The Motley Fool Stock Advisor review: Is it worth it?
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Updated: December 05, 2024
4.0
4.0
Our rating4
If you invest in single stocks, it's not always easy to recommend the next winner in the stock market. The Motley Fool is a well-respected investment website with a nearly 30-year track record. The Motley Fool has outpaced the S&P 500, according to the company's website.
Their Stock Advisor service claims to have beaten that key market index by a factor of four over the last 21 years. That all sounds awesome, but what about costs? How does it work, and does it make sense for your investment needs?
What is The Motley Fool Stock Advisor?
The Motley Fool is an investment website and stock recommendations service. It staffs many writers and analysts who constantly comb the market for stock recommendations and investment ideas.
The Motley Fool's Stock Advisor is a paid service. It's a core offering for the company and it's the foundation for more advanced subscriptions: Epic, Epic+, Fool Portfolios and Fool One.
Key points to know about a Stock Advisor subscription:
- You get two new stock recommendations per month
- You get access to about 10 recommended stocks at any given time.
- Three investment strategies are available: Cautious, Moderate and Aggressive.
- Subscriptions cost $99 for the first year (for new members) and then $199 per year.
- You can try it for the first 30 days and then cancel for a full refund of the membership fee if you're unsatisfied.
What do you get with a Stock Advisor membership?
Here are some of the features and access you can expect with your Stock Advisor subscription.
Rankings
In addition to two stock recommendations per month, as a member, you will also have access to 10 stock recommendations The Motley Fool thinks are the best investment opportunities within the last month.
Starter Stock
If you are new to investing, The Motley Fool gives members access to their Starter Stock guide that can help a new investor build their first portfolio. It is exclusively offered to subscribers and is updated annually.
Historical recommendations
To prove their numbers, Stock Advisor also lists all previous recommendations. The Motley Fool service is transparent regarding its stock recommendations history. Once you have finished creating your account, go to the Performance tab to see every historical Stock Advisor program recommendation that The Motley Fool has ever made.
Live video discussions
The Motley Fool also holds live video discussions for members about their stock prices and the methodology used when making a Motley Fool stock recommendation. They share research and answer questions their members have. Subscribers also have access to Motley Fool Live, where they can stay up to date on market news, gain access to special guest interviews, and more.
Stock Profiles
With the Stock Profiles feature, subscribers will find financial data, charts, news, CAPS ratings, and more with their Stock Advisor subscription.
Favorites Watchlist
Stock Advisor also has a Favorites Watchlist where members can add the stock recommendations to their list as a stock they own or one they want to watch. This feature makes it much easier to see all your stocks in one place outside of the brokerage account.
Simulator tools
With access to simulator tools, investors can help model different approaches they can use to invest.* For example, one tool shows the Probability of Positive Returns. Based on what you enter, the simulator will tell you the likelihood of a positive return based on the Stock Advisor's past performance.
Allocation tools
Allocation tools help with portfolios. You can set your risk tolerance, and the allocation tool offers sample portfolios for bonds, cash, stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds.
Special reports library
The Motley Fool analyzes trends and finds stocks they believe will profit from these trends. With your Stock Advisor subscription, you will gain full access to these reports.
Motley Fool community
Finally, you will have access to a very active investment community online to discuss investment strategies, tools, education, and official monthly stock recommendations.
How Stock Advisor compares to other Motley Fool Subscriptions
| Features | Stock Advisor | Epic | Epic Plus | Fool Portfolios | Fool One |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recommended portfolio size | At least $25k | At least $50k | At least $100k | At least $250k | At least $500k |
| Monthly recommendations | 2 | 5 | 9 | 11+ | 11+ |
| Monthly recommendations | Via Stock Advisor | Adds Rule Breakers, Hidden Gems, and Dividend Investor recommendations | Add Trends, Value Hunters, and Global Partners recommendations | Adds Firecrackers and Digital Explorers recommendations | Includes everything in Fool Portfolios |
| Real money portfolios | ❌ | ❌ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Options trading | ❌ | ❌ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Miscellaneous | N/A | Includes everything in Stock Advisor | Includes everything in Epic | Includes everything in Epic Plus | Includes everything in Fool One |
History of The Motley Fool Stock Advisor
Brothers David Gardner and Tom Gardner founded The Motley Fool in 1993. The Gardners still run the company from its headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., area.
The original online launch led to widespread coverage, including The Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker, and a partnership with then-booming America Online. It did well in the early '90s. But the company suffered significant losses in the fallout of the dot-com market collapse in 2001.
In the years since, however, the company re-found its footing. It expanded to include its own public blog, podcast, and video content, in addition to the Stock Advisor and other subscriptions.
The Motley Fool's track record
Most of The Motley Fool stock recommendations do make money. The company says Stock Advisor recommendations have returned over 914% on average, as of November 22, 2024.
The Motley Fool recommends several large and mid-cap stocks and very few small-cap stocks. Members are encouraged to fully invest in high-quality stocks over the long term.
This long-term investing view is also the view we generally take, and it's nice that The Motley Fool recommends high-quality companies that are generally long-term holds.
Is Motley Fool Stock Advisor worth it?
The Motley Fool is worth it if you want hand-picked stock recommendations delivered to your inbox every month and a wealth of premium research. It's a great resource for newer investors and even DIY investors who want a helping hand with research and stock recommendations.
As you can tell from this review, we are pretty positive about The Motley Fool Stock Advisor paid subscription. I’ve tried some competing services that cost more than double. Motley Fool offers a good balance of interesting investment ideas at a reasonable rate, making it a good value for investors of all skill levels.
Beginner to intermediate investors can learn a lot from reading the details behind each stock recommendation. More experienced investors can use that information as fodder when making their own investment decisions.
If you just dollar-cost average your way into various index funds and ETFs, the Motley Fool might not be worth it since you're not trading stocks as often. But again, its premium research is pretty solid.
I have experience managing part of a university endowment fund and seven-figure portfolios, and I have a few stocks from The Motley Fool in my own portfolio. Some are doing great. Some are doing so-so. But on average, they have done well enough to pay for the subscription cost and leave me with a nice little profit.
Why am I talking about myself here? Well, if someone like me with two finance degrees, portfolio management experience, and all day to sit on the computer thinking about money found value from The Motley Fool, you will likely find it worthwhile as well.
Is The Motley Fool safe and legitimate?
The pushy advertising style at The Motley Fool sometimes makes it feel like a used car lot, but overall, The Motley Fool is a safe and legitimate investing service. I’m a member myself and have been very happy with the service overall. And The Fool has plenty of free resources and articles you can consume if you're not ready to subscribe quite yet.
If you read all of the service's investor education content, they even go so far as to admit that some of their investments won’t work out as planned. They proudly show off their winners but don’t hide their losers. I wouldn’t follow their portfolios exactly, but their recommendations are a good data point in building your own investment strategy around individual stocks.
Some have gone so far as to question: Is Motley Fool a pump and dump scheme? A pump and dump scheme is when someone attempts to boost the price of a stock based on false, misleading, and often exaggerated statements.
The Motley Fool is definitely not a pump and dump scheme. It is a respected investor service and they provide links to their research. While its large member base may influence stock prices immediately after announcements, leading to some opportunities for market manipulation, The Motley Fool itself operates on the up-and-up. If you want to learn more about pump and dump schemes, check out movies like Boiler Room or The Wolf of Wall Street.
Who should subscribe to The Motley Fool Stock Advisor?
The Motley Fool is best for people who are interested in semi-active trading. This is especially true if you are a brand new investor or want to learn more about picking individual stocks instead of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds, this service is an excellent resource with a reasonable price tag.
When I dropped in for the first time, I saw a list of stocks that I was most familiar with, and a few that were new to me. But I probably know more companies than the average person, since I'm a finance writer. Of the 11 stocks presented, I had actually considered two of the stocks myself at different times.
Expert investors who like finding their own stocks and passive investors who prefer to buy and hold diverse funds should skip this service. And The Motley Fool has other services that cater to different sectors and goals, like real estate investing or retirement income, that might be better fits.
The Motley Fool customer service
Members can contact The Motley Fool customer service reps at 877-629-2589 during business hours, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. Subscribers also have the option to receive SMS stock alerts. You can also email the customer service team through the contact form on the company's website.
Stock Advisor pros and cons
Pros
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Weekly stock recommendations with expert analysis: Get a weekly stock recommendations from a market expert with a proven track record.
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Relatively affordable annual cost compared to some investment services: The service for new members is $99 for the first year and $199 for future years. That translates to $8.25 per month for the first year and $16.58 per month for future years.
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Text and email alerts give you quick information: Opt-in for alerts via email and text message to avoid missing an announcement.
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Active community: The Fool boards are incredibly active, and it's an overall friendly, welcoming community of like-minded investors where you can easily spark up a conversation about different stocks or investing philosophies.
Cons
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Upselling: The site is heavy on sales and uses strong marketing language to try to sell you additional subscriptions.
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No stock recommendation is guaranteed: While The Motley Fool team has outperformed the markets overall, not every stock they suggest is a winner.
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Recommendations can move the market: Stock prices can temporarily spike after a new recommendation comes out, which might lead you to buy at a higher price if you're not careful.
Alternatives to Stock Advisor
We think Stock Advisor is an excellent service for newer investors and even more experienced investors who want to supplement their research. And there are more advanced tiers to support investors with larger portfolios. However, there are other services you can also consider.
Morningstar is one of the most popular competitors, and its analyst ratings are commonly referenced in the investing world. We still prefer The Motley Fool for independent stock recommendations, but Morningstar Premium has some excellent research. You can read our Morningstar vs. The Motley Fool article for a complete comparison.
Seeking Alpha is another popular alternative, but it uses more of a community-driven approach to research and content. It's a solid community where you can begin researching different stock picks and recommendations. However, The Motley Fool has a more structured approach to delivering stock recommendations and is certainly less all over the map. Our Seeking Alpha vs. Motley Fool post highlights these differences in greater detail.
Final thoughts on The Motley Fool Stock Advisor
Most investors shouldn't put their entire portfolio into the suggestions of any single stock-recommendations service (It's better to learn how to invest in stocks). However, this service has a good reputation and a strong track record of success among stock subscriptions.
In my opinion, the stocks in the current portfolio as of this writing are logical and sound. Of course, there's never any guarantee of future performance, but the advisor tends to do well overall.
If you're up for a subscription service that costs $199 per year, the introductory deal is an excellent way to test the waters. With a lower $99 fee (for new members) for the first year and the 30-day membership-fee back guarantee, you can take a risk-free look behind the scenes to decide if it's right for you.
Sign up for The Motley Fool Stock Advisor*Simulator is a tool based on simulations of Stock Advisor recommendations from 2000-2021, using an average portfolio from an average month during that time period. Tools are designed to be informational and educational tools only, and do not constitute investment advice. We encourage you to review your investment strategy and allocations periodically as your financial circumstances change. The Motley Fool and its affiliates are not responsible for the consequences of any decisions or actions taken in reliance upon or as a result of the information provided by these tools, nor are they responsible for any human or mechanical errors or omissions.
Eric Rosenberg is a finance, travel and technology writer in Ventura, California. He is a former bank manager and corporate finance and accounting professional who left his day job in 2016 to take his online side hustle full time.
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