Motley Fool vs Stansberry Research

Even as a seasoned investor, you are likely to have a hard time when it comes to deciding where to invest. This is because there are numerous options to pick from in the stock market. To help you make the right choice, you have probably been looking for stock-picking tools.

In your quest, you may have heard of the Motley Fool and Stansberry Research. That's understandable seeing as these are two of the most recognized investment services. Want to know how they perform against each other? Keep reading.

Comparing the Two

Now that you have an idea about the two platforms, it is time to get into a head-to-head comparison.

1. Stock Picking Frequency and Format

Motley Fool's Stock Advisor and Stansberry's Investment Advisory are quite similar seeing as they both generate alerts that are sent out through email every month. This makes it easy to follow the systems even for first-time investors. The Investment Advisory from Stansberry Research provides one stock pick while the Stock Advisor from the Motley Fool provides one from each of the founders.

In the newsletters provided by the platforms, you will easily access the investment information you need.  They will also explain why they recommended the picks. However, the Motley Fool does keep that information quite brief and focused on basic data.

On the other hand, Stansberry  Research begins each newsletter with an explanation about why a particular stock was picked so if you prefer to have a story behind your stock picks, this would be the ideal platform. 

Along with each newsletter, you get portfolio updates that provide signals as far as when the ideal time is to sell your stocks. Stansberry Research directs you to place 25% trailing stop losses on each stock pick, while the Motley Fool depends on email alerts for unanticipated sell orders.

You get to view the existing portfolio for either service online whenever you like although the Motley Fool comes with several extra lists including one stock in the portfolio that should be doubled on.

2. Investing Style

Another thing that is similar when it comes to Stansberry Research's Invest Advisory and the Motley Fool's Stock Advisor, is the investing style. We say that because both bulletins emphasize long-term growth stocks and target new industries with the potential to break out in the future. 

None of the platforms tracks real-time fluctuations of the stock market. Instead, they recommend companies that are likely to succeed in the future to investors. For instance, the Motley Fool recommended companies like Netflix and Amazon while Stansberry Research recommended Broadcom. You can see where these companies are at the moment and that should tell you something about both platforms.

Both Stansberry Research and the Motley Fool are designed to favor long-term investors. Stock picks from the latter remain open for at least a year and usually last three years or so. However, stock picks from the former typically last longer.

3. Historical Performance

Just as we have previously mentioned, the Motley Fool was founded in 1993 by Brothers David and Tom Gardner. This is after they discovered that retail investors experienced difficulty when it came to accessing in-depth and timely investment research.

In the 90s, all the research analysis and data accessible to stock investors were either extremely costly or non-existent altogether. This is the gap that the Gardener brothers saw and decided to fill by creating practical and accessible stock market research for the ordinary investor.

While the platform started with only a few subscribers it has been gaining traction over the years and more than two decades later, it now boasts millions of subscribers. As if that is not enough, the Motley Fool has since 2002 recorded a 400% average return.

When it comes to Porter Stansberry there is not a lot of information about its history, but it was founded in the '90s as well by a man known as Stansberry who named the platform after himself. Since its inception, Stansberry Research has gained over 70,000-lifetime members and 500, 000 subscribers

Looking through the platform's website, you will realize that strong brand identity and great customer services are essential to its founder and team.

4. Platform Pricing

If you decide to go for the Motley Fool, you will be required to part with $99 for the first year and $199 every year after that. As for Stansberry, it will cost you $199annually. Now, the pricing for the platform's other newsletters is different, but we can assure you that most of the stock-picking services are reasonably priced.

The best part is that both the Motley Fool and Stansberry Research come with a 30-day money-back guarantee in case you are not impressed by their services.

5. Additional Services

Both Stansberry Research and the Motley Fool have more to offer than just their lead newsletters. For instance, the Motley Fool offers market news along with daily free stories that assess the potential of popular stocks. Besides, the platform offers substitute stock-picking newsletters like the Rule Breakers newsletter a product by David, and the trading service as well.

Stansberry Research on the other hand offers an array of newsletters to match different investor goals. For instance, they have a newsletter that concentrates on non-stock investments and another one on energy and commodities. There is even one that focuses on developing stocks in China seeing as the country offers favorable conditions for investing.

Which Platform is Better?

One thing we can tell you for sure is that both Stansberry Research and the Motley Fool platforms have a lot to offer investors but if you want to compare only their flagship products, the Stock Advisor from the Motley Fool would win albeit with a small margin.

It is also cheaper and comes with two stock picks each month rather than one. You will also appreciate that it includes a stock list that you can use to make investment decisions at any time. Besides, the Stock Advisor is more forthcoming with information about its performance and track record.

The Stansberry Research platform does not offer as much comprehensiveness as the Motley Fool about how its recommendations perform over time.  Stansberry Research is ideal for short-term investors but the thing is that entering into short-term engagements is potentially risky and more complex. Such investments are therefore not suitable for novice and beginner investors.

Points to Note

• Both platforms offer basic research services.
• They appear quite similar superficially, but they comprise some essential differences.
• The major difference between the platforms is that Stansberry Research offers one stock pick every month while the Motley Fool offers two.
• The Motley Fools is more affordable than Stansberry and offers more recommendations.
• It costs $99 annually for a Motley Fool subscription and $199 for an annual subscription to Stansberry Research.
• You get more transparency and comprehensiveness with the Motley Fool as far as investments and performance.