AAII Houston & Los Angeles Chapter Meeting – Saturday March 21, 2026 at 11am CT Multi-topic

When:  Mar 21, 2026 from 11:00 to 13:00 (CT)
Associated with  AAII Houston Chapter

Saturday, March 21, 2026

This chapter meeting will be held by Zoom Webinar only

https://aaiila.org/march-2026-first-time-guest-registration/

The WEBINAR PROGRAM will start at 11:00 a.m. CST
*** REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED ***

 

PROGRAM INFORMATION

TOPIC 1

Christine Benz
Director of Personal Finance and Retirement Planning, Morningstar

Christine Benz is director of personal finance for Morningstar and senior columnist for Morningstar.com. She is the author of “How to Retire: 20 Lessons for a Happy, Successful, and Wealthy Retirement” (Harriman House, 2024), “30-Minute Money Solutions: A Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Your Finances” (John Wiley and Sons, 2010), and co-author of “Morningstar Guide to Mutual Funds: 5-Star Strategies for Success,” a national bestseller. Before assuming her current role in 2008, Benz served as Morningstar’s director of mutual fund analysis and editor of Morningstar Mutual Funds, Morningstar FundInvestor and Morningstar Practical Finance. Christine holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and Russian/East European studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

How to Retire: Key Lessons for a Happy, Successful, and Wealthy Retirement

Morningstar director of personal finance and retirement planning Christine Benz will discuss key lessons from her bestselling book, How to Retire. She’ll cover safe withdrawal rates, in-retirement portfolio construction, and different approaches to generating retirement income, among other topics. She’ll also consider nonfinancial aspects of successful retirements, including maintaining relationships and purpose later in life and evaluating in-retirement living arrangements.
Attend this talk and learn…
  • How to develop a spending plan for retirement that factors in your specific situation and preferences
  • How to construct a portfolio that will stand up to inflation, longevity, and sequence risk
  • How to make your retirement a success in other ways, including finding the right living arrangement/locale and maintaining purpose, relationships, and physical health later in life

TOPIC 2

Mary Ann Bartels
Chief Investment Strategist, Sanctuary Wealth

Mary Ann Bartels is Sanctuary Wealth’s Chief Investment Strategist, delivering market perspective and investment guidance to over 120 Partner Firms through commentary, presentations, and media appearances. She brings over four decades of Wall Street experience, having held senior roles at Merrill Lynch and Bank of America. A six-time Institutional Investor All-American Research ranked analyst for Technical Analysis, she was recognized as the 2024 Wealthie Award RIA Thought Leader of the Year and featured in Business Insider’s Oracles of Wall Street. She has appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg, and FOX Business and been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Barron’s. Mary Ann holds a BS and MA in Business and Economics from Fordham University.

A Global Perspective on Markets

Sanctuary Wealth Chief Investment Strategist Mary Ann Bartels presents “A Global Perspective on Markets,” exploring why investors should Be Fearless amid volatility. She breaks down what market volatility really means, how shifting geopolitical dynamics are impacting global opportunities, and why uncertainty can create powerful long-term entry points. With more than four decades of sought-after Wall Street experience, Mary Ann discusses how patience is key in today’s global secular bull market.

Attend this talk and learn…
  • What does volatility mean for markets?
  • What is the impact of the geopolitical landscape?
  • What is the Crypto Winter and what is its significance?

Location