Stock newsletters are one of the best ways to get investment ideas, expert analysis, and updates on the market.
Plus, most of them only require 5-20 minutes per month to read, making them perfect solutions for busy investors.
Investment newsletters typically fall into 3 categories:
- Stock picking
- Education
- Stock market news
You should have an idea of which of these 3 things you're looking for before reading the list below. I highly recommend trying out multiple newsletters to figure out which one will suit you best.
Many of the newsletters below are either free or have free trials, so trying them out won't cost you anything.
Personally, I like pairing a good paid newsletter that contains education and portfolio guidance with a free newsletter that keeps me updated on the market. You'll see which ones I subscribe to below.
Here are the 9 best investor newsletters in 2024, all of which have been tested by me (along with many others that didn't make this list).
1. Motley Fool Stock Advisor: Best stock picking newsletter overall
- Our rating:
- Category: Stock picking
- Best for: Long-term investors who want to own individual stocks
- Cost: $199/year (introductory offer of $79 for your first year with our link)
Stock Advisor is The Motley Fool's flagship product and one of the most popular investing newsletters in the world with more than 500,000 subscribers.
These subscribers are after one thing: High-quality stock picks.
And since its inception in 2002, that's exactly what the service has delivered. Over the last 21 years, Stock Advisor has reportedly outperformed the S&P by almost 3-to-1, resulting in massive cumulative gains:
While past performance certainly doesn't guarantee future returns, there is no other service on this list with this type of long-term track record. For that reason, if you're looking for a stock picking newsletter, Stock Advisor is the obvious first choice.
The Motley Fool is run by brothers Tom and David Gardner and their investment teams. Together, the team has an incredible eye for value which has led to early investments in Amazon, Netflix, Gilead Sciences, Disney, Tesla, Costco, and many other big winners.
The investment strategy is to find high quality stocks with sound fundamentals and hold them for 5+ years. They spot value, hold through volatility, and give each company the time for their investment thesis to play out.
What to expect:
The service will deliver 2 new stock picks each month along with detailed analysis about the company, potential risks, and where they expect the company will go.
You will also receive access to lists of “Starter Stocks” and “Best Buys Now”, along with all previous recommendations, community access, and educational resources.
Check out Stock Advisor
2. Alpha Picks: Best quant-driven stock picking newsletter
- Our rating:
- Category: Stock picking
- Best for: Data-driven, medium- and long-term investors
- Cost: $499/year (introductory offer of $449 for your first year withour link)
Alpha Picks, Seeking Alpha's version of the wildly successful Stock Advisor, is another stock picking newsletter which was just launched in July 2022. Unlike Stock Advisor, Alpha Picks recommendations are primarily data driven.
Seeking Alpha's main service is providing investors with scores of investment research. In addition to fundamental metrics, it aggregates contributor analysis,Wall Street analyst ratings, and its own proprietary rating systems (Quant Ratings and Factor Scores). To learn more about Seeking Alpha Premium, check out my Seeking Alpha Review.
For the investors who don't want to dig through hundreds of stocks and evaluate all of this information for themselves, Seeking Alpha launched Alpha Picks.
While the service is still relatively new, the performance so far has been excellent:
The service relies on its Quant Rating system. The Quant Ratings are scored on 5 components: Valuation, Growth, Profitability, Momentum, and Analyst Estimates.
Based on these components, the Alpha Picks team selects 2 stocks (filtered out of the thousands of companies covered on the site) that are recommended to subscribers each month.
The service has an estimated holding period of 2 years for each stock, making it more of a momentum-based strategy than a standard buy-and-hold.
For a more in-depth look, check out myAlpha Picks Review.
What to expect:
You will receive 2 stock picks per month along with an explanation of why each stock is being recommended.
You will also get alerts if any stocks in the service should be sold and regular updates on all of the portfolio holdings.
Check out Alpha Picks
3. The Barbell Investor: Best newsletter for portfolio construction
- Our rating:
- Category: Stock picking, education, and stock market news
- Best for: Long-term investors
- Cost: $150/year
There are 3 massive problems with most stock picking newsletters:
Nobody shows you how they invest. Countless services will tell you what stocks to buy without ever owning a single share themselves.
Nobody shows you how they manage their money. Ask any financial advisor — long-term wealth-building is about way more than just stock picking.
Nobody shows you how they think about the markets and how they're adjusting their portfolios in real time. Enough with telling me what to do with my money, just show me what you're doing with your money.
In short, the authors of most investing newsletters have portfolios that look nothing like the portfolio they're recommending you should own.
That's why we created The Barbell Investor.
The Barbell Investor is our bi-weekly investing newsletter which covers exactly how we invest and manage our money.
Each issue includes:
The Core Portfolios: Kris and I, the authors of The Barbell Investor, share our holdings (position sizing, returns, etc.) and how we've constructed our portfolios based on theBarbell Strategy.
- Education: Each issue will contain some financial education on topics such as asset allocation, mortgages, alternative investments, etc. to help you invest better or save more.
Market & Economic Commentary: We spend hours each week reading, watching, and listening to what the experts are saying about the markets, then report the most important information back to you.
The Watchlist: See which stock(s) we are considering adding to our portfolios. Each stock will be accompanied by a detailed report discussing what we like about it.
Hit the link below to learn more about the service:
Check out The Barbell Investor
4. Moby: Best newsletter for many new stock picks
- Our rating:
- Category: Stock picking and stock market news
- Best for: Active, medium- to long-term investors
- Cost:$199/year ($99 for new members through this link)
Moby is a market and investment research company for stock and crypto investors. The service provides you with 3 new stock picks per week.
Moby isn't technically an investing newsletter, as all of its investment analysis, recommendations, and market commentary is located in one place: Its mobile app.
Every research report, news article, and stock recommendation is produced by the Moby team, a group of former analysts from firms such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
While the team has a complex process for analyzing stocks, its reports are jargon-free and easily understandable for investors of any level. Additionally, each report is produced in written, video, and audio formats so you can consume them any way you'd like.
Altogether, Moby provides expert analysis in easy-to-understand formats for investors of every level.
What to expect:
You'll receive 3 new stock recommendations per week. You'll also gain access to Moby's other premium features such as its Model Portfolios, Stock Screener, Political Trades tracker, and more.
Check out Moby
5. Market Bullets: Best free stock market newsletter
- Our rating:
- Category: Stock market news
- Best for: Any investor who wants to stay on top of the market
- Cost: Free
Market Bullets is StockAnalysis's free stock market newsletter that will keep you updated on every market-moving headline.
Unlike most stock market newsletters (which are long, convoluted, and hard to read), Market Bullets is written in bullet-point format, making it fast and easy to stay on top of the latest financial news.
Whereas most market update newsletters take 5+ minutes to read, this format allows me to read most Market Bullets' issues in 2 minutes or less.
Each newsletter is divided into 8 sections:
- Market Overview
- Stock & Market News
- Economic News
- World News & Politics
- Economic Events
- Recent Earnings
- Upcoming Earnings
- Anticipated IPOs
The newsletter filters out the noise and summarizes the most important developments in the global economy. All facts, no editorializing.
What to expect:
You will receive the free newsletter summarizing every market-moving headline delivered to your inbox Monday-Friday about 30 minutes before the market opens.
Check out Market Bullets
6. Ticker Nerd: Best newsletter for medium-term stock picks
- Our rating:
- Category: Stock picking
- Best for: Investors wanting long-term “swing” trades
- Cost: $199/year (introductory offer of $99 for your first year with our link)
Ticker Nerd is another stock picking newsletter which sends 1-2 picks to subscribers each month.
Ticker Nerd uses software to filter out stocks based on hedge fund trading data, Wall Street analyst ratings, and social media sentiment. Then, based on those results, the team performs fundamental and technical analysis before making recommendations.
A key difference between Ticker Nerd and Stock Advisor is Ticker Nerd's analysis gauges multiple factors having to do with momentum and sentiment.
Based on this use of data to filter picks with, the investment strategy resembles a long-term swing trading strategy (think 3 months to 2 years, though the company regularly holds stocks for longer).
The company is relatively new and there's not much to report regarding its track record, but its 14-day risk-free trial gives you time to evaluate it based on its merits once you're inside.
What to expect:
You'll receive monthly reports with 1-2 stock recommendations and accompanying analysis (which I've found to be quite a bit more thorough than most other newsletters).
Check out Ticker Nerd
7. The Average Joe: Entertaining stock market newsletter
- Our rating:
- Category: Stock market news
- Best for: Beginner investors and those who want some education and insights alongside their financial news
- Cost: Free
The Average Joe is a 4x per week investing newsletter with trends, insights, news, and education to help you become a better investor.
Each issue takes about 5 minutes to read and, while they focus on financial news, may include memes or other one liners that make for an entertaining read.
The team's entertaining writing style, insightful analysis, and strong journalistic reporting are why this newsletter has gained 250,000+ subscribers since 2020.
What to expect:
You will receive the financial newsletter 4x per week and can expect some education, analysis, and a few laughs, perfect for beginner investors.
Check out The Average Joe
8. Benzinga Options: Best options trading alert service
- Our rating:
- Category: Options trading
- Best for: Options traders who want an alert service
- Cost: $297/year
Benzinga Options is run by highly-successful options trader Nic Chahine. The service focuses on his high-conviction, high-probability swing trades.
The service is claimed to have a win rate of 91% with an average return of 23% per trade.
Obviously, this service is not for everybody. Most of Chahine's trades are debit and credit spreads. If you don't know what that means, it's best to stay away.
Keep in mind that options are leveraged assets which are speculative in nature. They are complex, can be illiquid, and certain trades may involve the potential for unlimited losses.
The vast majority of investors lose money when trading options. Be sure to thoroughly understand each investment you're considering.
On the flip side, if you're familiar with options, this is a great way to follow along and learn from a very successful trader. Nic shares all of his analysis, so you know exactly why he's taking each trade.
If you're serious about developing your options trading skillset, this is a great way to do it.
What to expect:
Twice per month you'll receive Nic's highest-conviction trades alongside his analysis, insights, and extra education.
Check out Benzinga Options
9. Motley Fool Rule Breakers: Disruptive stock picking newsletter
- Our rating:
- Category: Stock picking
- Best for: Investors who want to own disruptive growth stocks
- Cost: $299/year (introductory offer of $99 for your first year with our link)
Rule Breakers is the same as Stock Advisor but with a different investment strategy.
Rule Breakers focuses on “disruptive technology”, companies with the potential to disrupt entire industries. These are growth stocks still in their very early innings, making them riskier investments but with massive upside potential.
The performance of Rule Breakers resembles that of Stock Advisor:
Given the characteristics of the team's stock picks, I would expect a portfolio of Rule Breakers' stocks to be more volatile than most. If you can stomach this volatility and want to invest in disruptive stocks, you may want to take advantage of The Motley Fool's risk-free 30-day trial.
What to expect:
Like Stock Advisor, you'll receive 2 new stock picks per month, accompanying analysis, community access, and educational resources.
Check out Rule Breakers
What's an investment newsletter?
Investment newsletters are email-based services which provide financial education, investment recommendations, financial news, or a combination of all 3.
They are written to save you time, keep you informed, and/or make you money.
Most news-based newsletters are free, whereas the stock picking services are typically paid.
Are stock newsletters worth it?
It depends on which newsletters you subscribe to, but I find them extremely valuable.
For instance, instead of sifting through financial newspapers and trying to figure out what information is important, Market Bullets does this work for me and delivers summaries in bullet-point format straight to my inbox each morning, completely free.
When looking for new investment opportunities, it's great to have multiple subscriptions offering recommendations of stocks to buy.
While I always do my own research before buying anything, I find it extremely valuable to have a team of analysts doing some initial legwork for me and giving me their top 1-2 stocks each month.
I've found that some stock-picking services easily pay for themselves, as good stocks can easily generate a 10% return on investment.
How we chose the best investment newsletters
When evaluating investing products and services, we take the following into consideration:
- Core offering: How good is the product or service? How is the newsletter's performance track record?
- Price: Overall price, value for money, average cost per month, and any hidden fees.
- Usability: What the interface looks like, whether the site is easy to use and navigate, the inclusion of modern design elements and features, and accessibility.
- Credibility: Quality of information and data as well as company and brand reputation.
- Audience: Who the product is for, the range of uses and applications, whether it actually works for its target audience, if it's the best option available, and any limitations therein.
- Offers: Whether there is a special offer for signing up or any discounts.
Final verdict
Investment newsletters are my favorite way to find new investment opportunities and stay updated on the latest news moving the markets.
The best newsletters are easy to read, fast to consume, and extremely valuable. Regardless of which one you choose, you should expect it to pay for itself (and then some).
Personally, I like pairing an investing or stock picking newsletter (like The Barbell Investor,Stock Advisor, or Alpha Picks) with a free newsletter that keeps me updated on the market (such as Market Bullets or The Average Joe).
Don't be afraid to sign up to multiple newsletters listed above and utilize their free trial periods. That way, you'll know exactly what to expect from each service and can make an informed decision.
