AAII. He is the editor of the AAII Journal, created both the PRISM Wealth-Building Process and VMQ Stocks, co-created AAII Dividend Investing and authors the weekly AAII Investor Update email. Rotblut holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and has analyzed both publicly traded and privately held companies.
John Bajkowski
President, AAII
Charles Rotblut, CFA
Vice President and a Financial Analyst, AAII
Why did you create this seminar, and who is it meant for?
Rotblut: A constant request we’ve heard from AAII members is for ideas and information about generating portfolio income. In our last member survey, 91% of respondents expressed interest in retirement investing, 87% in taxation and 82% in income generation.
Income appeals to retirees who need reliable cash flow, but it also appeals to investors who value the way income-generating assets can reduce a portfolio’s overall volatility. Accompanying this desire for income is a preference to realize it tax-efficiently.
To help self-directed investors do both, we created this seminar to provide a practical, advanced framework for generating reliable retirement income and making smarter long-term portfolio decisions.
Why are many income investing decisions so tricky, and how does this seminar help?
Rotblut: There are many ways to generate income, but not every type of investment is right for every investor. The right investment for your portfolio depends on your specific situation (i.e., your spending needs, tax situation, investing timeline, etc.). The cost of picking the wrong type of investment can be very high — just ask anybody who was sold a variable annuity with high fees that is difficult to get out of.
This seminar provides a helpful framework to determine what investments make the most sense for your portfolio, so you’re not guessing every time your portfolio or the market throws something new at you.
What’s a common mistake investors make when building income for retirement, and how do you help them think differently?
Rotblut: The most common mistake I see is chasing yield — buying a stock or bond based on its yield without asking whether the income stream is sustainable. Any perception that the dividend could be cut or the credit rating lowered can send a stock or bond falling in value. We focus instead on total return as the real objective, which means capital gains can fund portfolio withdrawals alongside dividends and interest.
What makes this six-week experience more valuable than a typical one-time workshop?
Rotblut: The six-week structure allows time to explore topics in depth. Hypothetical retiree couples appear throughout the seminar, demonstrating how the concepts apply to real-world portfolio decisions.
Each session builds on the last, setting the stage for session 5, where we pull everything together into a tax-efficient portfolio.
The format also allows time for questions each week. Plus, session 6 is reserved for the topics attendees most want to revisit — including questions that come up after they’ve had time to sit with the material.
What is the one thing you personally hope investors take away from this seminar?
Rotblut: I hope investors come away from these six weeks with a framework they can actually use to make better decisions for their portfolio and a repeatable way to evaluate every income decision they’ll face in retirement with confidence. Attendees will be empowered to evaluate different types of investments and understand when they make sense and when they don’t. My perspective as editor of our Dividend Investing newsletter runs through the seminar — including the discipline of checking an investment’s fundamentals before buying and understanding what you are buying.
How can better decisions regarding generating income impact an investor’s long-term financial outcome?
Rotblut: Better income decisions compound just like returns do. The investor who avoids a bad yield trap, optimizes their asset location and manages their tax exposure isn’t just saving money today — they’re protecting decades of purchasing power and keeping significantly more of what their portfolio earns over the course of a long retirement.
This seminar covers everything from dividends to bonds to taxes. How does it all connect into one cohesive framework?
Rotblut: Throughout this seminar, I want investors to understand one core idea: Long-term total return is the real goal, and income is the tool that helps support your lifestyle in retirement. We’ll address the two biggest risks to portfolios — inflation and market downturns — and look at historical data to help attendees understand which environments favor which strategies. Taxes are woven through every session, so attendees finish knowing not only how to allocate but when it makes sense to locate an investment in a taxable or retirement account.
We’ve packed a powerful agenda into just one hour per week over six weeks. In our Income Investing Seminar, we’ll show you how to build a bulletproof plan for:
Sticking to a clear income investing strategy that supports long-term goals and decisions
Building reliable income from the stocks and investments you already own
Understanding how bonds and bond ETFs play crucial roles in your portfolio, as well as how each works
Evaluating what you own and recognizing risks you may not realize are there
Keeping more of what your portfolio earns through tax-efficient investment income planning
Rotblut will also host a Q&A session during the final week so attendees can discuss anything directly pertinent or confusing to them.
We received great feedback about this format from the last two seminars we’ve hosted. Participants found this free-wheeling discussion format to be fruitful for retirement and taxes.
We are very excited for the opportunity to talk and work directly with fellow investors, like you.
Session 1 — Building an Income Portfolio (Build the right foundation by sizing your income gap and structuring your portfolio to fill it.)
Session 2 — Dividend Investing (Learn to evaluate dividend safety, spot warning signs of a cut and invest for income that grows.)
Session 3 — Bonds & Bond ETFs (Understand how bonds actually work, what 2022 revealed and how to own them the right way.)
Session 4 — Cash Plus Income Diversifiers (Discover what's really hiding inside the REITs, preferred stocks and cash positions you already own.)
Session 5 — Taxes on Investment Income (Keep more of what you earn through smarter asset location, Roth timing and Medicare IRMAA management.)
Session 6 — Live Q&A With Charles Rotblut, CFA (Bring your toughest questions and get direct answers from the instructor.)
Included With Your Purchase
Six live weekly sessions, available on demand immediately after each session concludes
Expert guidance from AAII’s Charles Rotblut, CFA
Clear strategies for how to build and generate reliable income in retirement
Lifetime access to seminar recordings
Live Q&A and downloadable resources
Limited enrollment for a more personalized experience
If you’re looking for a thorough, research-based approach to income investing — presented in a clear, practical and easy-to-understand way — then this seminar is for you.
We hope you join us for our first live session, which will occur in the first week of June.
Best regards,
John Bajkowski
President, AAII
P.S. Curious or want to know more about our six-week Income Investing Seminar? Just send us an email at [email protected].
Please note that this special $199 offer is exclusive to a select group of individuals and is not to be shared.
Disclaimer: This seminar provides educational information about income investing including tax planning strategies. It does not constitute personalized tax and retirement income advice. Consult a qualified professional for guidance specific to your situation.
We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.
