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Too Many Newsletter – Information Overload!

By archivist, February 25, 2013

Hi all,
I’ve posed a ? to Travis and the Support team regarding the number of Newsletters that I’ve acquired over the past year. At this point it seems that I get at least 5 or 6 different ones each week from various vendors – Street Authority/Agora Financial (x3+)/ Newsmax/Soverign Society/Stansbury Research/Wall Street Daily/Wealth Advisory/Palm Beach Letter/Energy Advantage, etc. etc. etc.

The information ranges from ”Doom & Gloom” to ”Latest & Greatest,” but one constant seems to be ”BUY, BUY, BUY” our newest most exclusive (and expensive) research! Travis and the Thinkolator (!) often debunk much of the information or show that its not really very current, merely the HYPE of the Day/Week/ or Month.

So in good conscience I’m asking for your opinions as to what service is truly worth keeping and to what degree do you individually or collectively believe it (they) provide(s) truly valuable information?

I’m struggling with keeping up with the info, the repeats, the slant of a ”guru/specialist/sage” all of whom seem to have impeccable credentials supported by a massive advertising ”house”! It also seems that if you take one you soon are innundated by everything published by that family and others! I feel truly ’blessed’ to be PT Barnum’s – ”sucker born every minute!” and would like to unravel that dubious distinction…

Per my discussions with Travis, I think others may have a similar problem and would like to have some feedback!

Thanks – Dave

This is a discussion topic or guest posting submitted by a Stock Gumshoe reader. The content has not been edited or reviewed by Stock Gumshoe, and any opinions expressed are those of the author alone.

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22 Comments on " Too Many Newsletter – Information Overload!"

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bebeblu
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bebeblu

It is driving me crazy as well .. almost every email I receive lately is pushing me to “Log into my friend Steve’s $900,000 Website” for a mere $2500, . I am about ready to unsubscribe from all of them just to stop the craziness….

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February 26, 2013 10:14 am
dickco1
Member
0
dickco1
I’ve been a sucker and subscribe to over 20 newsletters. It would be more but for reading reviews here putting truth to outrageous claims! For 20 years I swore by Hulbert and averaged 14-16% yearly buying 4-5 of his top performers over past years and ignoring the current year. Then the old performers failed to perform and I started endless acts of faith. I recently compiled results from newsletters and list them below. They are total return and make no adjustment for time invested! RANK LETTER %GAIN VALUE($000) 1 Gumshoe 416.54 114 2 Grail 135 25 2 DDDBCorps 98 40… Read more »
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February 28, 2013 10:34 pm
flyinkel
Member
17
flyinkel

YES! YES! YES! Stock/mutual fund picking isn’t my full time job, but it seems to be taking up a lot of time lately! Any chance of getting your opinons on best hedge fund managers/hedge fund newsletter too. Would love to have the boom gurus as well as the bust gurus.

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February 26, 2013 11:01 am
jolson1110
Member
0
jolson1110

I’m a 20 year + subscriber to Richard Band’s Profitable Investing. Have met him at a couple of Money Show speaking engagements and can say he is a solid rock in a squishy environment. I’ve always appreciated his conservative “stay the course” belief in solid investments and particularly dividend paying securities.

His twice weekly updates help sort through major market moves up or down.

That said I’d never blindly just buy his model portfolios, preferring to get ideas and confirmation from Richard to my own ideas and research

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February 26, 2013 12:19 pm
Travis Johnson, Stock Gumshoe
Admin
8134
Travis Johnson, Stock Gumshoe

Thanks Jim, we’ve gotten some reviews on that one but not lately — they’re here if anyone wants to see them (or add their own): http://stockgumshoe.com/reviews/profitable-investing/

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February 26, 2013 1:09 pm
Carol
Guest
0
Carol

Have done Stansberry products for 7-8 years, they run hot and cold but paying attention have gained. Am dropping 2 this year, they have become too republican fanatical, shouldn’t be in this type of product, now replacing with Motly Fool. Best advice——-
PAY ATTENTION !!!

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February 26, 2013 12:33 pm
Michael Meek
Guest
0
Michael Meek

Republican! You have not been paying attention. S&A has been and always will be aligned against big, intrusive government. Democrats and Republicans in and out of office and the voters who put them there are responsible for the mess our country and the world is in.

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February 26, 2013 1:39 pm
Travis Johnson, Stock Gumshoe
Admin
8134
Travis Johnson, Stock Gumshoe

Hi Dave — we get this question a lot, we’re making another push today to get some more opinions out there on this topic for you and everyone else who asks. Today’s note is here http://stockgumshoe.com/2013/02/whats-your-favorite-newsletter/ — we’ve already got a good number of comments and the reviews of newsletters are flowing in as well so our overall rankings will be gradually moving in response to those new reviews.

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February 26, 2013 12:47 pm
george carlberg
Guest
0
george carlberg
After 40 years of listening to advisors and being burned by both brokers and newsletters (They tout their wins, but ignore their blunders) I am ready to start my own corporation and load up on a big salary and huge stock options. The industry has gotten away from shareholders as partners and more as innocents to plunder. What happened to integrity and using a expertise to help people? It appears there is no room for the straight shooter, the business goes to the hype. It would be interesting to have a background check on the advisors and the corporate officers.… Read more »
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February 26, 2013 1:26 pm
Joanne K.
Guest
0
Joanne K.

I don’t have a newletter to recommend. However, I’ve found “seeking alpha.com” to be very helpful.

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February 26, 2013 1:03 pm
FarmGirl
Guest
0
FarmGirl
I posted this on Travis’ article on this today, but I have one addition. “I have most of my money in very conservative stuff, and agree that the Retirement Letter and Cash Machine are useful in running that. I keep about 10% to 15% in very aggressive stuff – nothing in the middle. For the last five years, the #1 letter in Hulbert has been New World Investor, and #2 is Forbes Special Situations. Those two are almost always near the top of the rankings, and I use them for ideas and do my own DD.” The addition is that… Read more »
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February 26, 2013 2:23 pm
Lynn Clark, Stock Gumshoe
Admin
120
Lynn Clark, Stock Gumshoe

Thank you for the input! The reviews on New World Investor can be found here: http://stockgumshoe.com/reviews/new-world-investor/

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March 8, 2013 11:57 am
carroll richard
Guest
0
carroll richard

What I like about your website is the “unlocking” the stupid mystery companies other sites tease and explain in simple terms what the co is valued at, the future prospects and if it is a good or bad idea. Mostly the honesty is refreshing!

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February 26, 2013 7:03 pm
Smarttogether
Guest
0
Smarttogether

Not really a newsletter, but I subscribe to an excellent stock rating service. The author tends to stick to the types of industries he knows well and does in-depth evaluations of companies according to if they offer good value and are good long term invesments. He provides an accurate record of all his recommendations and also of his returns over the years. He has beaten the return of the stock indexes year in and year out and has averaged 13% per year for ten years. No BS or hyperbole, just clear thinking. Investorsfriend.com

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February 26, 2013 9:30 pm
Lynn Clark, Stock Gumshoe
Admin
120
Lynn Clark, Stock Gumshoe

We just added Investorsfriend.com to our list of reviewable services, if you’d like to add your starred review: http://stockgumshoe.com/reviews/investorsfriend-com/

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March 8, 2013 12:02 pm
Paul Secosky
Guest
0
Paul Secosky

I am currently a subscriber to John Markman’s, Traders Advantage. The site provides short term investing ideas which have been profitable for me. The site does not advertise teaser stocks, just good ideas.
I am a loyal Stockgumshoe reader and appreciate the work in uncovering these stock teaser articles promoted by other sites. Keep up the good work.

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February 27, 2013 9:14 am
Lynn Clark, Stock Gumshoe
Admin
120
Lynn Clark, Stock Gumshoe

Thanks, Paul! Here’s a link to our readers’ reviews of Trader’s Advantage:
http://stockgumshoe.com/reviews/traders-advantage/

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March 8, 2013 12:04 pm
solyom
Member
1
solyom
My favorite is Morningstar primarily for the information their site provides; I leaned how to do the DCF (Discounted Cash Flow) model for Valuation of a firm. The numbers I need are there. Now since I learned the models in the 80s I know for tech and pharmaceutical firms I wil be low. But that is ok because if the price per share is near or below my Valuation I view that error as a margin of safety (I am trying to learn some of the newer methods). If one of their analysts has done a Valuation, I carefully read… Read more »
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February 27, 2013 9:42 am
The Tenacious Trader
Guest
0
The Tenacious Trader
Hi Dave! I feel your pain! Personally, I cancelled all of my subscriptions — with the exception of a “lifetime” subscription I have with the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII.com). I use the site frequently to expand my investment knowledge, not only for my personal investment needs but for a financial blog site I recently started. The best advice I can offer to you is this: With regard to investing, expand your knowledge base because no one knows more about your personal finances and investment needs than you! Look to learn more about the various investment instruments available in… Read more »
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February 27, 2013 10:53 am
rpboylesjr
Member
10
rpboylesjr
I somehow get overwhelmed by the number of “this is it! Only letting a few more people in before midnight at $5000 a year”. I have followed Travis first as a freebie then decided he was the real deal in tearing some of these teasers apart. I get the Mötley Fool, use INO a little, ignore a lot. One that is similar to Travis is Weber Global. The guy is genius but deals more in currencies, which is something I admittedly know nothing about. It’s a monthly newsletter, cheap, and does give some good insight. The main thing that’s been… Read more »
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February 28, 2013 8:35 am
william willes
Guest
0
william willes
Two simple stock ideas that have worked over the years is “Dogs of the Dow” and SPY which is the S&P 500 ETF. Both wil work as long as the market trend is up. Play them when the index is above the 50 day moving average and move to the sidelines when it drops below. Good ideas are everywhere but so are land mines. If you get on board make sure you enter stops especially when you have a gain. Don’t expect the guy who touted you on the stock to also tell you when to get out. Let the… Read more »
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March 3, 2013 11:37 pm
archivist
Author
7
archivist
Hello and THANKS TO ALL for your insights and thoughts! I particularly appreciate Travis for starting another “Newsletter Rating” Blog and to the many of you who have made recommendations. I do have a lot of the ones mentioned – Stansbury, Motley Fool, Wealth Advisory etc. etc. etc. ; but as so many have noted, its not so much the information as it is the “Tease” and the obnoxious ‘upsells’ or additions even if focused on another sector. Again my appreciation to all who have responded and share a similar predicament. Perhaps we all can benefit from these discussions on… Read more »
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March 7, 2013 5:37 pm
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