Our new price charts have been phenomenally popular! If you missed our first two introductory webinars with Saul Seinberg, here's how you can find the archived videos and handouts.

In the March 2, 2013 edition of The Wall Street Journal, Mark Hulbert, editor of the Hulbert Financial Digest, touted Investor Advisory Service as one of a limited number of stock-analysis services that provide valuable guidance on stocks that perform well in both bull and bear markets.

When we analyze companies in SmallCap Informer, we provide a datable data on all the companies we have recommended and are tracking. Understanding why we include this data, and what it means, can provide you with valuable insight into whether a company is suitable for adding to your holdings.

The February 2013 issue of the SmallCap Informer is now available online for subscribers. Print subscribers should expect to receive their issues by U.S. Mail within four to five business days.

2012 turned out to be a great year for small-cap stock investors.

In December, the Russell 2000 Small-cap Stock index turned in jaw-dropping 3.56%, giving small-cap stocks a 16.35% return for the entire year of 2012. In contrast, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained just 0.71% in December 2012, but was still able to end the year up 13.41%. While that’s an exceptional year for the overall market, small-cap stocks provided an even better rate of return in 2012, emphasizing once again that stock investors should probably actively consider smaller company stocks for their portfolios if they truly wish to maximize the returns they are likely to earn.

When investing in small-cap stocks, one of the key disciplines for success is performing “due diligence,” or making sure you know as possible about a company, its products, its management and its prospects before you make a move.

Here are the keys for carrying out due diligence on small company stocks you’re considering making part of your long-term investment portfolio.

An IAS subscriber recently wrote to ask, “Should I sell a stock in your portfolio when it is no longer below your suggested buy price? Or should I wait till you discontinue coverage on it?”

“The Great Rotation” refers to the eventual shift of investor money out of bonds and into stocks. The concept is that eventually investors’ preference for safety at any cost will give way to greater confidence in the future and a desire to start making money again. Many subscribers might find it hard to believe that there are many Americans willing to accept a return of -1.25% per year after five years by putting their money into a five-year CD paying 1%. The negative return comes from taxes on the paltry interest and an estimated inflation rate of 2% per year. Even worse, the inflation-adjusted, after-tax return on ten-year Treasuries was -1% last summer. The demand for safety was that high.

The February 2013 issue of the Investor Advisory Service is now available online for subscribers. To access the issue, please visit the Subscribers area of www.investoradvisoryservice.com. Print subscribers should expect to receive their issues by U.S. Mail within five business days.

As a company succeeds and grows, it gets harder and harder for it to maintain the high growth rates it may have enjoyed when it was a much smaller business. For this reason, it is very important for investors to understand where a company stands in its life cycle to gauge its past results and likely future growth.