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Step-by-Step Guide:
Weiss Risk Ratings Database
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Register and get THREE free risk ratings!
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Subscribers to
Safe Money Report
have free, unlimited access to the Weiss' risk ratings of stocks and mutual funds. To take advantage of this, make sure that you are logged-on. Go to the Subscribers Enter Here button on the left menu bar. When the password box appears, type in your username and password and select OK or hit the Enter key on your keyboard. Once you have logged-on successfully, select the Weiss Risk Ratings button from the left menu bar.
Non-subscribers - for a limited time, you will be able to get three free risk ratings for the
stocks or mutual funds of your choice! Simply register and follow the guide below!
Searching for Risk Ratings
When you know the ticker symbol...
- Type the ticker symbol of the stock or mutual fund into the blank white box.
- Make sure that the drop down box below is set to its default selection, Exact Ticker Symbol.
- Select Submit Query or hit the Enter key on your keyboard.
For example, to find the risk rating for the company General Electric, type in the ticker symbol
"GE" after the words Search Risk File for. Hit enter if the drop down box is set to
Exact Ticker Symbol, and you will receive the Weiss stock risk rating for the current
month, an explanation of the rating, and the current stock quote for General Electric.
When you know what letter(s) the ticker symbol starts with...
- Type in the first or the first few letters with which the ticker symbol starts into the first white box.
- Select Search Ticker Symbols from the drop down box.
- Select Submit Query or hit the Enter key on your keyboard.
The search will result in a list of company or mutual fund names and their ticker symbols. The ticker symbols displayed should begin with the letter or letter combination that was typed into the box. If there is an exact match to a ticker symbol and no other ticker symbols begin with the entered letter combination, the result will be the risk ratings and rating explanation.
Note: Even if the search returns the risk rating and explanation for a ticker symbol, you must run an Exact Ticker Symbol search (as described below) in order to get the current stock or mutual fund quote for that ticker symbol.
- Once you've identified the stock or fund from the list, type in its ticker symbol in the first white box (after the words Search Risk File for).
- Set the drop down box to Exact Ticker Symbol.
- Select Submit Query or hit the Enter key.
Don't have a clue what the ticker symbol might be? Here are your other options:
When you know the name of the company, or at least what it starts with...
- Type in the company name or the first few letters of the company name into the first box.
- Select Company Name Search from the drop down box.
- Select Submit Query or hit the Enter key.
If the company you typed in matches only one company, you will get the stock risk rating for the company and an explanation of the risk rating (see note above). Or, the search will result in a list of companies beginning with the letter or letters you've typed into the box.
- Once you've found the company and its ticker symbol, type the ticker symbol into the box.
- Set the drop down box to Exact Ticker Symbol.
- Select Submit Query or hit the Enter key.
Hint: It is usually better to type in just the first few letters of the company rather than the entire name, and always remember that some companies begin with "The" and "Intl".
When you know the name of the mutual fund, or at least what it starts with...
- Type in the fund name or the first few letters of the fund name into the first box.
- Select Fund Name Search from the drop down box.
- Select Submit Query or hit the Enter key.
If the mutual fund you typed in matches only one fund, you will get the risk rating for the mutual fund and an explanation of the risk rating (see note above). Or, the search will result in a list of mutual funds beginning with the letter or letters you've typed into the box.
- Once you've found the fund and its ticker symbol, type the ticker symbol into the box.
- Set the drop down box to Exact Ticker Symbol.
- Select Submit Query or hit the Enter key.
Note: Several mutual funds do not have ticker symbols. If you find a mutual fund without a ticker symbol, type in the exact name as it appears on the list (or cut and paste) into the white box and select Fund Name Search. The search will result in the risk rating and rating explanation for the fund.
You can also search to find a match for anything - whether it's part of a ticker symbol or part of a company or mutual fund name!
When the company, mutual fund, or ticker symbol might contain a letter ...
- Type in any part of or all of the company name, fund name or ticker symbol into the white box.
- Select Match Anything from the drop down box.
- Select Submit Query or hit the Enter key.
In some instances, you'll type in a word and just get one match. For example, typing in the word "Disney" results in an exact match for "The Walt Disney Co.", bringing up its risk rating and the rating's definition for The Walt Disney Company (see note above).
Keep in mind, however, that this search will usually result in a much larger list than some of
the other queries. For instance, if you just type in the letter "A", you're going to get a list
of all companies, mutual funds, and ticker symbols with an "A" anywhere in their name or symbol.
- So, once you've located the company or fund for which you were looking, type in its ticker symbol in the white box (after Search Risk File for).
- Set the drop down box to Exact Ticker Symbol.
- Select Submit Query or hit the Enter key.
The risk rating for the stock or mutual fund, the definition of the risk rating, and the current stock quote appears after a successful query.
Viewing the Current Stock or Fund Quote
To view the current stock or mutual fund quote that is generated with your risk rating query, follow these simple instructions:
- Notice that the window is divided into two sections: the Risk Ratings area (with purple
background) and the quote area (white background with blue accents).
- Move your mouse over the thick bar that separates the two sections until a two-headed
vertical arrow appears.
- Click on the mouse and drag the bar up - covering the purple section.
- The quote should now appear on the screen.
Tip: You can also print out the risk rating and quote by selecting Print from the File
bar at the top of the window.
To exit the risk ratings screen, select Close from the same File bar, click on the Exit Ratings button, or simply click the X in the right-hand corner to close the window.
Risk Ratings Scale and
Definitions
For Stocks:
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Moderate risk - This stock is likely to hold up relatively well in adverse market conditions, although declines are still to be expected in a market crash or prolonged bear market. The company combines mostly solid fundamentals and has no specific areas of weaknesses in earnings, debt or liquidity.
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Average risk - In a
declining market, this stock is likely to fall approximately in line with the general market.
Although some individual stocks are bound to perform differently, there is nothing we can
discern about this stock that distinguishes it significantly from the majority of stocks. Most
or all of its fundamentals, including earnings, debt and liquidity, are at or near average levels.
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Risky - This stock is likely to suffer steeper-than-average declines in a general market decline and is also vulnerable to declines under stable market conditions. The stock has been more volatile than most stocks; and we believe the company has greater-than-average weaknesses in one or more fundamental area, including inadequate earnings to support current price levels, significant debt and/or inadequate liquidity.
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Very Risky - This stock is
likely to fall much more sharply than the average stock in a bear market and could even suffer
significant declines during a bull market. The stock has demonstrated unusual volatility and we
believe has severe weaknesses in several fundamental areas, including extreme overvaluation, excessive debt and/or poor liquidity.
For Mutual Funds:
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Moderate risk - The fund has demonstrated a low level of volatility in its returns during the market swings of the recent past. Therefore, it is expected to hold up relatively well in adverse market conditions, although declines are still to be expected in a market crash or prolonged bear market.
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Average risk - The fund has demonstrated a level of volatility that is roughly in line with most other mutual funds, making its performance likely to stay in line with most other funds during adverse market conditions.
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Risky - The fund has demonstrated a high level of volatility in its returns over the recent past. Consequently, it is likely to suffer steeper-than-average declines in a general market downturn and is also vulnerable to declines under stable market conditions.
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Very Risky - The fund has demonstrated an extremely high level of volatility in its returns over the recent past. In the event of a market downturn, the fund is likely to fall much more sharply than the average fund and could even suffer significant declines under stable market conditions.
Register and get THREE
free stock risk ratings.
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