Foolish 8 Spreadsheet Q&A

Q: When are the issues sent? I ordered recently and have yet to receive my first issue.

A: Each issue is sent on the FOURTH Wednesday of the month, so look for your first issue then.

Q: How many stocks will there be in each update?

A: Since this simply depends on how many stocks fit the criteria, this number can vary greatly. Some months there may only be four or five and others there may be more than 20.

Q: I would like to know if the F8 are picked a couple of days before the spreadsheet is released, or is it a list of stocks that have met the F8 criteria over the last month?

A: The F8 spreadsheet is compiled over several days just prior to mailing it out to subscribers. Therefore, the stocks may or may not fit the Foolish 8 criteria during the entire month.

Q: Why do the stocks have an entry date a few days prior to the date the list is actually mailed out?

A: The Foolish 8 screens take several days for our F8 Fools to properly evaluate and compile into the subscription product subscribers receive. Unfortunately, there is no database (or combination of databases) that we can simply query to spit out the list of F8 stocks for that month. Instead, we must first generate a list of 300 to 400 stocks. The stocks on this list must then be evaluted in more depth, slowly winnowing the list to what everyone receives. This process takes several days, numerous sources, and many Fool hours.

Q: Why isn't the PEG (aka The Fool Ratio) included among the list of Foolish 8 criteria?

A: David Gardner responds, "The PEG, as you know, is not part of the Foolish Eight because we're looking for screening principles to find good groups of stocks. The value the market puts on the stock is complex (the PEG is only one sort of evaluator), and that's why we must all work together to understand these companies, their stocks, and their valuations. The PEG is too frequently used, I think, as a one-stop shopping experience by inexperienced investors. I love the PEG, but I want to make sure that anyone reading this message understands it's just one tool in our proverbial Foolish box."

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