Motley Fool vs TheStreet – Which Is Better for Investors?
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Investment newsletters make our life easy. In today's fast-paced world, not everyone has the time that goes into researching a stock. As a result, many people instead turn to these newsletters for investment guidance. These stock-picking services recommend high-return and, in some cases, high-volatility investments. Remember: A buy-and-hold investment strategy lets you ride market volatility. Markets have an upwards bias so if you have a long-term investment horizon, you can recover any losses incurred over the short term.
Two such investing services are The Motley Fool and TheStreet, suitable for beginners and experienced investors alike (hallmarks of best stock research services.)
Use Motley Fool's Stock Advisor To Invest
- Over 100 Stock Picks with 100%+ Returns
- Averaged Stock Pick Return over 593% (vs. 165% for the S&P)
- 2 New Stock Picks Every Month
- Investment Community With 700,000+ Loyal Members
- 30-Day Membership-Fee-Back Guarantee
- Joy Wallet Reader Deal: The Motley Fool is offering 50% off its top stock-picking service for new members (Limited Time)
In this article
About each brand
The Motley Fool
Brothers Tom and David Gardner started The Motley Fool in 1993 to democratize investing. While The Motley Fool started as a service that made monthly stock recommendations, it has branched out and recommends real estate and ETFs. The premium service's claim to fame is its Motley Fool Stock Advisor subscription service, which has consistently beaten the S&P 500 since its inception.
The Motley Fool is offering its top stock-picking service at 50% off for new members.*
*$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.
TheStreet
If you have even minuscule knowledge about the stock market, chances are you've heard of TheStreet. It is widely touted as a financial news website but just like the Motley Fool, it too offers a suite of products. While original financial news content is at the heart of TheStreet, you can also choose from eight stock newsletters, access to Jim Cramer's blog and Mad Money articles, as well as content on personal finance and retirement. Access to most of the Street's news and analysis isn't behind a paywall. However, it does offer premium services like Action Alerts Plus.
Use Motley Fool's Stock Advisor To Invest
- Over 100 Stock Picks with 100%+ Returns
- Averaged Stock Pick Return over 593% (vs. 165% for the S&P)
- 2 New Stock Picks Every Month
- Investment Community With 700,000+ Loyal Members
- 30-Day Membership-Fee-Back Guarantee
- Joy Wallet Reader Deal: The Motley Fool is offering 50% off its top stock-picking service for new members (Limited Time)
Key features
The Motley Fool
As noted, The Motley Fool is a suite of investment advisory services that make investment recommendations. These include:
Stock Advisor
As noted, Stock Advisor is The Motley Fool's crown jewel. The service, which recommends large-cap stocks offering long-term profitability, has beaten the S&P 500 three-to-one over the last 19 years. A subscription gives you access to new stock picks that are announced twice a month, starter stocks (10 stocks for beginner investors), real-time buying and selling alerts, news updates, as well as videos, and podcasts.
The Motley Fool is offering its top stock-picking service at 50% off for new members.*
*$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.
Use Motley Fool's Stock Advisor To Invest
- Over 100 Stock Picks with 100%+ Returns
- Averaged Stock Pick Return over 593% (vs. 165% for the S&P)
- 2 New Stock Picks Every Month
- Investment Community With 700,000+ Loyal Members
- 30-Day Membership-Fee-Back Guarantee
- Joy Wallet Reader Deal: The Motley Fool is offering 50% off its top stock-picking service for new members (Limited Time)
TheStreet
News
News and analysis are embedded in the Street's DNA. Breaking news stories, features, and stock market data are all free. But at the same time, its extremely poor website organization overwhelms finding information. Not only that, the website is riddled with ads. You don't get a break from advertisements even if you become a premium content subscriber. Many of these ads cover content you're trying to read.
Tailor-made subscriptions
Whether looking for the best daily market commentary or actionable stock trading ideas, you can bet TheStreet has a subscription for it.
- TheStreet Smarts: This provides an in-depth analysis on the single most important topic from its extensive wealth of investing content.
- Action Alerts Plus: A members-only investing club, providing real-time trade alerts and investment advice.
- Real Money: This newsletter aims to make you a smarter investor by providing practical ideas and in-depth market analysis from a team of more than 30 investing pros.
- Real Money Pro: Financial insights from options trading, profit growth, technical analysis, and asset management experts.
- Stocks Under $10: This newsletter will lift the veil on high-quality,
- TheStreet Quant Rating: Leveraging TheStreet's proprietary quantitative and algorithmic stock-rating service, this newsletter recommends stocks you should buy and ones you should sell.
- Top Stocks: A stock advisor service that aims to find companies that can outperform the indices and anticipate the potentially big winners.
- Retirement Daily: To help you achieve your retirement goals.
- Crypto Investor: A crypto-focused subscription.
- Real Money Portfolio: This bundles Action Alerts Plus, Real Money, Real Money Pro, Stocks Under $10, and Quant Ratings.
- Chairman’s Club: This subscription bundles everything in the Real Money Pro Portfolio bundle, as well as Top Stocks.
The Motley Fool is offering its top stock-picking service at 50% off for new members.*
*$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.
Investment research and analysis
If you'd like to utilize TheStreet's investment research or analysis tools, you'll have to buy a subscription, which gives you access to real-time trade alerts, stock recommendations, market data, stock valuations, analyst ratings, investment ideas, and stock screener, to name a few.
Most subscription plans from TheStreet also include expert analysis to help you understand the factors leading to a stock pick.
Use Motley Fool's Stock Advisor To Invest
- Over 100 Stock Picks with 100%+ Returns
- Averaged Stock Pick Return over 593% (vs. 165% for the S&P)
- 2 New Stock Picks Every Month
- Investment Community With 700,000+ Loyal Members
- 30-Day Membership-Fee-Back Guarantee
- Joy Wallet Reader Deal: The Motley Fool is offering 50% off its top stock-picking service for new members (Limited Time)
Summary of The Motley Fool and TheStreet
Service | Cost | Best for | Suitable for day traders |
The Motley Fool | $199 to $2,999 per year | Beginners and experienced investors | No |
TheSTreet | $50 to $2,800 per year | Beginners and experienced investors | Yes |
Costs
The Motley Fool
Due to The Motley Fool's vast catalog of products, prices and terms differ. Some services offer a refund or a credit transfer, while others don't.
Starting with the low-cost options, you can get Stock Advisor is $99 for the first year if you're a new member. Come renewal time one year later, Stock Advisor will cost $199. The service offers a 30-day membership-fee-back guarantee.
The Motley Fool is offering its top stock-picking service at 50% off for new members.*
*$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.
TheStreet
TheStreet is pricey when compared to other websites offering similar services. The two bundled services – Real Money Portfolio Chairman’s Club – cost $1,300 and $2,800 per year, respectively. In addition, the eight other subscriptions are also expensive, starting at $50 annually for TheStreet Quant Ratings to all the way to $800 per year for Real Money Pro.
All of these services come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Pros and cons
The Motley Fool pros and cons
Pros
- Easy sign-up process.
- Each recommendation explains the why.
- Best for investors with a long-term investment horizon.
Cons
- A few services are on the pricey side.
- Motley Fool doesn't have a uniform frequency of recommendation across its suite of products.
TheStreet pros and cons
Pros
- Daily traders who like Jim Cramer’s style of stock recommendations may like TheStreet’s style of blaring out the news with never-ending popup advertisements and more than enough stories to read to fill their day.
- A free 14-day trial for most premium content is offered and you can cancel anytime.
Cons
- Jim Cramer no longer works for TheStreet, which can be a blessing or a detraction, depending on your view. Cramer doesn’t write anymore for the site he co-founded, but his TV show Mad Money is recapped and his stock picks are still reported on at TheStreet.
- Subscriptions are expensive at $984 a year.
- Most of the premium content requires a subscription.
- Canceling a subscription requires calling a customer service line and can’t be done online.
FAQs
What kind of return on investment can I expect with the The Motley Fool?
Any investment you make has a risk factor, and there's a chance that you may not see the kind of returns you'd like. That said, a number of Motley Fool's services have consistently outperformed the markets.
What if I don't like The Motley Fool's service?
The Motley Fool has a standard, 30-day membership-fee-back guarantee. Beyond that, depending on what service you subscribed to, you may be eligible for a refund or a credit transfer to another Motley Fool service.
How many subscriptions does TheStreet offer?
TheStreet offers eight individual subscriptions, as well as two bundled memberships.
Can I get rid of the ads on TheStreet when I buy a subscription?
In our testing, we noticed that premium content subscribers have to bear ads as well.
Use Motley Fool's Stock Advisor To Invest
- Over 100 Stock Picks with 100%+ Returns
- Averaged Stock Pick Return over 593% (vs. 165% for the S&P)
- 2 New Stock Picks Every Month
- Investment Community With 700,000+ Loyal Members
- 30-Day Membership-Fee-Back Guarantee
- Joy Wallet Reader Deal: The Motley Fool is offering 50% off its top stock-picking service for new members (Limited Time)
The bottom line
Both the Motley Fool and TheStreet are great options for individual investors looking to invest their money. Motley Fool stock picks have a proven track beating the markets. From a cost perspective, depending on which service you subscribe to, you may see a dent in your wallet. If you're a short-term investor, it's better to look elsewhere. But for anyone in it for the long run, these services are worth it.
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Writer
Jasir Jawaid is Joy Wallet's Assistant Editor. He has more than 13 years of experience as a journalist covering Wall Street, equities, financial policy and regulation, and cryptocurrency and blockchain.
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