The Motley Fool offers several widely used stock recommendation newsletters, including Stock Advisor, Rule Breakers, Your Retirement Rule, Perpetual Stocks, and Real Estate Winners. Many of these services have consistently outperformed the market, making them attractive to anyone looking for reliable stock picks.
While it would be nice to have access to all of the Motley Fool's services, this is simply too expensive for most investors. So, we'll compare the Motley Fool's stock-picking services to help you decide which one is best for you.
About the Motley Fool
The Motley Fool was founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner. It started as a contrarian stock analysis company and then grew exponentially after launching its online Stock Advisor newsletter in 2002.
Stock Advisor remains the Motley Fool's flagship service, but it's now supported by more than a dozen other newsletters and stock recommendation offerings. The Motley Fool has also established itself as one of the largest financial media companies, offering everything from beginner-friendly investing guides to free stock tips.
What The Motley Fool Services Offer
The Motley Fool offers a few important things with each of its stock-picking services.
The first thing you get is monthly stock picks. Some newsletters offer multiple selections each month, but most focus on one new recommendation.
These selections come with detailed research reports explaining the rationale behind the recommendation. Motley Fool analysts make their case for why they think the stock is poised to beat the market.
Most services include updates about the stocks in the portfolio. Updates typically focus on one stock at a time and act as mini-research reports, based on the original thesis behind the stock pick and dissecting recent company news.
The Motley Fool also includes a ratings list for each of its services. This ranks the top 10 stocks already selected in each service's portfolio to now double their size. It's a very useful list for investors who have cash to invest among the new recommendations.
Motley Fool investing style
All of the Motley Fool's investment services share some common principles.
First, all stock picks are long-term picks. The Motley Fool typically aims to hold stock picks for at least five years and ideally longer. Some of the current picks in the Stock Advisor newsletter, for example, date back to its launch in 2002.
The Motley Fool also recommends diversification. We recommend that you keep at least 25 stocks in your portfolio, and potentially add more over time as you get more new recommendations. You can use the ratings list to select stocks to start your portfolio when you first join the Motley Fool.
Many Motley Fool stock picks tend to be high-risk, high-reward picks. Many of their services focus explicitly on explosive growth stocks, while others gravitate toward “undiscovered” stocks that carry additional risk. Therefore, investors who use Motley Fool services should have at least a modest appetite for risk.
Which Motley Fool service is best?
We'll take a closer look at our favorite Motley Fool services. Keep in mind that although each of these services has a lot to offer, it is important to consider your investment needs when choosing a newsletter.
Stock Advisor: Best Overall
Stock Advisor is the Motley Fool's flagship stock picking newsletter used by over 750,000 investors. This service is really great for its consistency in beating the stock market. As of December 2023, Stock Advisor has returned 520% since its launch in 2002 compared to 134% for the S&P 500.
Stock Advisor offers two new stock picks monthly as well as a rankings list and a foundational stock list of 10 stocks to help you launch a new portfolio. The portfolio is diversified across sectors and the stock picks come from two different teams of analysts, so you get a broader range of perspectives than with other Motley Fool services.
At just $199 per year, Stock Advisor offers great value for investors of all experience levels. It also provides a great introduction to the Motley Fool's investing approach before trying other Motley Fool newsletters.
Special for new member
Get Equity Advisor for just $89 for your first year
(Regular $199)
Epic Package: Best for variety
The Epic Bundle includes access to four Motley Fool services: Stock Advisor, Rule Breakers, Real Estate Winners, and Perpetual Stocks. It costs $499 per year, which is the same price you'd pay to buy Stock Advisor and Rule Breakers ($299 per year) just $299 per year – so you get your perpetual real estate and stock winners essentially for free.
The Epic Bundle is a great option if you want to pick a lot of stocks to quickly build a diversified portfolio. It's also great for diversification since you get REIT picks as well as stock picks.
The Epic Bundle works especially well for more experienced investors who want to use the Motley Fool to generate their investment ideas. You can see which companies and sectors Motley Fool analysts care about across multiple services and get access to numerous research reports on past recommendations.
special offer
Save $200 on Epic Bundle
Real Estate Winners: Great for real estate and dividend stocks
Real Estate Winners is a stock pick newsletter focused on REITs and real estate-related stocks. It is a great service for investors who want to invest in real estate, either because they believe the sector is active or because they want to diversify their investment portfolio.
The list of real estate winners includes selections across multiple real estate subsectors, including homebuilders, rental housing operators, and commercial real estate developers. Many REITs that Real Estate Winners recommend pay high dividends, so this service can also attract dividend investors.
Real estate winners cost $249 per year and offer a new stock selection each month.
Get $100 off
Get $100 off when you sign up for Motley Fool Real EstateWinners!
What about other services?
Other Motley Fool services worth considering include Perpetual Stocks and Rule Breakers, both of which are included in the Epic Bundle. Everlasting Stocks and Rule Breakers are similar to Stock Advisor in format and focus, but offer different choices. They just missed out on our top picks because they cost a little more than a stock advisor.
The Motley Fool has more than a dozen services, some of which cost thousands of dollars a year. We've tested many of them, but not all of them, and The Motley Fool offers only limited information about some of its most featured services. So, you should do your due diligence when considering these more expensive offers.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that a stock recommendation service is only worthwhile if it will help you make more money in additional investment returns than the cost of the service itself. If a service can't pass this test, it's not worth it.
Conclusion: Motley Fool services are a lie
The Motley Fool has a wide range of stock recommendation services that include stock picks, research reports, stock ratings, and more. It is important that you carefully consider your investment needs when determining which service is right for you.
We recommend Stock Advisor as the best Motley Fool service overall for most investors. For investors who want more choices to diversify their portfolio or generate research ideas, the Epic Bundle provides great value. Real estate and dividend investors should check out the Real Estate Winners Newsletter.
