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Best Stock Picking Services
If you are looking to (or already do) invest in stocks but don’t have the time or inclination to research individual securities, a stock picking service can be of assistance. To help you decide on the best stock picking service for you, we bring you this overview of the current market offering. We will discuss what these services have to offer, what sets them apart, what to look for, and how to get the most out of the one you choose.
Top-Rated Stock Picking Services of April 2024
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor
- Simple yet effective
- Access to research materials
- No need to aggressively play the market
*$89 is an introductory price for new members only. 55% discount based on current list price of Stock Advisor of $199/year. Membership will renew annually at the then-current list price.
Mindful Trader
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Mindful Trader
- Simple but efficient
- Ideal for beginners
- Cheap compared to other services
Seeking Alpha
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Seeking Alpha
- Over 1 million investing ideas
- Quant ratings
- Largest investing community in the world
Trade Ideas
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Trade Ideas
- Can link with an online brokerage
- AI-developed strategies
- Excellent for swing trading
Zacks Premium
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Zacks Premium
- Years of experience
- Wide range of analytics tools
- One of the best stock screeners
AAII
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
AAII
- Live educational classes
- Good returns on the Shadow stock portfolio
- Research and educational material
Warrior Trading
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Warrior Trading
- Impressive Trustpilot and BBB score
- Paper trading simulator
- Excellent courses for day traders
Best Stock Picking Service Platforms in 2024:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor - Best for long-term investing
Mindful Trader - Best for swing trading
Seeking Alpha - Best for discovering new investing ideas
Trade Ideas - Best for automated investing
Zacks Premium - Best for fundamental investors
Warrior Trading - Best for learning
AAII - Best for networking
Stock Picking Service Advantages
There are many advantages to a good stock picking service. Perhaps the most obvious benefit is the potential to generate profits by helping you identify stocks that are undervalued by the market, and access to experts and their analysis.
Time-Saving
Having someone else do the research and analysis on your behalf frees up your time for other activities. In addition, it provides you with educational resources that can help you learn more about the market and become a better investor.
Experience
Another significant benefit of using a stock picking service is that you can tap into the experience of the analysts making the picks. These analysts have often spent years honing their stock market skills, and they know what to look for when choosing stocks.
Objective Decision Making
It can be difficult to remain objective when making investment decisions, but it is essential for success in the stock market. A good stock picking service can help you maintain objectivity by providing unbiased information and analysis.
How We Evaluate Stock Picking Services
There are a lot of stock picking websites out there. Some are great, while others are borderline scams. So how do we evaluate them?
Stock Picking Performance
To find the best stock picking services, we began by evaluating their historical performance. We looked for services that had outperformed significant indexes over a sustained period. We also paid attention to whether these services can generate consistent returns or they experience periods of significant underperformance.
There are several ways to measure stock-picking performance. The most common metric, and the one we used, is absolute return, which simply measures the total return of a stock-picking service over a given period. However, you can also use risk-adjusted return, downside protection, and drawdown.
Backtesting
One of the best features of a good stock picking service is its backtesting capability. Backtesting is when you take a stock’s historical data and see how it would have performed under different conditions. This is a valuable tool because it allows you to see how well the stock picking system would have worked in the past, and test different investment strategies.
Stock Picking Frequency
We also paid attention to how often the stock picking services provide new investment ideas. Some of these services send out daily or weekly emails with new stock picks, while others only communicate with their subscribers a couple of times per month.
We believe that more frequent communication is generally better, as it gives investors more opportunities to generate profits. However, we also realized that some investors prefer to receive fewer picks so that they can do their own research on each idea before investing.
Stock Picking Format
Another important factor we considered is the format in which the stock picks are delivered. Some services simply send out a list of stocks to buy, along with an exit point, while others provide a more detailed analysis explaining why a particular stock is a good investment. We believe that the latter approach is superior, as it helps investors learn about the thought process behind each stock pick and makes it easier to make informed investment decisions.
Price
Of course, we also considered the cost of each stock advisor service. We looked at the subscription fee and the cost of any additional services (such as premium research reports) required to access the picks. We believe that investors should know all the costs associated with a particular service before deciding to subscribe. Nobody likes hidden additional charges.
Analyst Experience and Credentials
We took the relevant experience and credentials of the analysts making the stock picks into account, as well. We believe it is important to choose a service run by tried-and-true professionals with a proven track record of success in the stock market.
Transparency
We believe it is important for investors to know who makes the stock picks and how those picks are generated. We also believe that it is essential for the best stock picking services to be transparent about their performance, both good and bad.
Overall, we believe these are the most important factors when choosing the best stock recommendation service. By considering all of these, investors can choose a service that best meets their needs and gives them the highest chance for success.
FAQ
Is stock picking luck or skill?
The truth is, it's probably a bit of both. Many factors go into picking a successful stock, including company fundamentals, market trends, and investor sentiment. And even if you have all of those factors lined up, there's no guarantee that the stock will perform well.
Who has the best track record for picking stocks?
The Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor service has the most impressive track record, having consistently outperformed the S&P 500.
Where can I get the best stock picks?
The answer is dependent on whether you want a longer or shorter investment. If you're seeking the best stock picking service for long-term investing, The Motley Fool Stock Advisor is perfect. We recommend Mindful Trader as the best stock picking service for swing trading.