If you've come across promotions for the Utility Forecaster newsletter and are curious if it's actually worth subscribing to, then you are in the right place.
Is the Utility Forecaster newsletter a scam? Is it worth the price?
I recently came across some promotions for it too, and couldn't help myself but to look deeper into things and write this review.
Of course in the promotional material it sounds like a no-brainer. For example, they show a bunch of companies that have been recommended over the years and have been extremely profitable...
... but it's expected that they are going to show us the best of the best, and conveniently leave out the losing recommendations made. This is the reason you always have to take promotional material with a grain of salt.
But anyways... let's get to the review. In this review I'll be going over what exactly Utility Forecaster is and what it provides, who's behind it all, cost & refunds, performance and more...
Overview
- Name: Utility Forecaster
- Type: Investment newsletter advisory service
- Publisher: Investing Daily
- Editor: Rodger Conrad Robert Rapier
- Price: $149/yr
What Is Utility Forecaster?
The Utility Forecaster is a newsletter published by Investing Daily, who is also the publisher of Options for Income, that has been around since 1990 and provides subscribers with actionable investment advice in the utility sector.
This follow-along style newsletter would appeal most to those looking for relatively safe investments, as the utility sector is one of the safest sectors you can invest in, generally speaking of course.
The marketing around this service may be a little over-hyped and whatnot, but overall the newsletter service seems that it could be very well worth the cost and has received pretty good subscriber reviews/ratings compared to others out there.
Who's Behind It?
Utility Forecaster was run by Rodger Conrad for years, but has since switched hands and is now being run by Robert Rapier.
Robert Rapier [Source: InvestingDaily.com]
Robert Rapier is a chemical engineer with over 20 years of experience in chemicals, oil and gas, and the renewable energy industry. For his expertise he has been featured on everything from 60 Minutes, to The History Channel, to CNBC and PBS.
Besides writing for Investing Daily and guiding readers on what to invest in, he still is active in the industry and consults for various energy projects.
In short, Robert Rapier has quite an extensive background in the industry and is just the type of guy you want providing you with investment advice like this.
And as for Rodger Conrad, well, he ended up splitting with Investor Daily and starting his own publishing company called Capitalist Times, through which he runs his own advisory service called Conrad's Utility Investor. So if you are interested in Conrad's advice then I'd suggest checking out the link I just provided above.
What You Get
Like Motley Fool's Stock Advisor, The 1450 Club, and many other subscription newsletter advisory services out there, Utility Forecaster is a follow-along style advisory service that, in a nutshell, tells people what to invest in and when to invest in it.
Of course I'd never recommend following any of these sorts of advisory services blindly without doing any personal research, but if you did want to you could do so.
As a subscriber, you are provided with:
Monthly Issues - Each month subscribers are provided with a new 12-page Utility Forecaster newsletter that provides rankings of different utility investment options that look good at the moment. This is the meat of what's offered and provides detailed information and analyses on different opportunities and the market in general. A lot of work goes into putting this together.
Weekly Updates - Subscribers also receive updates for all the recommended positions on a weekly basis, as well as alerts when new opportunities arise that might be worth getting into.
Private Website Access - Access to the members-only website provides subscribers with all past issues of Utility Forecaster, every special brief ever sent out, all the articles, access to the model portfolio so that one can monitor performance, information on dividends, safety ratings and more.
Cost & Refunds
The cost is $149/yr, which breaks down to around 40 cents a day... not too shabby.
Additionally, they have a 90-day money-back guarantee in case you sign up and don't like what you see.
However, the specifics of this money-back guarantee are a little bit blurry.
As you can see below, they say that "You can cancel at any time in the first 90 days and receive a prompt, 100% refund", which makes it seem as if you can cancel anytime during the first 90 days and receive a 100% refund. However, they then say that "After the first 90 days, if you ever vote “thumbs down,” I’ll happily send you a refund for all unsent issues", which makes it seem as if they are giving out pro-rated refunds...
[Source: investingdaily.com]
Either way you can get a refund... and that is good enough for me. It's not like some other advisory services I've reviewed, like Strategic Trader and Options for Income that have a strict NO REFUND policy, which doesn't seem right to me.
Performance
How well do the recommendations given in the newsletter actually perform?
It would be nice if there was a clear track-record provided, but there isn't unfortunately.
The good news is that Utility Forecaster has ranked among the top-returning financial advisories by Hulbert Financial Digest fairly often over the years and Kiplinger named it as one of the best investment advice stock newsletters.
However, since Roger Conrad left there has been some concern that it might not be as good as it once was. After all, when the man providing the recommendations leaves and someone else steps in, this changes everything.
I even found a subscriber review on Stock Gumshoe about this very thing...
[Source: Stock Gumshoe]
The information I could find was limited. But I did come across yet another, much more recent, review from someone who has been a subscriber since the mid 2000s and claims that the Utility Forecaster's picks have brought in a return of 12-17% annually, which beats the S&P 500 by a fair amount.
[Source: Stock Gumshoe]
*If anyone reading this is a subscriber, please let us know how more recent recommendations have been performing in the comment section below this post.
But Certainly Don't Expect 455% Returns!
The reason I mention this is because it is being promoted right now as having an average return of 455%, which might be true at the time of me writing this... but certainly isn't a realistic expectation and should not be expected.
[Source: investingdaily.com]
This is just another example of over-hyped marketing material.
Is Utility Forecaster a Scam?
I know it may sound like a silly question to answer at this point, but because of some of the hyped up marketing material it does make one wonder.
But the answer is no, it is not a scam. It is a legitimate advisory service that seems it could very well be worth the money.
Pros v Cons
Pros
- Low cost
- Well laid-out
- Easy to follow
- Seems to have good track-record (although not completely clear on this)
- Focused on utility sector, which is generally on the less-risky side
- Refunds available
Cons
- Risk involved (as with any investment opportunity)
- Somewhat misleading marketing
- Lack of transparency - no clear track record
Conclusion - Worth Joining?
All in all this seems to be one of the better investment advisory newsletters I've looked into, although it isn't quite as popular as others and there is a lack of subscriber reviews because of this. However, it seems to perform well and the editor, Robert Rapier, certainly has a lot of experience in the industry.
On top of that it's only $149/yr, which is a pretty low price if you think about it. And there are refunds available.
The decision to subscribe or not is ultimately up to you, but I hope I've made it a little easier by providing this review.
Please share this to help spread the word and to help out my site 🙂
Also, leave any comments/questions below and I'll get back to you soon.
Monthly utility forecaster is a ad not any help.
Good review. I’ve been offered a 2yr/79$ price . 90 day money back offer.
I tend to chase yield with my stock picks. Do you think that I should bite ?
I am working on a quote for a public library system in California. Do you accept agency orders? Do you offer agency discounts? Where would we send our pre-paid orders?
Thanks
Hi Sherri. You will have to contact the company behind this newsletter service to find out information regarding this.
On July 18, I mailed my check #8809 for $39.95 to receive your newsletter. As of this evening, my check has not been cashed nor have I received you newsletter. I do wish to receive your newsletter.
How do we proceed?
Jerry Thompson
I received the UF mail offer and sent them a check for $79 – almost a month ago. They cashed my check weeks ago, and I have not heard a single word from them since. Upon attempting to access their website, my security software refused me access due to “reports” of malicious activity.
I appreciate your straight forward assessment of the company, their over hyped sales pitch makes one nervous.
Thanks for keeping it brief.
Signed up and Paid now after less then a month I cannot get online. A note states my acct. which has not been used, is null and void. THIS IS a SCAM.
Sounds promising… but hyped up!!! THAT’S HOW CREATIVE BRAG ABOUT IT MARKETING WORKS. REALISTICALLY, I BELIEVDE THAT THERE MAY BE A STEADY FLOW OF RETURN BUT MAY TAKE SOME YEARS TO BUILD UP AND RELY ON AS A STEADY STREAM OF CONSISTENT INCOME… SO MAYBE $1K FOR 5YRS. MAYBE GETS YOU $200.-300. A MONTH MAYBE THERE Are losses to be be RECOGNIZED ALONG THE WAY. BUT MAYBE AS A STEADY STREAM LOW END IT MIGHT BE WORTH IT.
I am a subscriber to Utility Forecaster but am not getting any issues. I am also not able to connect on the web site. Please advise .
Kyle,
Thanks for the great review…and this was a big help..
It answered my question if this was a scam..
Thanks
Gilbert
Where oh where is http://www.utiltyforecaster.com? Kaspersky says Philishing Site. Any comments?
I wonder what the ever-growing solar installations will have on the profits of the electric utilities?
As of 7/2021, I seem unable to find a website from which to subscribe to Utility Forecaster. Does anyone know of a url that’s operational?
I wish to cancel my membeship duwe to a lack of time