Reviews
Selected as one of Library Journal's Best Databases of 2018
Reliable financial information is hard to find on the web. There’s plenty of advice everywhere, especially for those willing to pay for it, but it can be biased and expensive. Subscription databases fill this gap but are often narrowly focused or data-heavy. This resource offers a welcome middle ground, providing solid info, balanced coverage, and a broad scope of easy-to-use financial products. Here, users will discover ratings for stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, as well as banks, credit unions, insurers, and consumer guides on prescription drug plans, health savings accounts, elder care options, debt management, and retirement savings plans. Those new to investing and finance will find this an inviting guide, while more sophisticated users will appreciate the detail and currency.
-Library Journal
Selected as one of Library Journal's Best Databases of 2018
Reliable financial information is hard to find on the web. There’s plenty of advice everywhere, especially for those willing to pay for it, but it can be biased and expensive. Subscription databases fill this gap but are often narrowly focused or data-heavy. This resource offers a welcome middle ground, providing solid info, balanced coverage, and a broad scope of easy-to-use financial products. Here, users will discover ratings for stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, as well as banks, credit unions, insurers, and consumer guides on prescription drug plans, health savings accounts, elder care options, debt management, and retirement savings plans. Those new to investing and finance will find this an inviting guide, while more sophisticated users will appreciate the detail and currency.
-Library Journal
USABILITY The search interface here is delightfully simple and straightforward...
I began by exploring several of the more intriguing links on the left. Ratings Definitions is divided into Banks & Thrifts, Insurance Companies, Mutual Funds, and Common Stocks; under each, the A to F ratings are explained in the appropriate context for that section. Here’s what a C rating means from the Weiss Ratings for Banks & Thrifts: “The institution offers fair financial security, is currently stable, and will likely remain relatively healthy as long as the economic environment avoids the extremes of inflation or deflation. In a prolonged period of adverse economic or financial conditions, however, we feel this institution may encounter difficulties in maintaining its financial stability.” That’s very clear to me and, I suspect, will be to most. Then I checked the Ratings Track Record link to find this kind of information: “Over 300 Banks have Failed from January 1, 2008 through April 28, 2011. Of the 314 Bank Failures...: 279 were rated E+, E or E- (Very Weak), 28 were rated D+, D or D- (Weak). In total, 97% of these failed banks were rated Very Weak or Weak,” accompanied by a link to Download PDF of full Bank Failures List. This information hit me right between the eyes, and I began to wonder just how long I could keep review access.
Back to the links: the Glossary is terrific for financial noncognoscenti like me. Here you’ll find contextual definitions ranging from “10-K” (a term I do know) to “Whisper Number,” a term I’d never heard before (“An unofficial earnings estimate of a company given to clients by a security analyst if there is more optimism or pessimism about earnings than shown in the published number”). Better and better.
For my first Search, I went into the Stocks tab, selected an Overall Rating range from A+ to B- (“buy” stocks), and hit “find equities.” The search was so fast I didn’t realize it had taken place: the results were listed far down on the screen, but when I noticed they were there, I found eight pages of stocks matching my criteria. Next, I narrowed my search by adding a Solvency criterion, at a minimum of five stars out of five. Result: eight pages of stocks. Then, under Market Capitalization, I asked to look for Mid-Cap funds (between $1 and $5 billion) and got six pages of results.
Next I went into the Banks tab and searched for several of the banks with which I’ve done business. A couple of their ratings were not so great, so I went back and asked for banks with an A+ rating and got a list of 16 with direct links to the Weiss Ratings most recent full review report with Rating Factors, Historical Highlights, Rating Indexes, Company Information, % of Operating Profits to Average Assets, and the % of Net Charge-Offs to Average Loans. Astonishing information, all in one place, that took about two minutes to locate. I really admire the power and simplicity of this file’s search.
PRICING Pricing depends on which guides a library wants to include in its subscription and on the population served (for public libraries) or FTE (for academic libraries).
BOTTOM LINE The content here is off the scale—yeah, it’s that good—and the ease of accessibility, both technical and intellectual, is almost uniformly excellent (which means that I, a humanist by training, can understand it all). An excellent financial tool that will certainly get an enormous amount of use anywhere it’s available, this rates a strong overall ten. Recommended for public and academic libraries that can afford it.
-Library Journal
The carefully compiled and researched Financial Ratings Series... provides a single source for financial strength ratings and financial planning tools covering insurance, banks, mutual funds, and stocks. Weiss Ratings, begun in 1971, is an independent rating service for approximately 900 life and annuity insurers, 2,700 property and casualty insurers, and 600 health insurers and HMO’s plus 8,000 banks and S&Ls. The U.S. General Accounting Office validated Weiss’ accuracy in its Insurance Ratings study. Weiss also distributes independent ratings on shares of thousands of publicly traded companies, mutual funds, closed-end funds, and ETFs.
This large site can help users find the safest bank or credit union in their area, avoid the weakest insurance companies, find the strongest mutual funds, and pick good-performing stocks. Each category—Banks, Insurers, Stocks, Mutual Funds—has its own search screen with different sets of limiters, and users will find the screens easy to use and understand. Among the various tools available on the site are worksheets and questionnaires for investors, retirees, and anyone buying insurance or searching for a different insurance company. The What Our Ratings Mean page clearly and concisely explains how the ratings for bank and thrifts, insurance companies, mutual funds, and common stocks can help the consumer or investor make sound financial decisions. On the Weiss rating scale each entry gets a simple, intuitive letter grade that immediately identifies top performers. The same uncomplicated rating is used to indicate a stock or mutual fund as Buy-Hold-Sell.
Financial Ratings Series succeeds in its efforts to provide one-stop shopping in a user-friendly online format for consumers, investors, investment analysts, money managers, and students. A recommended resource for both public and academic libraries.
-Booklist
Weiss Group is the only provider of independent financial ratings for financial institutions and financial market funds, making it indispensable for graduate students and professionals.
In describing itself, FRS intends to assist consumers and professionals in finding safe banking and insurance options and in avoiding unnecessary risks. Weiss Ratings rates 900 life and annuity insurers, 2,700 property and casualty insurers, 600 health insurers and HMOs, 8,000 banks and savings and loans institutions; and the shares of publicly traded companies, mutual funds, closed-end funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Weiss's rating scale of letter grades, similar to school grading scales, is used for all the ratings. Each group of materials has its own explanation of what those letter grades mean. For example, one explanation is provided for banks and thrifts, and another for insurance companies. In addition to the letter grade, stocks and bonds reports tell subscribers to simply buy, hold, or sell. Each report includes seven different areas: major rating factors, other rating factors, historical highlights, rating indexes, company information, largest affiliates, and the rating with its definition. Historical highlights are depicted in statistics in small tables, and rating indexes are depicted as a bar chart. The other areas are described succinctly in words. FRS scores itself and its ratings in a section called Ratings Track Record. When a financial institution fails, FRS checks its ratings of that institution to see if its ratings warned people appropriately.
Because the site is extremely easy to use and interpret (several glossaries are featured), it is appropriate for senior high school students and adults. Alternatively, guides are available in print on a quarterly basis.
Since this resource is the only provider of independent financial ratings for financial institutions and financial market funds, it is indispensable for professionals and graduate students.
Summing Up: Highly recommended. All libraries; all user levels.
-CHOICE