Investment Newsletters

Since 1980, Mark Hulbert has been monitoring the performance of investment newsletters and publishing the information in the Hulbert Financial Digest, considered by many to be the preeminent source for advice on investment newsletters.  Each year, Hulbert has published a list of the top ten newsletters, ranked by performance.  In recent years, noted investment newsletters have included Outstanding Investments from Agora Financial, Nate's Notes, and the Bowser Report, as well as the Intelligent Option Investor resources, the International Harry Schultz Letter, and the AlphaProfit investment newsletter.

If you're scouting for an investment newsletter that's right for your investment style and goals, here are a few tips to make that decision process easier:

1. Start out by investigating various newsletters in Hulbert's Financial Digest.
2. When looking at the performance of a newsletter's equities picks, consider risk-adjusted returns over a ten-year period.
3. Ask questions about the newsletter's editor:  Does he know what he's doing or has he just been lucky?  What sort of education and experience does the editor have as an investment adviser?  Does the editor have a method that he sticks with through thick and thin?
4. Find out whether the newsletter is paid to tout certain equities.
5. Check with the SEC or your state securities regulator to see if the investment newsletter has ever been in trouble.
6. Be especially wary of investment newsletters that try to hide the fact that they're paid to tout certain securities, as well as those who advertise false promises such as "High returns, low risk!"  (A cardinal rule of investing is that the higher the potential return on an investment, the greater the risk or potential losses.)

Even if you find a newsletter that fully discloses when it's paid to tout equities (or better yet, doesn't accept such payments), has a strong record of consistent performance, and has a knowledgeable and experienced editor, you still need to do your own due diligence.  Don't simply take the newsletter's advice and run with it; always investigate potential investment opportunities independently.

Investment News Resources

• The Prudent Speculator
  
  Subscribe to the investment newsletter ranked #1 by Hulbert Digest for Total Return Performance.
  ThePrudentSpeculator.com
• Value Line
  
  These weekly investment newsletters feature timely information on stocks, mutual funds, options, convertibles, and special opportunities.
  www.ValueLine.com
• Kiplinger.com
  
  Well-known publisher of timely and trusted personal finance advice and business forecasts.
  www.Kiplinger.com
• The Motley Fool
  
  Multimedia financial education for individual investors around the world.  The Motley Fool offers seven monthly investment newsletters, covering a variety of investing styles.
  www.Fool.com

Business and Financial News

• MSN Money: Investing
  
  Financial planning, trading, and investment products and services for the individual investor.
  Money.MSN.com
• DowJones.com
  
  Features financial news and research published in print and electronic formats.
  www.DowJones.com
• MarketWatch
  
  Multimedia publisher of business news, financial information, and investment tools.
  www.MarketWatch.com
• CNN Money
  
  Finance and investment news and commentary from the editors of CNN and Money magazine.
  Money.CNN.com

Related Investing Sites

• Aggregated Investing News - recent news about virtually all aspects of investing.
• Investment Companies - learn about money market funds, hedge funds, and REITs.
• Nanotechnology Investing - learn about the hot growth markets of nanotechnology.

Investment Newsletter Guide