The Turnaround Letter References

The following are taken from popular media outlets quoting or mentioning The Turnaround Letter.

MrSwing.com
"…Global Crossing (NASDAQ: GLBC) was started in 1997 to build a worldwide fiber optic cable network, with the strategy, 'if you build it, they will come'," says George Putnam, adding, "But as the telecom bubble burst around 2000, nobody came." Now, in his always-excellent The Turnaround Letter, he suggests, "We think the current stock price gives you the opportunity to buy into a very valuable network at a tiny fraction of its original cost…" (September 18, 2009)


BloggingStocks.com
"…The steel stocks tend to go through boom and bust cycles depending on global economic activity; they have been pummeled over the last year, as the global economy slowed," notes turnaround expert George Putnam. In his The Turnaround Letter, he explains, "But the news about steel is not all bad." Indeed, he believes some steel companies are poised for a turnaround. Here's his review of 6 leading steel production companies…" (June 10, 2009)


Moneyshow.com
..George Putnam IV, editor of The Turnaround Letter, finds a beaten-down manufacturer he thinks will bounce back nicely when the global economy recovers. Terex (NYSE: TEX) is a leading manufacturer of heavy equipment, including cranes, earth-moving and road-building machinery, and mining equipment. The company rode the global boom in construction, energy development, and mining for much of the past decade, pushing the stock as high as $96 in July 2007…" (February 12, 2009) 


The StockAdvisors.com
"…You can invest for all the right reasons and still get the wrong result," says George Putnam, referring to the poor performance of the pharmaceutical sector in recent years. Here, in his industry-leading The Turnaround Letter, he offers a fascinating review of 10 leading drug stocks which he now believes offer a combination of growth potential at "pretty cheap" valuations…" (May 30, 2008)


Barron’s
"…For 21 years, George Putnam III has trained his sights on one of the more obscure areas of investing: turnaround situations and bankruptcies. By focusing on out-of-favor companies, his flagship publication, The Turnaround Letter, has achieved enormous success for its subscribers. For the five years through September, ideas in the newsletter generated average annual returns of 25.3%, versus 13.3% for the Wilshire 5000 index. For the past decade, they gained 17.1%, compared with an average annual 7.1% for their benchmark. Clearly, this grandson of the founder of Putnam Investments knows a thing or two about investing…" (October 15, 2007))


 

MarketWatch from Dow Jones
“Warren Buffett to buy an investment bank? The Turnaround Letter was there first. Wall Street really liked the news that the fabled Buffett might be interested in getting control of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. He seems to be emerging as one-man Plunge Protection Team. But Buffett's bid was anticipated by one of the more successful letters followed by the Hulbert Financial Digest: George Putnam's The Turnaround Letter. Turnaround specializes in beaten-down stocks and even provides a comprehensive database on companies emerging from bankruptcy. It's a risky business. Turnaround's portfolios are systematically more volatile than the market. But it appears to work. On average, Turnaround's portfolios are up 16.2% annualized over the past 15 years, according to the HFD, vs. 11.1% annualized for the dividend-reinvested Dow Jones Wilshire 5000….” (September 28, 2007)


 

Kiplinger.com
Hercules Inc. may be staging a comeback.
“…However, the company is turning around thanks to Craig Rogerson, who became chief executive in 2003, says George Putnam, publisher of the Turnaround Letter. Putnam is a lawyer by training, a background that's invaluable for assessing the risks in many turnaround cases. For his investment newsletter, he looks for bombed-out stocks with little downside risk but the potential for dramatic gains when the market recognizes improving company fundamentals. And Hercules is one of his current picks. Hercules has made good progress on the legal front and has moved rapidly to clean up its balance sheet by selling non-core assets. It's even enjoying a $240 million tax refund…” (September 7, 2007)


 

Hulbert Financial Digest“…this letter has done better than almost all of the other services that have incurred similarly high levels of risk - many of which have stumbled badly and lost lots of money.  This letter has managed to beat the market, and its portfolios have avoided the huge declines of the typical high risk investor.  On average since the beginning of 1988, the newsletters portfolios have gained 14.1% annualized in contrast to the Wilshire's 11.7%." (June 2005)


 

Saint Paul Pioneer Press“…in rank order, here are the newsletters whose recommendations have outperformed the market averages during the past 15 years…Turnaround Letter…” (January 6, 2005)


 
CBS MarketWatch
“Here’s another such service with a strong record according to Monitoring by Hulbert Financial Digest:  George Putnam’s Turnaround Letter.  The HFD has been following The Turnaround Letter since the end of 1987.  Over the entire period through the end of 2003, its portfolios have appreciated on average at an annualized 14 percent rate, vs. 12.3 percent for the dividend reinvested Wilshire 5000.”  (February 5, 2004) 


 

Kiplinger's Personal Finance
“Or you might want to consider these picks from The Turnaround Letter, which specializes in following battered stocks” 
(March 2004)


 
CBS MarketWatch
“The No. 2 performer since March 2000, George Putnam, III’s Turnaround Letter (portfolios up 17.6% on average, according to the Hulbert Financial Digest) is also something of a stopped clock—but a stopped clock that seems to be mostly right…Over the past 10 years, Turnaround’s portfolios appreciated 247.6 percent on average, vs. 178 percent for the dividend-reinvested Wilshire 5000.  Over the past 15 years, Turnaround’s portfolios gained 749 percent on average, vs. 328 percent for the Wilshire”
(August 26, 2004)


 
Washington Post
“The Turnaround Letter, edited in Boston for many years by George Putnam, often has good ideas for bargain hunters” 
(September 28, 2003)


 
Business Week Online
"Definitely, there are opportunities in such stocks”, say George Putnam, editor of  The Turnaround Letter, in Boston. 
(May 22, 2002)


 
Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine
Putnam, 50, bears one of the best pedigrees in the mutual-fund industry. His namesake and grandfather founded the Putnam Funds…Putnam nonetheless has a track record of his own… Last year, according to the Hulbert Financial Digest, the letter’s three portfolios produced an average return of 16%. (May, 2002)


 
CBS MarketWatch
“…eschewed market timing in favor of remaining fully invested in their chosen sectors…in a year when the dividend-reinvested Wilshire 5000 was down 16.2% through November…but two letters among the top 10 performers were fully vested too…Turnaround Letter, up 11.28%”  (December 26, 2002)


 
The Newsletter on Newsletters
“In the issue that reviewed…takes on Mark Hulbert of Hulbert Financial Review for ranking her only number 2 “among all newsletters covered” (number 1 was The Turnaround Letter)…” (May 31, 2000) 


 
Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine
"Given the extreme valuations, investors need to tread carefully in this arena (internet stocks) or not at all. Referring the tulip-bulb mania in Holland in the 17th century, George Putnam, editor of the value-oriented Turnaround Letter, recently crafted the headline: "Internet Stocks: At Least You Could Plant a Tulip Bulb."
(June 1998)


 
Mark Hulbert in Forbes
The Turnaround Letter received an "A" rating in both an Up and a Down market with an annualized since 11/90 of 31.6%. The only newsletter to receive a AA rating out of the 80 which were rated. (January 27, 1997)


 
Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine
"Bargain Hunters who like out of favor stocks with good prospects should look at The Turnaround Letter." (February, 1996)


 
Hulbert Financial Digest
5-year annual return: 27% [Highest of all newsletters monitored] (through July 31, 1996).


 
Mark Hulbert in Hulbert Financial Digest
The Turnaround Letter's "Portfolios have beaten a buy-and-hold strategy since the beginning of 1988 by a margin of 19.1% to 15.2%, annualized." (September 23, 1996)


 
CNBC
"In a report about two weeks ago, our financial correspondent, talked with [George Putnam] who saw a big gain in TWA shares, Since then the stock is up 50%." (November 18, 1995)


 
Forbes
"Putnam's (first-place) 1992 performance is not a fluke: Over the five years that (Hulbert) has followed Putnam's service, it is one of the select few that has beaten a buy-and-hold strategy."
(January 18, 1993)


 
Worth Magazine
"A portfolio like Putnam's doesn't move in lock-step with the greater stock market. Several of Putnam's better years, in fact, have been disappointing ones for the overall stock market."
(July/August 1993)


 
Dan Dorfman in USA Today
"George Putnam III, 42, continues to tear up the turf. And he has been doing it for three years running. Up 64% last year after a 56% gain in '91, he's Hulbert's No. 1 performer in '93 with a 49% advance in the first 10 months." (Nov. 1993)


 
The Wall Street Journal
"In first place this time around was George Putnam III, president of New Generation Research in Boston and editor of The Turnaround Letter….Mr. Putnam (is) an expert on companies that are in bankruptcy proceedings or have recently emerged from them." (December 7, 1993)


 
New York Times
"When it comes to profiting from other people's problems, there's no place like Wall Street. And, in recent months, there's been no analyst like George Putnam when it comes to telling people how to do it."(May 4, 1992)


 
Barron's

George Putnam III, the bankrupt's Boswell, observes ... the most dramatic growth is in the category reserved for 'large publicly traded bankruptcies" (May 27, 1991)


 
Money Magazine
"Companies emerging from bankruptcy and other stocks selling for less than $5 are inherently on shaky ground, but those that manage to get their footing often leap quickly in value. George Putnam III, editor of The Turnaround Letter, favors two firms that emerged from bankruptcy in mid-1987 ... " (June 12, 1989)


 
Business Week
"Putnam has scouted for companies that have avoided bankruptcy and climbed into the black." (March 30, 1987)


 
U.S. News & World Report
"Explains George Putnam, III, whose Turnaround Letter tracks out-of-favor firms: Many institutional investors stay away from troubled stocks. Individuals have a chance to make a lot of money - it's not as efficient a market." (April 27, 1987)  


 
Fortune
"Some wise Wall Street professionals, however, are still discovering bargains by picking through a group of down-and-out stocks. Their bottom-fishing technique may be one of the few left to turn up any remaining sources of value…George Putnam, III, who publishes The Turnaround Letter in (Boston) considers these situations especially good for small investors." (July 1987)


 
Wall Street Week with Loius Rukeyser (PBS television)
"The newest George Putnam [III], though, made a point of striking out on his own - first as a corporate securities lawyer in Philadelphia, now as the publisher of The Turnaround Letter, a monthly letter that specializes in bankrupt or otherwise-distressed companies." (August 28, 1987)