Hot List Newsletter

Most Recent Hot List Issues

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

12/23/2011

Validea Hot List

Hopeful Signs for the New Year

The year of 2011 has been a tough one for stock investors. But while many investors remain skittish as we head into 2012, we see a number of reasons to be optimistic. In this week's newsletter, we look at a few of the main factors that make us feel good about the coming year.

12/9/2011

Validea Hot List

Time To Choose

In 2011, investing in fundamentally sound stocks hasn't paid off. At difficult times like these, we think investors need to make a basic choice: If you think that after decades upon decades, stock investing has changed so that the fundamentals that have mattered for decades no longer matter, then it may be time to scrap your strategy. If not, you should stick with a proven long-term strategy. We fall into the latter category, and this week's newsletter lays out our reasoning.

11/25/2011

Validea Hot List

New Research from a Market Guru

One of the gurus who has compiled the most data on long-term investment strategy is James O'Shaughnessy, whose book What Works on Wall Street forms the basis of two of our strategies. O'Shaughnessy recently released an updated version of that excellent book, and this one includes a plethora of new data on long-term stock returns and strategies. In this week's newsletter, we examine some of his more intriguing observations

11/11/2011

Validea Hot List

Back to the Basics

While some pundits say that we are in a "New Normal" in which macroeconomic factors -- not stock fundamentals -- are what really matters, some recent data indicates otherwise. That doesn't surprise us. The basic principles of investing have endured through numerous market and economic crises over many, many decades. In this week's newsletter, we take a look at what we believe to be the six key enduring principles to good long-term investing.

10/28/2011

Validea Hot List

Low Confidence, High Returns

Many pundits were concerned about a disappointing recent consumer confidence report. But as the work of Kenneth Fisher shows, periods of high pessimism are often followed by strong gains for the market.

10/14/2011

Validea Hot List

Volatility In The Information Age

Having instantaneous access to your portfolio's every move makes volatile times like these more challenging than ever. In this week's newsletter, we discuss why staying disciplined amid the turbulence is so critical.

9/30/2011

Validea Hot List

Fear, Facts, and Fundamentals

Europe -- it's all anyone seems concerned with these days. But while most investors seem to be focusing on fear-filled headlines, smart investors will keep their focus on the facts. And right now, when it comes to assessing market valuation, the broader market seems reasonably priced.

9/16/2011

Validea Hot List

Tune Out The Noise

Short-term worries about Europe's and the US's economies have been dominating the headlines lately. But highly successful investors like Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett didn't become stock market legends by focusing on short-term events; instead they thought about the long-term. This week's newsletter looks at how investors can tune out the day-to-day market noise and focus on what is really important.

9/2/2011

Validea Hot List

Market Volatility Makes For Investing Opportunities

Any serious volatility is tough to stomach as an investor. But volatility due to macroeconomic speculation is also exciting for long-term investors. That's because, as equity prices swing wildly without much regard to intrinsic value, mispricings become rampant. And disciplined investors with long-term horizons, like Warren Buffett, jump on the myriad of opportunities that present themselves.

8/19/2011

Validea Hot List

Focus on Value, Not Macro Factors

Investors are spending so much time worrying about macroeconomic factors. But history shows that those who can jump in and out of the market based on macro factors are few and far between. History also has shown that when fears are high, those who buy equities with a long-term perspective make out well, and that's what we continue to do. Read this week's newsletter to see which stocks we think are offering the value.

8/5/2011

Validea Hot List

Giving Debt Its Due

Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, Martin Zweig --These and other gurus have all used different methods to assess a company's debt load. In this week's newsletter, we compare different debt analytics, and discuss whether the US government debt load should impact your investing approach.

7/22/2011

Validea Hot List

This Time It's Different (But It's Not)

Pundits continue to say that this recession and recovery have been different from those of the past. And, to be sure, the specifics are always different. But in more general terms, the cold, hard data shows that this recession and recovery were not as different as you might think. This week's newsletter offers details.

7/8/2011

Validea Hot List

Greenblatt On Why Funds Fail

The majority of mutual funds underperform their benchmarks over the long term. In this week's newsletter, we look at reasons offered by investing guru Joel Greenblatt as to why the professionals fail -- and we discuss how you can succeed.

6/24/2011

Validea Hot List

The Zweig Approach: Conservative Growth

Martin Zweig beat the market using a rigorous, conservative growth strategy. In this newsletter, we examine how his strategy worked, and take a look at which stocks our Zweig-inspired strategy is high on right now.

6/10/2011

Validea Hot List

Waiting for Peter Lynch

Great fund managers like Peter Lynch don't grow on trees. And even if you find a manager with a stellar track record, there's no guarantee that his or her success will continue. In this newsletter, we look at why using a quantitative, rules-based system Is a better option than trying to find the next Lynch.

5/27/2011

Validea Hot List

Beware the 'Summer Blockbuster'

Big summer blockbuster movies are often more hype than substance. The same is often true of highly touted stocks. In this newsletter, we look at the reasons why overlooked, unheralded stocks are usually better bets than hyped up "blockbuster" stocks.

5/13/2011

Validea Hot List

Sell in May and Go Away?

The stock market is a market of individual stocks, not a monolithic entity. So while the broader market may historically struggle in the warmer months, there are almost always individual stocks that can still produce excellent gains. In this week's newsletter, we look at some of the stocks that are catching our model's eyes right now.

4/29/2011

Validea Hot List

Staying Disciplined -- In Good Times and Bad

Discipline is so crucial in investing because no strategy -- not even one as successful as the Hot List -- will beat the market every year. Part of the reason is that there are simply too many factors that go into stock prices to come up with an approach that will win in every climate. But part is because logically, it just can't happen. We explain why that's the case, and why that means you need to stay disciplined over the long haul, in this newsletter.

4/15/2011

Validea Hot List

Stocks: Cheap, or Pricey?

In this newsletter, we take a look at how the broader stock market currently stacks up using a variety of valuation metrics. We also rebalance the Hot List portfolio, adding two new stocks, including AstraZeneca.

4/1/2011

Validea Hot List

The Terrible Twos?

The bull market that began in 2009 recently turned two years old. How much longer does it have to run? In this newsletter we look at how bull markets have historically played out, and we examine the John Neff-inspired strategy.

3/18/2011

Validea Hot List

The Myth of "Normal" Times

Members of the financial media are saying that we're in a completely new era, one in which all the old rules go out the window. These aren't the easy, happy-go-lucky times of the past, they say; we're now dealing with big problems and crises that very well may doom us. But looking through history shows that the "good old days" weren't always wonderful; crises come and go with regularity. In this newsletter, we examine what that means for your portfolio.

3/4/2011

Validea Hot List

The Art of Selling

While a lot of strategies 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. It's amazing, really, because for many investors, deciding when to sell is a harder decision than deciding what to buy. This newsletter looks at several tips that investors can use to develop a winning selling strategy. We also look at the ins and outs of our Kenneth Fisher-based strategy.

2/18/2011

Validea Hot List

Rebalancing Act

Portfolio rebalancing is a critical but often overlooked element of investment strategy. In this newsletter, we take a look at why rebalancing is so important, and we examine different rebalancing approaches.

2/4/2011

Validea Hot List

Inflation Inoculation

Ever since the Federal Reserve opened its monetary floodgates, investors have been waiting for inflation to hit. Recently, we've seen some signs that we may finally be getting to that point. In this week's issue, we look at how investors can use stocks as a way to battle inflation, with specific advice from Warren Buffett.

1/21/2011

Validea Hot List

2010: Inside the Numbers

In this week's newsletter, we look back at the past year to see how our guru-inspired strategies performed. Our top performers included the Joseph Piotroski-based portfolio, which gained 55.9%, as well as the James O'Shaughnessy- and David Dreman-based models.

1/7/2011

Validea Hot List

Finding Value In The Market

With new data showing that the labor market is picking up, and sentiment conditions not as "frothy" as some would have you believe, things are looking up for stocks. In this newsletter, we see which stocks our Guru Strategies -- inspired by Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, and other great investors -- are high on right now.
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.