Motley Fool Review: Could Stock Advisor Help You Build Wealth?

The simple secret to their historic +754%* average return

Todd Lincoln, MBA
Investor’s Handbook
33 min readSep 12, 2024

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Motley Fool Stock Advisor Review Summary:

Bottom Line: Motley Fool Rating: ★★★★★ 5.0

Product Details: Motley Fool Stock Advisor is a stock recommendation and investing education service focusing primarily on finding high-growth stocks and has a strong history of beating the market since inception in 2002.

Pros:
- Two stock picks every month.
- Access to all prior stock ideas.
- Curated lists of “Best Buy Now” and “Starter Stocks”.
- Transparent performance.
- Long history of picking winners and beating the market.
- Easy to use and understand.

Cons:
- Lots of marketing and promotional communications.
- Growth stock focus.
- No technical analysis consideration.
- Rigid recommendation schedule that doesn’t consider ideal timing.

Cost: $99/year for new members.

Learn more ➨ Motley Fool’s website

Disclaimer: If you join, I may receive a commission, at no cost to you. This is a 100% honest review of a service I have used and loved.
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UPDATED: September 12, 2024

Upcoming Stock-Pick: September 12, 2024

Discounted Membership Offer: Join Motley Fool today and get 50%* off, plus a 30-day, membership-fee back guarantee (click to unlock the promotion)

The Motley Fool is one of the biggest names in stock market investing. Today, I review their famous Stock Advisor service and put it to the test.

Here’s what you’ll find in this Motley Fool Stock Advisor review:

  • Data on whether their stock picks make money.
  • Screenshots from inside the membership area.
  • How the service works.
  • Whether it’s worth it.
  • The good, the bad, and the ugly.
  • Who should join and who should skip.
  • Whether it’s a scam service.

Most importantly: I explain the big secret that most new investors simply don’t understand about The Motley Fool (which hurts investor returns).

(Update for 2024: Since The Motley Fool reorganized their product offering, this review now contains performance data and charts you can’t find anywhere else!)

The truth is I learned how to invest with Motley Fool, so I have first-hand experience with how it works in the real world. And as Founder & Chief Editor of Investor’s Handbook, I’ve tried dozens of stock-picking services, so I know how it compares.

Let’s start off with a quick summary of my findings…

Motley Fool Review 2024

Motley Fool Stock Advisor can be a good service for investors who want growth stock recommendations, analysis, and education. The service has an average return since inception in 2002 of 754%* vs the S&P 500’s 163%. That means the Motley Fool Stock Advisor service has historically returned +590% vs the S&P 500!

Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor is a stock recommendation and investing education service that picks primarily high-growth stocks and has a strong history of beating the market since its launch in 2002. It costs $99/year for new members.

Here are the most important points from my Motley Fool review:

Company Basics

The Motley Fool is an investing content company based in Alexandria, Virginia; they employ over 500 people across several countries.

Stock Advisor is The Motley Fool’s flagship, premium, stock-picking service. It provides over 500,000 subscribers with two stock ideas each month, plus a wide range of investing tools and education. At the core of their service is the Motley Fool investing philosophy, which emphasizes long-term growth and disciplined investing.

Members receive: Two stock recommendations each month, research reports, historical stock picks (with performance data), live discussions, and much more (full details below).

Who Is Motley Fool Stock Advisor Good For?

  • They recommend high-quality growth stocks and blue chip stocks from the Technology, Healthcare, Industrial, Consumer, and Financial sectors.
  • Their stock-picking service appeals to a wide range of investors who are interested in finding high-quality stocks with big growth potential over time, plus those who want to learn how to analyze stocks and invest wisely.

How Do Their Stock Picks Perform?

  • Since launch in 2002, Motley Fool stock picks have beaten the market by 4.6X, a very large margin.
  • Most of their stock picks make money, with roughly 60–70% of their picks historically returning a positive gain.
  • Their biggest winners are up 9,000% — 29,000% and crushing the market by an enormous margin.
  • Even though most of their individual stocks aren’t beating the S&P 500, their big winners have such incredible gains that their overall portfolio is beating the market.
  • Finding mega winners is part of Motley Fool’s secret sauce (they have nearly 200 picks that are up 100% or more).
  • Over 30% of their picks have gained 100%+, and over 10% of their picks have gained 500%+.
  • Motley Fool Stock Advisor aims to identify stocks with big upside, which means individual stock returns will be all over the place. But as a group, Stock Advisor picks tend to perform really, really well over time.
  • Because the Motley Fool Stock Advisor service looks for stocks with big long-term upside, it’s important to buy a portfolio of 25+ stocks and hold for at least 5 years to ensure you get a few big winners and achieve their strong returns.
  • If you buy just a few Stock Advisor picks, your short-term performance is unpredictable. But if you buy a diversified portfolio of 25+ stocks, your long-term performance is actually very predictable.

How Much Does Motley Fool Cost in 2024?

  • The Stock Advisor membership fee ($99* per year for new members) is pretty cheap compared to the value of profitable stock picks and actionable investing education; plus they provide a LOT more value than comparable services at the same price point.

Bottom Line: Motley Fool Rating: ★★★★★ 5.0

  • If you want to discover high-quality growth and blue chip stocks with huge upside potential over the coming 3 to 5+ years, and you want to learn how to invest wisely along the way, then the Motley Fool is absolutely worth joining.
  • If you’re an advanced investor, day trader, extremely risk-averse, not interested in growth stocks, or you don’t have the time to learn about investing and managing your own stocks, then the service may not be right for you.
  • If you’re not sure, why not take a test drive? Simply subscribe, take a look around for 30 days, and if you’re not excited, just request your membership fee back.

Join Motley Fool and get 50% off* Stock Advisor, plus a 30-day, membership-fee back guarantee — new members click here to unlock the promotion.

Motley Fool Stock Advisor Returns & Performance (Updated March 1, 2024)

Let’s get to the main question on your mind: “Will I make money by following Motley Fool’s stock recommendations?”

This is a complex question, and the answer is, of course, “it depends”.

Below I dig into Motley Fool’s complete performance history and expose numbers you can’t find anywhere else. Then I share the secret to making money from Motley Fool’s stock picks.

NOTE: If you want to see the full returns for every individual stock, you can review them by subscribing with their 30-day membership-fee back guarantee and then navigating to their Performance page.

First, let’s look at a high-level summary of how Motley Fool Stock Advisor has performed since inception:

Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor has consistently delivered impressive returns, significantly outperforming the S&P 500.

The Motley Fool worth is evident when you consider the historical profits from their stock-picks. By comparing the subscription cost to the potential benefits, it becomes clear that the service can be a valuable investment for those committed to following their guidance.

Motley Fool stock performance since inception vs S&P 500: Source — Motley Fool

Wow. That’s incredible.

Motley Fool has crushed the market by 4x over the last 19 years!

Let me briefly explain how a Foolish recommendation works:

Every Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick has an official recommendation date and if they decide to sell, they mark an official sale date. They compare the performance of their stock vs. the S&P 500 from the recommendation date until today, or until the date they recommended selling the stock.

For example, they recommended buying Amazon on 12/17/2010 and that recommendation is still active today (no sale date). It has returned 1,332% vs. 343% for the S&P 500 (those figures change daily since the position is still open). On the other hand, they recommended Stamps.com on 05/20/2016 and then recommended subscribers sell the stock on 09/03/2021. During that period, their Stamps.com pick gained 303% vs. 144% for the S&P 500 (those figures don’t change because the position is closed).

The point is that each Motley Fool stock recommendation is measured against the S&P 500 for as long as it remains an open recommendation on their list. When the recommendation is closed, the final performance is recorded.

Motley Fool offers subscribers an in-depth explanation of how they measure performance.

UPDATED NOTE FOR 2024: The Motley Fool reorganized their site and changed how they share performance data. Now they organize performance by Active vs. Closed picks. I am keeping the charts below so you can see the full historical data. And I am adding this new chart so you can see the latest, most up-to-date data:

Motley Fool stock pick performance & return history: Source — Motley Fool

For this Motley Fool Stock Advisor review, I went through their entire history of 476 stock picks, starting back in 2002 and running through 2021.

Below are the results. Note that I batched the picks into five-year groups because the important trends are easier to see.

Motley Fool stock pick performance & return history: Source — Motley Fool

There are a few important insights when reviewing Motley Fool Stock Advisor performance:

  • Since launch in 2002, their picks are historically beating the market by a very large margin (hundreds of percent).
  • Each five-year batch of picks is also beating the market, with the older batches dramatically outperforming the newer batches. This is likely because the older stock picks have had more time to grow than the newer stocks.

Now let’s look at their wins vs. losses for each five-year batch of stock picks:

Motley Fool stock pick wins and losses history: Source — Motley Fool

Here we uncover some really interesting trends:

  • Most of their stock picks make money, with roughly 60–70% of their picks historically returning a positive gain.
  • Most of their stock picks aren’t beating the S&P 500 (I explain why below).
  • Their biggest winners are up 9,000% — 27,000% and crushing the market by an enormous margin.
  • Their biggest losers are down dramatically, with some losing almost all of their value.
  • Their big winners are outperforming the market by a MUCH larger margin than their big losers are underperforming the market. A big winner might gain 12,000%+, whereas a big loser can only lose, at worst, -100%.
  • Over 30% of their picks have gained 100%+, and over 10% of their picks have gained 500%+.
  • Even though most of their stocks aren’t beating the S&P 500, their big winners have such enormous gains that the overall portfolio is crushing the market.
  • The longer-held stock picks from 2002–2011 have many big winners that have gained 100%+ and even 500%+.
  • In general, the older stock picks have better performance metrics, probably because they’ve had more time to grow and it takes years for their growth stories to play out.

OK, that’s a lot of info at once!

Now let’s zoom in on some actual stock recommendations and review their performance to better understand how Motley Fool stocks make money.

Here are all 24 of their stock picks from 2016. I chose that year because Motley Fool Stock Advisor picks should be held for 5+ years to see ideal returns. By looking at 2016’s picks, we can see recommendations that are starting to reach their full potential now in 2024.

Motley Fool 2016 stock pick performance: Source — Motley Fool

Suddenly the full picture comes into focus:

  • Most of their stock picks have made money.
  • Just under half of their recommendations are beating the S&P 500.
  • Their individual stock recommendations are performing all over the place, with some up dramatically and others down dramatically.
  • The stocks that are beating the market are outperforming by a much larger margin than the stocks that are trailing the market are underperforming.
  • Overall, their recommendations are very profitable and strongly beating the market, resulting in substantially higher profits.

This is really impressive. It’s very difficult to beat the market, and such strong outperformance after just five years is absolutely incredible.

And again, we see how a few strong performers drag up the performance of the entire portfolio.

Keep this is mind: Finding mega winners is a key part of Motley Fool’s secret sauce.

For example, here are Motley Fool’s ten best stock picks that are currently active (updated March 1, 2024):

  • Nvidia (NVDA): 47,482%
  • Netflix (NFLX): 32,068%
  • Netflix (NFLX): 25,469%
  • Amazon (AMZN): 22,521%
  • Netflix (NFLX): 21,084%
  • Nvidia (NVDA): 20,032%
  • Netflix (NFLX): 18,277%
  • Netflix (NFLX): 15,296%
  • Booking Holdings (BKNG): 14,643%
  • Tesla (TSLA): 9,418%

Those are just the best ten. Dozens more have doubled, tripled, or quadrupled the overall stock market since recommendation.

The Stock Advisor program searches for stocks with huge upside, and has recommended 167 stocks with 100%+ returns:

Multi-bagger stock tips: Source — Motley Fool

All the data above points to one big takeaway about Motley Fool’s performance:

Motley Fool Stock Advisor strives to find stocks with big upside, which means individual stock returns will be all over the place. But as a group, Motley Fool Stock Advisor picks historically tend to perform really, really well over time.

The key is that you need to hold the stocks that are big winners. And the best way to do that is to buy a portfolio of at least 25 Motley Fool recommendations.

And therein lies the big secret to making money from Motley Fool stock picks: Because the service looks for stocks with huge long-term upside, it’s important to buy a diversified stock portfolio of their stocks (not just a few) to ensure you get a few big winners and achieve their strong returns. Or, to put it another way: If you want to outperform like they do, you have to buy and hold a decent-sized stock portfolio so you increase your chances of getting one of their big winners, which drive the market-crushing returns of the overall Stock Advisor portfolio. If you only buy 1–2 stock tips and hold them for 6 months, anything can happen. They might double or they might get cut in half. Who knows.

But if you buy a portfolio of 25+ stocks and hold them for 5 years, you have a very good chance of beating the market.

NOTE: If you want to see Motley Fool’s 2023 returns, plus the full returns for every individual stock, you can review them by subscribing with their 30-day membership-fee back guarantee and then navigating to their Performance page.

Join Motley Fool and get 50% off Stock Advisor, plus a 30-day, membership-fee back guarantee — new members click here to unlock the promotion.

What is The Motley Fool?

The Motley Fool is a financial investment company based in Alexandria, Virginia. They have over 500 employees across several countries.

Put simply, they create content (articles, videos, webinars, podcasts, etc.) that provides investors with research and education across a range of finance topics, with a focus on the stock market.

The company was founded in 1993 by two brothers, Tom and David Gardner. Their mission is to “make the world smarter, happier, and richer.”

Motley Fool founders, Tom and David Gardner: Source — Motley Fool

In this Stock Advisor review, I’ll focus specifically on their flagship Stock Advisor service. If you’re interested, you can see all their premium Motley Fool services here.

What is Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor?

Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor is the Motley Fool’s flagship stock-picking service, renowned for its impressive performance metrics. It provides over 500,000 subscribers with two stock ideas each month, plus a wide range of investment wisdom, tools, and education.

While Motley Fool provides tons of free content, Stock Advisor is a premium stock picking service, meaning you need to subscribe to get access to their stock picks, investment education, and exclusive content.

We’ll dive deep into the details of the Motley Fool Stock Advisor service below, but I’ll summarize the basics here:

  • Started in 2002 and is approaching its 20-year anniversary.
  • Stock picks come with a research report that analyzes the company and explains the investment thesis behind their “Buy” recommendation.
  • They aren’t a trading platform or brokerage account; they simply provide content (articles, videos, podcasts, etc.) to help you invest better.

Let’s dig into the details of what you get with a Stock Advisor membership, including screenshots from inside the membership area.

Join Motley Fool and get 50% off Stock Advisor, plus a 30-day, membership-fee back guarantee — new members click here to unlock the promotion.

What Do You Get With a Stock Advisor Membership?

Below I’ll cover everything you get as a Motley Fool Stock Advisor subscriber.

Stock Recommendations

Every month, you’ll get two stock recommendations. Each new stock pick comes with a “Buy” report from Motley Fool analysts that includes:

  • A company profile.
  • Key operating and financial data.
  • An overview of the company’s business model.
  • A review of company past performance.
  • An explanation of why the Motley Fool analysts feel this is a good stock to buy now (i.e., their investment thesis)
  • Risks to the investment thesis that you should keep an eye on.

Here’s an example of one of their stock write-ups:

Stock Pick writeup: Source — Motley Fool

Every stock they recommend comes with a detailed report like this, and they keep the report updated over time as they revisit the stock’s investment thesis.

Recommendation Screener

Motley Fool offers a screener where you can filter their stock recommendations by growth, market cap, price, sector, and more. You can also sort by “Rank,” which captures their conviction score.

Motley Fool stock recommendations

Historical Stock Advisor Picks

Motley Fool Stock Advisor offers a complete list of all their past stock picks, including those that have been closed out (i.e., recommended to be sold).

In total, they offer you instant access to 200+ open stock recommendations, each with detailed research, news, and more.

The list shows you when each stock was recommended, the price at the time of recommendation, a link to the research note, the total return, and the return vs. the S&P 500.

Live Video Discussions of Stock Picks & Market News

One cool feature of a Motley Fool Stock Advisor service is that founders hold private video discussions with members about their stock picks and investing methodology.

They explain their investment thesis, share research, and answer questions.

For example, here’s a recent lineup:

Recent live video discussion: Source — Motley Fool

In addition, they offer Motley Fool Live, which covers market news, stock deep dives, special guest interviews, and more.

Stock Profiles

For all of Motley Fool’s stock ideas, you can see a stock profile, complete with past research notes, key news, financial data, charts, CAPS ratings, and more.

Interestingly, they show you where on the chart the stock was officially recommended. You can see from the green dots in the Mastercard example below that the stock has been recommended four times, and it has strongly outperformed the market.

Motley Fool, stock pick profile: Source — Motley Fool

Favorites Watchlist

You can add any of their stock recommendations to your favorites list, either as a stock that you own or that you want to watch. That makes it easier to see all your favorite stocks together in one place outside your brokerage account and get a custom newsfeed covering just those positions.

Investing Mindset & Strategy

Motley Fool offers a ton of premium content on how to cultivate a winning mindset for the stock market. Their articles cover common topics such as when to buy and sell a stock, how to find profitable stock ideas, and more.

Understanding different investment strategies is crucial as part of their advisory services to help investors improve their financial knowledge and skills.

Investing Education

The Stock Advisor program offers helpful education for new investors, including common FAQs and “getting started” questions.

The content comes in both video and written form, which makes it easy to digest, depending on your preference.

Motley Fool video education and stock pick library: Source — Motley Fool

Motley Fool Podcasts

In addition to written articles, educational videos, and live broadcasts, Motley Fool offers a range of podcasts.

These discuss general investing and finance, and are freely available to anyone. They’re not just for subscribers.

Simulator** Tools

Motley Fool offers some very interesting simulator tools to help you model different approaches to your investing.

The first tool shows “Probability of Positive Returns” and lets you input how many stock picks you would theoretically buy and how long you’d theoretically hold them.

Based on your inputs, the simulator tells you the likelihood of a positive return and the average return, based on Stock Advisor past performance.

Their second simulator is called the “Profit Value Simulator” and it allows you to model how much profit you could potentially earn depending on how many stocks you theoretically buy and how long you theoretically hold them.

The purpose of both of these tools is to help model different performance scenarios before you add stocks to your brokerage account. The more of their recommendations you buy and the longer you hold, the higher your chance of success.

Allocation Tools^

As a Motley Fool subscriber, you have access to a powerful allocation tool to help determine your ideal portfolio allocation.

You set your investment time horizon and risk tolerance and their tool provides a sample allocation across bonds / cash, stocks, ETFs, and mutual fund.

Within each major category (for example, ETFs), they provide a list of example investments to help you get started.

Motley Fool portfolio allocator tool: Source — Motley Fool

Special Reports Library

The Motley Fool is known for analyzing mega trends (e.g., crypto, marijuana, artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, etc.) and finding the stocks that will profit from them.

While they often tease these reports to prospects as part of their marketing, you get full access with a Motley Fool Stock Advisor subscription.

Special reports library: Source — Motley Fool

Motley Fool Community

The Motley Fool has a robust and active investment community that uses the company’s forums to discuss investing strategy, tools, education, and, of course, official monthly stock picks.

They also have a CAPS community where investors can rate stocks and follow top-performing peers

Additional Features

In addition, there are a range of other features and tools that come along with the Motley Fool services. I’ll cover them briefly here:

  • Top Movers Today: Shows the six biggest movers today (up or down) in their portfolio. This helps you identify any stocks that may be on the move and need closer attention.
  • 5 and 3: For their official stock picks, they provide a “5 and 3” report which covers 5 potential green flags and 3 potential red flags for the stock. An example green flag might discuss the company’s recent high-value partnership, and an example red flag might discuss their growing debt load.
  • Monday Briefing: Every Monday, they send subscribers a Monday Briefing which is a “round-up of recent updates on Stock Advisor stocks, plus a schedule of what to expect in the days ahead.” This helps you stay on top of both the market and the open stock recommendations.
  • News and updates: If one of their stock picks has a major news event or update, the team will publish a summary along with their analysis so you know exactly what happened.
  • 10% Promise: If one of their stock recommendations rises or falls by 10% in a single market day, the team will publish an explanation of what happened so you’re not caught off guard.
  • Stock screener: Motley Fool offers a stock screener to help you filter through their stock picks. You can filter by company size, their conviction in the stock tip, sector, volatility, yield, and several other proprietary filters.
  • Live customer service: If you have questions or need help with the service, the Motley Fool support team is easy to reach by email or you can call and speak to a real person on the phone.

Join Motley Fool and get 50% off* Stock Advisor, plus a 30-day, membership-fee back guarantee — new members click here to unlock the promotion.

What Are The Motley Fool Stock Picks Like?

Motley Fool specializes in high-growth stock picks with long-term upside. Their average recommendation has tripled the market, returning 334% vs. 108% for the S&P 500. At $99/year, investors who want a portfolio of buy-and-hold growth stocks with investing education will find value with Motley Fool Stock Advisor.

While the Motley Fool Stock Advisor service recommends a wide range of stocks, they do have a clear preference for high-quality growth stocks and blue chip stocks. Most of their picks are from the Technology, Healthcare, Industrial, Consumer, and Financial sectors.

During this Motley Fool Stock Advisor review, I found they recommend dozens of large cap and mid cap stocks, but very few small cap stocks. They encourage members to stay fully invested in high-quality stocks over the long-term.

Most companies are based in the U.S., but they do recommend some international companies that are traded on U.S. markets.

Here are a few types of stocks they do NOT typically recommend:

  • Day-trading stocks: They recommend stocks that will grow over the next 3–5 years, and beyond. They don’t recommend day trading or swing trading stocks.
  • Penny stocks: The team is “restricted in its recommendations to companies with market caps in excess of $200 million and at least $400,000 in average daily volume.” That means no penny stocks.
  • Defensive stocks: You won’t find many defensive stocks (such as utilities or REITs) among their stock portfolio. They prefer stocks with strong growth potential.
  • High dividend stocks: While a few of their recommendations do pay dividends, they generally don’t pick stocks with high dividends.

Another way to learn about their investment philosophy is to hear from founders directly.

Here David Gardner discusses how he finds multibagger stocks (stocks that return 100% multiple times over):

This video gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the Motley Fool team and their headquarters:

And this video is a podcast discussion of what founder David Gardner has learned after 200 months of stock recommendations:

How Much Does Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor Cost?

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor service is listed at $199 per year. However, Motley Fool is currently running a special promotion for new members:

Join Motley Fool and get 50% off* Stock Advisor, plus a 30-day, membership-fee back guarantee — new members click here to unlock the promotion.

Who Should Subscribe to Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor?

Anyone can subscribe to the Stock Advisor program, and they say the stock picking service is good for all investors, from beginners up to institutional professionals.

Should You Join Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor?

Based on my research for this Motley Fool Stock Advisor review and my personal experience, I think you would get a lot out of the service if you:

  • Like getting several high-quality stock ideas every month.
  • Are a relative beginner who wants to learn the strategy, tactics, mindset, and psychology behind successful investing.
  • Want to learn more about how to analyze a stock (it’s a fantastic place to learn basic stock research and analysis).
  • Want a short list of high-potential stocks that you can filter through and hand pick your own portfolio.
  • Want to find growth stocks with the potential for big long-term upside.
  • Want a steady stream of research on new mega trends and the stocks that could profit from them.
  • Want to dedicate at least some of your portfolio to individual stock picks.
  • Are a long-term investor who is willing to hold stocks for 3–5 years or more.
  • Want to try and beat the market over time.

Additionally, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor review highlights its effectiveness as a stock picking service, its impressive performance compared to the S&P 500, and its value for potential members.

Should You Skip Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor?

Based on my research and experience, I think you might not like the service if you:

  • Want defensive or high-dividend stocks.
  • Want low-volatility stocks.
  • Want recommendations for a set portfolio of 20–30 stocks with clear dollar / percent allocations.
  • Don’t want to allocate time to researching, buying, and managing individual stocks.
  • Don’t enjoy stock market investing.
  • Don’t want to learn more about investing.
  • Are an active investor who would prefer to day trade or swing trade stocks (although their stocks could be used in this way).
  • Prefer to hold ETFs or mutual funds and don’t want to buy individual stocks.

Put simply, the Stock Advisor service appeals to a wide range of investors who are interested in high-quality stocks with big growth potential over time. Plus, if you want to learn how to analyze stocks and invest wisely, they’re a fantastic place to get started.

Join Motley Fool and get 50% off* Stock Advisor, plus a 30-day, membership-fee back guarantee — new members click here to unlock the promotion.

Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor: Pros & Cons

To get a better understanding of the service for my Motley Fool review, I read through dozens of real customer reviews to discover what subscribers liked and didn’t like:

Motley Fools Stock Advisor: Pros

  • They offer a steady stream of two stock picks every month (this is the main reason people join).
  • They offer a full library of all past stock ideas, including those that are still open and closed.
  • They offer curated lists of “Best Buy Now” stocks and “Starter Stocks” to help new members get started.
  • They offer transparent performance, sharing the stock recommendation date, purchase price, return, and relative return vs. the S&P for every stock pick dating back to their launch in 2002.
  • They have a long history of picking big winners and beating the market.
  • They monitor their stock recommendations for big changes and proactively share important updates with members.
  • There’s lots of education designed to help beginner and intermediate investors grow their investing skills and profits.
  • Stock research and investing education are in plain english and not complex Wall Street speak.
  • Founders Tom and David Gardner are fun and relatable, and have decades of stock picking experience and wisdom.
  • They offer many different types of content, including articles, videos, conference calls, webinars, interactive polls, podcasts, and more.
  • They offer dozens of mega-trend reports and other research as part of the subscription.
  • They offer tools to help members build a diversified and profitable portfolio.
  • The Motley Fool website is modern and easy to use.
  • Members can receive important updates via email or text message.
  • Their customer service is responsive by email and phone.
  • Motley Fool offers a 30-day, membership-fee back guarantee to new subscribers.
  • Their annual subscription fee is relatively low compared to other stock recommendation services.

Motley Fools Stock Advisor: Cons

  • Motley Fool sends lots of marketing / promotional emails, which can get overwhelming (but you can turn them off).
  • They focus mostly on growth stocks with big upside potential, which means they don’t cover defensive stocks, value stocks, dividend stocks, etc.
  • Because they focus mostly on growth stocks, they don’t pay much attention to valuation and often recommend stocks with high valuations.
  • They don’t consider any technical analysis when making stock recommendations, meaning entry points may not be ideal, even if the underlying company is a solid long-term investment.
  • Stock picks are sometimes trading near all-time highs, which can feel risky to some members.
  • They don’t offer any fair-value price targets or “Buy Up To” price cutoffs for their stock recommendations.
  • They don’t take profit on big winners and instead just let them run.
  • Stock tips aren’t guaranteed and some go down (come on, guys — no one can guarantee stock market performance!).
  • New stock ideas sometimes surge temporarily right after the recommendation is published because lots of members buy in.
  • They’re committed to recommending two stocks each month on a rigid schedule, regardless of whether that timing is an ideal investment strategy.
  • They don’t have a bear-market strategy, and simply hold through any big market declines and continue to recommend new stocks.
  • Buying just a few stocks doesn’t offer the diversity of an ETF or mutual fund.

That sums up the pros and cons of the Stock Advisor program, based on feedback from dozens of real users.

Join Motley Fool and get 50% off* Stock Advisor, plus a 30-day, membership-fee back guarantee — new members click here to unlock the promotion.

Is the Motley Fool Legit? Or Is Motley Fool a Scam or Ripoff?

The Motley Fool is a legitimate service and not a scam or ripoff. They have decades of investing experience, half a million loyal members, and they offer new members a 30-day, 100% membership-fee back guarantee.

I’ve done a lot of research into The Motley Fool and I’ve used the service myself. I can say with total confidence that the Motley Fool Stock Advisor service is legit and not a scam or ripoff.

Now, the Motley Fool services may not be right for everyone, which is totally understandable. But that doesn’t mean they’re a scam.

The company has been around for a long time, they’re very transparent about their pricing and services, they’re very transparent about the performance of their stock recommendations, and they provide lots of education to help subscribers succeed in the market.

Also, they offer a 30-day, 100% membership-fee back guarantee — so it’s not like they take your money and run. Members have plenty of time to look around before committing.

I’ve researched and tested hundreds of investing services, and Motley Fool has far better practices, features, and ethics than most players out there.

That said, Motley Fool does have some unhappy reviews floating around online. I see some frustrated customers leaving angry reviews calling them a “scam” or “ripoff.”

Why is that?

I think it comes down to two main factors:

  • Marketing / promotion overload
  • Volatile stock picks that go down

On the first point, there’s not much to say: It’s true that Motley Fool’s marketing department sends out a lot of promotional emails.

But here’s the thing: If you’re not interested, just click “Unsubscribe” or adjust your email settings on the Motley Fool website. They allow you to control your marketing preferences. It’s not that complicated — if you don’t like it, just turn it off.

So let’s look at the second point: Some subscribers get frustrated with volatile stock tips that go down.

If I were to summarize a typical frustrated customer review, it would look something like this:

“I subscribed to the service and bought their recommendation for XYZ stock. It declined 25% and I lost thousands of dollars. What a rip off!”

I understand that frustration. The truth is, I’ve been there before.

But I’d suggest this type of customer frustration usually comes from misaligned expectations and not using Motley Fool’s service correctly.

Here’s why…

Motley Fools Stock Advisor specializes in finding high-quality growth stocks with big upside potential.

And they’re really good at it. They’ve picked a lot of incredible individual winners (such as Amazon, Netflix, and Tesla), and boast 150+ stock picks that have returned 100% or more.

The problem is that some frustrated investors aren’t using the service as it’s intended. Instead of buying a portfolio of stocks, they buy only 1–2 stocks and hold for just a few months before giving up. That’s not going to work.

Let me explain why…

If you put all your money in one stock recommendation and it was their original Amazon stock recommendation in 2002, you’d be up a breathtaking 22,521% (as of March 1, 2024). You’d be writing Tom and David Gardner a gushing thank-you note every year from your own private yacht.

On the other hand, if you put all your money in their Krispy Kreme Doughnuts recommendation just a year later in 2003, you would’ve lost 89.7% of your money over the next two years. You’d be writing a very different kind of letter.

If you buy just a few stocks, your short-term performance is very unpredictable. But if you buy a basket of Motley Fool Stock Advisor picks, your long-term performance is actually very predictable.

To be honest, I think some frustrated Motley Fool subscribers may have had the wrong expectations and approached their investing a bit recklessly.

Rather than build a diversified portfolio of Motley Fool stocks that lived within a larger diversified portfolio of investments, I’m guessing they put a bunch of money into a few stocks they fell in love with, and then got frustrated when those stocks went down in the short term.

I think if the frustrated subscribers had instead bought 25 stocks and held them for five years, they may have a very different opinion of the service.

If you’re looking for a curated list of high-quality growth stocks with big upside potential, and you’re willing to put in the time and effort to build a diversified portfolio of stocks, I think Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor is a fantastic service that can offer market-beating profits.

Join Motley Fool and get 50% off* Stock Advisor, plus a 30-day, membership-fee back guarantee — new members click here to unlock the promotion.

Is The Motley Fool a Pump & Dump Scheme?

The Motley Fool is not a pump & dump scheme. They have decades of experience, over a million loyal customers, high transparency, and restrictions on employee trading.

A few people online have questioned whether Motley Fool is a pump-and-dump scheme. Put simply, they wonder if Motley Fool employees are hyping stocks in order to collect profits in their own personal accounts.

It’s extremely unlikely that Motley Fool is a pump-and-dump scheme for a few simple reasons:

  • Pump and dump schemes work best with very thinly traded securities that can be easily manipulated. They only recommends stocks with market caps in excess of $200 million and at least $400,000 in average daily volume. And looking through their picks, nearly all their recommendations are sizable mid-cap or large-cap stocks.
  • Even though they have hundreds of thousands of subscribers, the trading volume in these stocks is so large it would be difficult for Motley Fool to boost the price and keep it boosted over time.
  • Their biggest winners are stocks like Amazon and Netflix, which are each up more than 20,000% since the initial recommendation. That incredible gain occurred over many years (or decades) and had nothing to do with Motley Fool “pumping” the stock.
  • While I’ve read anecdotes online that there is sometimes a small jump in the share price of their new stock recommendation, that effect doesn’t last very long.
  • They have been recommending stocks since 2002. If they were running a giant scheme and defrauding millions of retail investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would’ve regulated them by now.
  • The Motley Fool has trading rules that prevent its employees and contractors from profiting unfairly from their stock picks.

Pump and dump companies tend to be shady and rely on high-pressure sales tactics to get you to buy their unknown stocks.

The Motley Fool doesn’t use any pump-and-dump practices and provides subscribers with complete transparency on their stock recommendations.

Alternatives to Stock Advisor

If you’re considering alternatives to Stock Advisor, there are several options available that cater to different investment styles and preferences. Here are some popular alternatives:

  • Morningstar: Known for its comprehensive investment research, Morningstar provides in-depth stock ratings, analysis, and portfolio management tools. It’s a great choice for investors who value detailed research and data-driven insights.
  • Seeking Alpha: This platform offers a wealth of stock news, analysis, and insights from experienced investors and industry experts. Seeking Alpha is ideal for those who appreciate diverse perspectives and community-driven content.
  • Zacks Investment Research: Zacks focuses on quantitative models and algorithms to provide stock research, analysis, and recommendations. It’s particularly useful for investors who prefer a more systematic approach to stock picking.
  • TheStreet: A financial news and analysis website, TheStreet offers stock picks, portfolio management tools, and investment advice. It’s a solid option for those who want a blend of news, analysis, and actionable stock recommendations.

When evaluating alternatives to Stock Advisor, consider factors such as the quality of research, the accuracy of stock picks, and the level of customer support. Reading reviews and comparing pricing can also help you find the best fit for your investment needs.

Getting Started with Stock Advisor

Getting started with Stock Advisor is a straightforward process that can set you on the path to smarter investing. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you begin:

  1. Sign up for a subscription: Visit the Motley Fool website and click on the “Subscribe” button to sign up for a Stock Advisor subscription.
  2. Choose your subscription plan: Select the subscription plan that best fits your needs, whether it’s the monthly or annual option.
  3. Create your account: Fill out the registration form with your name, email address, and password to create your account.
  4. Set up your portfolio: Once your account is created, you’ll be prompted to set up your portfolio. This involves answering a few questions about your investment goals and risk tolerance.
  5. Start receiving stock picks: After setting up your portfolio, you’ll start receiving stock picks and recommendations from the Motley Fool team.

By following these steps, you can quickly get started with Stock Advisor and begin building a portfolio of high-quality stock picks.

Managing Your Portfolio with Stock Advisor

Managing your portfolio with Stock Advisor is easy and straightforward, thanks to the tools and resources provided. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of the service:

  • Monitor your portfolio regularly: Keep an eye on your portfolio’s performance and make adjustments as needed to stay aligned with your investment goals.
  • Diversify your portfolio: Spread your investments across different asset classes and industries to minimize risk and enhance potential returns.
  • Use the allocation tools: Stock Advisor provides allocation tools to help you optimize your portfolio and ensure it’s aligned with your investment objectives.
  • Stay informed: Stay up-to-date with market news and analysis provided by Stock Advisor to make informed investment decisions.
  • Adjust your risk tolerance: As your investment goals and risk tolerance change, adjust your portfolio accordingly to maintain a balanced and effective investment strategy.

By following these tips, you can effectively manage your portfolio with Stock Advisor and work towards achieving your long-term investment goals.

The Motley Fool Stock Market Philosophy

The Motley Fool’s investing philosophy is rooted in long-term growth and the power of compounding returns. Unlike many stock-picking services that focus on short-term gains or market timing, the Motley Fool emphasizes the importance of buying and holding high-quality stocks for extended periods. This approach is designed to capitalize on the natural growth of well-managed companies over time.

At the core of the Motley Fool’s philosophy is the belief that the stock market is a powerful tool for building wealth, but it requires patience and discipline. They advocate for a diversified portfolio of at least 25 stocks, held for a minimum of five years. This strategy increases the likelihood of capturing a few big winners that can drive substantial portfolio gains, even if some individual picks underperform.

The Motley Fool also stresses the importance of understanding the businesses behind the stocks. Their recommendations come with detailed research reports that explain the investment thesis, key financial metrics, and potential risks. This educational component helps investors make informed decisions and develop a deeper understanding of the stock market.

In essence, the Motley Fool’s stock market philosophy is about finding high-quality companies with strong growth potential, investing in them for the long term, and staying the course through market fluctuations. This approach has historically led to significant outperformance compared to the broader market, making it a compelling strategy for investors looking to build wealth over time.

Bottom Line: Is Motley Fool Stock Advisor Worth the Money?

If you’re a beginner or intermediate investor looking for high-quality growth and blue chip stocks to hold for the long term, and/or you want to learn how to invest wisely, Motley Fool Stock Advisor is a fantastic service.

If I had to summarize my Motley Fool review, here’s what I’d say:

  • If you want to discover high-quality growth stocks with huge upside potential over the coming 3–5+ years, and you want to learn how to invest wisely along the way, then the program is absolutely worth it.
  • Motley Fool has shown a remarkable ability to pick stocks with huge upside, and a basket of their stocks tends to beat the market by large margins over time.
  • If you’re an advanced investor, day trader, extremely risk-averse, not interested in growth stocks, or you don’t have the time to learn about investing and manage your own stocks, then the service may not be right for you.
  • Either way, they offer a 30-day membership-fee back guarantee, so why not just try it and see for yourself?

From a subscription cost perspective, I think the Motley Fool Stock Advisor service is actually pretty cheap.

At $99 per year, all you need to justify the subscription fee is one stock pick that earns you $99 each year. Given their historical performance, that’s pretty easy.

Think of it this way:

If Motley Fool’s stock picks, tools, and education help you earn 10% on a $1,000 investment, or 1% on a $10,000 investment, then the subscription has paid for itself.

They have a long track record of picking stocks with big upside, and a basket of their stocks has a high likelihood of beating the market by a wide margin over time.

At $99 per year, it’s pretty darn cheap compared to the value of profitable stock picks and actionable investing education.

If you’re still not sure, why not take an obligation-free test drive? Simply subscribe, take a look around for 30 days, and if you’re not excited, just request your membership fee back.

Motley Fools Stock Advisor is a high-quality, low-cost, easy-to-use investing service with an impressive performance history — so give it a shot and see if it can help make you “smarter, happier, and richer.”

Join Motley Fool and get 50% off* Stock Advisor, plus a 30-day, membership-fee back guarantee — new members click here to unlock the promotion.

Final Thoughts on Stock Advisor

In conclusion, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor service offers a robust and well-rounded approach to stock investing. With a proven track record of identifying high-growth stocks and a comprehensive suite of educational resources, it provides significant value for both novice and experienced investors. The service’s emphasis on long-term investing and diversification aligns well with the principles of sound financial management.

For those wondering, “Is the Motley Fool worth it?” the answer largely depends on your investment goals and commitment to following their guidance. If you’re looking for a reliable stock-picking service that can help you build a diversified portfolio of high-quality stocks, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor is certainly worth considering. The historical performance data speaks for itself, with the service consistently outperforming the market over the long term.

However, it’s important to remember that no stock-picking service can guarantee success, and the Motley Fool is no exception. The stock market involves risks, and individual stock performance can be unpredictable. That said, the Motley Fool’s approach of focusing on long-term growth and providing detailed research can help mitigate some of these risks.

Ultimately, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor is a valuable tool for investors who are willing to put in the time to understand their recommendations and build a diversified portfolio. With a 30-day membership-fee back guarantee, there’s little risk in giving it a try to see if it aligns with your investment strategy.

*$99 is an introductory price for new members only. 50% discount based on current list price of Stock Advisor of $199/year. Membership will renew annually at the then-current list price.

*Returns as of 8/29/24. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Individual investment results may vary. All investing involves risk of loss.

**The Simulator is not a prediction of future stock performance and is instead intended to demonstrate the importance of diversification and long term holding when investing. It is based on historical data using Motely Fool Stock Advisor performance, using an average portfolio from an average month during that time period.

^None of the information provided shall constitute personalized financial advice. All model portfolios are for educational purposes only. User inputs for investment time horizon and risk tolerance enable users to change Style Teams or see the models for other Sytles at any time.

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Todd Lincoln, MBA
Investor’s Handbook

Stock-market investor, battle-scarred entrepreneur, and fireside philosopher. Creator of Investor’s Handbook: https://medium.com/the-investors-handbook