how a hulbert rating works
the hulbert ratings of investment newsletters are determined by maintaining hypothetical investment portfolios according to the buy and sell advice of each newsletter hulbert ratings llc then tracks the performance of the newsletter by multiple metrics culminating in a sharpe ratio a measure of risk adjusted performance 3financial advisor and contrarian investor mark hulbert began tracking newsletter performance in the hulbert financial digest in 1980 after nearly 36 years and a couple of high profile acquisitions hulbert financial digest was officially laid to rest in jan 2016 hulbert immediately formed hulbert ratings llc which picked up where the digest left off and which continues to track newsletter performance newsletters pay hulbert ratings llc a flat fee to be tracked and audited 2hulbert establishes an impartial evaluation of each newsletter by subscribing under someone else s name to prevent the newsletter from sending their tips early and inflating the performance of the hypothetical portfolio some newsletters are less specific in their calls to action than others are for those hulbert ratings llc must infer buy and sell advice to track returns aside from their value as an impartial review of newsletter performance the very existence of hulbert ratings helps keep newsletters also known as market letters honest about their performance special considerationshulbert ratings appear on the performance scoreboards published on the hulbert ratings llc website the site publishes performance scoreboards that show newsletter ratings for the most recent 12 month period and historical ratings over the trailing 3 5 10 15 20 and 30 years listed newsletter performance ratings go as far back as the inception of the service in 1980 4the hulbert investment newsletter honor roll lists those investment newsletters that have produced above average performance in both up and down markets the list grades each newsletter s performance during up and down periods showing the gain for each newsletter since april 2000 5each newsletter is given a risk number which reflects the volatility of the newsletter s performance as measured by the standard deviation of its monthly returns additionally each newsletter is given a risk adjusted performance number calculated using the sharpe ratio 