History
In 1971, Dr. Martin D. Weiss founded his research firm, reviewing U.S. banks for consulting clients and newsletter subscribers. The acquisition of the bank ratings division of T.J. Holt & Company in 1987 launched Dr. Weiss into the rating business, and later that year, the company published its first guide rating 13,000 banks and savings and loans.
The organization continued to grow with the development of multiple rating models in the insurance industry and investment marketplace:
1989
Weiss Ratings, a division of Weiss Research, issues the nation’s first independent ratings of life and health insurance companies.
1991
Weiss issues the nation’s first ratings of Blue Cross Blue Shield plans.
1993
Weiss issues the nation’s first independent ratings of property and casualty insurance companies.
1994
Weiss Ratings, Inc. is established as a separate corporation.
A landmark study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) concludes that Weiss far outperforms all of the nation’s major rating agencies, including Standard and Poor’s, Moody’s and A.M. Best, in warning of future life and health insurance company failures, including the failures of Executive Life of California, Executive Life of New York, Fidelity Bankers Life, First Capital Life, Mutual Benefit Life of New Jersey, and others. Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) — Insurance Ratings: Comparison of Private Agency Ratings for Life/Health Insurers.
Weiss Ratings issues the nation’s first financial safety ratings of health maintenance organizations.
1995
Weiss Group, LLC is founded as a holding company of Weiss Research, Inc. and Weiss Ratings, Inc.
1998
Weiss Ratings issues its first Weiss Mutual Fund ratings.
2001
Weiss Ratings issues its first Weiss Stock Ratings.
2003
Weiss Ratings issues its first Weiss ETF Ratings.
2005
Weiss Ratings is awarded the most contracts in the Meritocracy established by the SEC as part of the global settlement requiring the major firms to provide independent equity research to their clients.
2006
Weiss Group sells Weiss Ratings to TheStreet.com.
2010
Weiss Group repurchases the insurance and bank ratings back from The Street. Weiss Ratings, LLC is established.
2013
Weiss Ratings returns to the stock ratings business with an updated model.
2015
Weiss Ratings publishes its new mutual fund and ETF ratings.
2016
Weissratings.com, incorporating the former WeissWatchdog.com, receives a complete facelift with new tools and a modern customer friendly interface.
2018
Weiss Ratings publishes the first ever ratings of cryptocurrencies.
About the Founder
Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D.
Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D. is this country’s leading consumer advocate for financial safety. He has helped millions of Americans judge the financial stability of insurance companies, HMOs, banks, savings and loans, and securities brokers.
He has testified before Congress several times, where he has proposed legislation requiring full financial disclosure to the consumer. His ratings are among the very few that consistently warned investors of financial difficulties, including the failure of large insurance companies in the early 1990s as well as the demise of Enron in 2001. Weiss Ratings is a continuing source of data and financial analysis to the U.S. General Accounting Office, Congressional committees, the Office of Management and Budget, and more.
Dr. Weiss’ has also authored several books, including “Crash Profits: Make Money When Stocks Sink AND Soar”. It provides investors with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions on how they can make profits, both while the market is falling and when it recovers, regardless of their age or financial situation. It has been listed on the Wall Street Journal best-seller list.
His best-seller, “The Ultimate Safe Money Guide: How Everyone 50 and Over Can Protect, Save, and Grow Their Money,” exposed the conflicts of interest that continue to plague the stock brokerage community and gave baby boomers a road map to grow their wealth safely. It was listed on the New York Times Business, Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek best-seller lists, as well as the Barron's Roundup for 2002.
Dr. Weiss holds a bachelor degree from New York University and a Ph.D. from Columbia University.
A Commitment to Public Service and Education
Over the last two-and-a-half decades, Martin Weiss and the Weiss organization have been continuing advocates for consumers and investors in the insurance, banking, brokerage, and investment industries. Some examples of our commitment to public service and education include the following:
Jul 1991
U.S. House of Representatives: Martin D. Weiss testifies before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Competitiveness regarding the insurance crisis, proposing better risk disclosure to consumers.
Feb 1992
U.S. Senate: Mr. Weiss testifies before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs regarding the crisis of confidence in the insurance industry, proposing specific steps for overcoming the crisis.
1992
Publishing industry: Weiss Research becomes a member of Newsletter and Electronic Publisher’s Association (NEPA).
1994
Investors: Martin Weiss’ Safe Money Report warns that stock research and ratings issued by Wall Street brokerage and investment banking firms are distorted by conflicts of interest, offering investors recommendations on how to acquire unbiased and objective information.
1999
Investors: Martin Weiss’ Safe Money Report warns that a large percentage of corporate earnings reports are suspect of manipulation, offering investors instructions on how to avoid any adverse consequences.
Nov 1999
Consumers: Martin Weiss offers free advice to Medicare beneficiaries being dropped from their HMOs.
Jun 2002
National Press Club: Martin Weiss presents the white paper, Crisis of Confidence on Wall Street, proposing ways to help investors make constructive, informed decisions in the selection of brokers.
Jul 2002
National Press Club: Martin Weiss provides a white paper on accounting reform, proposing that corporate financial statements be reviewed quarterly and that the record of each auditing firm's warnings of future difficulties be tracked and disclosed to the public. The Senate e-mails highlights of the Weiss white paper to its members immediately prior to their vote on the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002, sponsored by Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-MD).
Aug 2002
SEC: Weiss submits industry commentary to the SEC regarding proposed rules on analyst certification. Weiss recommends that regulators address the sources and causes of the conflicts with more specific measures aimed at promoting a change in the structure of the investment banking and brokerage business.
Dec 2002
SEC: Weiss submits public commentary proposing that nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs) be required to operate without conflicts of interest in their business models, or failing to do so, to at least better disclose those conflicts.
Mar 2003
SEC: Weiss submits comments on NYSE and NASD proposed changes relating to exchange rules and to research analyst conflicts of interest, proposing the creation of a comprehensive stock ratings database made widely available to the public, enabling investors to compare the ratings and historical track records of research analysts and their firms.
May 2003
SEC and state regulators: Martin Weiss provides a detailed analysis and comparison of overlapping rule-making initiatives by the SEC, state attorneys general, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and the Global Settlement. Weiss proposes (1) a better centralization of the various initiatives under the SEC, (2) divestiture of investment banking from companies providing research analysis and recommendations, and (3) a better link between each analyst’s incentive compensation and his or her performance track record.
Jun 2003
U.S. Senate: Martin Weiss submits testimony regarding medical malpractice caps, which, in turn, forms the primary basis of a presentation by Senator Kennedy on the Senate floor.
Mar 2004
Investorside Research Conference: Mr. Weiss presents white paper “Stock Research for the Global Settlement: Qualitative or Quantitative Approaches?” In it, Weiss demonstrates the constructive role quantitative approaches can play in shielding the research process from bias and conflicts, proposing that regulators shed any prejudice they may have against such approaches.
Oct 2004
Financial Publishers: Martin Weiss founds the Financial Publishers Association, devoted to enhancing and maintaining the financial publishing industry's reputation for excellence while helping individual investors build their wealth.
Jul 2007
Federal Reserve and FDIC: Weiss Research submits its white paper “How Federal Regulators, Lenders, and Wall Street Created America’s Housing Crisis — Nine Proposals for a Long-Term Recovery” by Michael D. Larson.
Sep 2008
U.S. Congress: Weiss Research submits its white paper “Proposed $700 Billion Bailout Is Too Little, Too Late to End the Debt Crisis; Too Much, Too Soon for the U.S. Bond Market” by Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D. and Michael D. Larson.
Oct 2008
International Monetary Fund: Weiss Research submits its letter “Re: Global banking bailouts” by Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D. to Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Mar 2009
National Press Club: Weiss Research presents its white paper “Dangerous Unintended Consequences: How Banking Bailouts, Buyouts and Nationalization Can Only Prolong America’s Second Great Depression and Weaken Any Subsequent Recovery“ by Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D.
Apr 2009
The National Center on Family Homelessness: Martin D. Weiss donates 100 percent of his present and future royalties earned on his new book, The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide, to the Campaign to End Child Homelessness, with the first donation ($100,000) made on April 17. Click here for joint press release.