Hot List Newsletter

Most Recent Hot List Issues

3 most recent issues require subscription. Historical issues can be viewed free of charge.

12/24/2009

Validea Hot List

What Stock Picking Models Worked in 2009 -- and What Didn't

All in all, 2009 has been a very strong year for the Hot List, with the portfolio's 46.8% gain nearly doubling the S&P 500's 24.1% rise. Given that this will be the final Hot List issue before the new year, I thought it would be good to take a look back at the past 12 months and see just where the portfolio got the most value, as well as where it misfired.

12/11/2009

Validea Hot List

Searching for High-Quality Stocks, as Always

The lowest quality stocks bounced tremendously off of the March 2009 lows, but now many experts, including Jeremy Grantham and Donald Yachtman, are saying its time for higher quality names to take the baton and lead the market forward.

11/27/2009

Validea Hot List

Still Waiting for Jobs to Return

Many pundits and strategists have noted that a high jobless rate will be a threat to the economic recovery, and they're right. But there are a couple things to consider when looking at employment figures. Read this issue to find out more.

11/13/2009

Validea Hot List

The Two-Pronged O'Shaughnessy Stock Screening Attack

Taking an inside look at James O'Shaughnessy's Cornerstone Value and Cornerstone Growth stock selection models - the key inputs, the performance, the top rated stocks as of today and more.

10/30/2009

Validea Hot List

Concentrated Portfolios and The Truth about Diversification

Looking at the value of diversification and also the downside of over-diversifying. On Validea, we run relatively focused 10 and 20 stock portfolios and we share some interesting data on the risk and return metrics associated with these focused model portfolios.

10/16/2009

Validea Hot List

Martin Zweig was Right, "Don't Fight the Fed"

In his book "Winning on Wall Street", Martin Zweig, whose approach is the basis for my Growth Investor model, offers this key maxim: Don't Fight the Fed. "In the stock market, as with horse racing, money makes the mare go," he wrote. Read this issue to learn more about Zweig's investment approach with regard to monetary conditions.

10/2/2009

Validea Hot List

Mutual Funds Flaws and Underperformance

The underperformance of most mutual funds is not a surprise to most investors, but its good to understand why many funds don't beat the market so that you can identify those who have strategies that may be able to produce outperformance. Read more today on funds and the flaws that many have.

9/18/2009

Validea Hot List

Stock Picking in The New Normal

Will the fundamentals of good stock picking change in the so-called "New Normal". That is a question we don't know the answer to, but our feeling is they probably will not and the strategies that have stood the test of time will continue to work now and over time.

9/4/2009

Validea Hot List

A Contrarian's View of Today's Market

Experts and influencial investors, such as Warren Buffett and John Paulson, have been issuing some warnings around various things, such as the potential for high inflation, but the view here is that the concerns of some are probably overblown.

8/21/2009

Validea Hot List

The John Neff Investment Approach

In today's issue, we outline the John Neff investment model and also the stocks that currently make up the 10-stock Neff-based portfolio we run on Validea.

8/7/2009

Validea Hot List

The Economy & The Market: Dueling Data

The seeming disconnect between the stock market's continued rapid climb and the tiny steps forward that the economy is making has been pretty stark. What's critical to remember, however, is that while the stock market and economy are certainly intertwined, their relationship is not one of side-by-side running mates. We discuss this concept in today's issue.

7/24/2009

Validea Hot List

Emotion, Discipline, and the Gurus

Consider the research of DALBAR, Inc. In one of its studies of investor behavior, DALBAR found that over a 20-year period, equity investors earned well less than half the returns that the S&P 500 made. The reason? We'll take a look at why investors fail and offer up lessons, from us and the gurus we emulate, to try to help you overcome this investing shortfall.

7/10/2009

Validea Hot List

Some Old Names Being Added Back to the Hot List Portfolio

Capitalizing on what are essentially inefficiencies in the market is exactly what the Hot List is designed to do. And while the overall guru-based system we use is a long-term one, recent portfolio changes show that these guru-based strategies are also quite effective in taking advantage of inefficiencies in pricing over short-term periods.

6/26/2009

Validea Hot List

Successful Investors Converging on the Attractive Stocks Right Now

Warren Buffett, Ken Fisher, David Dreman and James O'Shaughnessy - all investors who I deeply respect - are very constructive on equities. Take a look inside this issue to find out what they are saying and how you can benefit from their wisdom.

6/12/2009

Validea Hot List

A Longer Look at the Stocks vs. Bonds Debate

The recent increase in yields has the stock vs. bonds debate front and center. We look some of the recent research published by a few, including Rob Arnott, and help investors work through the long term data on the various asset classes.

5/29/2009

Validea Hot List

The Missing Piece: Determining When to Sell

While a lot of strategies out there tell you how to buy stocks that will make nice gains, there are few that address the second half of the stock investing equation: when to sell. We address this in today's issue.

5/15/2009

Validea Hot List

The Valuation Question - is the Market Under or Over-Valued

The big question for the broader market continues to be whether or not the rally is for real. In this issue, we look at multiple market valuation measures and the conclusion is there are still many great values for long term, disciplined investors.

5/1/2009

Validea Hot List

Five Reasons Why Not to Listen to the "Why Not to Invest" Crowd

In this issue we counter several of the bearish arguments we've recently seen about why investors should avoid putting money into the market.

4/17/2009

Validea Hot List

Understanding the Road to Recovery

Economic and market history show us there will be a road to recovery, albeit a long one, but we are on record saying the market is cheap by a number of historical standards, and history shows that investors who buy at times like these far more often than not end up with excellent long-term returns.

4/3/2009

Validea Hot List

Staying Focused Through Bear or Bull Markets

Stocks have rebounded tremendously since early '09, and while things look to be on the mend, the larger investing point during times like these is to stay disciplined and focused on the long term using good fundamental strategies.

3/20/2009

Validea Hot List

Have We Finally Bottomed?

Some experts are calling a market bottom and while that is difficult to do, our investment models are still finding plenty of value.

3/6/2009

Validea Hot List

The Martin Zweig Model - A Growth Strategy for the Ages

This week we look at the Martin Zweig stock picking methodology, a model dominated by earnings-based criteria that seeks to identify fundamentally sound growth stocks.

2/20/2009

Validea Hot List

Doom & Gloom, Meet Facts & Figures

Pessimism in the markets is hitting an extreme, but the market's valuations and the flight out of stocks give us comfort that we are closer to a bottom in this downturn.

2/6/2009

Validea Hot List

A New Book -- and Some Enduring Principles

This week, my new book, The Guru Investor: How to Beat the Market Using History's Best Investment Strategies, arrived in bookstores. The book examines the strategies, lives, and track records of ten of the gurus we follow: Benjamin Graham, John Neff, Warren Buffett, David Dreman, Peter Lynch, Martin Zweig, Kenneth Fisher, James O'Shaughnessy, Joel Greenblatt, and Joseph Piotroski. We also discuss the guiding principles of our investment system.

1/23/2009

Validea Hot List

Adding Magic Formula Model to the Guru Line-Up

We've added a new strategy to Validea - Joel Greenblatt's Magic Formula, which he outlined in his best-selling book "The Little Book that Beats the Market." Read more about the new model in this week's issue.

1/9/2009

Validea Hot List

Five Reasons to Be Bullish in 2009

Offering up five key reasons investors can be bullish in 2009, despite the fact that we are coming off one of the worst market enivornments in history.
Performance Disclaimer: Returns presented on Validea.com are model returns and do not represent actual trading. As a result, they do not incorporate any commissions or other trading costs or fees. Model portfolios with inception dates on or after 12/30/2005 include a combination of back tested and live model returns. The back-tested performance results shown are hypothetical and are not the result of real-time management of actual accounts. The back-testing of performance differs from actual account performance because the investment strategy may be adjusted at any time, for any reason and can continue to be changed until desired or better performance results are achieved. Back-tested returns are presented to provide general information regarding how the underlying strategy behind the portfolio performed in our historical testing. A back-tested strategy has the benefit of hindsight and the results do not reflect the impact that material economic or market factors may have had on advisor's decision-making if actual client assets were being managed using this approach. The model portfolios offered on Validea are concentrated and as a result they will exhibit high levels of volatility and their performance can be substantially impacted by the performance of individual positions.

Optimal portfolios presented on Validea.com represent the rebalancing period that has led to the best historical performance for each of our equity models. Each optimal portfolio was determined after the fact with performance information that was not available at portfolio inception. As a result, an investor could not have invested in the optimal portfolio since its inception. Optimal portfolios are presented to allow investors to quickly determine the portfolio size and rebalancing period that has performed best for each of our models in our historical testing.

Both the model portfolio and benchmark returns presented for all equity portfolios on Validea.com are not inclusive of dividends. Returns for our ETF portfolios and trend following system, and the benchmarks they are compared to, are inclusive of dividends. The S&P 500 is presented as a benchmark because it is the most widely followed benchmark of the overall US market and is most often used by investors for return comparison purposes. As with any investment strategy, there is potential for profit as well as the possibility of loss and investors may incur a loss despite a past history of gains. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Results will vary with economic and market conditions.

Validea.com is a research provider that is owned and operated by The Reese Group, LLC. Validea.com offers model portfolios, screening and stock analysis that is not customized to any individual. No information on Validea.com should be construed as investment advice. Validea Capital Management is a separate investment advisory firm registered with the state of Connecticut. Validea Capital offers investment management services directly to clients and is a separate entity from The Reese Group, LLC. The Reese Group and Validea Capital are affiliated entities and share partial common ownership.