1. Only 22.8% of newsletters have average returns higher than a passive portfolio of equity and cash with the same volatility. Indeed, some recommendations are remarkably poor. For example, the (once) high pro¯le Granville Mar-

ket Letter-Traders has produced an average annual loss of 0.4% over the past 13 years. This compares to a 21.1%

average annual gain on the Standard and Poor's 500 price index.