There’s a reason most retirement seminars are free: They’re not selling you education, they’re selling you an appointment with a financial adviser.
The content is often designed to leave you with more questions than answers and just enough information to make the “free consultation” feel necessary.
The AAII Retirement Workshop is built differently, because AAII is built differently. As an independent nonprofit with no commissions, no advertising influence and no advisers trying to take a cut of your money, our only incentive is to make sure you actually understand what you’re being taught.
That’s why this isn’t a broad, feel-good overview of “retirement basics.” Instead, it’s three specific, data-driven sessions led by Craig Israelsen, Ph.D., covering the exact mechanics of portfolio redundancy, true diversification and safe withdrawal strategies — using real historical data and a proprietary analysis tool you can apply to your own portfolio. No adviser waiting to charge you to “follow up” afterward. Just the research and tools to help you make your own informed decisions.
Our first learning group in July showed us just how powerful this experience can be. Participants didn’t just listen, they were able to ask Israelsen their questions live, they walked away with his presentation slides, and they gained a clearer understanding of complex portfolio decisions and retirement scenarios that can otherwise feel quite overwhelming.
If you hoped to join us this summer but missed your chance, there’s one more opportunity. This is the final AAII Retirement Workshop learning group with Israelsen this year and your last chance to experience it live.
Why We’re Uniquely Qualified
AAII has spent nearly five decades doing one thing: helping individual investors become confident, effective managers of their own money through independent education, research and data — free from commissions, advertising influence or corporate agendas.
That same mission is why we chose to partner with Israelsen for this workshop. Few people bring his combination of academic rigor and real-world portfolio research. He’s the developer of the 7Twelve Portfolio, a long-time professor of financial planning, and a widely published researcher on asset allocation and retirement income.
Together, our shared belief is simple: Investors deserve real, research-backed answers, not guesswork, especially when it comes to a decision as consequential as retirement.
Years of producing retirement content has taught us what investors are really asking, what’s too basic to be useful and what those approaching or living in retirement actually need to know to succeed.
With that in mind, our goal for this workshop is simple: to leave you with practical knowledge you can apply right away. This includes a clear understanding of:
How to identify hidden overlap in your portfolio so you’re not unintentionally owning the same investments multiple times
How to tell whether a fund truly provides diversification or simply has a different name
Practical skills for using correlation to evaluate investments and build a more diversified portfolio
Understanding the trade-offs of market-capitalization-weighted U.S. large-cap funds and the concentration risks they can create
Actionable ideas for adding complementary asset classes and fund types that can strengthen portfolio diversification
Price:$99 — limited to a select group of investors
The hardest part of retirement isn’t the market, but not knowing whether the plan you’ve built can actually withstand it.
A portfolio quietly weighed down by redundancy, a withdrawal strategy that’s never been stress-tested and a risk you didn’t even know existed until it was too late to fix are just some of the challenges that turn retirement from something you enjoy, or are looking forward to, into something stressful and overwhelming.
Our Retirement Workshop exists to change that. In just a few days, you’ll have the tools to face retirement with confidence instead of uncertainty.
We hope you’ll join us for the first of three sessions starting on Thursday, September 10, at 2:00 p.m. Central Time. This is your last opportunity of the year to learn with Israelsen.
Disclaimer: This workshop is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial or tax advice. AAII does not recommend any specific securities, funds or investment strategies. Craig Israelsen, Ph.D., is presenting as an educator and researcher, and his comments do not constitute personalized investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
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.
