TLDR: Motley Fool Review
Here’s the tl;dr on Motley Fool’s two most popular stock-picking services:
- Motley Fool Stock Advisor: Best for beginner investors who don’t mind the type of stocks they buy and can commit for 5 years. Costs $199/year (discounted to $99 for the first year).
- Motley Fool Rule Breakers: Suited for beginner to intermediate investors seeking high-growth stocks with a shorter commitment. Priced at $299/year (new members pay $99 for the first year).
Motley Fool has been around for over 25 years and offers 25+ subscriptions. While they have a good track record, they’re not perfect. Both services offer two stock picks per month, but Rule Breakers focuses on growth stocks. Check out the reviews and alternatives to see if Motley Fool is right for you.
First off, I want to make it clear that I do think the Motley Fool has done a great job.
Theyโve created a platform investors love, they produce news at scale, have an army of writers and they have a good track record.
However, like many investors, there are things about Motley Fool Iโm not a fan of.
But donโt worry.
Iโll discuss everything.
The good, the bad and the ugly.
In this article, Iโll review their two most popular products to help investors make an accurate and informed decision on whether or not they should use Motley Fool as a stock-picking service.
Letโs get into it.
Table of contents
ToggleWhat is the Motley Fool?
As you might know, the Motley Fool is a popular finance and investing website. Theyโre best known for their stock recommendations newsletter and investing platform.
And believe it or not, theyโve been around longer than Iโve been alive!
The company was founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner. Itโs now grown to become one of the most recognized sources of investment advice globally.
Their advice covers asset classes like stocks, real estate, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and cryptocurrency.
Although it does get confusing.
They have over 25 different membership types investors can subscribe to.
Hereโs a list of all the open services investors can access:
Motley Fool Service | Cost |
Epic Bundle | $499 per year |
Stock Advisor | $199 per year |
Rule Breakers | $299 per year |
Everlasting Stocks | $299 per year |
Rule Your Retirement | $149 per year |
1 Top Motley Fool Stock | $100 per report |
1 Stock Recommended by Stock Advisor | $100 per report |
1 Stock Recommended by Rule Breakers | $100 per report |
11 Stocks for the Next Era | $1,100 per report |
Firecrackers: Five Top Under-the-Radar Microcaps | $500 per report |
One | $13,999 per year |
Market Pass | $999 per year |
Motley Fool Options | $999 per year |
Showdown 2022 | $1,999 per year |
Digital Explorers | $1,999 per year |
Rule Breakers: Energy Insider | $1,999 per year |
Rule Breakers: Blast Off | $1,999 per year |
Rule Breakers: Biotech Breakthrough | $1,999 per year |
Rule Breakers: Next-Gen Supercycle | $1,999 per year |
Rule Breakers: Trend-Spotter | $1,999 per year |
Rule Breakers: Mariju**a Masters | $1,999 per year |
Rule Breakers: Augmented Reality and Beyond | $1,999 per year |
Rule Breakers: Artificial Intelligence | $1,999 per year |
Rule Breakers: Future of Entertainment | $1,999 per year |
Rule Breakers: Fintech Fortunes | $1,999 per year |
Everlasting: Firecrackers | $1,999 per year |
Everlasting: Partnership Portfolio | $1,999 per year |
Dividend Investor | $1,999 per year |
Everlasting: 10X | $1,999 per year |
Everlasting: Global Partners | $1,999 per year |
Everlasting Portfolio | $1,999 per year |
Everlasting: Moneymakers | $1,999 per year |
Everlasting: Rising Stars 2022 | $1,999 per year |
Everlasting: The Ownership Portfolio | $1,999 per year |
Value Hunters | $1,999 per year |
Everlasting: IPO Trailblazers | $1,999 per year |
Rule Breakers: Platinum | $3,999 per year |
Everlasting: Boss Mode | $4,999 per year |
Real Estate Winners | $249 per year |
Overwhelming right?
Some of the prices I find hard to justify as well.
$13,999 per year for the โOneโ service seems excessive unless Iโm investing hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
As a result, Iโm only going to focus on the two Iโve tried and tested.
Theyโre also the most popular.
The first is the Motley Fool Stock Advisor and the second is Motley Fool Rule Breakers.
Motley Fool Stock Advisor Review
What is the Motley Fool Stock Advisor?
Motley Fool Stock Advisor is the most popular stock-picking service on the market. Itโs Motley Foolโs flagship product and an investing newsletter that has been extensively reviewed.
According to the Motley Fool, over 500,000 investors currently use their premium services.
But donโt be fooled (no pun intended). This doesnโt automatically mean itโs perfect.
Weโll get to why soon.
But as a premium subscriber, you can expect to receive two monthly stock recommendations.
On top of this, your membership grants you access to features like:
- The list of ten top-ranked stocks in Stock Advisor
- Buy and sell notices (not clear though on when the alerts are sent)
- Analysis and updates for each recommended stock
- Investment articles published on the Motley Fool blog (these are hit-and-miss)
- The Motley Fool community
Who is Motley Fool Stock Advisor best suited for?
In my opinion, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor is best suited for beginner investors who will commit to their picks for medium to long-term growth and appreciate well-researched recommendations.
Especially those new to investing since they can benefit from the educational content, community discussions, and sell notices.
If you donโt have a preference for the type of stocks you want to invest in then the Stock Advisor membership is your best bet. Their picks are market agnostic so you can expect recommendations on any company that looks promising provided the due diligence checkout.
P.S. I would also suggest checking out Ticker Nerd first. Youโll find a similar membership option although it is cheaper, easier to use, and in our opinion more valuable.
Motley Fool Stock Advisor Performance
According to the Motley Fool, the Stock Advisor has returned 466.4% since inception vs the S&P 500 which has returned 125.3% over the same period. On this particular screenshot, they say the S&P, not the S&P500. However, on their landing page, they mention the S&P 500. So weโll go with the S&P 500.
Iโm not here to downplay the returns, they are good.
But keep in mind the Motley Fool has been doing this for over 20 years. They started the Stock Advisor membership in February 2002.
I personally think this makes it slightly less impressive.
All you need to do is stay away from junk stocks, penny stocks, fraudulent companies, and other really obvious terrible investments. Not to mention, the bull run after the dot com crash has been fantastic.
In our best stock picking services article, we took a look at their losing stock picks over the last five years and there were many.
The reason we mentioned this is to act as a reminder that thereโs no such thing as a perfect stock-picking service.
Despite this, Stock Advisorโs track record is still impressive and these losses donโt outweigh the wins. Hereโs what the cumulative growth of $10,000 invested into the Stock Advisor picks would look like over time.
How much does The Motley Fool Stock Advisor cost?
Motley Fool Stock Advisor has two pricing options:
- $39 paid monthly*
- $99 paid annually for the first year**, then $199 each year after that
*No money-back guarantee.
**This price is only available to new members.
At the time of writing Stock Advisor does not offer a free trial.
My honest verdict on Stock Advisor
I think the Motley Fool Stock Advisor membership is a great option for beginner investors and industry-agnostic investors.
This service is a mixed bag.
Youโll get access to some great stocks at a great time but itโs hard to know what sort of stocks to expect. The only examples they mention are Disney, Netflix, and Amazon which are all wildly successful companies.
I find the analysis on each stop to be rather thin. The reports arenโt that detailed so I was still confused as to why they chose the stock in the first place.
But thereโs one thing I really donโt like.
Their principles.
Here are the first two.
- Buy 25 or more companies recommended by The Motley Fool over time
- Hold those recommended stocks for 5 years or more
As an investor, I find it incredibly difficult to buy 25 stocks and hold them all for at least 5 years. It sounds good in theory but thereโs a good chance only a tiny percentage of investors will actually do this. Itโs simply not practical so I don’t think it’s a good principle.
Motley Fool Rule Breakers Review
What is Motley Fool Rule Breakers
Similar to Stock Advisor, the Motley Fool Rule Breakers membership offers two stock recommendations per month. However, these recommendations are growth stocks only.
A growth stock is defined as a company that can significantly outperform the market. It usually has positive cash flow and revenues and is expected to continue growing.
In some ways, these are better companies to invest in, however, they can be overpriced so finding a growth stock at a healthy price is difficult.
Your Rule Breakers membership grants you access to features like:
- Two growth stock recommendations per month (similar to Ticker Nerd)
- The list of ten top-ranked stocks in Rule Breakers
- Buy and sell notices (not clear though on when the alerts are sent)
- Analysis and updates for each recommended stock
- Investment articles published on the Motley Fool blog (these are hit-and-miss)
- The Motley Fool community
โโWho is Motley Fool Rule Breakers best suited for?
If youโre an impatient investor that wants to see gains sooner than 5 years then you might be interested in Rule Breakers.
After all, itโs called Rule Breakers since it clearly goes against the typical Motley Fool principles which suggests holding 25 stocks for at least 5 years.
Most investors are looking to make a profit relatively quickly. If youโre impatient and you want more exposure to growth stocks then I would recommend The Motley Fool Rule Breakers service.
Motley Fool Rule Breakers Performance
According to Motley Fool, the Rule Breakers’ performance has beaten the S&P 500. Since its inception in 2004, itโs returned 222.5% compared to the S&P 500 which returned 105.9%. Itโs worth noting this isnโt as good as the Stock Advisor membership.
Below you can see the cumulative growth of $10,000 invested into the Rule Breakers stock picks against the S&P 500.
How much does The Motley Fool Rule Breaker cost?
Unlike Stock Advisor, Rule Breakers only has a yearly membership which costs $299. New members can subscribe for $99 for the first year.
My honest verdict on Rule Breakers
Since I have a higher risk appetite, I prefer this service.
Similar to Ticker Nerd, this membership focuses on high-growth stocks that you should keep in your portfolio for at least 3-5 years.
Whilst the returns havenโt been as strong as the Stock Advisor membership I still prefer to take my chances with faster-growing stocks that can outperform the market.
If youโre like me and you donโt want to invest in over 20 stocks and wait at least 5 years then I suggest looking into the Rule Breakers subscription.
Other than a different stock pick each month, the rest of the membership is pretty much the same.
Related article: Morningstar vs Motley Fool
What do the reviews say about the Motley Fool?
The Motley Fool currently has a 3.6/5 rating on Trust Pilot. Although, itโs hard to know how accurate these reviews are.
Itโs also not a true reflection of the service.
Since no stock picking service can guarantee results there are always going to be disgruntled customers who are upset the recommendations didnโt make them money.
And this is a fair reason to be angry, although, itโs the nature of investing in the stock market. Itโs almost impossible to predict the price movements of a stock.
The sentiment on Reddit isnโt too positive either. Many Redditors agree with the Motley Fool returning great numbers but some donโt think itโs worth it.
Negative Reddit comments:
Positive Reddit comments:
Itโs also a little-known fact that the Motley Fool also operates a hedge fund that invests in the stocks the service recommends. Due to the large following of the service, it is possible that it can manipulate trading activity by promoting holdings owned by the Motley Foolโs hedge fund. A Reddit user did a deep dive into this with some fascinating findings.
As always, do your own research and only invest money youโre willing to lose.
Motley Fool alternatives
If youโre reading this review because youโre on the fence about choosing an investment newsletter, consider these alternatives. Weโve reviewed the best stock-picking services along with the best investment newsletters and these are the ones that have come out on top.
- Ticker Nerd is best for investors who want to generate long-term wealth.
- Mindful Trader is best for experienced investors who want to day trade stocks.
- Seeking Alpha PRO is best for investors who love analyzing financial data.
- Morningstar Investor is best for investors who prefer reading detailed stock reports.
- Alpha Picks by Seeking Alpha is best for investors looking for data-driven stock picks.
- Timโs Alerts is best for day traders who are looking for daily recommendations.
- Zacks Premium is best for do-it-yourself investors.
Frequently asked questions
Does Motley Fool have a money-back guarantee?
Motley Fool offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on most of its memberships including Stock Advisor and Rule Breaker. If you do require a refund simply reach out to support:
– Email: membersupport@fool.com
– Phone: (888) 665-3665 (available 9:30am to 4pm Eastern Time, Monday to Friday).
– Customer Help Center: https://support.fool.com/hc/en-usย
Is the Motley Fool legit?
Yes. The Motley Fool is legit. Theyโre a real business thatโs been helping investors find new investments to explore since the 90s. While I donโt agree with everything they do, theyโre still a reputable company and you can trust them.ย
Is Motley Fool worth the money?
Overall I think a Motley Fool membership is worth it. However, it will be subject to every investor’s risk appetite and budget. For example, if you spend $199 on the Motley Fool Rule Breakers membership but you only invest $1,000 in the year then this is probably not worth your time. Your membership costs 20% of your total investment.ย