Gary Karz, CFA (email)
Host of InvestorHome
Principal, Proficient Investment Management, LLC

• Tips for Checking Out Newsletters from the SEC.

• Newsletters are exempt from the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (according to a 1985 US Supreme Court ruling) and are not required to
  • Register with the Securities and Exchange Commission as investment advisers,
  • Provide proof of the number of subscribers they claim to have, nor
  • Publish complete records of their past recommendations.

• If you're interested in the newsletter industry or specific newsletters, your first stop should be the Hulbert Financial Digest (HFD). HFD independently tracks the performance of the most popular newsletters and is the authority in the industry. Additionally, Mark Hulbert is one of the best writers in the financial media. He currently writes for the Marketwatch and the New York Times and previously was a columnist for Forbes. You can view the following past Newsletter summaries in Forbes.
  • Who Survived the Downturn? (1/22/01)
  • Cool Portfolios in a Hot Market (1/24/00)
  • All-Weather Portfolios (1/25/99)
  • The Honor Role (1/26/98)
  • Calculated Risk (1/27/97)
  You should also be aware of the fact that newsletter's claims regarding their Hulbert rankings may not be entirely accurate and up to date. Hulbert can cite numerous examples of Newsletters claims regarding their HFD rankings that are simply inaccurate and in some cases entirely false. When in doubt, check with Hulbert directly! Additionally, you should always keep in mind that past performance does not guarantee anything about performance in the future. Newsletters appear to suffer from the same lack of performance persistence as mutual funds.

  Academic Studies of Newsletters

  • Grading the Performance of Market Timing Newsletters by Campbell Harvey and John Graham in the Financial Analysts Journal (November/December 1999)

  • Performance Evaluation with Transactions Data: The Stock Selection of Investment Newsletters by Andrew Metrick in the Journal of Finance (October 1999)

  • Market Timing Ability and Volatility Implied in Investment Newsletters' Asset Allocation Recommendations by Campbell Harvey and John Graham in the Journal of Financial Economics (1996)

  Some Free Alternatives on the Web

  • Alger Perspectives

  • Dreyfus Commentary

  • Fidelity Viewpoints

  • Globeflex Perspective

  • GMO Research and Commentary

  • Lord Abbett Commentary

  • MFS Commentary

  • Northern Trust Commentary

  • Payden & Rygel Publications

  • Phillips, Hager & North Perspective

  • PIMCO Publications

  • Insights from Schwab

  • Insights from The Vanguard Group

  There are no investing geniuses in the newsletter world (only marketing geniuses). The truly great investing minds out there are quietly managing money, which is far more profitable than publishing a newsletter telling you how to manage yours.
  Eric Tyson Stockpoint.com (5/28/99)

  Good traders trade. Good letter writers write letters.
  Ed Seykota in Market Wizards