Meet Suze Orman’s financial newsletter editor

Jason Zweig of The Wall Street Journal writes Saturday about Mark Grimaldi, the editor of personal finance guru Suze Orman’s investment newsletter, whose performance in the market is being questioned.

Zweig writes, “Under those provisions, securities lawyers say, newsletter publishers must not make statements they know—or reasonably should know—are false or potentially misleading.

“Mr. Grimaldi didn’t respond to emails seeking comment on whether his newsletters’ statements conform to securities-law provisions. Ms. Orman declined to address specific questions about the newsletter or Mr. Grimaldi’s background. ‘Mark Grimaldi is my trusted partner in The Money Navigator,’ she said in an emailed statement. ‘He is ethical, honest and achieves stellar results that consistently outperform the market. I’m proud to be able to provide our newsletter to people who are looking for solid financial advice.’

“A table in the December issue of Money Navigator compares the performance of two of Mr. Grimaldi’s portfolios to the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index since 2001. In 2009, according to the newsletter, the S&P 500 returned 19.79%; Mr. Grimaldi’s capital appreciation portfolio beat that, gaining 24.58%.

“According to S&P, however, the index returned 26.46% in 2009—meaning Mr. Grimaldi’s portfolio trailed rather than beat the index. In nine of the 10 years cited, the newsletter understated the performance of the S&P 500. ‘I’m not perfect,’ Mr. Grimaldi says. ‘We don’t claim to be.’

“This week, after inquiries from the Journal, the Money Navigator newsletter informed readers that the 2009 return for the S&P 500 was a ‘typographical error.'”

Read more here.