VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ FINANCIAL TOOLS & SERVICES DIRECTORY ★

PRICE: 5 CENTS

Sunday, October 5, 2025

Head-to-head

Asset Allocation Interactive (AAI) — Research Affiliates vs Damodaran Online (NYU Stern) comparison

Compare pricing, supported platforms, categories, and standout capabilities to decide which tool fits your workflow.

Quick takeaways

Asset Allocation Interactive (AAI) — Research Affiliates adds Data Visualizations, and Correlation coverage that Damodaran Online (NYU Stern) skips.

Damodaran Online (NYU Stern) includes Financials, Interest Rates, Education, Videos, and Blogs categories that Asset Allocation Interactive (AAI) — Research Affiliates omits.

Asset Allocation Interactive (AAI) — Research Affiliates highlights: Two expected-return models: one valuation-driven and one based on yield and growth, with the option to blend them., Interactive Portfolio Builder lets you create, save, and analyze custom portfolios., and Coverage spans more than 140 assets and model portfolios, available in six base currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD, CAD). Expectations are refreshed monthly and remain free to access..

Damodaran Online (NYU Stern) is known for: Annual data library covering corporate-finance and valuation metrics, with the latest update in January and mid-year updates for country risk premiums., Downloadable Excel spreadsheets with datasets such as historical returns, industry betas, valuation multiples, cost of capital estimates, and country risk premiums., and Long-run U.S. return series since 1928, including equities, small caps, Treasury bills, 10-year bonds, Baa corporates, real estate, and gold..

Asset Allocation Interactive (AAI) — Research Affiliates logo

Asset Allocation Interactive (AAI) — Research Affiliates

interactive.researchaffiliates.com

Editor’s pick Hands-on review

A free interactive platform that publishes Research Affiliates’ capital market expectations each month. You can explore expected returns, correlations, and efficient frontiers across a wide set of asset classes and geographies. Excel downloads are available (though without full time-series) and charts can be exported. All results are model-based, hypothetical, and provided for informational purposes only.

Platforms

Web

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

  • Two expected-return models: one valuation-driven and one based on yield and growth, with the option to blend them.
  • Interactive Portfolio Builder lets you create, save, and analyze custom portfolios.
  • Coverage spans more than 140 assets and model portfolios, available in six base currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD, CAD). Expectations are refreshed monthly and remain free to access.
  • Country dashboards provide data for 41 equity markets (22 developed, 19 emerging), including GDP trends, CAPE ratios, and inflation views.
  • Correlation view displays a full heat-map matrix of expected cross-asset relationships.

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Damodaran Online (NYU Stern) logo

Damodaran Online (NYU Stern)

pages.stern.nyu.edu

Editor’s pick Hands-on review

Free academic resource curated by Professor Aswath Damodaran (NYU Stern). It hosts annually updated valuation and corporate-finance datasets, Excel models, webcasts, and online classes. Most datasets are refreshed every January, with country risk premiums also updated mid-year. Everything is openly accessible, with Excel downloads and archived historical data available.

Platforms

Web

Pricing

Free

Quick highlights

  • Annual data library covering corporate-finance and valuation metrics, with the latest update in January and mid-year updates for country risk premiums.
  • Downloadable Excel spreadsheets with datasets such as historical returns, industry betas, valuation multiples, cost of capital estimates, and country risk premiums.
  • Long-run U.S. return series since 1928, including equities, small caps, Treasury bills, 10-year bonds, Baa corporates, real estate, and gold.
  • Monthly updates for the U.S. implied equity risk premium, provided as a downloadable spreadsheet.
  • Industry-level betas and valuation multiples with regional breakdowns (U.S., Europe, Japan, ANZ/Canada, Emerging Markets including China and India, and Global aggregates).

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Overlap

Shared focus areas

1 overlap

Both tools cover this research theme.

Where they differ

Asset Allocation Interactive (AAI) — Research Affiliates

Distinct strengths include:

  • Two expected-return models: one valuation-driven and one based on yield and growth, with the option to blend them.
  • Interactive Portfolio Builder lets you create, save, and analyze custom portfolios.
  • Coverage spans more than 140 assets and model portfolios, available in six base currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD, CAD). Expectations are refreshed monthly and remain free to access.
  • Country dashboards provide data for 41 equity markets (22 developed, 19 emerging), including GDP trends, CAPE ratios, and inflation views.

Damodaran Online (NYU Stern)

Distinct strengths include:

  • Annual data library covering corporate-finance and valuation metrics, with the latest update in January and mid-year updates for country risk premiums.
  • Downloadable Excel spreadsheets with datasets such as historical returns, industry betas, valuation multiples, cost of capital estimates, and country risk premiums.
  • Long-run U.S. return series since 1928, including equities, small caps, Treasury bills, 10-year bonds, Baa corporates, real estate, and gold.
  • Monthly updates for the U.S. implied equity risk premium, provided as a downloadable spreadsheet.

Feature-by-feature breakdown

AttributeAsset Allocation Interactive (AAI) — Research AffiliatesDamodaran Online (NYU Stern)
Categories

Which research workflows each platform targets

Shared: Valuation Models

Unique: Data Visualizations, Correlation

Shared: Valuation Models

Unique: Financials, Interest Rates, Education, Videos, Blogs

Asset types

Supported asset classes and universes

Stocks, Bonds, Commodities, Real Estate

Stocks, Bonds, Commodities, Real Estate

Experience levels

Who each product is built for

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Platforms

Where you can access the product

Web

Web

Pricing

High-level pricing models

Free

Free

Key features

Core capabilities called out by each vendor

Unique

  • Two expected-return models: one valuation-driven and one based on yield and growth, with the option to blend them.
  • Interactive Portfolio Builder lets you create, save, and analyze custom portfolios.
  • Coverage spans more than 140 assets and model portfolios, available in six base currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD, CAD). Expectations are refreshed monthly and remain free to access.
  • Country dashboards provide data for 41 equity markets (22 developed, 19 emerging), including GDP trends, CAPE ratios, and inflation views.
  • Correlation view displays a full heat-map matrix of expected cross-asset relationships.
  • Efficient frontier visualization shows optimal portfolio mixes on a scatter plot.

Unique

  • Annual data library covering corporate-finance and valuation metrics, with the latest update in January and mid-year updates for country risk premiums.
  • Downloadable Excel spreadsheets with datasets such as historical returns, industry betas, valuation multiples, cost of capital estimates, and country risk premiums.
  • Long-run U.S. return series since 1928, including equities, small caps, Treasury bills, 10-year bonds, Baa corporates, real estate, and gold.
  • Monthly updates for the U.S. implied equity risk premium, provided as a downloadable spreadsheet.
  • Industry-level betas and valuation multiples with regional breakdowns (U.S., Europe, Japan, ANZ/Canada, Emerging Markets including China and India, and Global aggregates).
  • Open Excel-based valuation and corporate-finance models, many with video walkthroughs or guides.
Tested

Verified by hands-on testing inside Find My Moat

Yes

Yes

Editor pick

Featured inside curated shortlists

Highlighted

Highlighted

Frequently Asked Questions

Which workflows do Asset Allocation Interactive (AAI) — Research Affiliates and Damodaran Online (NYU Stern) both support?

Both platforms cover Valuation Models workflows, so you can research those use cases in either tool before digging into the feature differences below.

Do Asset Allocation Interactive (AAI) — Research Affiliates and Damodaran Online (NYU Stern) require subscriptions?

Both Asset Allocation Interactive (AAI) — Research Affiliates and Damodaran Online (NYU Stern) keep freemium access with optional paid upgrades, so you can trial each platform before committing.

How can you access Asset Allocation Interactive (AAI) — Research Affiliates and Damodaran Online (NYU Stern)?

Both Asset Allocation Interactive (AAI) — Research Affiliates and Damodaran Online (NYU Stern) prioritize web or desktop access. Investors wanting a mobile-first workflow may need to rely on responsive web views.

What unique strengths set the two platforms apart?

Asset Allocation Interactive (AAI) — Research Affiliates differentiates itself with Two expected-return models: one valuation-driven and one based on yield and growth, with the option to blend them., Interactive Portfolio Builder lets you create, save, and analyze custom portfolios., and Coverage spans more than 140 assets and model portfolios, available in six base currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD, CAD). Expectations are refreshed monthly and remain free to access., whereas Damodaran Online (NYU Stern) stands out for Annual data library covering corporate-finance and valuation metrics, with the latest update in January and mid-year updates for country risk premiums., Downloadable Excel spreadsheets with datasets such as historical returns, industry betas, valuation multiples, cost of capital estimates, and country risk premiums., and Long-run U.S. return series since 1928, including equities, small caps, Treasury bills, 10-year bonds, Baa corporates, real estate, and gold..

Curation & Accuracy

This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).

Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.