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Rachel Morey

Seeking Alpha 2022 Review – Is the premium service worth it?

Written by: Rachel Morey
February 21, 2022

image credit: seekingalpha.com
Full disclosure: We may receive financial compensation when you click on links and are approved for products from our advertising partners. Opinions and product recommendations on APYGUY are those of our writers and have not been influenced, reviewed or approved by any advertiser. Learn more about how we make money.

If your investment portfolio includes individual stocks, you need the best research to invest successfully. You can assemble your research using analyst reports and information from news outlets, but the DIY approach to stock research can be time-consuming and tedious. 

Fortunately, you have many choices when it comes to investment research platforms. 

Seeking Alpha has a long history of providing investment advice. Free content on the Seeking Alpha site offers access to the largest investing community in the world. Fueled by crowdsourcing, the platform has millions of experienced investors who connect to share investing ideas, discuss breaking news, and help each other make solid investment decisions. 

Here, we’ll evaluate Seeking Alpha’s Premium tier of services. The service targets intermediate and advanced traders. It requires a small financial investment compared to some high-profile competitors and has a long track record of success. 

What is Seeking Alpha?

More than 7,000 contributors publish over 10,000 articles about funds, asset classes, and specific stocks on the Seeking Alpha platform. You can receive investing newsletters about topics like market sectors, individual tickers, and market headlines. Users can also monitor portfolio performance, read market news, and see earnings call transcripts. 

Seeking Alpha’s stated mission is “Power to Investors.” 

SA’s in-house team of editors vets all research. They seek to empower investors to make intelligent investing decisions using Seeking Alpha’s stock research tools. Diverse opinions on individual stocks allow readers to make informed decisions about whether to invest in a stock, when to sell, and how a stock’s future earnings may contribute to a portfolio’s overall growth. 

The data available on the Seeking Alpha platform connects any investor to professional-caliber tools. Quant ratings and factor grades summarize an individual stock’s characteristics, while author ratings offer snapshots of various contributor’s opinions. 

Seeking Alpha Membership Tiers

The monthly prices highlighted above are available for those who pay annually.

With Seeking Alpha, there are three membership tiers. 

  • Basic: Free.
  • Premium: $29.99/month (14-day trial available). $19.99/mo if billed annually.
  • Pro: $299.99/month. $199.99/mo if billed annually.

New investors and those with intermediate experience find everything they need to level up their investing game with the free and premium tiers. Seeking Alpha Pro is best for professional investors and those managing significant portfolios. It provides high-level investing ideas and research from all sectors and industries. 

Who is Behind Seeking Alpha?

David Jackson, a Wall Street analyst, founded Seeking Alpha in 2004. Frustrated by the lack of coverage of small-cap companies by Wall Street, Jackson invented the crowdsourced stock research platform as an alternative to relying solely on analysts from Wall Street for information. 

He wanted to highlight companies that were too small to get the attention of high-profile analysts. The site now has more than 10 million visitors monthly (200,000 of which are paying for a premium subscription) and enjoys partnerships with CNBC, Marketwatch, Yahoo! Finance, and MSNBC. 

What Information Can I Get With A Seeking Alpha Premium Subscription?

Upgrading to Seeking Alpha Premium means you’ll have instant access to thousands of articles to help you decide where to put your investment dollars. Most investing idea articles remain accessible on the site for ten days from publication. After that, they go behind the Premium tier paywall.

Premium members can access Seeking Alpha’s easily searchable database of articles no matter when they were published. Many users subscribe to Seeking Alpha Premium and Motley Fool Stock Advisor to find specific investor articles about the regular monthly stock picks from the Motley Fool Stock Advisor. 

Here’s the breakdown of everything you get with Seeking Alpha Premium:

  • Market Intelligence: Small-cap stock information and analysis not available on other investment sites. 
  • Superior Analysis: Published ideas, research, and analysis plus insights from peer networking outpace in-house investing results. 
  • Actionable Ideas: Daily actionable ideas from SA’s in-house experts. 
  • Advanced Filters: Easily and quickly construct new investment ideas using SA’s market cap, country, long/short, and investment style filters. 
  • Professional Community: SA is a crowdsourced investment platform encouraging members to exchange ideas, offer feedback on expert analysis, and provide direction to new investors. 

Seeking Alpha authors attach a rating to an ETF or stock:

  • Very Bullish
  • Bullish
  • Neutral
  • Bearish
  • Very Bearish

Ratings are visible to Seeking Alpha’s Premium tier and Pro tier subscribers only. 

The “Bulls and Bears say” section provides a snapshot of why a stock may be worth buying, why you may want to avoid it, or why it may be time to sell your shares. 

The sidebar on each stock rating offers even more valuable information while helping to reduce the time you spend evaluating a stock:

  • Stock price chart
  • Stock rating from the article’s author
  • Seeking Alpha scoring models ratings using proprietary models

Earnings and conference call transcripts: Listen to recorded earnings and conference calls; print and download transcripts and presentation slides. Basic members have read-only access to transcripts. Here are a few other tools reserved for Seeking Alpha Premium tier members:

Ten years’ worth of financial statements for individual stocks: Basic members can access five years’ worth. 

Earnings forecasts: Extra factors such as earnings estimates and surprises. Basic members can see only stock ticker’s dividend payment schedules and earnings reports. 

Notable calls from Wall Street and fund managers: Understand how top investors manage their cash. 

Portfolio monitoring: Get timely news on your investments. Monitor performance and receive alerts.

Sync brokerage accounts: Link US brokerage accounts to the Seeking Alpha platform to monitor multiple accounts in one place. Basic members can track their portfolios by manually entering each stock. 

Personalized alerts: Get breaking news for all of your portfolio holdings. Read the alert from your email inbox. Basic members must visit SA to read alerts. 

News dashboard: Read market headlines and news with enhanced capabilities for a deep dive into the research. SA’s news dashboard is an excellent alternative to Barron’s or The Wall Street Journal. 

Earnings Calendar: View a list of upcoming reports and calls from your stock portfolio. Access EPS revision scores and the latest company reports as the market adjusts.

Seeking Alpha Returns

Stocks rated as a “Strong Buy” by Seeking Alpha have done historically well when benchmarked against the S&P 500.

Since inception Seeking Alpha’s “Strong Buy” stock picks have produced average annualized returns of 29% to investors.

Here’s a breakdown of their “Strong Buy” rating track record:

image credit: subscriptions.seekingalpha.com

Seeking Alpha VS Motley Fool

The Motley Fool is an investment advisory newsletter service and one of the most popular in the industry. Their history stretches 20 years and in that time they have picked some of the most successful stocks.

Here’s a look at their popular subscription offers and the annual returns those picks have provided investors since inception to give you an idea:

Motley Fool ServiceInceptionReturnsS&P500
Stock Advisor1993+508%~134%
Rule Breakers2004+270%~115%
If you’re interested in The Motley Fool, you can now get Stock Advisor for Just $99/year!

Seeking Alpha Media

Seeking Alpha’s Premium tier includes access to several contributors offering subscriptions to their investing newsletters. These newsletters provide model portfolios and in-depth analysis not available in the Investing Ideas articles. 

Seeking Alpha also offers eight investing podcasts covering daily market activities, investing in ETFs, and trading stocks. 

Choose from 15 free newsletters such as focused sectors and the morning market headlines. 

The Stock Ideas feed organizes articles according to their theme. You’ll find the most-read articles on the seeking Alpha homepage. 

The Investing Strategy collection of articles helps investors shape their portfolio investment strategy to feed long0term financial goals. While much of the content is for financial investors, individual investors may also find the information useful. 

Seeking Alpha FAQs

What is a Seeking Alpha author rating?

Contributors who submit investing ideas have a long-term track record attached to their profiles to help you decide if their long-term predictions pan out. 

Subscribers can see an author’s rating history and their favorite stocks. Some Seeking Alpha contributors also work for high-profile investment firms, so their investing advice offers valuable insight into their overall investment strategy. 

How Can Investors Use Seeking Alpha’s Stock Screener?

image credit: seekingalpha.com

The Stock Screener, reserved for Premium tier subscribers, allows users to customize filters, including market caps, author ratings, and momentum or growth ratings. Premade screeners help find top-rated ETFs and stocks quickly. 

Here are some examples of screeners already set up within Seeking Alpha’s Premium tier:

  • Dividend stocks: above bullish rating yielding a minimum of 2%
  • Growth stocks: minimum $1 billion market cap
  • Value stocks: minimum $1 billion market cap
  • Best stocks by market sector: consumer staples, technology, etc. 

Does Seeking Alpha Premium Provide Quant Ratings?

Yes. The proprietary quant rating system on the Seeking Alpha platform helps everyday investors understand the more complex aspects of investing. Investors can use SA’s quant ratings to analyze large volumes of data in a short amount of time. Quantitative analysis helps professional investors manage their portfolios and research stocks. 

Seeking Alpha’s quant score uses these factors:

  • Stock price momentum
  • EPS revisions
  • Growth
  • Value
  • Profitability

Backtesting helps calculate final quant ratings.

What is the Seeking Alpha Factor Scorecard? 

The factor scorecard assigns a letter grade from A+ to F for each of the following factors:

  • Growth
  • Profitability
  • EPS revisions
  • Momentum

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) also receive these ratings: 

  • Funds from Operations (FFO) 
  • Adjusted Funds from Operation (AFFO)

Factor scorecards help investors evaluate stocks by offering detailed information about the stock’s performance. If you click on any of the stock’s ratings, you’ll get details about why the stock received that particular rating along with the underlying data. 

For even more specific information, use the Dividend Stock Scorecard to help you avoid investments with unsustainable yields. 

Seeking Alpha Pros and Cons

Pros:

  • Find market analysis, predictions, and news on one platform
  • Unlimited access to investing articles and ideas
  • Track entire investment portfolio in one place
  • Reviews include most ETFs and stocks
  • Contributors are expert analysts and traders
  • Provides exposure to new investment strategies

Cons:

  • Casual investors may find the volume of information overwhelming
  • It can be challenging to keep up with the in-depth analysis of multiple stocks
  • The monthly cost may be too high for everyday investors

Seeking Alpha Premium Subscription Costs

The Seeking Alpha Premium subscription comes with a free 14-day trial, which investors can use to evaluate every aspect of the service. After the trial, the service costs $29.99 per month plus applicable taxes. If you decide to purchase a yearly subscription for $239, the cost breaks down to $19.99 per month.

If you think that price tag is a little steep, then keep your eye out for specials and discounts. Seeking Alpha regularly runs these promotions usually on Holidays or other noteworthy days. Here’s an example of a 50% off deal from President’s Day, February 21, 2022.

Contact customer service or log into your account settings if you want to cancel during your free trial.

Seeking Alpha sends a reminder email two days before the end of every free trial to remind new users that their cancellation window is closing.

Is Seeking Alpha Premium Any Good?

Yes. The Seeking Alpha Quant System regularly beats the market. They’ve outperformed the market four-to-one every year since 2010. 

Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. 

Here are three stocks that the Quant System identified as Very Bullish, along with their performance as of March 2021:

  • Tupperware: Up 571%
  • Cassava: Up 1,085%
  • Novavax: Up 1,188%

Seeking Alpha Reviews From Verified Users

According to Sitejabber, Seeking Alpha has a consumer rating of 3.5 stars from 190 reviews indicating that most customers are generally satisfied with their purchases. Seeking Alpha ranks 39th among Stock Trading sites.

Positive reviews (last 12 months): 73.9%

Jacquelyn D.

Is Seeking Alpha worth it?

July 9th, 2021: Verified purchase 

“I have used both the free and the fee services of SA. I believe it is very much worth the $’s and the time spent in reading the articles. Not all of them will apply to your investment plan. But even the ones that don’t give you a perspective on other investment opportunities. As an investor whose goal is dividend yield and growth, I have the opportunity to read those authors’ that will provide me with good information. Readers’ comments are also useful for new ideas and as a check on an author’s support of an investment.”

David R.

Seeking Alpha a sweeping breadth of information

July 2nd, 2021: Verified purchase 

“I have been following many of the writers on Seeking Alpha for many years. I recently became a premium member and use the information everyday. It gives me perspective on stocks from several authors with different opinions, which I find very useful when I am evaluating purchasing a new position. I use this in combination with other services including Stansberry, Oxford Club, Sure Dividend and Kiplinger.”

Is Seeking Alpha Worth It?

Seeking Alpha Premium is suitable for swing traders and intraday investors who want independent perspectives on companies. To get the most out of Seeking Alpha Premium, you’ll need a solid understanding of stock analysis. 

Subscribers who find the most value in Seeking Alpha Premium have the following attributes in common:

  • Serious investor with at least five individual stocks
  • Enjoy researching ETFs and stocks
  • Require access to Seeking Alpha’s content that’s older than ten days

Seeking Alpha is a powerful research tool offering the buy and sell reasons for individual stocks. Investors must decide which stocks to buy and when, however. 

Active investors who require in-depth research to make money by investing in the stock market may find Seeking Alpha Premium a smart use of their money.

Filed Under: Investing Tagged With: Seeking Alpha

Stansberry Research Review: Is it legit & worth paying for in 2022?

Written by: Rachel Morey
February 15, 2022

image credit: stansberryresearch.com
Full disclosure: We may receive financial compensation when you click on links and are approved for products from our advertising partners. Opinions and product recommendations on APYGUY are those of our writers and have not been influenced, reviewed or approved by any advertiser. Learn more about how we make money.

In the 13+ years following the 2008 financial crisis, the stock market has seen some of its biggest gains in history.

The S&P 500 has only had 3 years of negative returns during this period. The worst year, 2018, only dipped 6.24% according to macrotrends.net, while the best 3 years produced annual gains of over 25%. The other 10 years saw ~10%+ growth with most years in the teens.

Needless to say, investing in stocks has captured new audiences and capital from large swaths of retail investors.

That said, while investing in individual stocks can be exciting, it can also be tremendously challenging even in favorable markets. That is why a whole industry of stock advisors has grown over the years, with many posting eye-popping returns.

In this review, we’ll take a look at Stansberry Research to see if this service is legit and worth the cost of membership.

What is Stansberry Research?

Stansberry Research is a privately owned publishing company founded in 1999 by Frank Porter Stansberry with headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. Its parent company, The Agora, also owns Common Sense Publishing, FSP Financial Services, Port Phillip Publishing, and Fleet Street Publications. The company currently publishes hundreds of newsletters each year. Bill Bonner, owner of The Agora, is a leader in the field of persuasive copywriting. 

Stansberry Research Podcast: Free Stock Picking Advice

Before you pay for Stansberry’s research, listen to the Stansberry Investor Hour podcast to get a feel for the tone and depth of research you can expect from a paid subscription. Dan Ferris interviews guests with specialized knowledge of the current economic climate. He covers dynamic topics like inflation, how to find gains in resource stocks, and how to find long-term trends among inflated valuations. 

Stansberry Investor Hour is available on Apple Podcasts. 

Are Stansberry Research Stock Picks Any Good? 

Yes. Stansberry Research chooses worthwhile stocks targeted at certain investment styles. The company is also well known for providing market and industry commentary to help investors understand how the economic environment may influence individual stock performance. 

Stansberry Research’s stock picks may work for you if:

  • You classify yourself as a passive investor with a long-term strategy; Stansberry Research doesn’t make recommendations designed for day traders. 
  • Your personal financial situation allows you to invest in single stocks without fear that you’ll go broke, even if the stock doesn’t do well. 
  • You have a portfolio of at least $20,000 to help justify the cost of a subscription to one of the Stansberry Research newsletters. 
  • You have some experience investing and are comfortable with the fact that you may lose money in the stock market. 

Stansberry VS Motley Fool

The Motley Fool (our review here) is an investment advisory newsletter service and one of the most popular in the industry. Their history stretches 20 years and in that time they have picked some of the most successful stocks.

Here’s a look at their popular subscription offers and the annual returns those picks have provided investors since inception to give you an idea:

Motley Fool ServiceInceptionReturnsS&P 500
Stock Advisor1993+508%+134%
Rule Breakers2004+270%+115%

March 2022 Promotion! Join Motley Fool Stock Advisor for just $79.99/year (normally $199.99/year).

Details About Stansberry Research Subscription Services

You can choose from three newsletter subscription tiers to get recommendations from the Specialized Investment Research team at Stansberry Research. 

The Total Portfolio

Designed to be a conservative portfolio less volatile than the S&P500.

The Total Portfolio includes about 40 recommendations ranging from safe income stocks to riskier small cap investments. This newsletter is positioned as advice for those seeking “the ultimate commitment to their financial future.” 

Some Total Portfolio Results:

  • 293% gain in consumer electronics
  • 265% gain in digital business
  • 189% gain in cryptocurrencies
  • 103% gain in comfort foods

Overview:

  • Number of positions: ~40
  • Safety: Conservative
  • Publishing frequency: Monthly
  • Recommended amount of capital to get started: $100,000
  • Typical holding period: One to three years

Membership includes: An “all-access pass” to a model portfolio based on the best ideas from Stansberry Research. You’ll get lifetime access to all underlying research behind each of Stansberry Research’s 12 most popular services. This newsletter suggests the exact number of shares to purchase for every $100,000 invested. 

The subscription also includes The Capital Portfolio and The Income Portfolio. 

With a Total Portfolio subscription, you’ll get access to Stansberry publications including True Wealth, Retirement Millionaire, Commodity Supercycles, Stansberry’s Investment Advisory, Extreme Value, Stansberry Gold & Silver Investor, Income Intelligence, Stansberry’s Credit Opportunities, Stansberry’s Big Trade, True Wealth Opportunities: Chian, True Wealth Opportunities: Commodities, Retirement Trader, True Wealth Systems, and Cannabis Capitalist. 

Price for new subscribers: The Total Portfolio can not be purchased online. If you are interested in learning more, please call (888) 863-9356 to speak with a customer service representative. 

The Income Portfolio

Combining high quality dividend-paying stocks with high-yielding corporate bonds and hybrid securities to offer you outstanding yields.

The Income Portfolio includes advice designed to help you invest to generate extra monthly income. This newsletter provides retirees and those who want to retire soon with 20-30 stock recommendations including bond funds, income-generating stocks, and fixed income bonds. The goal of this newsletter is to help you keep your investments safe while providing reliable income from a low-risk investment portfolio. 

Some Income Portfolio Results:

  • A 10.1% yield from a market-leading mortgage real estate investment trust (“REIT”).
  • An 8.2% yield from a great income generator with lower volatility than the overall market.
  • A 7% yield from a cyclical heavyweight in plastic processing.
  • A 4.9% yield from a major fund that invests in fixed-income markets.

Overview:

  • Number of positions: 20-30
  • Safety: Conservative
  • Publishing frequency: Monthly
  • Recommended amount of capital to get started: $100,000
  • Typical holding period: One to three years

Membership includes: An “all-access pass” to a model portfolio based on the best ideas from Stansberry Research. You’ll get lifetime access to all underlying research behind each of Stansberry Research’s 12 most popular services. This newsletter suggests the exact number of shares to purchase for every $100,000 invested. 

The subscription also includes The Capital Portfolio and The Income Portfolio. 

With a Total Portfolio subscription, you’ll get access to recommendations pulled from Stansberry publications, including True Wealth, Retirement Millionaire, Commodity Supercycles, Stansberry’s Investment Advisory, Extreme Value, Stansberry Gold & Silver Investor, Income Intelligence, Stansberry’s Credit Opportunities, Stansberry’s Big Trade, True Wealth Opportunities: Chian, True Wealth Opportunities: Commodities, Retirement Trader, True Wealth Systems, and Cannabis Capitalist. 

Price for new subscribers: The Income Portfolio can not be purchased online. If you are interested in learning more, please call (888) 863-9356 to speak with a customer service representative. 

The Capital Portfolio

This is a modern “blue chip” portfolio with the highest quality companies in the world.

The Capital Portfolio contains 20 of the highest conviction ideas from Stansberry Research. These U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs are easy to buy and designed to beat the market while providing investors with maximum capital gains. 

Some Capital Portfolio Results: As of mid 2021, there were 6 picks that were up in the triple digits. These include:

  • Nearly 500% gains on Sea Limited (SE) in just over a year.
  • More than a 300% gain from DocuSign (DOCU) in less than two years.
  • Approximately 200% gain on bitcoin (BTC) in less than a year.

Overview:

  • Number of positions: 23-30
  • Safety: Conservative
  • Publishing frequency: Monthly
  • Recommended amount of capital to get started: $100,000
  • Typical holding period: One to three years

Membership includes: Access to the 20+ investment position portfolio, monthly newsletter update, and Stansberry NewsWire. You’ll also get access to True Wealth, Retirement Millionaire, Stansberry’s Investment Advisory, Commodity Supercycles, Extreme Value, and Stansberry Gold & Silver Investor. 

Price for new subscribers: The Capital Portfolio can not be purchased online. If you are interested in learning more, please call (888) 863-9356 to speak with a customer service representative. 

Macro-Level Services

Stansberry’s Investment Advisory 

How to make money from the most promising emerging stocks including tech and energy investments. The newsletter also includes information about which stocks to avoid. You’ll get subscriber-only reports that include information about how to buy the most sought-after stocks. 

Stansberry’s Investment Advisory Newsletter Basics

  • Number of positions: ~20-30
  • Safety: Conservative
  • Publishing frequency: Monthly on the first Friday
  • Recommended amount of capital to get started: ~$1,000
  • Typical holding period: Minimum of one year
  • Price: $199 per year
  • Trial Subscription: 30-days
  • Price: $199 for one year

True Wealth

Edited by Steve Sjuggerud with recommendations by lead analyst Brett Eversole, True Wealth is a newsletter that helps investors choose valuable assets during times when they aren’t in demand. Dr. Sjuggerdund told subscribers they would be wise to buy gold in 2002 at the price of $320 per ounce. 

True Wealth Newsletter Basics

  • Number of positions: ~25
  • Safety: Conservative
  • Publishing frequency: Third Friday of each month with occasional email updates
  • Recommended amount of capital to get started: $1,000 minimum
  • Typical holding period: One year
  • Price: $199 per year
  • Trial Subscription: 30-days

Retirement Millionaire

Dr. David Eifrig Jr., MD, MBA, is the editor for Retirement Millionaire. This newsletter offers advice on how to live the lifestyle of a millionaire for less money than you’d think you need. This newsletter is ideal for beginning investors, those planning to retire soon, and retirees. 

Retirement Millionaire Newsletter Basics

  • Safety: Conservative
  • Publishing frequency: Second Wednesday of each month with occasional email updates
  • Recommended amount of capital to get started: $1,000
  • Typical holding period: Minimum of two years
  • Price: $199 per year
  • Trial Subscription: 30-days

Extreme Value

For a steady stream of stock recommendations that include the safest stocks at steep discounts, look no further than the Extreme Value newsletter. Dan Ferris’s strategy, covered extensively in Barron’s, is to buy only safe and cheap stocks at an excellent price. His track record is one of the best in the industry, and he shares his best advice here. Extreme Value launched in 2002, and Dan’s readers have made some impressive purchases with his direction:

Super-safe stocks recommended by Dan:

  • Alexander & Baldwin
  • International Royalty
  • Encana
  • Portfolio Recovery Associates
  • Icahn Enterprises

Extreme Value Newsletter Basics

  • Safety: Moderate
  • Publishing frequency: Monthly newsletter and mid-monthly updates
  • Recommended amount of capital to get started: $5,000 minimum
  • Typical holding period: Three to four years
  • Price: $1,500 per year

Commodity Supercycles

John Engle, Commodity Supercycles newsletter’s editor, watches for solid companies in the tech industry. With a background in biotech as a bench scientist for one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the United States, Engle has an eye for up-and-coming tech stocks with great potential. 

Commodity Supercycles Newsletter Basics

  • Number of positions: ~20
  • Safety: Moderate
  • Publishing frequency: Third Friday of each month
  • Recommended amount of capital to get started: $1,000
  • Typical holding period: Three to five years
  • Price: $199 per year
  • Trial Subscription: 30-days

Stansberry Gold & Silver Investor

Investors interested in learning how to successfully diversify their portfolio with gold and silver get access to some of the most important research conducted by Porter Stansberry and his team with the Stansberry Gold & Silver Investor newsletter. 

Bill Shaw serves as editor of both Commodity Supercycles and Gold & Silver Investor. He’s been helping Stansberry readers make wise investments since 2015 to prosper even during times of crisis. You’ll get regular updates on the currency and precious metals markets with Porter’s market analysis. 

Stansberry Gold & Silver Investor Newsletter Basics

  • Number of positions: ~20
  • Safety: Moderate
  • Publishing frequency: Second Tuesday of each month with occasional email updates
  • Recommended amount of capital to get started: 15 – 20% of your investment portfolio
  • Typical holding period: A few months to years, depending on market conditions
  • Price: One-time $2,500 portfolio fee + $49 per month; call (888)863-9356 to purchase

Stansberry Innovations Report

Investors who want to participate in the excitement of technology revolutions can use the information in Stansberry Innovations Reports to catapult their portfolios with John Engel’s advice about which stocks are poised for explosive growth. 

Stansberry Innovations Report Newsletter Basics

  • Number of positions: 20
  • Safety: Conservative
  • Publishing frequency: Third Friday of each month
  • Recommended amount of capital to get started: $1,000
  • Typical holding period: Three to five years
  • Price: $199 per year
  • Trial Subscription: 30-days

Stansberry Specialized Investment Research

If you want to learn more about a specific investment niche, you may find the information you need in one of Stansberry Research’s Specialized Investment Research newsletters. Stansberry’s Big Trade, True Wealth Opportunities: China, Stansberry Venture Technology, Stansberry Venture Value, Advanced Options, Cannabis Capitalist, Ten Stock Trader, and Crypto Capital include speculative investments ideal for someone with a high tolerance for risk. 

Other, more conservatively oriented newsletters under the Specialized Investment Research heading include Stansberry’s Election 2020 Portfolio, Silver Stock Analyst, Gold Stock Analyst, DailyWealth Trader, Income Intelligence, Stansberry’s Credit Opportunities, and True Wealth Real Estate. 

Is Stansberry Research a Good Resource For New Investors?

Maybe. Before you subscribe to any of Stansberry’s research-packed newsletters, look around on the company’s website and listen to Stansberry Investor Hour. This will give you some idea of what to expect and whether Stansberry’s recommendations may work with your portfolio and investment style. 

New investors should check out the free guides available on the Stansberry Research website. Beginners may benefit from free educational resources like Managing Your Wealth, Investment Basics, and Getting Started. 

If you have a portfolio of at least $10,000, you may be able to justify the cost of a subscription to one of the company’s Macro Level service subscriptions. Otherwise, it may be wiser to learn everything you can from the free information available on the site before committing to a paid subscription. 

Does Stansberry Research Have an App?

Yes. Stansberry Research supports a free app allowing subscribers access to their subscription information on the go. The most recent update to the app, released June 17, 2021, fixed a few minor bugs. The app is only available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users running OS 11.0 or later. 

The app gets an average of just 2.5 out of five star ratings from 60 users’ reviews.

Stansberry Research Customer Reviews

Of course, the Stansberry marketing team uses positive customer reviews to their advantage on the site. Before you decide to hand over your credit card numbers, check out reviews not under the company’s control. 

Stansberry Research Newsletter Reviews on Quora

Stansberry Research customers who’ve paid for subscriptions express their views about the company’s newsletters. 

“I decided some years ago to have a go at investing in shares, so I opened an execution-only share dealing account and set aside a small sum of money and started to do my research.

I ended up subscribing to two share tipping newsletters, Motley Fool and Porter Stansberry.

I invested some money, half with the Motley Fool tips and the other with the Porter Stansberry tips.

Both did very well, in fact one share with PS did very well and I made the mistake of thinking I was some sort of investment genius and canceled both subscriptions and went on to experiment with CFDs.

Now regarding PS in general, having been a subscriber I still to this day am bombarded with marketing materials and newsletters.

I my opinion no it is not a scam but unless you have your discrimination filter turned up to the max you could well end up with some very unsuitable products at eye wateringly high prices.”

-Stephen Morgan, CEO of A.S. Nieruchomości

Stansberry Research is well-known for effective and persistent marketing. Much of the free information on the website includes long-form videos and letters aimed at acquiring new subscribers. Investors who know what they are looking for and who aren’t prone to getting distracted by well-honed marketing techniques are likely to find the investment advice they need to help them level up. 

“Ultimately, services like Stansberry and Motley Fool are designed to provide stock picks or investment information. So, technically, as long as they deliver that information, they deliver on what they promise in the subscriptions.

That said, their aggressive marketing can attract the wrong types of investors. If you’re looking to get rich quickly, avoid these types of services.

These services are of more value to diligent investors who want to generate investment ideas. You need to have the ability to look past the hype. You also need to have the focus to avoid getting sucked into the next biggest thing.”

Josh Anderson, Day Trader

Stansberry Research Parent Company The Agora Settles FTC Lawsuit

After 15 months of litigation, Agora Financial agreed to pay more than $2 million to customers that the FTC says the company tricked into buying products that promised to cure Type 2 diabetes. 

Agora Financial also allegedly promised to help seniors successfully navigate a government-affiliated program. The defrauded seniors will receive refunds for publications purchased from The Agora and it’s affiliates. The FTC states that Agora Financial and its affiliates are barred from making additional false claims. 

While there were no fines imposed by the FTC, it’s important to be aware that The Agora and its subsidiaries are experts in the art of persuasion. When you sign up for a newsletter, you’ll receive additional marketing emails. 

Is Stansberry Research Worth it? 

If you decide to try a Macro Level Stansberry Research newsletter subscription priced at $199 per year, you have 30 days to find out whether it’s worth your money. Mark the deadline on your calendar so you can get a refund if you decide to cancel your membership. 

Remember that even if Stansberry Research highly recommends investing in certain stocks, they can’t legally promise a successful outcome. Investing in the stock market carries an inherent risk that you’ll lose money if you choose to sell stock for less than you paid for it. 

If you don’t already have a brokerage account, you may not be ready to pay for investing advice. Spend some time on the Stansberry Investor homepage learning about various stocks. Check out the free “Tip of the Week”, the daily Morning Market Update, and create a customized watch list to try your hand at choosing stocks worth your attention. 

Seasoned investors who want a hand choosing stocks without having to devote the time and energy necessary to make the best possible investments may enjoy the depth of research provided by a paid subscription to any of the available newsletters highlighted here. 

Stansberry Research’s advice consistently beats the market, so if you have a large enough portfolio to justify the cost of a membership, doing so could help you make better decisions while spending less time in the research phase of investing.

Filed Under: Investing

Fundrise Review: Compare Annual Returns vs Competitors

Written by: Rachel Morey
February 14, 2022

image credit: fundrise.com
Full disclosure: We may receive financial compensation when you click on links and are approved for products from our advertising partners. Opinions and product recommendations on APYGUY are those of our writers and have not been influenced, reviewed or approved by any advertiser. Learn more about how we make money.

[Update February 2022: Fundrise announced that 2021 was their best year on record for investor returns at 22.99%.]

Fundrise gives investors the ability to get in on private real estate deals by pooling their assets through the Fundrise online platform. Investors can invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs), use pooled money to buy and develop residential neighborhoods or participate in the Interval Fund, which provides diversification and higher liquidity than the platform’s other options. 

You don’t need to be an accredited investor to work with Fundrise. Even so, real estate investing can be risky, and fees may be out of reach for many investors. It’s crucial to invest only funds you can leave alone for at least five years to see the maximum possible return and minimize fees.

Get started today with Fundrise.

The barrier to entry with real estate investing is often high enough that beginners shy away from this potentially lucrative sector. Fundrise offers a $10 account minimum and a 12-month waiver on advisory fees, making it an accessible alternative to many competing real estate investment platforms. 

What is Fundrise?

Fundrise is an online investment platform that facilitates institutional-quality real estate investing for people who aren’t yet institutional investors. You can choose how much to invest since there are no mandatory minimums to get started. While you can decide your investing strategy, the actual investments are selected by a team of analysts that match various assets to your goals. Your portfolio will change over time as Fundrise acquires new investments. 

There’s no need to be (or become) a real estate investing expert to experience success and see your money grow with Fundrise. You can keep up with the latest developments related to individual investments in your Fundrise portfolio. Still, there’s a management team in charge of making big decisions about where and when they invest your money to get the most significant return.

Fundrise Quick Stats

As of January 2022, Fundrise has:

  • 210,000 active investors
  • More than $7 billion in asset transaction value
  • Over $160 million in dividends paid to investors

How Does Investing With Fundrise Work?

New users create an account with the platform and connect a funding source. Decide how much you want to invest initially and provide details about your preferred investment strategy. The properties you invest in at first form the “engine” that drives your portfolio. You can continue to add money to your Fundrise account for investing purposes, but even if you don’t, the team at Fundrise may diversify your investments when new opportunities match your strategy. 

Fundrise publishes regular updates about various investments, including exit updates, construction updates, and news relevant to the properties. 

The platform advertises that they are suitable for both experienced and new investors. If you decide to invest with Fundrise, you’ll receive regular updates about their strategists’ plans and observations about the real estate market in general. 

Fundrise is the first platform providing software-driven reporting for private equity real estate investing. Here’s what you’ll get with the Fundrise investor dashboard:

  • Newsfeed: includes educational material to help give investors context for important concepts like how appreciation powers return. 
  • Real-time performance reporting: see exactly how much your account has appreciated and how much it has earned in dividends to date. 
  • Investment goal tool (Core level accounts and higher): shows whether projected future performance is on track to meet stated goals. 
  • Auto invest: allows users to set up automatic deposits for additional investments. 

Are Fundrise Investments Any Good? 

Investing in non-traded REITs carries some significant risks but can also be lucrative. Fundrise investments potentially generate quarterly dividends, and shares may grow in value over time. 

On average, Fundrise’s investments produced average annualized returns of 8.76% to 12.42% between 2014 and 2019. In 2019, Fundrise had a net return across its entire platform of 9.47%. Of course, not all investors experienced a precise 9.47% return; most earned a bit more or a bit less than 9.47%.

In 2020, the year of COVID, Fundrise returned just 7.42% to investors. Last year, however, Fundrise had its best year on record bringing in a whopping 22.99% to investors.

image credit: fundrise.com

Investors with Fundrise who had the highest return on their investment were the ones who had been with the platform the longest. The time it takes to see a good return may help potential investors understand that succeeding with Fundrise requires patience.

Learn more at Fundrise.

A Note About Fundrise Liquidity

Investors that need to liquidate shares prematurely may incur costs. They may have to wait to receive funds, as well. 

Fundrise Platform Portfolio Performance

YearInvestor Returns
201412.25%
201512.42%
20168.75%
201711.44%
20189.11%
20199.47%
20207.42%
202122.99%

Based on this 8 year performance, Fundrise provided an annualized average return of 11.73% to investors.

Learn more at Fundrise.

Fundrise Returns vs Stocks and Savings:

To put Fundrise’s historical returns into perspective, consider the following yields from the S&P 500 and your average savings account over the same time period.

YearS&P 500Avg Saving Rate
201411.39%0.06%
2015– 0.73%0.06%
20169.54%0.06%
201719.42%0.06%
2018– 6.24%0.08%
201928.88%0.09%
202016.26%0.05%
202126.61%0.05%
S&P data provided by macrotrends.net and savings rate data provided by FDIC.gov

Although the S&P has done well over this time period, its volatility can be too much to stomach for some people.

Conversely, savings accounts, while pretty much risk-free when backed by the FDIC, have provided almost nothing for savers in terms of yields.

Fundrise Returns VS CrowdStreet, DiversyFund and Yieldstreet:

Although Fundrise is one of the early entrants to market, they’re certainly not the only real estate crowdfunding investment platform available.

Here are some of the other big players and the annual returns they’ve provided investors since their inception.

FundriseCrowdStreetDiversyFundYieldstreet
201412.25%NRNRNR
201512.42%NRNR10.61% avg
20168.75%NRNR10.61% avg
201711.44%NR18%10.61% avg
20189.11%NR17.3%10.61% avg
20199.47%NRNR10.61% avg
20207.42%17.7%NR10.61% avg
202122.99%NRNR10.61% avg
NR = Not Reported

Not all real estate investment platforms are alike, so be sure to research them each individually before making a decision.

Fundrise vs. REITs

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) trade on stock exchanges, allowing investors to purchase or sell stock quickly. Even so, a big part of the real estate investment market is private and only available to institutional investors. The JOBS Act of 2012 allowed private investments for a wider group of investors. Fundrise jumped at the chance to take advantage of opportunities created by the JOBS Act and become one of the first companies to provide high-quality investment opportunities to everyone. 

Fundrise specializes in proprietary public non-traded REITs (eREITs), similar to those on the stock market. Some non-REIT fund options (eFUNDS) are available to certain investors. 

Assets in many publicly traded REITs are comparable to assets available in Fundrise eREITs. Fundrise’s eREITs invest primarily in affordable housing across the Sun Belt. This region of the United States stretches from southeast to southwest. It includes Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Carolina, Texas, the lower two-thirds of California, certain areas North Carolina, Nevada, and Utah. 

Comparable REITs, including Camden Property Trust, Invitation Homes, and Mid-America Apartment Communities, also own single-family residences in growing markets across the southern states. 

There are a few critical differences between eREITs and publicly-traded REITs, however. 

Pricing and liquidity: REITs provide instant liquidity, limited only by the stock market’s trading hours. Fundrise investors purchase shares of eREITs, but can’t pick specific eREITs. Some investments accept limited new investments, as dedicated by the constraints of the JOBS Act. Fundrise can halt redemptions if the market is in turmoil like it did early in 2020. So liquidity may be limited with eREITs as opposed to REITs. 

Volatility and valuation: The stock market significantly impacts REIT share prices, as the value of shares with this type of investment correlates to the stock market. There’s no connection between the stock market and eREITs, however. Investors buy and sell eREIT shares at their NAV, which is updated quarterly or semiannually. 

Fees: REIT investors pay the management team overseeing the real estate portfolio. For example, the Vanguard Real Estate ETF charges a 0.12% expense ratio. Fundrise acts as the manager of eREITs and eFunds, so investors pay the platform an annual investment advisory fee. Fundrise’s fees are higher; eFunds and eREITs charge investors 0.15% of their portfolio. 

Many REITs have internal managers. Thus, investors aren’t paying fees to an external manager who oversees the real estate portfolio; and instead, they pay the REIT’s management team.

Strategy: Investors can choose between two main types of REITs; equity and mortgage. Equity REITs are primarily residential, office, industrial, self-storage, infrastructure, hospitality, diversified, data center, timberland, healthcare, retail, and specialty. Mortgage eREITs invest in pools of mortgage loans backed by commercial or residential real estate. This allows investors to narrow down their REIT selection based on sector. Fundrise eREITs focuses on affordable housing in the U.S., only. Investors interested in this trend may prefer Fundrise as an investment platform. 

Fundrise is a niche platform, so it may not appeal to many investors. At the same time, REITs are versatile enough that many investors’ plan to diversify their portfolio includes this type of investment. 

How To Get Started With Fundrise

New Fundrise investors must create an account online through the Fundrise platform. After choosing a portfolio strategy, Fundrise managers diversify the investor’s funds across multiple investment funds tailored to meet the stated goals in the portfolio strategy. 

Even after the initial investment, fund managers work to add new assets to the portfolio over time. There’s no additional investment required to receive this service, and adding assets allows portfolios to become stronger over time. 

Users can watch assets evolve through the in-app newsfeed. Fundrise regularly publishes asset updates like new construction progress, market data trends, project completion alerts, and occupancy reports. This level of transparency sets Fundrise apart from other investment firms. 

Interval Fund Option

Interval Funds are more liquid than eFunds and eREITs with Fundrise. Investors can opt into the Fundrise Interval Fund for better ongoing access to invested funds via quarterly repurchase offers. Unlike eFund and eREIT investments, Fundrise Interval participants won’t pay a penalty if they decide to liquidate Interval Funds during a quarterly repurchase offer. 

The Interval Fund is also larger than other funds on the Fundrise platform. It may offer a higher level of diversification, and it provides the same benefits of eFunds and eREITs. 

Fundrise Fees

Real estate investors are familiar with the high fees often associated with exposure to this sector. Hidden management fees and high advisory fees limit potential returns. With Fundrise, investors can own real property at a low cost. 

New software designed by the Fundrise team makes many required processes less expensive, and Fundrise passes those savings on to their investors in the form of fewer and smaller fees. 

All real estate business is also handled in-house, as Fundrise works directly with operators and real estate developers to manage deals one-on-one. Eliminating most intermediaries allows the company to keep fees low. 

Here’s a breakdown of Fundrise fees. 

  • Annual Investment Advisory Fee: 0.15% (waived under certain circumstances)
  • Standard Portfolio Fee: 0.85% annually
  • Redemption Program Participation Fee: 0% reduction in share price value if investors sell shares back to Fundrise within 90 days; 3% if shares were held 90 days to 3 years; 2% if shares were held 3-4 years; 1% if shares were held 4-5 years; zero fees if shares were held more than five years. 

All investment funds, EFT, and REITs incur expenses offset by annual management fees paid by investors. However, these fees are rolled into the fund, making it difficult for investors to understand how much of their gains are reduced by fees. 

Fundrise’s fees are straightforward. Investors pay $8.50 per year for every $1,000 invested on the platform. Those fees go toward the operating expenses of the real estate projects in Fundrise’s investor portfolios. They may pay for construction, zoning, accounting, or other project-specific costs. 

Fundrise eFund investors may also experience Liquidation fees and Development fees applied at the fund level, and these fees aren’t paid by investors directly. eFunds often incur many of the exact costs as eREITs, but eFunds pay the expenses directly, while eREIT projects cover those costs with money from outside borrowers. 

Is Fundrise Worth it For New Investors?

Maybe. Many online real estate platforms are available only to accredited investors (those with a net worth of $1 million or more and an annual income of $200,000 or more). Fundrise is available to any investor. The low investment minimums and intuitive platform make it ideal for those who want to get into private real estate investing but don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars to sink into a fund. 

New investors should read the fine print and have a good idea of how and when they could get their money back if they need to close their positions with Fundrise. They should also be careful of fees and understand that liquidating before they’ve been with Fundrise for at least five years could carry a hefty penalty. 

Fundrise real estate investments may work for you if:

  • You have some experience as an investor, and you have money to invest but aren’t accredited. 
  • You plan to leave the money you invest with Fundrise alone for at least five years. 
  • Your personal financial situation is stable, and you understand the risks associated with investing in the real estate market. 
  • You understand that you will pay fees with Fundrise, and you could lose money on your Fundrise investments. 

Fundrise Customer Reviews

image credit: fundrise.com

Fundrise is a unique platform, and customers who write reviews seem pleased overall with their experience. The company generally receives negative reviews from investors who object to the lack of liquidity with eREITs and eFUNDs, even though the company clearly states the fee structure multiple times throughout the investing process. 

Reviewers seem happy with the returns they get from their Fundrise investments, although some who tried to withdraw funds before they had been with Fundrise for five years weren’t pleased with the associated fees. 

Fundrise Reviews on Trustpilot

The Fundrise has 312 reviews on Trustpilot:

  • Excellent: 84%
  • Great: 4%
  • Average: <1%
  • Poor: <1%
  • Bad: 10%

Here are a few Trustpilot reviews from verified Fundrise investors that may help you decide whether the platform is a good fit: 

“This is not a savings account, a publicly-traded REIT, or anything else that you can just sell and get your money back. This is a private equity investment and anyone who invested should have taken time to carefully consider the amount of money they were putting in this.” -Paul Bommarito

“I find it very easy to put money in but very hard to take money out. The process should be the same both ways. Other than that, I think the design and implementation has been pretty good compared to your competitors (iFunding.co)” -Raymond L

“I’ve been with Fundrise for 4 years with a total return of 27%. I reinvest my dividends, and get a small increase almost every single day. This investment is for the long haul, and is ideally for those that would like to supplement income with dividends. Interestingly the negative reviews are accurate. Fundrise is not liquid. You’ve chosen to invest in real estate. Your money is literally tied up in property. You cannot just pull your money out when you feel like it. I no longer add funds to my Fundrise account. I just allow the reinvested dividends and compound interest to do its job.” -Terez Lundquist

Fundrise on the BBB Website

Fundrise has 77 published customer reviews on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website. The company has an average rating of 3.66 stars out of five. The BBB closed 59 customer complaints in the past three years and 32 in the past 12 months. 

Customers typically complain about having difficulty getting their money out of the investments promptly. Fundrise responds to each customer complaint, often with some variation of this statement:

“For context, under our redemption program, all redemption requests that are made during any given quarter, regardless of when the request is made, remain in a pending state until the end of the quarter at which time they are expected to be reviewed and processed. 

We make an extensive effort to ensure that investors are made aware of this fact prior to placing an investment with us. For example, as part of the process of placing an investment, each investor is required to acknowledge the following: ‘I recognize that my investment is in real property, which is fundamentally a long-term, illiquid investment; that liquidations, if approved, are paid out quarterly for the eREITs and Interval Fund, and monthly after a minimum 60-day waiting period for the eFund; and requests for liquidation for the eREITs and eFund may be suspended during periods of financial stress‘”

Fundrise on Reddit

Reviews of Fundrise as an investing platform from Reddit users line up with Trustpilot and BBB reviews. Investors who didn’t understand Fundrise’s fees for early withdrawal of funds weren’t pleased with their experience. 

“I invested a lot of money through Fundrise early last year and I just withdrew all of it after a 3 months waiting period. Overall, I lost money with Fundrise.com due to minimal dividends and 3% penalty for redeeming investment after 15 months.”

-re-emerald

“Fundrise is legit, but it might not be the best way for you to get exposure to real estate. A publicly traded REIT or REIT index fund is much easier to get in and out of. Private REITs like Fundrise should really be held until they liquidate, which could be five or ten years. I like Fundrise but I think an illiquid long-term investment like this should not be a core part of your portfolio.”

-Citryphus

“Invested a few times up to a certain amount, and am holding any further investments. I think the actual returns are/will be less than the claims. Also, look at the “process” to get your money out.”

-RedditDogX

Is Fundrise Worth it? 

The Fundrise platform provides an easy-to-navigate way to diversify your investment portfolio into the world of real estate. 

The platform may be ideal for investors with a portfolio that includes stocks and bonds and are willing to leave their investments alone for at least five years. Investors interested in real estate may find that his platform allows them to easily access high-quality assets while experiencing returns that far outpace REIT stock investments.

Get started with Fundrise today!

Filed Under: Real Estate Investing Tagged With: Fundrise

PeerStreet Review – Avg Annual Returns 6 – 9%

Written by: Rachel Morey
December 21, 2021

PeerStreet offers accredited investors the opportunity to use the power of crowdfunding to invest in real estate loans. Much like a peer-to-peer lending platform, PeerStreet provides access to loans backed by real estate assets. 

PeerStreet, launched in 2014, has funded over 8,800 loans worth more than $4 billion since their inception.

As of February 2020, PeerStreet had paid out $2.2 billion in principal and $175 million in interest to investors. 

PeerStreet is the first two-sided marketplace that allows investors to make money on real estate debt. Loans are sourced from a network of private brokers and lenders. The platform also services, manages, and aggregates loans for investors. 

What is PeerStreet?

PeerStreet facilitates crowdfunding that connects borrowers who want short-term real estate loans with lenders. The lenders here are investors that pool their money to lend in the hopes of receiving their principal plus interest back in the future. 

PeerStreet allows investors to generate truly passive income in the real estate space while protecting principal investments by linking them to tangible property. There are risks associated with equity investments and debt that are also present with unsecured loans. For many investors, real estate that secures a loan provides an additional measure of security. 

With PeerStreet, borrowers are professional investors who purchase a property, fix it, and sell it quickly at a higher price. These real estate equity investors agree that if they fail to meet the terms of the agreement, the loan may default, and PeerStreet can seek legal remedies to protect the investor’s stake in the deal. Investors have a first-lien position, which means they are first to get paid back if the borrower defaults.

PeerStreet Returns

At the close of 2020, PeerStreet paid off 96.32% of its loans without foreclosure.

According to their FAQ page regarding investor returns, PeerStreet’s high quality, moderate LTV, short-term loans have provided investors with annual returns ranging from 6 – 9%, depending on a number of asset characteristics.

PeerStreet Returns VS Competitors

Keep in mind, these online platforms primarily provide passive real estate investment products.

FundriseCrowdStreetDiversyFundPeerStreet
201412.25%NRNR6 – 9%
201512.42%NRNR6 – 9%
20168.75%NRNR6 – 9%
201711.44%NR18%6 – 9%
20189.11%NR17.3%6 – 9%
20199.47%NRNR6 – 9%
20207.42%17.7%NR6 – 9%
NR = Not Reported

Not all investment platforms are alike and many don’t require you to be an accredited investor. You can compare each option in depth in our rundown of the best online real estate investment platforms.

PeerStreet Pros and Cons

✅ PeerStreet Pros:

  • 📊 Numerous investment choices: Each day, new investments are posted to PeerStreet around noon Pacific time. Over the years, the company has increased the number of new investments featured daily. 
  • 🤖 Automated investing: PeerStreet investors can set up their investment criteria allowing PeerStreet to automatically allocate any invested capital into loans that line up with those preferences. Up to 24 hours before any automated investment goes live, the investors can opt out of the investment. 
  • 📖 Transparency: PeerStreet is transparent about its fees and the loan portfolio’s performance. 
  • 💲 Earn interest on uninvested funds: PeerStreet Pocket allows investors to earn interest on the cash in their account while deciding what investment to choose next. 
  • 🏡 Positive impact on communities: The Evolving Neighborhood Uplift Fund supports entrepreneurs who want to improve real estate and are from underserved communities. 
  • 📈 Track Record: PeerStreet has a good track record of performance including a high success rate when it needs to recoup capital from defaulted loans. 

❌ PeerStreet Cons:

  • 💰 Accredited investors: PeerStreet requires all investors to be accredited, which excludes the majority of people who may want to invest in real estate. 
  • 💰 High minimum investment amount for more potentially stable and lucrative investment options: Accredited investors must provide a minimum $100,000 investment to get the advantages of the diversified fund. 
  • 💰 Debt investment only: PeerStreet only provides debt investments, which may work well for investors that want a steady income but aren’t so concerned about growing the principal. This platform does not provide equity crowdfunding deals. 

How Does Investing With PeerStreet Work?

PeerStreet provides more transparency and flexibility than many other real estate investment options. Here’s what to expect: 

Loans are short-term and span six to 24 months. When you open a PeerStreet account, you can set criteria to help investments meet your diversification preferences. Choose maturity dates, investment risk, property type, and geographic location.

Investors can automate settings, so if the loan that meets pre-set requirements isn’t yet available, they’ll be placed on a waiting list. When the loan is available, investors on the list can have their funds automatically invested when the balance in their cash account is at least $1,000. 

Choose from a self-directed IRA or taxable account. A self-directed IRA acts as a retirement account, and investors can transfer funds from any other compatible retirement account to fund the PeerStreet investment account. Taxable accounts are also available. 

PeerStreet recently integrated with Wealthfront and Betterment so investors can see all of their investments in one location to easily view their asset mix. 

All PeerStreet accounts are FDIC insured up to $250,000. 

If a loan defaults, PeerStreet works for the investors to maximize return on the investment. The platform also ensures that if it goes out of business, a third party will take over to manage any remaining loan investments.

What You Should Know About PeerStreet Before Investing

PeerStreet sources investments from a network of private lenders who each handle vetting and due diligence. Loans are listed on the PeerStreet platform, and investors can choose to fund those loans. Investors with PeerStreet act as mortgage lenders, while PeerStreet handles the financials and performs all independent underwriting and valuation of loans. 

Loans on the PeerStreet platform generally have a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 75% or lower and are secured by first liens on the associated real estate. A first lien gives PeerStreet investors senior claim on the real estate that secures their investments. So, if the borrower defaults, PeerStreet investors have a better chance of recouping their funds. 

Unlike more traditional real estate loans, PeerStreet real estate investments are short-term. Expect to see bridge loans of six to 24 months. Many loans on the PeerStreet platform are hard money loans for real estate that will undergo a fix-and-flip by experienced real estate professionals. 

At this time, PeerStreet investments are only open to accredited investors, per SEC regulations. This may change in the future, but as of right now, unless you can prove your status as an accredited investor, you must look elsewhere for real estate investment opportunities. 

The minimum investment on the PeerStreet platform is $1,000 for an initial investment plus $100 for reinvestments, so it’s possible to get started with only a small amount of money.

How To Sell PeerStreet Investments

PeerStreet loans are illiquid, so there’s no quick and easy way to get cash out once the investment has closed. There’s no secondary marketplace for loans, so investors can’t usually get a hold of their money during the loan term. 

However, while many crowdfunding platforms target a four to ten-year timeframe, PeerStreet loans are typically just six to 24 months long. 

PeerStreet vs. REITs

While both real estate investment trusts (REITs) and PeerStreet investments allow investors to lean on real estate professionals for due diligence, some REITs are less diverse. 

With PeerStreet, investors can customize a portfolio that matches their diversity goals by choosing properties across many geographical areas. Investors can choose loans with different targeted return rates, LTVs, terms, and lenders, as well. 

In general, PeerStreet is more flexible and transparent than many REITs. Investors can select individual loans from carefully vetted opportunities. Information about each property, loan maturities, and other details of the loan are readily available to help investors choose a loan that may help them reach their financial goals. 

REITs have received some negative press about high visible and hidden fees. PeerStreet’s fee structure is designed to allow investors to capture higher investment yields than they may experience with many REITs. To date, PeerStreet has zero losses due to their quick action where late payments and defaults are concerned. 

Many PeerStreet investors prefer the platform over REITs. While REITs can be lucrative, they are often less efficient than PeerStreet, which means fees may eat into investors’ returns. 

PeerStreet Fees

PeerStreet makes money by charging service fees on individual loans of 0.25% to 1.00%. Investors don’t pay fees directly. PeerStreet may offer a loan to a real estate developer for a project with an 8% interest rate. Investors may get 7.5% interest if they choose to participate. PeerStreet keeps 0.05% to cover their fees. 

PeerStreet also charges loan origination fees but most of their revenue comes from servicing fees. 

Is PeerStreet Risky?

Of course, there is a level of risk associated with any investment, and a borrower with PeerStreet occasionally fails to make on-time payments or defaults on the loan. Fortunately, PeerStreet investments are backed by underlying real estate. When a default occurs, PeerStreet pursues legal remedies on behalf of its investors. 

PeerStreet handles the recovery of outstanding defaulted loans. The company has regulatory experts on staff to help enforce legal remedies. They work to make sure that investors don’t lose capital. While the process may take time, PeerStreet has a track record of helping borrowers avoid default with the intent of minimizing the negative impact on investors. More than 95% of loans through PeerStreet have avoided foreclosure and have paid off. 

PeerStreet investors typically earn returns close to expectations. With a solid track record of good performance, PeerStreet may be a good choice for accredited investors who want to diversify while creating passive income secured by real estate. 

PeerStreet Customer Reviews

While customer reviews generally help new investors decide whether a platform may be a good fit that ultimately generates good returns, few reviews are available about PeerStreet.  Trustpilot shows zero reviews, the BBB has a thin file on the company, and Reddit investors are outspoken, but there’s no real volume of information there, either. 

The lack of reviews could be due to the high bar that platforms catering to only institutional investors set. Since the general public can’t use PeerStreet, there are fewer investors who are able to give a first-hand account of their experiences. 

PeerStreet on the BBB Website

PeerStreet Investment, Inc has only six customer reviews on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website with an average one out of five star rating. The BBB file was opened January 22, 2018 and says that PeerStreet is not accredited by the BBB. 

The BBB indicates that PeerStreet’s headquarters are in El Segundo, California. 

PeerStreet on Reddit

Investors who participate in Reddit are not generally fans of PeerStreet, but seem to think that it’s important to understand the risks associated with real estate investing before you decide whether to participate in the platform. 

“It’s a pretty terrible platform. I luckily dabbled with only enough for one loan at a time. The first two were fast and paid off well ahead of time.

My current loan, established in 2019, has not been paid for 21 months and they are finally just now getting around to some type of “discounted” resolution according to their truly ambiguous cut and past updates. For example, they have now engaged in a foreclosure attempt 3 times (2019, 2020, and now 2021), recorded 3 notices of sale, and each time simply said “the process is very complicated” when I have emailed customer service for clarity. Apparently they will now only do meaningful updates, but it’s now been two weeks since the discounted offer went to their legal desk with nothing further. At this point I expect a substantial tax write-off of the original amount.”

-Mustang_over20, October, 2021

“It was only within the last year that I had any single investment default, foreclose, AND I lost money. But that’s bound to happen sometimes. In all other cases, due to favorable LTV that held or improved over time, I’ve always recovered my principal in addition to at least some interest.

The key, as with any investing, is to diversify. At any one time I have 10-15 active investments on PeerStreet, so that 1 which went into default and resulted in a foreclosure sale that recouped less than the original loan amount was but a minor blip in an otherwise well-performing portfolio.”

-bleedsixcolors, August, 2021

Is PeerStreet Worth it? 

PeerStreet won’t work for investors until they are accredited, which automatically excludes most everyday investors. The platform specializes in unique real estate loans. While PeerStreet may be a good fit for high asset investors with tolerance for risk, it takes a great deal of knowledge about this type of real estate lending to confidently participate in the deals offered by PeerStreet. 

Even advanced investors may find that the lack of liquidity may be an issue with PeerStreet investments. Although the term of many loans on the platform is fewer than 24 months, there’s not an easy way to get a hold of money wrapped up in a PeerStreet loan before the loan reaches maturity. 

Filed Under: Real Estate Investing Tagged With: PeerStreet

Zacks Investment Research Review – Returns Generated + Is it Worth it?

Written by: Rachel Morey
September 22, 2021

image credit: zacks.com

Zacks was the first investment research company to combine earnings forecasts from Wall Street firms and share the data. 

So, instead of choosing a few firms to follow and basing stock buys on those recommendations, subscribers can access information from every major Wall Street firm to see trends. Zacks has been providing aggregate stock earnings forecasts since the early 1980s.

What is Zacks Investment Research?

Zacks Investment Research, founded by MIT scholar Len Zacks in 1978, provides investment-related content and independent research. The company is best known for supporting professional investors with analysis and financial data so they can make the best possible investment decisions for their clients. The company was built on its ability to produce consensus earnings-per-share (EPS) estimates. Zacks Research also provides research reports, stock prices, recommendations about stocks, and a number of investment tools. 

Are Zack’s Investment Research Stock Picks Any Good? 

Zacks bases their stock ratings and recommendations on whether research analysts are increasing or revising earnings estimates upward. Historically, those stocks outperform the market. Stocks that are downgraded to Sell or Strong sell by analysts tend to underperform.

Zacks Investment Research continues to refine their methods, and have one of the most dependable stock picking services available today. 

Zacks Rank Profit Power

All of the Zacks portfolios are governed by Zacks Rank fundamentals. The mathematical system produces average returns of +25.6% per year. A stunning example on display on the Zacks website shows how the Zacks Rank fundamentals work:

$10,000 in the S&P 500 invested January 1, 1988, rebalanced monthly (not counting fees) = $350,000 + by June 28, 2021.

$10,000 in Zacks Rank system invested January 1, 1988, rebalanced monthly = $20.7 million by June 28, 2021 [source].

image credit: zacks.com

Recent short-term trading portfolio examples:

  • +334.8% (7.5 months) Anavex – Healthcare Innovators
  • +350.8% (3.5 months) SnapOn – Options Trader
  • +73.1% (9 weeks) ACM Research, Inc. – Technology Innovators
  • +252.0% (19 days) Blackberry Limited – Counterstrike
  • +140.5% (6 months) NVIDIA – TAZR

Recent long-term trading portfolio examples:

  • +178.6% (2.5 months) Fiverr International Ltd – Home Run Investor
  • +251.1% (45 months) Microsoft – Income Investor
  • +386.8% (12 months) Sea Limited ADR – Zacks Top 10 Stocks
  • +475.8% (6 months) Digital Turbine – Stocks Under $10

Details About Zack’s Investment Research’s Subscription Services

The free tier of Zacks Investment Research’s subscription includes briefings from Zacks’ Profit from the Pros newsletter. You’ll get a daily email with 5 newly Upgraded Zacks’ Strong Buy Stocks, Bull Stock of the Day, and Key Market Developments. New subscribers get instant access to Zacks’ 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days, as well. 

With the free version, you’ll get access to Zacks Portfolio Tracker to help you see crucial metrics on each stock in your portfolio or watch list. You’ll also have access to Zacks Rank and Style Scores. 

Zacks Premium

As a Zacks Premium subscriber, you’ll get access to a number of benefits, including premium resources and tools. 

Here’s what you’ll get with Zacks Premium:

  • Daily briefing on portfolio changes and key developments
  • Member-only website access with live performance and open positions
  • Market insights from Stock Strategists
  • Real-time buy and sell signals from private long-term portfolios

Zacks #1 Rank List: Strong Buy stocks have more than doubled the S&P 500. Average gains are +25.6% per year January 1, 1988 through June 28, 2021. 

Industry Rank List: Sorts companies into 250 groups by industry and calculator average Zacks Rank for total stocks in that industry. Stocks in the top half of all ranked industries beat the bottom half by 2-to-1. 

Premium Screener: Zacks created 45 predefined screens to help subscribers choose Zacks Ranked stocks to match value, growth, momentum, on income trading styles. 

Focus List: 50 top long-term stocks chosen by Sheraz Mian, Director of Research. Equity Research Report offers the reasoning behind each pick. Stock Strategist Daniel Laboe shares insights on market activity every Monday. 

Equity Research Reports: Research from Zacks’ analysts with analysis on each company for more than 1,000 stocks, including growth prospects and fundamentals. 

Earnings ESP Filter: Identify stocks with the potential to provide surprising returns with the Earnings Expected Surprise Prediction (ESP) Filter. Based on the Zacks Earnings ESP metric, the filter has predicted earnings with 70% accuracy over a ten-year time period. 

Zacks #5 Rank List: 220 Zacks Rank #5 stocks with a historical performance of more than 3.5x worse than the market since 1988

Style Scores: Individual Style Scores (A, B, C, D, F for value, growth, and momentum) for each stock covered by Zacks make it easy to narrow the #1 rank list to stocks that match your style. Use the VGM (value, growth, momentum) score to identify the best overall scores. 

With Zacks Premium, subscribers get the same $1 trial deal as they would with Zacks Ultimate, including unrestricted access to everything offered to subscribers. The 100% satisfaction guarantee provides a full refund if you aren’t pleased with the service 90 days from the time you accept the full-price subscription. You’ll also get the 100% performance guarantee, which says that if your Zacks Investor Collection subscription doesn’t help you beat the market, you can get a refund provided you meet the performance guarantee criteria. 

If you decide to keep the Zacks Premium subscription past the first month’s trial period, you’ll pay $59 per month. 

Zacks Ultimate

New subscribers get 30-day access to the Zacks Ultimate buys & sells for $1. During this trial, you can see all short-term trading portfolios and long-term investing portfolios. You’ll also get Zacks Premium research and tools as well as the company’s private market insights. 

With Zacks Ultimate, you’ll have real-time access to buys and sells as well as the following market commentary from private services:

Black Box Trader

Stock-picking formulas that use automation to distill 10 weekly high-potential stocks from thousands. 

Blockchain Innovators 

Information to help investors harness the “Internet of Money” without the volatility associated with cryptocurrency investing. 

Commodity Innovators 

Long-term and short-term profits with reduced risk on investments in gold, grains, oil, livestock, currencies, and more. ETFs and stocks only. 

Counterstrike 

The best stocks rebounding from panic sell-offs. 

ETF Investor Blending 

Identifies emerging trends by blending Zacks Industry Rank + 2-to-1 performance advantage + Zacks ETF Rank without the added risk of buying individual stocks. 

Headline Trader

Focusing on companies that show rising earnings estimates and strong fundamentals, you’ll get the jump on the kind of news that causes big stock moves. 

Healthcare Innovators 

Breakthroughs in the healthcare sector; biotechnology, hospitals, pharmaceuticals, devices, and more. 

Home Run Investor 

Identifies little-known companies with a great deal of potential; +50%, +100%, +200%. 

Income Investor 

Provides guidance toward carefully selected high-dividend stocks as well as low-risk assets. 

Insider Trader 

Information about insiders buying their own company’s stock using their own funds combined with Zacks Rank evaluation. 

Large-Cap Trader 

Large-cap stocks with strong potential for growth that offer resistance to volatility. 

Marijuana Innovators 

The cannabis industry is now worth $61 billion – up from $9 billion in 2017. Sweeping legalization makes this an ideal industry for investors, and this newsletter provides much-needed information about which stocks to buy and which to stay away from. 

Options Trader 

Professional options strategies blended with the gain power of the Zacks Rank provides substantial returns with a fraction of the risk. 

Short Sell List 

Computer-driven list of stocks that could soon fall more than average, making them ideal for shorting in bear markets. 

Stocks Under $10 

Low-priced stocks with great earnings outlooks and growth potential. 

Surprise Trader 

Positive earnings surprises predicted with more than 80% accuracy using Zacks’ research breakthrough. 

TAZR 

Technical Analysis + Zacks Rank combines to create a small number of #1 and #2 stocks. 

Technology Innovators 

Tracks breakthroughs and trends in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things. 

Value Investor 

Tracks undervalued companies using proven criteria with Zacks Rank timing to provide information about when investors should purchase specific stocks. 

Zacks Confidential 

Zacks VP Kevin Matras reveals key trades providing insight into Zacks’ Best of the Best. Released weekly. 

Zacks Premium 

Professional-grade tools for individuals with a daily update of the Zacks Rank, access to Zacks Equity Research, Premium Screens, and Focus List portfolio that includes 50 stocks for the long haul. 

Zacks Top 10 Stocks 

Top 10 stocks to buy and hold complete with in-depth research and quarterly updates. 

Zacks Ultimate subscribers receive a daily summary email to help them distill the most important information from each newsletter. 

Zacks money-back guarantee

If you decide to continue with a subscription to Zacks Ultimate, you can choose to cancel within 90 days after the end of the $1 trial to receive a full refund. 

The Zacks money-back Performance Guarantee states that if Zacks doesn’t help you beat the market, they’ll refund up to one years’ worth of your subscription. 

If you choose to participate in the Zacks Ultimate trail, you’ll receive a notification from Zacks seven days before the end of your trial. You can cancel the service or allow the continuation of Zacks Ultimate for $299 per month. 

How to Beat the Market with a Zacks Investment Research Subscription

The folks behind the newsletters and investment tools at Zacks are ready to refund up to a years’ worth of monthly subscription fees if their recommendations don’t beat the market. Here’s how to maximize your chances of successful investing and ensure a refund if the Zacks recommendations don’t perform as predicted. 

  • Top 10 subscribers: Buy and sell all 10 recommendations
  • Execute trades within 24 hours of newsletter emails

Is Zack’s Investment Research Worth it For New Investors?

While the Zacks investment team produces a huge volume of information about which stocks may be a good buy, a new investor may find the information overwhelming. The more important metric is whether a new investor has the disposable income to invest in the stock market by choosing individual stocks. 

Even the least expensive Zacks Investment Research subscription is $708 per year. It may be wise to start with the free version of Zacks Investment Research that allows access to a daily newsletter, basic research, a portfolio tracker, email alerts, and Zacks Rank for stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs. If the service provides enough support for you to experience some success investing in stocks, it may be a good idea to upgrade and experience the free one-month trial of Zacks Premium tier of services. 

Zack’s Investment Research Customer Reviews

Before you take the plunge and sign up for a premium tier subscription to Zacks, take a look at what current and past customers have to say about their experience with the company. Fortunately, Zacks is a Chicago-based investment advice firm with a decades-long track record. While some users praise the platform for giving them the information and tools they need to succeed as investors, others are just annoyed that the platform keeps delivering email newsletters, even with the free tier. 

The Zack’s Investment Research on Trustpilot

Zacks Investment Research has just 25 reviews on Trustpilot, with only 11% in the “excellent” or “good” category. Customers who’ve left reviews of Zacks’ subscriptions and services on Trustpilot have a low opinion of the firm due to the volume of daily emails they receive. 

The free tier of Zacks features a number of email newsletters, as outlined in their subscription services summary. 

“I signed up for their one off report – got an email… was not impressed, so decided to unsubscribe. Having unsubscribed to every email I received for a week, I am still getting a torrent of emails.” -O sharabi

One subscriber found the service to be less-than-useful due to their location. 

“I don‘t know what went wrong in the first place but Zacks showed that they do care about their customers. The reason I still did not purchase their Research Wizard is that as a non-US resident, I received too many US small cap stock recommendations that I am not able to trade with my brokers. In addition, many stocks (even mid-cap) from my home country are not covered by Zacks.” -Thomas Malek

This customer enjoys the service but found it to be expensive. 

“I purchased their pricy “Ultimate” lifetime access. Aside from price point, I’ve been pleased with the research available. Following their Home Run and Stocks Under $10 portfolios has helped toward my continued trading success. Not every add plays out but that is just the nature of the beast. I can’t comment on their cheaper offerings but I’ve already paid for my investment 10x over since September 2020 in gains. Also, the sales representative I dealt with was very helpful. The first 90 days I was just paying monthly when I realized they offered a lifetime access package that equated to basically a year of service charges. I contacted them and Rick was kind enough to give me 100% credit of what I’d already paid monthly toward the lifetime purchase.” -Stacey G

The Zack’s Investment Research BBB Rating

Zacks Investment Research was accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in 2012. They have 43 customer reviews with an average rating of 3.3 stars out of five stars. Five-star reviews (typically written by paid subscribers) note that they’ve made a decent return on their investments by following cues from Zacks. 

Negative reviewers complain that their card was charged after the free trial and that they receive emails from Zacks. 

Positive reviews offer valuable information about what the customer likes most about Zacks Investment Research. 

“I have done really well using Zacks Ultimate. I particularly value the insights and picks from Jeremy Mullin, Kevin Cook, Tracey Ryniec and Brian Bolan. The service is good value for the money.” -Andy U. 

Is Zack’s Investment Research Worth it? 

Over the past 25 years, Zacks Investment Research’s stock picks rated as a #1 Strong Buy beat the market with an average annual return of 25.6%. Their #2 Buy list had a 19.1% return. The S&P 500 had an 11.2% return. Zacks #5 Strong Sell list underperformed the S&P 500 with an average yearly return of 3.2%. Not only do their stock picks land well, but their recommendations about which stocks to sell would have been valuable information for an active investor, as well. 

If you have money to spend on a stock investment research company, Zacks has a history of excellent performance. Their team of analysts is competent, and even though their top-tier subscription service will set you back several thousand dollars each year, an active investor with a healthy portfolio that wants to continue investing may find that Zacks Investment Research has the tools and advice they need to make money in the stock market.

Filed Under: Investing

Motley Fool vs Seeking Alpha – which premium service is better?

Written by: Rachel Morey
August 5, 2021

image credit: fool.com & seekingalpha.com
Full disclosure: We may receive financial compensation when you click on links and are approved for products from our advertising partners. Opinions and product recommendations on APYGUY are those of our writers and have not been influenced, reviewed or approved by any advertiser. Learn more about how we make money.

The Motley Fool and Seeking Alpha have a track record of successfully steering investors in the direction of money-making investments. There are a number of high-quality investing newsletters available on a subscription-only basis, and these two options stand out for their modest price points and smart stock recommendations. 

Motley Fool Stock Advisor Services Basics

The Motley Fool is an investment advisory service with a long track record. Started by brothers David and Tom Gardner in 1993, the site offers a huge library of free information on investing, retirement, and personal finance. 

The Motley Fool offers a number of different stock advice subscriptions, each with a different theme. The Motley Fool Stock Advisor is one of their most popular newsletters and is priced at $199 per year. The site frequently offers Stock Advisor at a discounted price. 

Sign up for Stock Advisor for just $99/year!

With MF’s Stock Advisor, you’ll get advice on which stocks to add to a high-quality portfolio that should ideally be held for at least five years. Each month, subscribers get a list of new stock picks with information about why they may be a good buy. 

Here’s what Stock Advisor subscribers get:

Stocks to Buy: Motley Fool’s ever-evolving list of the ten best stocks to buy today. 

Starter Stocks: List of ten stocks ideal for anchoring a portfolio for the long haul. New investors can start by purchasing these individual stocks. 

Monthly Newsletter: Two stock picks each month plus an in-depth analysis of the reasons MF staff experts chose these stocks.

Sign up for Stock Advisor for just $99/year!

Motley Fool Advisor Services Subscription Choices 

Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor newsletter is just one of their subscription services. There are several choices designed to meet the needs of nearly any type of investor. 

  • Stock Advisor (SA): Current stock recommendations from The Fool founders, analysts, and the community. 
  • Rule Breakers (RB): RB provides monthly access to community and investment resources as well as monthly stock recommendations. 
  • Rule Your Retirement (RYR): RYR is for investors interested in retiring soon. It includes recommendations about ETFs and mutual funds as well as Social Security tips and strategies. RYR costs $149 per year.
  • Options (OPT): Created to meet the needs of advanced traders, OPT provides access to the Options University, options trading news, and options investment recommendations. OPT normally costs $999 per year but is currently not accepting new members.
  • Market Pass (MP): MP subscribers get access to the information included with Rule Breakers and Stock Advisor. They also get research on long-term investment trends. MP has a subscription cost of $1,499 per year but isn’t currently accepting new members.

Seeking Alpha Stock Advisor Services Basics

Seeking Alpha’s stock advisory service exists within three distinct tiers. The Free Plan allows users to set alerts on their favorite stocks to receive new information and analysis. Free Plan subscribers can’t see the author’s track record, however. Stock analysis authored by experts and those with an excellent track record are behind the paywall. 

With Seeking Alpha’s Premium Plan, subscribers get access to expert analysis, news, and Quant Ratings for $199.99 annually. The site runs frequent promotions and sales, so you may be able to get access to the service for less money. 

The Seeking Alpha Pro Plan is $199.99 per month billed at $2,399.88 annually. There’s an automatic 14-day trial period during which subscribers get full access to all of the Pro Plan’s top-tier features. 

Seeking Alpha Advisor Services Basics Subscription Choices

  • Seeking Alpha Free Plan: Subscribers get analysis alerts, new article alerts, access to comments, and they can see StockTalk and Seeking Alpha blogs. 
  • Seeking Alpha Premium: Seeking Alpha Premium offers unlimited access to more than 1 million articles on the SA site. Subscribers can see author ratings, quant ratings, dividend scores, and author performance numbers. SA Premium also comes with fewer ads than the free plan. 
  • Seeking Alpha PRO: With a SA PRO subscription, you get everything included with the free plan and Alpha Premium plus Top Ideas content, short-selling ideas portal, and all PRO content and newsletters. The idea screener allows subscribers to filter investing ideals by certain parameters. Subscribers also get access to the VIP Editorial Concierge where they can work directly with PRO editors to create ideas that match their interests and investing style. The PRO subscription comes with an ad-free site experience. 

Are Motley Fool Stock Picks Any Good? 

Yes. The Motley Fool’s stock advisors choose growth stocks, and so far their picks have significantly outperformed the stock market. Stock Advisor pointed subscribers in the direction of Disney, Netflix, and Amazon back when those companies were somewhat new. Over time, MF’s Stock Advisor stock picks have produced more than a 500% return. 

In November of 2018, the Stock Advisor Newsletter suggested that subscribers should purchase Apple, Arista Networks, Shopify, Booking Holdings, Stitch Fix, and Amazon. All of these stocks have increased in value. For example, Shopify was $134.45 per share in November of 2018. Today, it sells for more than $1,247 per share. 

MF analysts recommend that investors purchase their stock recommendations with the intent of holding those stocks for at least five years. If you subscribed in 2017 and purchased all 24 recommended stocks, you would have beat the market by 223%. All 24 stock picks from 2017 are profitable, six have more than tripled in value, and 11 have more than doubled in value. Nearly 90% of Motley Fool Stock Advisor stock picks during the past five years are profitable. 105 stocks recommended by Motley Fool since 2017 in this newsletter are winners; 15 are losers. 

Who Is Motley Fool Stock Advisor Good For?

If you plan to buy and hold your investments for at least five years, The Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor subscription may be a good buy. It also helps to have a minimum of $3,000 to $5,000 set aside to invest in stocks. 

The Motley Fool isn’t advertising or promoting any get-rich-quick schemes with its subscription services. It’s best if you have enough disposable income to easily cover the purchase price of the subscription and can make unilateral decisions about which stocks to buy, even if it doesn’t line up with the experts’ recommendations.

Are Seeking Alpha Stock Picks Any Good? 

Seeking Alpha’s content is user-generated, so subscribers must sift through the advice to find stocks that hold promise. You can get a list of top-rated stocks in each sector with one click after subscribing to Seeking Alpha Premium. The Factor Scorecard evaluates ETFs, REITs, and stocks using grades with easily discoverable underlying data. 

Seeking Alpha’s Premium subscription differs from The Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor in that SA doesn’t feed subscribers a list of stocks to buy each month. Instead, it offers access to the information and analysis investors need to make the right decisions for their portfolios. 

Who Is Seeking Alpha’s Premium Subscription Good For?

Investors who prefer to compile their own research with a set of advanced tools that are easy to navigate and located in a single platform may prefer Seeking Alpha Premium Tier. 

Investors may spend a great deal of time going through individual sources to vet investment ideas. Seeking Alpha Premium offers Quant ratings to help investors get a snapshot of an investment’s potential worth. 

Which Premium Subscription Offers the Best Value?

Seeking Alpha Premium and Motley Fool Stock Advisor offer a very different set of services, so one isn’t necessarily a better value dollar-for-dollar than the other. Investors who have a couple of hundred dollars a year to spend on expanding their investment knowledge base are likely to find that their money is well spent with either service. 

In general, Seeking Alpha Premium may be more satisfying for the curious investor who likes to get lost in research and investment experts’ opinions about individual stocks. Motley Fool Stock Advisor may work better for the investor who wants a short answer to the complicated question, “Which stock should I buy this month?”

Seeking Alpha Premium Pros and Cons

Pros:

  • Access to investing ideas articles 
  • Quant ratings
  • Personal portfolio tracking
  • Audio of company call transcripts and presentations

Cons:

  • Could be too expensive for new or casual investors
  • No specific stock recommendations
  • Lacks mutual funds coverage
  • Few tools for technical analysis

Motley Fool Stock Advisor Services Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Track record of market-beating returns
  • Stock Advisor picks routinely beat the S&P 500
  • Straightforward and action-oriented investing advice

Cons

  • Could be too expensive for new or casual investors
  • No investment portfolio tracking
  • No investing community interaction or support

When to Choose Motley Fool

Motley Fool Stock Advisor may be ideal for investors who:

  • Plan to buy and hold individual stocks for at least five years
  • Have adequate discretionary income with which to buy stocks
  • Have a solid understanding of the risks of investing in the stock market
  • Want a brief overview of a few stocks to buy each month authored by financial experts

Investors who want to regularly beat the S&P 500 with their stock picks and those who want to start purchasing stocks right away may appreciate the straightforward nature of the Motley Fool Stock Advisor subscription service. 

When to Choose Seeking Alpha

Seeking Alpha Premium may be ideal for investors who:

  • Are serious about actively purchasing individual stocks, ETFs, and REITs
  • Want access to Seeking Alpha content published more than ten days ago
  • Currently hold at least five individual stocks
  • Enjoy researching ETFs and stocks

Active investors who rely on others to provide in-depth research, investing ideas, and news alerts may find that Seeking Alpha’s paid subscription services save them time. It may also be useful to interact with other investors facing the same questions and problems. 

When to Choose Both Motley Fool and Seeking Alpha

Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor Subscription could work well with Seeking Alpha’s Premium tier subscription. Their services don’t overlap much, and both offer important information that could help an investor make wise choices. 

Is Motley Fool Worth it For New Investors?

Yes, if a new investor is ready to purchase individual stocks, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter can help them choose already-vetted stocks that MF analysts think have great potential.  If you are new to investing, but understand the basic ideas outlined in The Motley Fool’s How to Invest Guide, you may be ready for a subscription to one of Motley Fool’s premium newsletters. 

Of course, you can’t make money in the stock market unless you are willing to invest. So before you decide to pay for an MF newsletter subscription, make sure you have enough disposable income to purchase the stocks they recommend. 

Motley Fool’s investing strategy rests on the idea that you should buy individual stocks with the intention of holding them for at least five years. Those who want to invest but may need access to their money sooner should pursue other (safer) investment vehicles. 

If investing is a completely new idea, it’s wise to learn more by spending time on the Motley Fool website absorbing the free information. Start with The Top 21 Stocks to Buy in 2021 (And the 1 Ultimate Stock) after reading the How to Invest Guide. 

The Motley Fool’s stock analysts recommend that new investors put their money into a diversified fund. For example, they recommend that investors check out the Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund EFT (NYSEMKT:VT). 

Is Seeking Alpha Worth it For New Investors?

Yes. Investors that are ready to purchase individual stocks and understand how important it is to conduct research before putting in their order will find a huge stockpile of information with access to Seeking Alpha Premium. 

This amount of data can be overwhelming for those who don’t have a lot of experience researching stocks. However, for investors who are interested in gaining knowledge, Seeking Alpha Premium is a great choice among affordable stock advice subscriptions. 

Motley Fool Stock Advisor Newsletter Reviews from Customers

Trustpilot.com has 1,261 reviews of The Motley Fool platform for all paid subscribers and those who use the free information on the site. MF users offer an average rating of 2.6 stars out of five stars. 

  • Excellent: 35%
  • Great: 11%
  • Average: 5%
  • Poor: 5%
  • Bad: 45%

Here are a few Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter subscribers offering their experiences with the service on Reddit: 

“Overall, my experience has been positive. Motleyfool also has an in-house retirement account setup that I am using as well. I have been encouraged by my results, as I am up around 23% in the last 3 months (although 6 months looks about the same at 24%, 1 year at 31%).” -Charcuterienighmare

“I would recommend it. Here’s the question I want to ask you: what do you EXPECT out of it / what exactly do you want from the service that will make it “worth it” for YOU? If you think you can just buy their recommendations without any research or conscious thought, then this isn’t for you. They have a rationale for every stock they recommend, and they even SPECIFICALLY tell you to only invest in stocks that you truly believe in and/or support.” -GeepGeepOG

“I’ve had a subscription to Stock Advisor for over 3 years. I don’t buy every recommendation they make, but I use it as a strong indicator of what to research further. All of my picks based on their recommendation have done very well. The service more than pays for itself for me.” -WhiteFang34

Seeking Alpha Premium Tier Reviews from Customers

Trustpilot.com has 70 reviews of the Seeking Alpha platform across all subscription tiers with an average rating of 4.3 stars out of five stars:

  • Excellent: 64%
  • Great: 13%
  • Average: 1%
  • Poor: 6%
  • Bad: 16%

Here are a few Seeking Alpha Premium subscribers offering their opinions about the service on Reddit:

“So I’ve been reading seeking alpha premium for about 5 months now. I would say it’s worth trying free for a month to see if it fits your investment needs. I invest in a lot of niche asset classes (CEFs+preferreds+ REIT/ute CEFs/preferreds) and there aren’t a lot of other places that carry so many contributors covering this area. Often the articles are gated esp. those involving Pimco.

The reason I like SA is because it’s crowdsourced so you get many conflicting opinions and there are a lot of savvy readers so there is a lot of pushback in the comments. Note some authors delete unfavorable comments so unfortunately there is censorship of a sort.”

-h-ster

“At least for REITS and dividend stocks I think the quality of seeking alpha is much better than other online resources. If you visit the site often and keep up to date you can get by without paying.” -Redwakasushi

“I would say it depends on: 1) how sophisticated you are with investing in general, 2) if you have any specialized interests (REITs, dividend stocks, commodities), 3) your current account size, 4) your level of satisfaction with the free version, and 5) if there are specific articles you’ve tried to access but have been excluded from. So… It’s hard to say if it’s worth it “in general” -thechickensage

Which Stock Advice Service is Better?

Your long-term satisfaction with Seeking Alpha Premium or Motley Fool Stock Advisor depends on your needs as they relate to investing. 

If you want a direct connection to specific stocks recommended by experts, Motley Fool does a better job than Seeking Alpha of providing condensed recommendations via a monthly newsletter. 

However, if you want to dive into the research on your own and read several experts’ opinions on whether an individual stock is a worthy investment, Seeking Alpha may be a better fit. 

Final Thoughts

In general, investors should have a good understanding of the inner workings of the stock market and be comfortable with the idea that they could lose money by investing in stocks. Even new investors with a good working knowledge of how to interpret the analysis of individual stocks could benefit from both a subscription to The Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor newsletter and the Premium Tier of Seeking Alpha. 

These two services are different from each other, but also complimentary. If making money in the stock market is your goal, and you are ready to buy individual stocks, The Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor newsletter offers straightforward advice about exactly which stocks you should buy each month and why those stocks are a great addition to a portfolio.

Seeking Alpha can help you build your stock analysis skills and provide you with an interactive platform where you can track stocks you own while you watch how interesting stocks perform over time. If you want to be part of an active community of investing enthusiasts, discuss investing ideas, and read articles from some of the most successful investors in the marketplace, a Premium Tier subscription to the Seeking Alpha website provides access. 

Filed Under: Investing Tagged With: Seeking Alpha, The Motley Fool

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