Why this four-strategy portfolio keeps outperforming
Why four different investing strategies can be stronger than one great performer.
Hi again, it’s John Bajkowski, your Stock Superstars Report (SSR) lead editor and president of AAII. I am very glad to be back in your inbox today.
If you caught my email yesterday, you already know the “why” behind SSR’s four strategies. Today, I want to show you the “why it works” in actual practice, not just in theory.
The Neff SSR portfolio following renowned guru John Neff has delivered a whopping 1,795.6% total return since its inception in 2002, compared to just 905.8% for its benchmark, the iShares Dow Jones U.S. ETF (IYY), over the same period. (Performance as of July 10, 2026.)
And the O’Shaughnessy SSR portfolio, following guru James P. O’Shaughnessy, also has an impressive total portfolio return since inception of 342.3% compared to the benchmark IYY at only 171.2%. (Performance as of July 10, 2026.)
Keep reading to learn more or CLICK HERE to claim your $2 30-day trial.
Meet the other two gurus of SSR
But it’s important to understand the purpose of this portfolio. Not every strategy can win in every market. That’s why the SSR portfolio combines four unique strategies. Because when one or two are seeing impressive gains, the other two are prepared if the tides shift unexpectedly, which often happens.
This is a great opportunity to showcase how this model portfolio works, because the other two portfolios that make up SSR offer further diversification to help investors prepare for all types of markets.
For example, the O’Neil SSR portfolio, following guru William O’Neil, is uniquely different from the others because it looks for market-leading growth stocks with accelerating quarterly and annual earnings, a fresh catalyst like a new product or leadership change, rising relative price strength near 52-week highs, strong institutional backing, and a favorable overall market trend. In this way, it focuses on buying strength rather than bargains.
In the O’Neil portfolio, Willdan Group Inc. (WLDN), a provider of professional services in the industrials sector, has gained 42.7% since its addition on May 21, 2025. Dycom Industries Inc. (DY), a construction and engineering services company, is up 13.8% since its addition on January 20, 2026. And, Howmet Aerospace Inc. (HWM), an aerospace and industrial components manufacturer added on May 26, 2026, has already gained 5.8%. Meanwhile, SpaceX trades under its IPO price. (Data as of July 14, 2026.)
And then we have David Dreman’s contrarian strategy, which uses behavioral finance to identify financially strong large- and mid-cap companies with low price-earnings ratios trading at a discount due to market pessimism. It then requires improving earnings growth and positive estimate revisions as the signal that the market’s negative sentiment is about to reverse.
In the Dreman SSR portfolio, Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRI), a satellite radio and audio entertainment company, has already gained 25.7% since its addition on April 15, 2026. (Data as of July 14, 2026.)
Looking ahead: Earnings season confirms the thesis
It’s not just past performance that tells this story; it’s what’s happening right now, heading into earnings season.
With second-quarter 2026 earnings season kicking off this week, we’ve been digging into analyst sentiment across all 40 SSR holdings, and the pattern holds up beautifully.
O’Neil portfolio companies are showing strong earnings momentum, with estimates climbing an average of 2.5% over the last three months, led by Dycom and Howmet Aerospace.
The Dreman portfolio, true to form, is seeing steady, modest revisions rather than dramatic swings, exactly the kind of stability that its strategy is designed to deliver.
Four genuinely different philosophies responding to the same market in four different ways is exactly why no single headline, earnings report or shifting narrative can knock the SSR portfolio as a whole off course.
That is just a small teaser of the level of expertise and insight we provide SSR subscribers with our weekly insights.
Along with these weekly insights, as an SSR subscriber, you’ll also enjoy:
Four distinct model portfolios, featuring stocks selected for long-term outperformance that mitigate the portfolio’s short-term risk;
Portfolio addition and deletion alerts alongside any important news or updates;
Archived insights to understand each holding before you invest;
Portfolio watchlists, allowing you to apply the SSR strategy to additional stocks that meet the stringent criteria but aren’t in the model portfolios;
AAII Membership benefits like the AAII Journal, Model Shadow Stock Portfolio, investor guides, weekly emails and more;
Before I sign off for today, there are two important things I want to leave you with: the risks that you could be exposed to without proper diversification and more than one strategy; AND information on our SSR Summer Sale (only $2 for 30 days of access). So, bear with me.
Let’s start with the risks.
If your whole portfolio follows a single approach, you’re fully exposed when that approach falls out of favor.
Owning “many” stocks doesn’t help if they’re all picked the same way. When one factor stumbles, everything tends to fall together.
Right now, a lot of portfolios are quietly betting on AI and a handful of mega-cap names continuing to lead. If that narrative cracks, there’s nothing else to lean on.
When market leadership rotates (as it always does), a single-strategy investor often has zero exposure to whatever’s working next.
This is exactly why we built SSR the way we did: not to chase whatever’s working this month, but to give you a system that’s already built to handle the rotation and the blind spots that I mentioned above. You don’t have to guess which strategy will lead next, because you’re not relying on just one.
If any of this has resonated with you, I’d rather you find out for yourself than take my word for it. So, here’s where the second thing I mentioned comes in.
Through July 26, we’re offering a select group of investors a $2 30-day trial, plus countless additional AAII Membership benefits.
You can now join for only $2 during our SSR Summer Sale, and I truly hope you’ll take us up on this opportunity.
Over the next 30 days, during your trial, you’ll discover far more than four model portfolios and a library of research. You’ll see what decades of disciplined investing look like in practice and why a proven, repeatable process can become one of your greatest advantages when markets are at their most unpredictable.
I’ll leave you with one last thought: Markets will keep rotating leadership because they always have.
The question worth asking isn’t which strategy will win next, but whether your portfolio is built to handle not knowing.
That’s the thinking behind SSR, and it’s why I stand behind it as more than just a sales pitch. I hope you’ll spend the next 30 days finding out if it’s the right fit for how you want to invest going forward.
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.
