Freebie financial magazines: Only one worth keeping
I get about five or six finance-oriented magazines delivered to my home. One of them, Kiplinger's, is a paid subscription. The others are all freebies, sent to me by various companies with which I have an account, ranging from AAA to Vanguard. But if I could only keep one of the freebies, it would Advance, published by TIAA-CREF.
At first glance, Advance may not seem special. Like the Fidelity, USAA, and Vanguard magazines I get, it's printed on lightweight stock and contains no outside advertisements or promotions. And like the other magazines, many of the Advance articles are informational/promotional in nature, and talk about specific TIAA-CREF services and funds.
But that's where the similarities end. One big difference is the size of Advance -- 30 pages long, with photographs kept to a minimum size. That's about 50% larger than the competitors in terms of amount of text.
The other big difference is the transparency of the content. I feel I know far more about TIAA-CREF, the way it works, and the policies it pursues from reading the magazine. There's a frankness in the Q&A interviews with fund managers, and a responsiveness to member comments and complaints, evidenced by the frequently used phrase "in response to demand from participants." Yes, there is some pap in Advance, but it's certainly a lot less than what I see in comparable magazines offered by Fidelity, USAA, and others.
Additionally, Advance is also honest about mistakes and criticism. Of the four letters printed in the Fall 2005 issue about the previous issue, two are very critical appraisals of articles and two others are "you forgot to mention xyz" comments. Two of the four letters elicit a response from the editor of the magazine. Keep in mind that Advance has a tough crowd to please -- TIAA-CREF serves higher education, and thus has a high proportion of economists, researchers, professors, and other academic types who often have expertise or critical insights into the topics under discussion. Still, Advance didn't have to print these types of letters, but it did, and responded where it could. How many other magazines deal with criticism in their letters to the editor sections?
Fuel is selling for around $3/gallon, with no relief in sight. A lot of people are ditching their SUVs and other gas hogs for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, or taking public transportation, if it's available. But there's another way to get to work, that is ... Read
I am going to take the plunge sometime in the next month, and sign up for a credit card that lets me build up air miles in a frequent flyer program. My family charges about $15,000 per year on our USAA non-points credit card, and ... Read
You know grandpa had a few old savings bonds stashed away somewhere, but did he cash them in before he passed away? Read
Is there a link available to this publication to read it online? I have accounts with TIAA-CREF and I don't believe I receive this. I'd be interested in learning more.
Yes, Advance is available online, but they are apparently a bit behind in updating the website -- the most recent online issue is Summer 2005. Also, I notice that the TIAA-CREF website gives users the option of receiving communications electronically, which may explain why some people do not receive the paper version.
In any case, available issues of Advance can be found at this URL:
