Frequently Asked Questions

General:

When was GuruFocus.com was started? What is the background?
What if I want to contact GuruFocus?
Where do you get the information about stock purchases/sales of these investors?
How accurate is the information on GuruFocus.com?
What are the dates on GuruFocus.com?
How often do you update the information on GuruFocus.com?
What services do you provide?
What are Micro Cap, Small Cap, Mid Cap, Large Cap and Mega Caps?
If I think some other investors should be added to GuruFocus.com as “gurus”, what should I do?
Can I advertise on GuruFocus.com?

Membership:

What should I do if I forget my password?
Does my username and password change if I upgrade to Premium Membership?
What should I do if I don't want to receive email newsletters or update notifications anymore?
How can I change my username or password?

Investing:

Can I invest based on the information on GuruFocus.com?

When was GuruFocus.com was started? What is the background?

GuruFocus.com was founded in 2004 by Dr. Charlie Tian. A value investor in heart, Dr. Tian feels that he would make a lot less mistakes if he selects stocks from the ones that have been researched by the best investors in the world. He also found that reading the commentaries and shareholder letters of those investors is a great way of learning from them. Furthermore, learning what the best investors invest is a great way to generate investment ideas.

GuruFocus.com is a value investing oriented website. We think that value investing is a winning strategy for long term. We do not encourage short term tradings.

GuruFocus.com is owned by GuruFocus.com, LLC, a Texas Limited Liability Company located in Plano, Texas. GuruFocus.com is not a broker, a dealer, or a registered investment adviser. GuruFocus.com is engaged in the business of financial news, commentaries, and publishing.

What if I want to contact GuruFocus?

The best way to contact GuruFocus is using the "Contact Us" page. We always respond within a few hours unless we feel the questions are unrelated.

If you want to write to us, please use this address: GuruFocus.com, P.O.Box 260555, Plano, TX 75026-0555
You can also contact us by email: gurufocus (at) gurufocus.com (of course, replace at with @, and remove all spaces).

Where do you get the information about stock purchases/sales of these investors?

It takes tremendous amount of work of collect the information from various sources. The information is processed and analyzed, the results are published on GuruFocus.com.

How accurate is the information on GuruFocus.com?

While we are trying to make the information as accurate as possible, we do not guarantee the accuracy of the information. We do find mistakes occasionally, sometimes they are pointed by our visitors. The information sources we use are sometimes unaudited.

The trade prices are estimates. The trade dates are listed as the end of each quarter if the exact dates are not available. The reports of Real Time Picks has a typical 1-2 weeks lag time from the dates of the trades. The others has typical a 1-4 months lag from the time the trades are made to the time they are published on GuruFocus.com.

What are the dates on GuruFocus.com?

For the reports of Guru Purchases/Sales, if the date is the end of a quarter, and we give a price range for the trades, it means the trades happened during the quarter ended on the specified date.

For the reports of Guru holdings, the dates are the exact. The number of shares there are the number of shares held by the Gurus ON that date.

How often do you update the information on GuruFocus.com?

The information is updated almost daily. For a particular “guru”, his Real Time Picks is updated if there is new information, which can happen any time, we reported these within 1-2 weeks after the trades are made. His quarterly purchases/sells are updated once a quarter. There is usually a 1-4 months time lag from the time the trades are made to the time they are published on GuruFocus.com.

The information about stock picks is updated usually within 24 hours after it becomes available. The information of each quarter usually becomes available in the second month of the following quarter. Sometimes you see that the information on GuruFocus.com is about 4-5 months old, that is because the most recent information is not available yet. On the other hand, the new information is coming very soon if the information on GuruFocus.com is 4-5 months.

What services do you provide?

We have great capabilities and technologies in tracking the stocks, mutual funds, and most of the hedge funds. Currently we have three levels of memberships. If you have specific needs, please contact us. We will let you know what we can do. We may charge data processing fees on the services we provide.

What are Micro Cap, Small Cap, Mid Cap, Large Cap and Mega Caps?

Companies are categorized according to their market capitalization. Microcaps are companies with market value below $300 Million. Small Caps are the ones between $300 Mil and $2 Billion, Mid Caps are the ones between $2 Billion and $10 Billion. Large Caps are the once between $10 Billion and $200 Billion, and Mega Caps are the ones above $200 Billion.

If I think some other investors should be added to GuruFocus.com as “gurus”, what should I do?

If you think some other investors should be included in GuruFocus.com, please Suggest on this Forum. As a matter of fact, some of the gurus in the Hall of Fame are suggested by our visitors. We will consider your suggestions, and include them if we think their performances justify.

Can I advertise on GuruFocus.com?

Absolutely. You are welcome to contact us for advertisement opportunities. However, we do not accept ads with adult contents, drugs, or other ads that we think that are inappropriate.

What should I do if I forget my password?

A new password will be emailed to you if you fill your registered email address in the "Forget Your Password?" option in the login page, and click submit.

Does my username and password change if I upgrade to Premium Membership?

No. Your username and password stay the same if you upgrade to Premium Membership, but you will be able to access all Premium Features.

What should I do if I don't want to receive email newsletters or update notifications anymore?

You can opt out of email list by unsubscribing here.

How can I change my username or password?

You can change your password after you login, click here. You cannot change your username, but we can change it for you to the ones that are used by others. Contact us to change username.

Can I invest based on the information on GuruFocus.com?

Investing based on the information on GuruFocus.com is at your own risk. For details please see the Terms of Use.