The Hulbert Financial Digest May 2013 NEWSLETTERS PROFILED IN THIS ISSUE: Volume 33, Issue 9 The Buyback Letter No-Load Fund Selections & Timing Written and edited by Mark Hulbert Turnaround Letter ASK MARK HFD EXCLUSIVE You have emphasized the importance of using longterm track records when choosing an adviser—15 years appears to be your threshold. This long of a record considerably narrows the list of advisers, so I’m interested in whether there’s any way—absent waiting for an adviser to compile a full 15-year record—to get insight into whether he has ability. Does time heal all (financial) wounds? There is nothing magical about 15-year track records. It’s not the case, for example, that a track record encompassing 14½ years is wor thless and that, once it is extended just 6 more months, that previously worthless record becomes an infallible indicator. It’s a matter of degree rather than kind. To understand why I nevertheless suggest focusing on 15-year records, it is helpful to review the underlying statistics. What I did was measure, for track records of a given length, the percentage of advisers who beat a buyand-hold during all possible periods of that length since 1980, when I began monitoring the industry. I was looking for the time period for which this percentCONTINUED ON PAGE 2 At some point, of course, this remarkable stock bull market will come to an end. In fact, if you believe some of the prominent worry warts, that day could come sooner than you think. What if that end comes just as you have invested a lump sum? That scary prospect is keeping many investors from putting more money into the market. But I am not so sure that we should let that fear dominate our decision making. Believe it or not, my review of the data suggests that your choice of investment adviser should not be particularly dependent on when during the market cycle you choose to begin following him. This isn’t to say that it makes no difference whether you get into the market near a top or a bottom. Yet I nevertheless found that, with few exceptions, the advisers who would have made you the most money, had you invested at previous bull market tops, are the same ones who would have been the best for you to begin following had you started following them at the lows following those peaks. The HFD study In particular, I focused on the three most momentous stock market tops of the last three decades: August 1987, March 2000, and October 2007. In each case, I first determined which advisers had performed the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 New highs? In recent weeks, of course, the major U.S. stock market averages have surged to new all-time highs. One benchmark that is still well below its October 2007 high, however: MSCI’s All Country World Index—which reflects the combined market caps of virtually all publicly traded stocks around the world. It currently is more than 10% below its previous high (at least in U.S. dollar terms). The U.S. market has therefore been leading the world higher. The HFD is one of a suite of products based on a database containing over 32 years’ worth of investment advisers’ recommendations. Others are Hulbert Interactive (the website that provides 24-7 access to that database) and Hulbert On Markets: What’s Working Now (a weekly service highlighting noteworthy patterns in recent advisers’ recommendations and returns). 450 MSCI'sAllCountryWorldIndex(inUS$) 400 350 300 250 200 150 31ͲOctͲ07 31ͲOctͲ08 31ͲOctͲ09 31ͲOctͲ10 A service of 31ͲOctͲ11 31ͲOctͲ12 2 HFD FROM PAGE 1 ASK MARK Does time heal all (financial) wounds? CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 age stayed the most constant— on the theory that the number of advisers with genuine ability doesn’t vary much over time. This focus put 1-year track records in an unfavorable light, for example. That’s because, since 1980, there have been some 1-year periods in which hardly any monitored advisers beat a buy-and-hold, and other 1-year periods in which more than half of them did. To be sure, 15-year records did not eliminate all variability in the percentage of advisers beating the market. But it was far less for 15-year records than for shorter-term records. My advice: No matter how long a track record you have chosen, focus on those advisers whose risk-adjusted returns over that period are ahead of the market. That subset will contain a higher percentage of genuinely good advisers than the subset of those who didn’t beat the market. Just know that, to the extent you focus on shorter-term records, you run a greater risk of focusing on advisers whose good performance is due to luck (a “false positive”), while excluding from consideration other advisers with genuine long-term market-beating ability (“false negatives”). best since those highs. I then looked Newsletter Aug'87peak Rank(outof31) Annualizedgain 12.0% 1 16.9% to see how those same advisers had ThePrudentSpeculator TheInvestmentReporter 11.7% 2 13.0% performed since the market lows that InvestmentQualityTrends 10.6% 4 11.5% were registered from the bottoms of the NoLoadFundX 10.2% 3 11.7% bear markets that followed those major FidelityMonitor&Insight 9.7% 6 11.4% market peaks. The results appear in the Wilshire5000 8.8% 10.4% various tables on this page. th 12 (out of 103). Start by taking a close look at Table 1 to the right, which lists the 5 monitored advisers with the best track records since the Investing at the 2007 bull market high August 1987 bull market high. (Their returns Table 3 below shows the top 5 performers since then are listed in the second column.) since the October 2007 bull market high. Not The Table also shows how those same advis- as much time has passed since the ensuing ers have performed since the post-1987-Crash bear market, so it’s not surprising that the piclow (the right-most column in the table). ture painted by the data in this table is slightly The crucial column in this Table, from different than what emerges from Tables 1 my point of view, is the penultimate one: It and 2. Still, among the top 5 for performance shows how these five advisers were ranked since the October 2007 high, the worst that any of them is ranked for returns since the March 2009 low is 47th (out of 141 Table2.Top5performerssincetheMarch2000peak Annualizedgainsince PerformancesinceOct'02low monitored advisers). On average, these Newsletter Mar'00peak Rank(outof103) Annualizedgain top 5 for performance since the 2007 TheTurnaroundLetter 11.6% 8 15.3% high are ranked in 17th place for returns TheInvestmentReporter 11.6% 7 15.3% since the 2009 low. That’s remarkable. OutstandingInvestments 11.5% 10 14.3% Subscribers interested in submitting a question to be answered in this space, or in being interviewed about their experiences with investment newsletters should send an e-mail to Mark directly at [email protected]. 2 Table1.Top5performerssincetheAugust1987peak Annualizedgainsince SoundAdvice ThePrudentSpeculator 11.4% 10.2% 12 11 14.0% 14.1% PerformancesinceDec'87low Investment lessons The investment lesson I draw from these tables: Your choice of adviser to for performance from the post-Crash low. follow for many years into the future should Notice that each of these top performers from be independent of whether you think a bull the pre-Crash peak is also at or very near the market top or a bear market low is imminent. top of the ranking for performance since the And that should provide a certain amount of post-Crash low. solace. Your focus can shift from worrying This is why I think many investors are plac- about when the bull market will end to picking ing too much importance on where we are in an adviser to follow through thick and thin. the market cycle. Even if they knew the Table3.Top5performerssincetheOctober2007peak answer, they still should be choosing the PerformancesinceMar'09low Annualizedgainsince same adviser regardless. Newsletter Oct'07peak Rank(outof141) Annualizedgain A broadly similar conclusion emerges ForbesSpecialSituationSurvey 10.9% 17 27.4% 10.3% 4 34.2% from Table 2, which focuses on the top MotleyFoolInsideValue 10.1% 3 38.1% 5 performers since the March 2000 bull LindeEquityReport UtilityForecaster 9.6% 47 20.8% market peak. The worst rank that any of MotleyFoolStockAdvisor 9.5% 12 30.2% those top 5 has for performance since 3.4% 23.6% the October 2002 bear market low is Wilshire5000 Wilshire5000 2.9% 9.4% HFD Hulbert Gold Newsletter Sentiment Index These are times that try contrarians souls! The sentiment conditions in the gold market have, for several months now, been a textbook illustration of what contrarians associate with a major market bottom. So far, at least, the gold market has not responded accordingly. Consider the average recommended gold market exposure level among a subset of short-term gold market timers monitored by the Hulbert Financial Digest (as measured by the Hulbert Gold Newsletter Sentiment Index, or HGNSI). This average currently stands at minus 37.5%, which is tied for being an all-time low for the HGNSI over its three-decade history. The only other time when such a low level was just a month ago, in mid April. Contrarians, of course, consider it to be bullish whenever excessive levels of pessimism and despair prevail in the marketplace. Bull markets, after all, like to climb walls of worry, and there is a very strong wall right now. The fly in the ointment is that a strong wall of worry has existed for several months now, and the market hasn’t rallied. In late March, for example, the HGNSI stood at minus 12.5%, low enough to suggest to contrarians that the gold market’s next major move was more likely to be up than down. Yet in the three weeks thereafter, gold fell more than $200 per ounce. Not surprisingly, the gold market’s recent response to otherwise very bullish sentiment conditions is unprecedented, at least in my three decades of tracking market timers’ behavior. Might this all mean that the gold market will rise even more strongly, once it does finally begin to mount a significant $2,000 80% $1,900 60% $1,800 40% $1,700 20% $1,600 0% $1,500 -20% $1,400 HGNSI (left axis) Gold bullion (right axis) -40% 12/31/10 $1,300 04/05/11 07/08/11 10/10/11 1/12/2012 rally? That certainly stands to reason, since the current bearishness among the gold timers means there is a lot of sideline cash ready to jump back in and propel the market higher. But a review of the last three decades doesn’t provide unambiguous support for this hope. Just take what happened in late April and early May, when gold rallied some $100 in fairly short order. You’d have thought that this was a strong enough rally to lure a lot of that sideline cash back into the market, and thereby support even higher prices. But that didn’t happen: As of press time, gold has forfeited the bulk of that $100 increase. Summary of other Hulbert sentiment indices • Broad stock market—The Hulbert Stock Newsletter Sentiment Index (HSNSI) stands at 70.6%, one of its highest levels in years. The HSNSI’s average level over the last 12 months was 41.5%. • NASDAQ Stock Market—The Hulbert NASDAQ Newsletter Sentiment 04/17/12 7/19/2012 10/19/2012 1/25/2013 4/30/2013 Index (HNNSI) stands at 93.8%, also one of its highest levels in years. The These are times that try contrarians souls! The sentiment conditions in the gold market have, for several months now, been a textbook illustration of what contrarians associate with a major market bottom. So far, at least, the gold market has not responded accordingly. HNNSI’s average level over the last 12 months was 41.8%. • Bonds—The Hulbert Bond Newsletter Sentiment Index (HBNSI) stands at 28.4%, after having gotten as high as 49.5% in early May. The index’s average level over the last 12 months is 11.4%. If you don‘t want to wait until subsequent HFD issues for sentiment updates, you can subscribe to daily or weekly updates. The cost depends on the frequency of updates and how many of the HFD’s four sentiment indexes you desire. Contact John Kimble for more information: [email protected] 3 4 HFD N E W S L E T T E R A N A LY S I S The Buyback Letter MARK’S COMMENTARY: $10,000,000 The Buyback Letter is an attempt to exploit one of the academicallyrecognized exceptions to the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH). The EMH has been the reigning orthodoxy for decades in university finance departments and graduate schools, holding that the markets are so efficient that they cannot be consistently beaten over time. The anomaly that is the foundation of The Buyback Letter: Companies that buy back shares of their stock in the open market have, on average at least over the past couple of decades, outperformed companies that have not. In The Buyback Letter, editor David Fried attempts to do even better than the results that have emerged from academic studies. “I’m in search of even bigger game,” he writes. For example, in research he has conducted, Fried has found that he can improve on the average performance of buyback stocks if he concentrates on those that are in the “value” category (which means, for example, they have relatively low priceto-book ratios). No explicit market timing Fried rarely attempts any explicit stock market timing. In fact his website states explicitly, “we are not market timers.” And, for the most part, his model portfolios have remained fully invested. One exception came in mid-2007. That’s when Fried decided to allocate a significant percentage of his portfolios to cash for a short period of time. The HFD began monitoring The Buyback Letter at the beginning of 1997. READ MORE AT http://on.mktw.net/15MVECa Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index Represented by vertical bars (Series shifted so that the index equals $100,000 at the point the HFD began following newsletter) $1,000,000 $100,000 The Buyback Letter Average of portfolios) Represented by line $10,000 12/92 12/93 12/94 12/95 12/96 12/97 12/98 12/99 12/00 12/01 12/02 12/03 12/04 12/05 12/06 12/07 12/08 12/09 12/10 12/11 12/12 PERFORMANCE (THROUGH 4/30/13) Lifetime* 1 yr 3 yrs 5 yrs +26.9 +53.6(15.4) +17.0 +43.1(12.7) +48.2(8.2) +31.4(5.6) 8 yrs 10 yrs 15 yrs % GAIN/LOSS** Letter’s Average Wilshire 5000 +530.0(11.9) +202.1( 7.0) +82.2(7.8) +186.9(11.1) +284.1( 9.4) +69.7(6.8) +129.2( 8.6) +100.8( 4.8) ADJUSTED FOR RISK*** Letter’s Average Wilshire 5000 +0.18 +0.10 +0.54 +0.47 +0.33 +0.25 +0.15 +0.11 +0.13 +0.11 +0.20 +0.15 +0.14 +0.06 *Over entire period tracked by HFD. **Annualized equivalents are shown in parentheses. ***Average monthly % performance per unit of risk. The higher the number, the better. PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS—4/30/13 (AVERAGE OF ALL PORTFOLIOS) Composition: Long: 71.5%; Cash: 28.5% Number Of Securities Held: 6 Avg. Holding Period of Current Positions: 310 days Volatility vs Wilshire last 12 Months: 35% more Over entire period followed: 4% less Largest 12-Month Loss: -40.8% (vs. -43.3% for Wilshire) David Fried 15415 Sunset Blvd. Suite 200-D Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 1-888-289-2225 www.buybackletter.com [email protected] Subscription: $195/year Frequency: Monthly Hotline? Yes Manages money? Yes Investment focus: Stocks HFD data since: 12/31/1996 Since then, the newsletter’s portfolios on average have produced an 11.9% annualized return, in contrast to 7.0% for the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index. Not only have the letter’s portfolios outperformed a buy-and-hold, they have done so with slightly less risk than the overall market (4% less, as you can see from the table above). That’s a winning combination, which explains why the newsletter also beats the Wilshire 5000 index by a healthy margin on a risk-adjusted basis. Fried also publishes an investment newsletter entitled The Buyback Premium Portfolio, which the HFD began monitoring on 1/1/2001. Since then it has produced a 3.2% annualized gain, in contrast to a 4.4% annualized gain for the Wilshire 5000 and a 9.8% annualized gain for The Buyback Letter. HFD N E W S L E T T E R A N A LY S I S No-Load Mut. Fund Selections & Timing MARK’S COMMENTARY: $10,000,000 This newsletter focuses on both fund selection as well as market timing in the stock, gold and bond markets. Editor Stephen McKee’s investment philosophy appears to be based primarily (though not exclusively) on technical analysis. Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index Represented by vertical bars (Series shifted so that the index equals $100,000 at the point the HFD began following newsletter) $1,000,000 $100,000 No-Load Mutual Fund Selections & Timing Newsletter (Average of portfolios) Represented by line Several model portfolios McKee currently maintains four model portfolios of mutual funds. Two have existed for the entire period the HFD has tracked the letter (since January 1990): A “Balanced” portfolio that trades among domestic and international stock and bond funds as well as precious metals funds; and a “Growth” portfolio that focuses primarily on the equity markets. Subsequently, McKee inaugurated three more model portfolios, and the HFD’s data for them commences in January 1993: an “Aggressive Growth” portfolio (which differs from his longerlived “Growth” portfolio in that he allows this newer portfolio to take larger bets on a particular fund or style); an “Income” portfolio; and an “Aggressive Income” portfolio (which has since been discontinued). McKee also used to offer a sixth portfolio that focused on sector timing. Though this was discontinued in late 2003, its performance, along with the other now-defunct portfolio, are included in what the HFD reports for the newsletter’s average. Conservative approach All four of McKee’s current portfolios READ MORE AT http://on.mktw.net/181HFpt $10,000 12/87 12/88 12/89 12/90 12/91 12/92 12/93 12/94 12/95 12/96 12/97 12/98 12/99 12/00 12/01 12/02 12/03 12/04 12/05 12/06 12/07 12/08 12/09 12/10 12/11 12/12 PERFORMANCE (THROUGH 4/30/13) Lifetime* 1 yr 3 yrs 5 yrs +5.3 +19.7(6.2) +17.0 +43.1(12.7) +38.4(6.7) +31.4(5.6) 8 yrs 10 yrs 15 yrs % GAIN/LOSS** Letter’s Average Wilshire 5000 +551.7( 8.4) +662.3( 9.1) +67.2(6.6) +90.6(6.7) +141.2( 6.0) +69.7(6.8) +129.2( 8.6) +100.8( 4.8) ADJUSTED FOR RISK*** Letter’s Average Wilshire 5000 +0.22 +0.13 +0.56 +0.47 +0.32 +0.25 +0.26 +0.11 +0.25 +0.11 +0.27 +0.15 +0.19 +0.06 *Over entire period tracked by HFD. **Annualized equivalents are shown in parentheses. ***Average monthly % performance per unit of risk. The higher the number, the better. PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS—4/30/13 (AVERAGE OF ALL PORTFOLIOS) Composition: Long: 55.3%; Cash: 44.7% Number Of Securities Held: 7 Avg. Holding Period of Current Positions: 216 days Volatility vs Wilshire last 12 Months: 74% less Over entire period followed: 58% less Largest 12-Month Loss: -13.1% (vs. -43.3% for Wilshire) Stephen L. McKee P.O. Box 830396 Richardson, TX 75083 1-800-800-6563 www.investmentst.com [email protected] Subscription: $180/year Frequency: Monthly Hotline? Yes Manages money? No Focus: Mutual funds HFD data since: 12/31/1989 have incurred less volatility (or risk) than the stock market as a whole. In fact, the riskiest has been McKee’s “Aggressive Growth” portfolio, which despite being the riskiest, has been 39% less risky than the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index. Given this below-market risk, and the stock market’s tendency over the long-term to rise, one would expect the newsletter’s average portfolio to lag the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index over the long term. In fact, however, the newsletter has nevertheless come close to equaling the market’s return—gaining 8.4% (annualized) since the beginning of 1990 vs. 9.1% for the overall stock market. Once this performance is adjusted for this low risk, the newsletter is well ahead of the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index. 5 6 HFD N E W S L E T T E R A N A LY S I S The Turnaround Letter MARK’S COMMENTARY: $10,000,000 As its title suggests, The Turnaround Letter focuses on companies that editor George Putnam believes will soon recover from a previous period of bad news and depressed prices. His focus sometimes leads to recommending stocks that are in bankruptcy proceedings. Indeed, Putnam maintains a comprehensive database on public companies that currently are in, or are emerging from, bankruptcy. Putnam segregates his newsletter’s recommendations into three categories: “Small-Cap,” “Mid-Cap” and “LargeCap.” In each issue, he provides buyhold-sell advice for each of his open recommendations that have yet to be closed out. Because he does not advise subscribers on the proper division of their equity portfolios between stocks and cash, the HFD constructs each of these three portfolios so that they are kept fully invested at all times in the securities that Putnam rates a “buy,” and divided equally among all such positions. Prior to September 2004, Putnam segregated his newsletter’s recommendations into three different categories: “Aggressive,” “Moderate Risk,” and “Conservative.” The HFD treats the newsletter’s three current categories (“Small-Cap,” “Mid-Cap,” and “LargeCap”) as successors to those three discontinued ones. Very high risk As might be expected, portfolios fully invested in “turnaround” situations will tend to be much more volatile, or risky, READ MORE AT http://on.mktw.net/YW6Vgg Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index Represented by vertical bars (Series shifted so that the index equals $100,000 at the point the HFD began following newsletter) $1,000,000 $100,000 The Turnaround Letter (Average of portfolios) Represented by line 1980 results reflect last 6 months of the year only $10,000 6/80 6/81 6/82 6/83 6/84 6/85 6/86 6/87 6/88 6/89 6/90 6/91 6/92 6/93 6/94 6/95 6/96 6/97 6/98 6/99 6/00 6/01 6/02 6/03 6/04 6/05 6/06 6/07 6/08 6/09 6/10 6/11 6/12 PERFORMANCE (THROUGH 4/30/13) Lifetime* 1 yr 3 yrs 5 yrs +32.4 +45.2(13.2) +17.0 +43.1(12.7) +50.4(8.5) +31.4(5.6) 8 yrs 10 yrs 15 yrs % GAIN/LOSS** Letter’s Average +1,831.7( 12.4) Wilshire 5000 +1,061.3( 10.2) +95.6(8.7) +245.6(13.2) +303.5( 9.7) +69.7(6.8) +129.2( 8.6) +100.8( 4.8) ADJUSTED FOR RISK*** Letter’s Average Wilshire 5000 +0.13 +0.14 +0.65 +0.47 +0.20 +0.25 +0.12 +0.11 +0.11 +0.11 +0.16 +0.15 +0.12 +0.06 *Over entire period tracked by HFD. **Annualized equivalents are shown in parentheses. ***Average monthly % performance per unit of risk. The higher the number, the better. PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS—4/30/13 (AVERAGE OF ALL PORTFOLIOS) Composition: Long: 100% Number Of Securities Held: 18 Avg. Holding Period of Current Positions: 902 days Volatility vs Wilshire last 12 Months: 30% more Over entire period followed: 69% more Largest 12-Month Loss: -59.8% (vs. -43.3% for Wilshire) George Putnam, III 1212 Hancock St., Suite LL-15 Quincy, MA 02169 800-468-3810 www.turnaroundletter.com [email protected] Subscription: $195/year Frequency: Monthly Hotline? No Manages money? Yes Investment focus: Stocks HFD data since: 12/31/1987 than the stock market as a whole. This newsletter’s portfolios are no exception. Even its “Large-Cap” portfolio, which is the most conservative of the newsletter’s three, has been 46% more volatile than the Wilshire 5000 Total Market index. The letter’s “Mid-Cap” portfolio has been 87% riskier, and its “Small-Cap” portfolio has been particularly speculative, incurring 153% more volatility, or risk. Despite the high risk, this newsletter nevertheless has managed to beat the stock market—thereby beating the odds that high-risk strategies will eventually stumble badly. Since the beginning of 1988, the newsletter’s portfolios on average have gained 12.4% annualized, in contrast to the Wilshire 5000 index’s 10.2%. HFD Scoreboard for Mutual Fund Newsletters The rankings below show which mutual fund newsletters (or fund portfolios from non-mutual-fund newsletters) have performed the best. A newsletter’s ranking is based on an average of its fund portfolios in the event it recommends several. These scoreboards follow the same format as those on page 8. 15 YEARS (27 newsletters tracked) see more at http://bit.ly/aIKqn1 RISK-ADJUSTED RANKING RANK UNADJUSTED RATING NEWSLETTER 1 0.19 2 0.15 3 0.14 4 0.13 5 0.12 6 0.11 7 0.11 BENCHMARKS 0.06 0.00 RISK No-Load Mutual Fund Sel. & Timing 34.8 Bob Brinker’s Marketimer 76.4 InvesTech Research Portfolio Strategy 65.7 No-Load FundX 104.3 Investors Intelligence 52.8 Independent Adviser for Vanguard Invs. 83.5 Moneyletter 87.8 6.0% 8.3% 7.5% 9.1% 5.7% 6.9% 7.1% Wilshire 5000 Total Return T-Bill Portfolio 4.8% 2.4% 100.0 3.5 10 YEARS (41 newsletters tracked) 0.27 0.25 0.24 0.22 0.21 0.20 0.18 RANK DATA BEGAN 14 2 4 1 17 8 6 1990 1987 1986 1980 1987 1992 1987 RISK UNADJUSTED GAIN RANK No-Load Mutual Fund Sel. & Timing InvesTech Research Portfolio Strategy Sector Navigator Fidelity Navigator Closed-End Country Fund Report* No-Load Navigator Personal Finance 35.6 79.8 68.6 60.6 156.3 61.1 81.6 6.7% 11.8% 10.1% 8.4% 16.9% 7.8% 9.0% Wilshire 5000 Total Return T-Bill Portfolio 100.0 3.4 8.6% 1.6% DATA BEGAN 26 2 6 16 1 21 11 1990 1986 2003 2002 1994 2002 1989 BENCHMARKS 0.15 0.00 5 YEARS (53 newsletters tracked) see more at http://bit.ly/d2YrFp RISK-ADJUSTED RANKING RANK RATING NEWSLETTER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0.30 0.26 0.26 0.19 0.18 0.17 0.16 RISK National Trendlines No-Load Mutual Fund Sel. & Timing Brinker Fixed Income Advisor Fosback’s Fund Forecaster Sector Navigator InvesTech Research Portfolio Strategy The Mutual Fund Strategist UNADJUSTED GAIN RANK 13.0 37.2 37.8 67.5 64.4 77.3 51.6 2.9% 6.7% 6.7% 8.4% 7.4% 7.9% 5.4% 100.0 0.7 5.6% 0.3% DATA BEGAN 32 5 6 1 4 2 11 1994 1990 2005 2003 2003 1986 1985 BENCHMARKS 0.11 0.00 Wilshire 5000 Total Return T-Bill Portfolio * Newsletter hasn’t published since 2004, though not formally discontinued. Market exposure among market timers The following reports the average percentage market exposure as of 4/30/13 among market timers in the stock, gold and bond markets. Please note: Each market’s reading is independent of the others; there is no expectation that they add up to 100%. GREEN number indicates the average among those who have beaten a buy-and-hold over the last ten years on a risk-adjusted basis. BLUE number indicates the average among all timers the HFD follows. STOCKS 90% GOLD Hulbert Interactive The online research tool that provides 24hour access to the HFD’s database containing 32+ years’ worth of performance data, along with the stock and fund picks from hundreds of newsletters. Visit: http://bit.ly/bf47dI Individual Newsletter Profiles Performance profiles of the nearly 200 newsletters the HFD tracks are now included in a subscription to Hulbert Interactive. About HFD see more at http://bit.ly/aN2Tov RISK-ADJUSTED RANKING RANK RATING NEWSLETTER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 GAIN Other Ways of Accessing HFD Data 65% n/a 0% BONDS 100% 60% READ MORE AT http://bit.ly/9tjHYp The Hulbert Financial Digest (ISSN: 10424261) is published monthly by The Hulbert Financial Digest Inc., 8001 Braddock Road #107, Springfield, VA 22151. The HFD is a service of Marketwatch, Inc. An introductory subscription (for first-time subscribers only, via e-mail) is $59; the regular price is $89 per year. Subscription-related questions should be directed to 1-888-HULBERT or, via e-mail, to “orders@marketwatch. com” Mark Hulbert, Editor; John Kimble, Chief Portfolio Analyst; Ruthanne Teates, Portfolio Analyst; James Sterns, Portfolio Analyst; Alycia Lutz, Portfolio Analyst. (Copyright © 2013 by The Hulbert Financial Digest, Inc.) The HFD is based on information and research believed to be reliable, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The HFD, its editors, and its writers cannot be responsible for errors and omissions. The HFD’s purpose is to provide objective performance data on various investment strategies. The HFD is not affiliated with any of the investment newsletters it rates; nor does the HFD endorse the use of its name in advertising. The HFD cautions readers to be skeptical of editors’ characterizations of their HFD ratings, as we cannot police such use. To keep subscription rates low, the HFD periodically rents its mailing list. Telephone marketing is strictly prohibited. Any subscriber who wishes his/ her name not be rented should contact us. This rental is administered by an outside firm, and the HFD plays no role in approving or disapproving a request for rental or the content of promotional material. Subscribers therefore should not interpret any direct mail advertising—including those to HFD readers or those that refer to advertisers’ HFD ratings—as enjoying an HFD endorsement. 7 MOST POPULAR STOCKS Overall Performance Scoreboard CURRENTLY OWNED BY MOST LETTERS The rankings below show which newsletters that the HFD follows have performed the best, on both a total return and a risk-adjusted basis, over various lengths of time through April 30, 2013. (Page 7 contains a special ranking of just mutual fund letters and portfolios.) A letter’s ranking is based on an average of its several portfolios in the event it recommends more than one (including any the letters may have discontinued). You can find 15- and 25-year rankings at http://bit.ly/lZOfxl and http://on.mktw.net/YJXm1N, respectively. 20 YEARS (51 newsletters tracked) see more at http://bit.ly/9Zd8Jv RISK-ADJUSTED RANKING RANK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNADJUSTED RATING NEWSLETTER 0.24 0.18 0.18 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.16 No-Load Mutual Fund Sel. & Timing The Investment Reporter Bob Brinker’s Marketimer The Prudent Speculator Utility Forecaster No-Load FundX Independent Adviser for Vanguard Invs RISK GAIN 39.9 115.7 78.7 174.5 71.4 104.4 83.3 8.1% 13.4% 10.1% 16.5% 9.1% 11.5% 9.6% 100.0 3.8 8.9% 3.0% RANK 20 2 5 1 10 3 7 DATA BEGAN 1990 1984 1987 1980 1993 1980 1992 15 Apple (AAPL)(25) 1 5 10 Microsoft (MSFT)(20) 15 Intel (INTC)(17) 5 10 Pfizer (PFE)(17) 1 5 10 AT&T (T)(15) 1 5 10 Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)(15) 1 5 Chevron (CVX)(14) Plains All Amer. Pipeline (PAA)(14) 5 10 Cisco (CSCO)(13) 1 5 10 IBM (IBM)(13) 1 See more at http://bit.ly/a4ABl6 BENCHMARKS 0.13 0.00 Wilshire 5000 Total Return T-Bill Portfolio 10 YEARS (109 newsletters tracked) RANK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 UNADJUSTED RATING NEWSLETTER 0.35 0.27 0.26 0.24 0.24 0.23 0.22 LEAST POPULAR STOCKS RISK GAIN Utility Forecaster No-Load Mutual Fund Sel. & Timing InvesTech Research Portfolio Strategy Sector Navigator The Successful Investor Global Investing The Oxford Club 59.5 35.6 75.0 68.6 125.8 126.7 91.9 12.6% 6.7% 11.7% 10.1% 16.4% 16.0% 12.0% Wilshire 5000 Total Return T-Bill Portfolio 100.0 3.4 8.6% 1.6% RANK 13 65 19 26 3 4 16 DATA BEGAN 1993 1990 1984 2003 2002 1994 1995 BENCHMARKS 0.15 0.00 5 YEARS (139 newsletters tracked) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 See more at http://bit.ly/bXNvKj RISK GAIN National Trendlines Utility Forecaster No-Load Mutual Fund Sel. & Timing Brinker Fixed Income Advisor Motley Fool Inside Value The Value Line Convertibles Survey Morningstar Dividend Investor 13.0 56.6 37.2 37.8 110.9 60.1 79.8 2.9% 10.5% 6.7% 6.7% 14.5% 8.2% 10.2% Wilshire 5000 Total Return T-Bill Portfolio 100.0 0.7 5.6% 0.3% RANK 71 10 28 29 1 19 11 CURRENTLY OWNED BY MOST LETTERS DATA BEGAN 1994 1993 1990 2005 2004 1986 2005 BENCHMARKS 0.11 0.00 MOST POPULAR FUNDS UNADJUSTED RATING NEWSLETTER 0.30 0.28 0.26 0.26 0.21 0.21 0.20 10 Apogee Enterprises(APOG)(3) Celgene (CELG)(3) EMC Corp (EMC)(3) 5 10 Halliburton (HAL)(3) 1 IBM (IBM)(3) iShares Russell 2K (IWM)(3) 1 Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)(3) 1 Microsoft (MSFT)(3) Unitedhealth Group (UNH)(3) 5 see more at http://bit.ly/d6ePRz RISK-ADJUSTED RANKING RANK MOST SHORTED, OR MOST DOWNGRADED, OVER LAST MONTH see more at http://bit.ly/9YMaDe RISK-ADJUSTED RANKING Qualcomm (QCOM)(13) Wal-Mart (WMT)(13) 1 10 Vang. Div. Growth (VDIGX)(9) 5 Doubleline TR Bond (DLTNX)(8) 1 5 Fid. Spartan High Income (SPHIX)(8) 1 5 Vang. GNMA (VFIIX)(8) 5 Vang. IT Inv. Grade (VFICX)(8) 1 5 Vang. ST Inv. Grade (VFSTX)(8) 5 10 Vang. Total Stock Market (VTSMX)(8) 10 Wasatch Int’l Growth (WAIGX)(8) Vang. Index 500 (VFINX)(7) 1 5 Vang. Inflation Prot. Bond (VIPSX)(7) Vang. REIT Index (VGSIX)(7) Glossary See more at http://bit.ly/9VaaFR Risk-Adjusted Rank—This reports what the letter’s rank would be if all were ranked on a risk-adjusted basis. risk level above 100 means the letter was riskier than the Wilshire 5000. A lower number is preferable. Risk-Adjusted Rating—Monthly performance per unit of risk, calculated using the Sharpe Ratio. Other things being equal, a higher number here is preferable. Unadjusted Gain—The newsletter’s total return (annualized), before adjusting for risk. 1 Unadjusted Rank—The newsletter’s rank when ranked on basis of performance before risk adjustment. 5 Ranks in top ten among those letters beating market over trailing 1 year Ranks in top ten among those letters Data Began—The year HFD began monitoring this newsletter’s performance. 10 beating market over the last 5 years Ranks in top ten among those letters Risk—Risk, as measured by volatility. All letters’ risk levels are normalized so that the risk level of the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index becomes 100. Thus, a KEY beating market over the last 10 years
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