I want to introduce Sacramento Executives readers to The Motley Fool. Many of you probably have already heard about The Fools, Tom and David Gardner. The Motley Fool began in 1993 - when they

published a newsletter with a simple stated goal: to educate, amuse, and enrich their readers and help them make better financial decisions. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, the privately-held multi-media company today has nearly 200 employees in the United States and UK and is a top provider of investment advice and financial information.

According to the Gardners' website,

The Motley Fool's market-beating newsletter advisory services are also industry leaders. Delivering superior investment ideas and stock recommendations, The Motley Fool currently offers eight services that cover a range of strategies (including mutual funds, value, growth, small caps, etc.) and financial topics (including personal finance and retirement planning).

I've followed the Fools' success since the 1990's, buying their books, and often reading their national syndicated columns in the business section of local newspapers. In mid-January, I decided to spend $199 to subscribe to one of their newsletters - The Hidden Gems. The annual fee seemed a bit high, but I was okay spending that much if The Fools stated value proposition proved to be true.

Today, four newsletters later, I decided to reflect on their advice and determine if it is worth it.

And the answer is absolutely yes. The Hidden Gems team has delivered. The eight stock recommendations are up on average 8.9%, versus 3.9% for the Dow Jones and 4.9% for the NASDAQ. Here are the detailed results:

1. January 24 recommendations - Volcom, Inc. (NASDAQ: VLCM) up 29.1% and Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc. (NYSE: JLL) up 8.6%;
2. February 28 recommendations - Blackboard, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) up 21.8% and Aladdin Knowledge Systems, Ltd. (NASDAQ: ALDN) down 22.3%;
3. March 27 recommendations - American Oriental Bioengineering, Inc. (NYSE: AOB) up 20.5% and Hurco Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: HURC) down 7.5%;
4. April 24 recommendations - Jinpan International, Ltd. (AMEX: JST) up 13.4% and MVC Capital, Inc. (NYSE: MVC) up 7.6%.

Note: the cost basis is assumed to be the closing price the day before the receipt of the newsletter and the current price is based on the closing price from Cinco de Mayo.

The bottom line - The Motley Fool's Hidden Gems newsletter provides excellent advice and is worth the $199 annual fee. I plan to renew my subscription in January. And folks, you should seriously consider subscribing too!

Disclaimer: I do not receive any benefit from the Motley Fool by writing this review.

Pierre Cutler
The Sacramento Executive