Hulbert Ratings, LLC was created by renowned financial advisor Mark Hulbert as a way to track and score the performance of investment newsletters over time. It endeavors to provide more comprehensive, risk-adjusted ratings to investors who rely on the expertise and advice of advisors in the financial industry. The Hulbert Rating tracks the buy and sell advice given in the newsletters and evaluates performance by looking at numerous metrics that are compiled into a single performance score.

The rating system was originated in the early 1980s when Mark Hulbert began publishing a newsletter rating score in the Hulbert Financial Digest (FD). The FD was a monthly publication that offered independent analysis and reviews of newsletter advisories. It also featured an Honor Roll list of financial newsletters that had successfully outperformed both in up and down markets. The FD ceased publication in the 2016 and was taken over by MarketWatch/Dow Jones at the same time.

Since then, Mr. Hulbert has been publishing his newsletter ratings and Honor Roll rankings through Hulbert Ratings. These ratings provide risk averse investors with an objective and independent measure of performance in order to guide them in making informed decisions when selecting a newsletter to follow.

The Hulbert Rating system also tracks the advice of nearly 200 financial newsletters and examines their performance over up to 20 years. It evaluates performance over different time frames like 28 days, 12 months, and 36 months, as well as cumulative performance from the day the newsletter began. This allows investors to compare performance and structure strategies with greater accuracy.

In summary, the Hulbert Rating system is an invaluable tool to investors when it comes to fashioning an investment strategy. By taking the unbiased buy-sell advice from financial newsletters and applying a rigorous evaluation based on risk and performance, the Hulbert system can effectively inform investors on the suitability of various financial advisors. It is a reliable means of comparing and appropriate risk-adjusted returns over time, helping identify the financial newsletters that will provide the optimal return.