Our financial analysts are the backbone of AAII. They aid in our mission of providing educational, non-biased investment information to the masses. Take a few moments to get to know our phenomenal financial analysts and what makes them tick.
John Bajkowski
John Bajkowski is the president and CEO of AAII.
He has written a wide range of stock analysis and screening articles for the AAII Journal, AAII Dividend Investing, the Stock Superstars Report and AAII.com. Bajkowski developed Stock Investor Pro, a software program and dataset that brings sophisticated stock research, analysis and screening of U.S. publicly traded stocks into the hands of the individual investor.
Education, Experience and Specialty
Bajkowski graduated from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, studying finance. He has over 30 years of experience studying all facets of investing—from quantitative stock screening to mutual fund analysis to portfolio strategies—and teaching individual investors how to reach their potential.
Charles Rotblut, CFA
Charles Rotblut is a vice president and financial analyst at AAII. He is the creator of the PRISM Wealth-Building Process and editor of the AAII Journal.
He created AAII’s VMQ Stocks and co-created AAII Dividend Investing services. Additionally, he helps manage the Stock Superstars Report (SSR) portfolio and authors the weekly AAII Investor Update email.
Education, Experience and Specialty
Rotblut holds a Bachelor of Science in journalism from the University of Kansas. He regularly speaks to the media, including CNBC and Kiplinger’s. He is also a Wall Street Journal expert panelist. His book, “Better Good than Lucky: How Savvy Investors Create Fortune with the Risk-Reward Ratio,” was published in November 2010.
His experience includes working for Zacks Investment Research, an investment research firm; INVESTools, an investment education company; Curian Capital, a money management firm; and McClure, Schumacher & Associates, a business valuation firm.
Certification
Rotblut holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation from the CFA Institute, which was issued January 1999. He additionally he is an active member of the American Finance Association.
Learn more about and see articles written by Charles Rotblut
Wayne A. Thorp, CFA
Wayne A. Thorp, CFA, is the head of research and analysis at AAII, a vice president and AAII’s senior financial analyst.
Thorp createdAAII Growth Investingand is its lead analyst and editor. He has also been involved in creating or developing numerous other AAII products and services, including theStock Superstars Report,AAII Dividend Investing,VMQ StocksandA+ Investor. He is also the program manager ofStock Investor Pro, AAII’s fundamental stock screening and research database program.
Education, Experience and Specialty
Thorp is a 1997 honors graduate of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. He has written extensively on technical analysis, quantitative stock screening and fundamental stock analysis.
Certification
Thorp was awarded the Charted Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2002 and has been with AAII since 1997.
Learn more about and see articles written by Wayne Thorp
Raymond A. Rondeau
Raymond A. Rondeau is an investment strategist and senior technical analyst at AAII.
He is the producer of AAII’s Essential Investing Video Course and is the creator and developer of AAII’s Essential Investing tools. In addition, he is the author of AAII’s Computerized Investing “Classic Technical Indicators” series. Rondeau serves the primary role of presenting on these tools and strategies at various academic, retail and professional events.
Education, Experience and Specialty
Rondeau graduated from Worcester Industrial Technical Institute and Central New England College with a focus on engineering, statistics and mathematics. Over the past 20+ years he has written extensively on technical analysis and various investment strategies and has been featured in numerous publications. Rondeau has developed several investment tools that have been incorporated in trading and investment platforms including TradeStation and MetaStock.
Certification
Rondeau is a member of the National Association of Active Investment Managers (NAAIM) and the Charted Market Technicians Association. He has been with AAII since 2022.
Learn more about and see articles written by Raymond Rondeau
What Is a Financial Analyst?
Financial analysts assess the performance of stocks, bonds and other types of market securities to determine if they are a sound investment. Financial analysts at AAII manage our various investment services, write our weekly commentaries and newsletters as well fact check all publications produced by AAII—including our monthly AAII Journal, Education Hub and webinars.
What Does the CFA Mark Refer To?
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) is a globally recognized professional designation that is given by the CFA Institute. To earn the right to use the CFA designation, a candidate has gone through rigorous testing to measure and certify their competence and integrity. CFA candidates are required to pass three levels of exams covering areas such as security analysis, money management, economics and ethics. At AAII, our Chartered Financial Analysts are trained at providing nonbiased data and analysis for member-focused educational content.
Why Are Financial Analysts Crucial?
At AAII, our financial analysts are in charge of making sure we produce the most accurate and up-to-date information and research for our members. Additionally, they ensure that all content we curate is focused on nonbiased educational resources. They manage our A+ Investor, SSR, SI Pro, Platinum, VMQ and DI investment services and are tasked with developing future membership products to enhance the individual investor experience.
