Weiss Research's Premium Services

Weiss Research publishes two categories of newsletters — monthly print newsletters delivered primarily by mail and Premium Services delivered by e-mail. Up to 10% of Weiss customers have subscribed to Premium Services.

About Options Since inception, Weiss Research’s Premium Services have been based on the following model:
  • Weiss Research's Premium Services recommend primarily the purchase of equity options, limiting the investor's risk strictly to the amount invested.


  • Weiss Research has recommended that no more than 10% of an investor's liquid assets be used for the purchase of options, with most of the balance allocated to conservative investments.


  • Weiss Research has provided substantial educational material on options, including full disclosure to subscribers regarding the related risks, with the following statements in all of the literature received by new Premium Services subscribers:


    • "The expected market move in the stock has to happen — or at least get underway — before the option expires. Otherwise, the option can expire worthless, and you will lose the entire amount you invested in that option.:


    • "80% of all options expire worthless, whether puts or calls. Our job is to help you reduce that percentage."


    • "If you currently require all, or nearly all, of your capital to generate the income you need to live on, this program is not for you. Also, you should not use funds allocated to health care, long-term care, college tuition or similar basic needs."
Autotrading Autotrading is an arrangement established by various broker-dealers. With this arrangement, their customers give them discretion to enter orders in their accounts based on the recommendations or research provided by over 40 publishers in the U.S., among which one is an investment advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Beginning in 2001, Weiss Research received requests from some of its subscribers to facilitate autotrading by sending copies of its newsletters to their brokers. Weiss Research accomodated those requests without compensation from brokers and without charging its subscribers an additional fee. Subsequently, Weiss Research ceased facilitating autotrading for its new subscribers in December of 2004 and for its existing subscribers in April of 2005.

During 2001-2004, an estimated 25% of Weiss Research’s Premium Service subscribers, or up to 2.5% of Weiss Research subscribers overall, used autotrading. Weiss Research’s print newsletter subscribers did not use autotrading.
Broker/
Dealers 		Weiss Research has never accepted, and does not accept, compensation of any kind from broker dealers for referrals, and Weiss Research employees who do so are subject to immediate termination. Weiss Research does not recommend brokers but may occasionally provide investors with educational information and statistical data on brokerage firms to help them choose a broker that can best meet their needs.
Customer Service Weiss Research’s customer service representatives are available to provide meaningful and courteous assistance to Weiss Research newsletters subscribers. Although they are not permitted to provide individual investment advice, they seek to answer all questions regarding subscriptions and general investment information. Weiss Research customer service staff receive regular training regarding FTC telemarketing regulations, the DMA Code of Ethics and the Weiss Group Code of Ethics. They are required to disclose the risks of any speculative investments to each potential Premium Services subscriber.
Customers Premium Service customers are typically sophisticated investors with years of investment experience and substantial liquid assets. According to a 2003 survey of Weiss customers, 91.5% have attended college, 81.6% have more than five years of experience investing in stocks, and 90.7% have more than one year of experience with options. Their median liquid assets is approximately $400,000.
FTC and SEC Weiss Research is strictly a publisher regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Weiss Research was formerly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, in response to the 1985 Supreme Court decision in Lowe vs. SEC, in which most publishers were deemed exempt from registration with the SEC, Weiss Research withdrew its registration.
Marketing Since inception, Weiss Research’s marketing efforts have been based on the following model:
  • Weiss Research markets its Premium Services almost exclusively to investors who have previously subscribed to its print newsletters and other publications, which generally include substantial educational information regarding the risks of investing.
  • These campaigns are designed to promote either new Premium Services or existing Premium Services with strong performance.
Performance The performance of most Weiss Research’s Premium Services was poor in 2001-2003 and has improved substantially in 2004-2005, as illustrated in the table below.

  Number of Premium Services Services with Negative Avg.Results Services with Positive Avg.Results Services With Double-Digit Avg. Gains
2001-2003
16
9
7
2
2004-2005
10
2
8
6*
* Based on first 8 months of 2005

During 2001-2003, Weiss Research published 16 premium services newsletters. Among these, nine of the newsletters produced an average result that was negative, while seven produced an average result that was positive.

In 2004-2005, several non-performing Premium Services newsletters were discontinued, and the performance of the remaining newsletters improved significantly. During this period, Weiss Research has published ten Premium Services, among which two have produced negative average results, while eight have produced positive average results.

In addition, in the first eight months of 2005, six Premium Services have achieved annualized average gains of double digits or more, while four of those achieved high double-digit gains of 51.6%, 63.9%, 72.5% and 78.7%, respectively.
Performance
Estimates		 To help monitor the performance of its Premium Services analysts, Weiss Research regularly maintains estimates of the results of each of its investment recommendations. Since these performance estimates are not substantiated, they are considered “hypothetical.” Therefore they are reserved for internal use only.
Trading
History		 Weiss Research publishes various premium services designed to help investors trade stocks and options. For each of these, Weiss Research provides a 12-Month Trading History on its websites. These performance records are fully substantiated by documents provided to Weiss Research by the brokers of Weiss Research subscribers. The subscribers’ names and account numbers redacted to protect their privacy.