Motley Fool Review, September 2022: Is Stock Advisor Worth It?

THIS WEEK’S MOTLEY FOOL UPDATE: As of September 9, 2022:

This Motley Fool Stock Advisor Review is based on my personal experience of being a subscriber to the Motley Fool Stock Advisor service AND buying about $2,000 of EACH of their stock picks for the last 6 years in my ETrade account. 

I try to update this review every month so you can see how these Motley Fool stocks have performed for me over the last 6 years.  I will also give you some idea of how their recent picks are performing.

Hint:  Their August 4, 2022 pick is already up 32%, and the average return of all the Motley Fool Stock Advisor stock recommendations since 2002 is 368% vs the SP500’s 120% as of September 9, 2022.

Furthermore, they currently think we are near the market bottom, and they suggest now is the time to “make some potentially life-changing stock investments while we have the chance” at the beginning of the next bull market.

Like you, I saw the Motley Fool’s charts about their fantastic returns like the one below dated March, 2022.

And I saw their ads like this one from September 9, 2022 that claimed amazing returns that absolutely crushed the SP500 over the last 20 years.

I wanted to get my own objective data of the performance of their stock picks, so I decided to do my own Motley Fool experiment and subscribed the first week of January, 2016.

But before I dive into the details of the performance of their last 6 years of picks, you need to understand the Motley Fool Stock Advisor philosophy. 

The Motley Fool Investing Philosophy

This service is not about day trading or making a quick buck in the market.  

As you can see from this graphic from their website, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor is about long term investing (holding stocks 5 years or more).

From that list you need to understand that they target “Long-Term Returns” and you should plan on holding their stocks for at least 5 years. 

Of their 492 picks since 2002:

• the AVERAGE return is up 366% vs average SP return of 120% (calculated September 9, 2022)
• about 66% are profitable
• they have closed 219 or 45% of these 492 picks
• current portfolio is
  • 34.80% Information Technology
  • 20.50% Consumer Discretionary
  • 13.60% Communication Services
  • 9.20% Industrials
  • 8.40% Health Care
  • 7.70% Financials
  • 2.20% Consumer Staples
  • 1.80% Materials
  • 1.80% Energy
• David and Tom Gardner are still running the company

So how do they get these market beating results? They are very good at picking a few stocks each year that double or triple.  Those big winners more than offset the few losers each year.

From my experience over the last 6 years, they deliver exactly what they promise.  Most importantly, their picks easily BEAT the SP500 over time.  Take a look at this screenshot from my ETrade account where I bought about $1,700 of Tesla based on their January 2, 2020 recommendation. That stock pick alone has given me a $16,265 gain or 948% as of September 9, 2022.

If you are looking for excellent stocks picks, and willing to invest a little money each month, and are prepared to stay invested for 5 years, the Stock Advisor is a great choice.  Especially right now when new subscribers can try it for just $89 for the next 12 months. 

And you should note their recent comments on the current market.

Last month Tom Gardner, CEO of the Motley Fool, sent an email to his subscribers about the current market.  Here are the highlights of that email:  “These past several months have been rough….  But history indicates that it is exactly in these times of pain that fortunes can be made….  I believe the worst of this market correction is over….  Now, it’s time to deploy our excess cash positions more aggressively…”

This month his email said “we’re much nearer the bottom — and the start of the next bull market— than the doomsayers on TV would have us believe.” 

Don’t make the “costly investing mistake most investors make:  Many investors simply buy the wrong stocks again and again” and that is why they can’t beat the market.

So, while some of the Fool’s high flying stocks over the years like NFLX and SHOP are well off their highs, this might be a good time to start buying them again.  The Fool has recently re-recommended a few, but also told subscribers which ones to stay away from.

Ok, back to my review…

I have found over the last 6 years that the longer you hold their stock picks the better they perform.  But most importantly, the longer you hold them more they beat the SP500.

My Motley Fool Experiment

Here is a summary of my experiment with the Motley Fool Stock Advisor service and my results of buying all the Motley Fool’s picks since 2016:

• In January 2016, I purchased a Stock Advisor subscription.
• At the same time I also opened a new ETrade brokerage account dedicated to the Fool picks.
• I then started buying roughly $2,000 of every one of their stock picks in that ETrade account.
• Each year the returns were so good I renewed my Motley Fool subscription.
• At 2 stock picks a month for the 6 years from 2016 to 2021, I have purchased 144 stocks in that ETrade account.
• I have sold the 5 stocks that they recommended selling.

Below you will find the percentage returns of those 144 stocks. I will even show you some shots of my ETrade account to prove it. All percentage returns are calculated based on closing prices of Friday, December 31, 2021.

Summary of 6 Years of Stock Advisor’s Performance, 2016-2021

Here is a table of the results of the Motley Fool’s picks based on the year of recommendation:

(NOTE:  I am ignoring their 2022 stock picks for this analysis as those picks don’t yet have 12 months of performance.  Note that almost 1/2 of the 2021 picks have been out for less than a year.)

The 144 Motley Fool stock picks from 2016 thru 2021 have an average return of 171% compared to the SP500 average return of 92%. 

That means that the Motley Fool is beating the SP500 by an average of 93% across 144 stocks!  

That number is more impressive than it sounds.  What it means is that across all 144 of their stock picks for 6 years running, their average stock performance is crushing the market.  

As I mentioned above, they recommend you hold their stocks for at least 5 years.  They claim the longer you hold the stocks the better they perform.  And that is absolutely true as you can see below:

• their 24 picks from 2016 are up an average of 402%
• their 24 picks from 2017 are up an average of 259%
• the Fool’s 2018 picks are up an average of 217%
• and their 2019 picks are up an average of 85%
• and their 2020 picks are up 73%
• but their 2021 stocks are down 8% because they picked one stock that is down 74%

How do they get these great results that have consistently beat the SP500 over time?

The Motley Fool is very good at finding a few stocks that double or triple each year.  While about 73% of their picks have been profitable, the stocks that double or triple each year more than offset any losers.

For example, as of December 31, 2021 53 of their 144 picks have more than doubled and 33 more than tripled!

And 21 are up more than 4x.  It is those 4x stocks that really add to your overall portfolio performance.

So is the Motley Fool worth it?  It has definitely been worth it over the last six years.

• While 2020 was a tough year in many ways, if you were a Motley Fool Stock Advisor subscriber you had a GREAT year. 
• Their best pick of 2020 was Tesla (TSLA) when it was at 28.59 (split adjusted).  I bought 60 shares on January 2, 2020 when they recommended it and on that $1,700 purchase I now have a $16,265 profit as you can see from my ETrade account on September 9, 2022:

• Their 2019 stocks are up 85%.
• Better yet, their 2018 picks are up an average is 217% and 20 of 24 are up.
• Their 2017 stocks are up 259% compared to the S&P’s 110%, 22 of 24 of those picks are profitable, and 12 have more than doubled.
• Their 2016 stocks are up 402% compared to the S&P’s 142% and 17 of those have more than doubled and 10 of those have more tripled.
• Notice the trend:  The longer you hold them the better they perform and the more they beat the SP500.  That is exactly what you want!
• In summary, at December 31, 2021 their 144 picks from 2016-2021 are up an average of 171% compared to the market’s 79%.
• Just to be clear, not every one of their stocks picks goes up as you see from the table above. But, they remind subscribers that they pick stocks that they want you to hold for 5 years or more. Given that the average return of their 2016 stock picks is 402% I say they are delivering exactly what they promise.

If you are asking ‘How are these results possible when most Wall Street money managers struggle to beat the S&P500 Index?’, the answer is now clear to me.  It is because over these last 6 years the Motley Fool has consistently picked many stocks each year that double, triple and even quadruple in price.  Over the last 6 years:

• 53 of their 144 stocks have at least doubled
• 33 have at least tripled, and
• 21 have at least quadrupled, and
• 73% of their stock picks are profitable
• and each year they pick some really high flyers like Shopify (up 4,162%), The Trade Desk (up 1,340%), OKTA (up 986%) and Tesla (up 1,128%).

-> Customer Service:
-> Phone at (888)665-3665 M-F 9:30-4:00 ET
-> Email at membersupport@fool.com

MOTLEY FOOL STOCK ADVISOR SUMMARY

What You Get:

• 2 New Stock Picks Each Month
• 2 Lists of ‘The Best Stocks to Buy Now’ each Month
• Immediate Access to Their Latest Picks & Research

Verified Historical Performance:

• Last 6 Years: Average Return of All 144 Stocks as of December 31, 2021 is 171% vs SP500 79%; 73% profitable

How To Subscribe at the Lowest Price:

• Retail Price: $199/yr with a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee
• New Subscriber Promotion: Save 55% on THIS PAGE and get the next 12 months for only $89.

Click Here To Save 55% And Try It For Only $89

More Details About My Experiment

In this Motley Fool Review I will:

• show you screen shots of my ETrade account to prove their performance
• give you a thorough analysis of their stock picks and tell you how they get these great returns
• tell you the PROS and CONS of the service
• show how profitable their stock picks have been over the last 6 years
• reveal how to subscribe Stock Advisor at the cheapest rate they offer
• reveal two important things I have learned about their service to maximize my profits from their service.

Again, here is how those 144 Motley Fool stock picks performed by year.

Key Points To Maximize Your Returns with the Motley Fool

The key point I am making is to get these results you need to do exactly what I do: 

1. BUY EQUAL DOLLAR AMOUNTS OF ALL OF THEIR PICKS EACH YEAR.  It doesn’t matter if you are buying $500 or $5,000 of each of their picks, you would have the same percentage returns.  But remember, you need to buy each pick because you never know which one will we be the top performer for that year. 
2. SELL WHEN THEY SAY SELL:  It doesn’t happen often (5 times in 6 years).  But sometimes stocks are acquired, or get overpriced, or just never move and they will tell you when to sell them.
3. PLAN ON INVESTING FOR AT LEAST 5 YEARS.  As you can see, the Motley Fool stock picks for the last 5 years have absolutely crushed the market’s return.  Furthermore, the longer you hold them, they better they perform.  That is why they recommend you hold their stocks for at least 5 years, as I have done.

Finally, at $89 for the first year for new subscribers, it is absolutely the BEST VALUE around for investors of all levels.  It will probably be the best investment you ever make.

So if you have at least a few hundred dollars to invest each month, and you plan to invest for at least 5 years, then subscribing to the Motley Fool at their $89 promo rate is a no-brainer.

Remember, they release their picks each Thursday so the next one comes out this Thursday, September 29, 2022.

Table of Contents

Motley Fool’s Recent Performance

Their recent stocks continue to drastically outperform the market:

• • Their August 5, 2021 pick UPST is already up 57%
  • Their July 1, 2021 pick PAYC is up 17%
  • Their June 17, 2021 pick is up 30%
  • Their June 3, 2021 pick is already up 27%
  • May 6, 2021 pick is already up 44%
  • Their April 2021 pick of TEAM is up 75%
  • November, 2020 stock of ZBRA is up 64%
  • September pick is up 26%
  • The Motley Fool  January 2, 2020 recommendation of TESLA is up 1,140%! ( I bought $1,700 of that stock on the day they recommended it and as of I have a $20,166 profit.  See the screenshot of my ETrade account below as of December 24, 2021.
  • 

The 5 Steps to Being Successful with the Motley Fool

1. You have to buy equal amounts of ALL of their stock recommendations as they come out.  So if you are saving $1,000 a month, then you should plan on buying $500 of each of their 2 monthly stock picks.
2. Be watching your email every Thursday and buy their stocks as soon as they come out because the stocks tend to go up 5% within the first few days after they are released.
3. You must plan on holding the stocks for at least 5 years.  The Motley Fool is about long term investing.
4. Plan on selling the few stocks that they tell you to.
5. Never pay full price for anything:  New subscribers  should visit their special offer page 

MOTLEY FOOL STOCK ADVISOR TIP:  As you can see, they have done a fantastic job over the last 5 years and into 2021.  That period covers the 2016 election, the Trump presidency, COVID, the recent election.  Now they are focusing their picks on the post-Covid world, the Biden presidency, and the expected economic boom as the pandemic ends. 

Their next stock recommendation is scheduled to be released Thursday, September 29, 2022.  But most importantly, as soon as you subscribe you can immediate access to ALL of their most recent picks so you can start adding to your portfolio immediately.

With over 1,000,000 subscribers their stock picks tend to pop 2%-5% within 72 hours of their announcement. So, to maximize you returns, you need to buy the stock as soon as their recommendation comes out.

Motley Fool Fact Checker

In this review I’m showing you exactly what you want to know about the Motley Fool Stock Advisor service. Since I have been a subscriber since 2016 I am presenting just the FACTS from my personal experience.

Most importantly, I am going to answer the questions everyone is asking: Is it worth the money? Does it really beat the market? Are the returns that the Motley Fool advertises like the one below really true?

So are these results really true?  The answer is YES, those returns since inception are correct because they picked lots of stocks in the early days that had absolutely phenomenal returns like Amazon (up 21,309% since they first recommended it), Netflix (up 23,756% since they first picked it) , and Disney (up 10,287%).

Those 10,000+% returns on a few stocks picked in the early days naturally help the overall average.

But if you are thinking of subscribing, you should be asking how has the Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor performed the last few years?  As a reminder, here is the summary of my ETrade account in which I have only purchased the Motley Fool Stock Advisor picks since January 2016:

The FACTS regarding the Motley Fool performance for me over the last 6 years are as follows:

• 73% of the Stock Advisor picks over the last 6 years are profitable

• 53 of their 144 stocks have at least doubled

• 33 of those have at least tripled
• 21 of those have at least quadrupled

  • Having that many stocks that double, triple or quadruple or more allows their average return of those 144 stocks to be 171% compared to the SP500 average return of 89%. 

• The 24 stocks from the Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor 2020 recommendations are up an average of 73%
• Their 2019 picks are up 85%
• Their 2018 stocks are up 217%
• And another FACT you should know:  their 2017 picks are up an average of 259%
• And the BEST FACT about the Motley Fool is their 2016 stock picks are up 402%
  • Their 2018, 2017, and 2016 performance proves my point that they are about investing for the long term and you need to plan on holding their stocks for at least 5 years.

Now here is the most important fact I can share with you:  the price of their stock picks usually pops up a few dollars the day their recommendation comes out.  So to get these great returns you need to buy the stock as soon as they recommend it.  That is why being a member is so important!

Here is another FACT that people never think about but yet it is extremely important…

Tom and David Gardner that started the Motley Fool in 1993  and still run the company and make the stock recommendations.  This is extremely important because you might find another newsletter that has also done well, but you never know who really is picking their stocks.  With this service, however, the 2 brothers that started this newsletter have been there since day one and there is no reason to believe they are leaving their own company.

Motley Fool Stock Advisor Summary

Here’s What You Get:

1. Two brand new stock recommendations and analysis per month delivered in real-time to your email.
2. Access to all of the Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor recommendations they made in 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016.
3. The Motley Fool’s Top 10 Best Stock to Buy RIGHT Now report that features some of their recent picks that still offer the best potential return.
4. The Motley Fool’s Top 5 Starter Stocks report that features the ideal stocks that should be the foundation of new investor’s portfolios.
5. 24/7 Monitoring:  They will let you know when they believe it’s time to sell any of their stocks
6. Toll-free customer service.  Yes, real people answer the phone.
7. You also get:
   • A clear explanation of WHY they recommended each stock and the factors considered
   • A Risk Profile that explains the upside and downside of every stock pick
   • Starter Stocks: If you are just starting a portfolio, they will tell you their 10 rock-solid stocks that should be the foundation of your portfolio
   • Fool Knowledge Base:  24/7 access to their full library of reports and research to help you get their opinion on other stocks that you might own or be considering buying

My Motley Fool Experiment with My Real Money

Like you, I was skeptical so I decided to find out the truth about the Motley Fool Stock Advisor service.

To have an objective test of the Motley Fool Stock Advisor, in January 2016 I subscribed and I opened an ETrade brokerage account dedicated just to buying every one of the Motley Fool stock picks.

So for over 5 years now I have bought $1,000-$2,000 of EVERY stock the Motley Fool has recommended.  Scroll up and look at the table of my results.

Now, as promised, I will show you screen shots of my ETrade account.

Their Best Stock Pick of 2020

On January 2, 2020 the Motley Fool issued a BUY recommendation for TESLA when the stock was trading around $425 a share (that’s before it split 5:1 last year).  Here is  a picture of the Motley Fool email I got recommending “BUY TESLA”:

You can see in the image below of my ETrade portfolio that I bought 20 shares of TESLA on January 2, 2020. I got filled at $85.78 (split adjusted) per share, for a total cost was about $1,715.  And as of  Friday, December 24, 2021 the stock was at $1,093 per share for a profit of $20,166 on my $1,715 investment in just 20 months.  That is a 1,175% gain for me:

• 

While I am at it, here’s another screen shot from my ETrade account–one of the Motley Fool’s December 2019 stock picks that is up 328% in 18 months.  On December 5, 2019 the Motley Fool recommended HUBS and I bought 10 shares at $153.65 a share. And as of October 15, 2021 it was at $790 for a gain of $6,372 or 414%.

These are just 2 examples of the Motley Fool’s 2020 stocks that have done well.  In fact, 4 of the Stock Advisor service stocks for 2020 have already more than doubled.

But the fact is the Motley Fool Stock Advisor really does pick many stocks that double, triple, or quadruple every year, so the AVERAGE is truly that high.  I should know because I have been buying all of them.  Take a look at the MAX RETURN for 2016 which is 2,003%.  That was Shopify that the Fool recommended on July 15, 2016 when SHOP was at $32.32.  (I bought 50 shares that day for $33.10 and now it is at $680.  More specifically, as of December 31, 2021…

• the 24 Motley Fool stock picks from 2016 are up an average of 402%
• their 24 picks from 2017 are up an average of 259%
• the 2018 picks are up 1217%
• the 2019 picks are up 85%
• and quite impressively, their 24 current picks from 2020 are already up an average of 73% 
• Finally, of the 144 Motley Fool picks from January 2016 to December 2021:
  • 73% are up
  • 53`have at least doubled
  • 33 have at least tripled
  • and 21 have at least quadrupled in price
• Yes, you see in the last column that the Motley Fool does pick some losers, but the number of winners they pick far exceeds the losers.

The obvious conclusion here is the longer you hold the Motley Fool’s picks, the better they get.

If you came here just to get that Quick Summary of the recent Motley Fool’s  performance, there you go.

MY MOTLEY FOOL CONCLUSION —  Given that their last 144 stock picks (that’s 24 stock picks a year over the last 6 years) are up an average of 171% , the Motley Fool Stock Advisor Service is absolutely worth it.  If you have at least $200 to invest each month it clearly pays for itself many times over.

The normal price of the service is $199 a year.  But if you are a new subscriber you can claim a $89 rate for the first year, or you can try it for $19 a month.  They also offer a 30-day full refund guarantee so you can try it and get a full month of all of their picks risk-free.

Introductory Offer:  New members can get the next 12 months for only $89.

Remember, they have a 30 day money back guarantee so you have nothing to lose and lots to gain from their stock picking service.

New subscribers can get a full year of the Motley Fool Stock Advisor for just $89.  Normally the Motley Fool service is $199 per year.  I have bookmarked this New Subscriber page that has their lowest price ever for NEW SUBSCRIBERS ONLY so you can try it for just $89 and get the next 12 months of stock picks if you click this link.

Now if they maintain their excellent track record like they have had for the last 5 years, it just might be the best $89 investment you ever make.

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor won our award for the Best Stock Newsletter of 2020, and that’s now FIVE years in a row. If you were a Motley Fool subscriber last year you have a 91% return and 20 of those 24 stock picks were profitable. That includes having SEVEN of those stocks that have now at least DOUBLED! Their top performer was TESLA which is now up 1,074% since they recommended it in January 2020. In addition, their 2019 stock picks were awesome too and they are now up 56%; and their 2018 picks are up 127% (SP’s 76%). 

In fact, over the last 6 years the average Motley Fool stock pick has more than doubled, being up 113%! This time period covers the 2016 election, the Trump administration, the China trade negotiation, COVID, the election, and the recent stock decline.  Now with the start of Biden’s 2nd year, don’t miss out on the Motley Fool’s picks for the new presidency and the post-COVID economy.  Here is their schedule for the next few weeks:

Here is their release schedule of their upcoming stock picks:

• October 6, 2022 – David’s New Stock Recommendation
• October 13, 2022 – Tom’s List of 5 Best Stocks to Buy Now
• October 20, 2022 – Tom’s New Stock Recommendation
• October 27, 2022 – David’s List of 5 Best Stocks to Buy Now List

So if you have a few hundreds dollars to invest each month and plan on staying invested for at least 5 years, we haven’t found any better source of stock picks. When you subscribe, you also get full access to all of their recent picks.

The Details About The Motley Fool Stock Advisor Program

In the rest of this article, I will also show you:

• Exactly what you get when you subscribe to the Motley Fool
• When the Motley Fool will release their next new stock picks
• The percentage of the Motley Fool stock picks that were profitable each year
• The OVERALL results of their picks year after year,

I will also tell you 2 important trading tips about the Motley Fool services that I have learned.  Two little facts that you must understand about their services in order to maximize your profits.

Why Did I Write This?

I will try not to bore you, but I think it’s important to tell you a bit about myself and why I felt the need to write this Motley Fool Stock Advisor review.

My story is probably not too different from yours. I watched my parents work their a** off (excuse my French).  They each worked 50+ hours a week to give our family the best lifestyle they could.  Unfortunately, my father passed away six years ago just after his 65th birthday. He worked hard his whole life and planned to enjoy his retirement, but he died within months of retiring.  My dad’s death taught be a valuable lesson–I need to start building my personal wealth NOW so I can retire early and ENJOY my retirement.

My Mission

To accomplish that, I set out on a mission to find the best and the fastest way to learn about the stock market and build my stock portfolio in a proven and safe way.  I started out talking to people I thought were smart and wealthy, reading countless books and magazines, and subscribing to various stock newsletters.

To save YOU a lot of time here is a summary of what I learned…

1. The FIRST lesson I learned was definitely NOT to get stock tips from friends or chase rumors.  My friends ended up costing me money and wasting my time.
2. The SECOND lesson I learned is that you must take action. Reading, thinking, and talking do NOT build wealth; investing builds wealth.  So the sooner you start investing the right way, the faster your account will grow.  It’s all about investing a little each month, and the power of compounding.  So stop thinking about investing and start investing NOW!  You will be surprised how quickly your portfolio grows.
3. The THIRD lesson I learned was that not all stock newsletters are worth the money.  Over the last two decades, I have subscribed to dozens of stock newsletters and the Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor has the most consistent returns and is the cheapest.
4. The FOURTH thing I learned was how easy it is to get started building a profitable portfolio. Opening a brokerage account is easy and takes less than 3 minutes. To find the right stocks, that is now easy too.

Eventually, I did find a stock service that was able to consistently outperform the stock market.

…And that’s why I wrote this review of David and Tom Gardner’s best stock service.  So I can share my results with the Motley Fool’s stocks and encourage you to start building a profitable portfolio like I have.

Is the Motley Fool Worth the Money?

Based on my experience over the last 5 years of buying every one of their two new stock picks each month, my analysis of the Motley Fool Stock Advisor performance concludes absolutely YES!

As I mentioned above, just buying 20 shares of TESLA on January 2, 2020 has given me $22,000 of profits.

Just to be clear: NOT every one of the Motley Fool stock picks goes up, but they do pick a lot of stocks that DOUBLE or TRIPLE each year.  So, on average, their stocks have beat the market by over 121%.

To properly answer the question ‘is it worth the money’ you need to understand how much it costs.  The regular price of the Motley Fool Stock Advisor is $199 a year.  Even at that price it is very inexpensive compared to other services.  But new customers can subscribe now for just $89 a year on this Motley Fool NEW SUBSCRIBER DISCOUNT link.

At $89 for the first year, with a 30 day money back guarantee, and based on their last 5 years of performance, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor program is absolutely worth it. You should absolutely get the Fool’s next 24 stock recommendations, plus access to their all their recent picks, and try it out. Every stock probably won’t go up, but 89% of their picks over the last 5 years were profitable and the average has crushed the SP500. You have very little to lose and lots to gain.

So, assuming you have some cash to invest each month, and you can let the money stay invested for a few years, it certainly seems like a very safe bet.

Does Motley Fool Tell You When to Sell?

Yes, the Motley Fool will tell you when to sell a stock.  Over these 5 years they have issued 5 sell recommendations.  Four of these sell orders have been because the stocks were being acquired and they recommended selling to get the cash out.   

How Much Does It Cost?

The normal price is $199 a year.  No commitment.  Cancel any time with a 30 day money back guarantee.  However, the Motley Fool constantly runs pricing promotions for new customers like “TRY IT FOR JUST $19” and “50% OFF for New Subscribers.”

Stock Advisor is Normally $199, but Here is Their Latest Offer:

PRICE DROP: SAVE 55% AND get access to their latest picks AND receive their next 24 stock picks in real-time for just $89.

(there’s no risk, they offer 30-day money back guarantee)

More Details…

You probably already know a little bit about the Motley Fool and their products.

You may have seen some posts on social media where they provide insights on the stock market.  However, here’s a brief recap of what they do:

The Motley Fool is a stock picking service whose stated goal is to help you learn how to “invest better.”  And based on my experience that is exactly what they do.  They take the stress out of picking stocks.

About the Motley Fool

The Motley Fool was founded by David Gardner and Tom Gardner in 1993.  Tom and David Gardner’s most popular stock recommendation service is called “The Stock Advisor” and was launched in 2002.

The Fool’s Stock Advisor service has only one purpose – to help YOU invest, better.

Every month, the Gardner brothers present 12 US stock recommendations that are sent via e-mail and available on their website.

Here’s What You Get…

For those of your that are just starting out investing in the stock market–the Motley Fool has a special section for you.

After you signup, you have immediate access to the entire Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor website which includes a list of their picks, their stock screener, their message boards, etc.

Then you will start getting specific stock recommendations emails as follows:

• Every first Thursday of the month, Tom Gardner presents one new stock recommendation.
• On the second Thursday of the month, David Gardner presents one new stock recommendation.
• On the third Thursday of the month, Tom presents five of his favorite Best Stocks to Buy Now list.
• And on the fourth Thursday of the month, David presents five of his favorite Best Stocks to Buy Now list.

An Example Recommendation

Here is what one of the recent “Best Buys Now” emails looked like…

Here’s something else you MUST KNOW–Tom and David Gardner are still running the company and providing these stock recommendations!  If you look at other newsletters, you can’t compare one year to the next because they have so much changeover and you never know whose advice you are following.  This is a STRONG POINT for the Motley Fool’s service!

If you have doubts about the Motley Fool suggestions you can pull up the coverage page which will display the analysis of the stock.

I love that feature! Here’s how it looks:

Notice the date of this recommendation…April 20, 2018 when the stock was around $42.  I purposely picked this one to show you because it was the Fool’s top performing stock pick of 2018.

Also notice the copy above says it was first recommended in January 2018 when it was around $29.18.

As of February 26, 2022 OKTA closed at $178 so that stock alone is up 513%!  This is just one of their stellar stock recommendations that is up 7x in the last 2 years.

So, Why Should You Care About the Motley Fool?

You should care for several reasons.

First, it makes investing in the stock so much easier and less stressful.  Just read their recommendations every Thursday and buy what they recommend.  I just buy the 2 NEW picks each month as the “5 Best Stocks Now” are usually re-recommendations of previous stocks. Any of their stocks that go down 32% I just sell off to cut my losses. This helps to keep some cash in the account.

Second, as you have seen in great detail above, they really do pick a few stocks each year that double or triple each year.

Third, if you are just getting started, its a great place to start and learn about the stock market.  Financial advisers agree on few things, but they ALL AGREE that the sooner you start investing in the stock market they better off you will be in the future.

None of us have the time nor the skills to analyze thousands of stocks and then decide which ones are the best ones.  The Stock Advisor subscription is tailored to the Individual Investor to do exactly that.

What Else Do You Get?

When you order a Stock Advisor subscription, in addition to the two new stock picks every month, you’ll have unlimited access to all of their current and historical stock recommendations.

It also includes “Instant alerts”. They will send you an instant alert as soon as one of these events occurs to a stock in your list:

• New buy alerts
• When it is time to sell (this is huge)
• Large price changes

Additionally, you’ll get have access to the Fool’s research page, which presents premium articles and reports that cover the US stock market.  Their reports page is very interesting and presents numerous trending topics in our society such as virtual reality, self-driving cars, lithium batteries, pot stocks, etc.

Is the Motley Fool a Scam or is Motley Fool Legit?

I get this question a lot for some reason…  But it’s still an easy answer: The Motley Fool is DEFINITELY NOT a scam.  My results with the Fool picks over the last 6 years have been phenomenal, as you have seen.  Of course it’s not perfect and every stock tip is not a winner. But, they definitely are a legit company and for the last 6 years their stocks have crushed the market.

I also think people may get the wrong impression if they stumble upon tweets like these:

However, you can find those tweets about anything these days!

The fact is, the Motley Fool stocks have beat the market since 2016. My results shown above prove it. That is the most important thing you need to know. Also, the Motley Fool has been in business since 1993 and employ 250+ people. And they currently have 1,000,000+ subscribers to their Stock Advisor. 1,000,000 people can’t be wrong!

But, for the benefit of people reading the Motley Fool review, here are the FACTS:

1. There’s no question, the answer to is the Motley Fool a legitimate company is YES.  It is well known among investors.  In fact, they now say they have over 1,000,000 subscribers.
2. I subscribed in 2016 and my results are listed above
3. They even have their own mutual fund, which is the “Motley Fool Global Opportunities Fund Investor Shares (FOOLX)”.
4. Also, the Fool brothers, Tom and David Gardner, don’t hide from their customers.  For example, they often have interesting ideas on their certified Twitter page

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Here is an interesting piece on their ups and downs with Amazon.com (they first purchased it in September 1997!)

Here another testimonial from a customer given on Stackexchange, proving even more how it’s not a scam.

“I’ve had a MF Stock Advisor for 7 or 8 years now, and I’ve belong to Supernova for a couple of years. I also have money in one of their mutual funds. “The Fool” has a lot of very good educational information available, especially for people who are new to investing. Read full testimonial“

Now that we’ve beaten that myth to death, let me answer a few other questions…

Will it Help you Make More Money?

The short answer is YES.  That’s proven by their past performance. As I mentioned above in this review, since 2016 their stock picks have an average return of 219%.  That means that they more than tripled.

I subscribed in 2016 and my results speak for themselves.

Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor- Additional Insights

1- It is true that there are many options to explore, but after testing a bunch of them, the Motley Fool provided the best returns and the best bang for the buck.

2- The Stock Advisor is usually $199 a year, but if you are a new subscriber visit this new subscriber page to see their latest offers like 50% off or try it for just $19 with a 30-day 100% membership refund period.  It is an investment, but you will get a great return on that investment.

3- There is definitely a “Fool Effect.” With 1,000,000 subscribers, you must understand that their stock recommendations go up about $2 – $5 within  hours of the release of their recommendations. So be ready on Thursday to buy as soon as you get the email.

4- Like with any other stock picking service, it’s true that their investment strategies are not 100% guaranteed. From what I have experienced in the last 5 years, they do seem to pick one stock a year that goes down 20-30%.  They will, however, let you know when they want you to sell it.  My recommendation would be to place a stop loss order at 32% of your purchase price.

5- After paper trading their stock picks for 6 months, I eventually had the confidence to start buying all of the Motley Fool stocks in my Etrade account.  Here are a few screenshots of my account that show the date I bought them and the returns.  Notice the TWLO was recommended twice so I bought it twice:

I also feel that the Fool service is very cheap compared to other alternatives that don’t perform as consistently. (Zack’s Investor service is 3x the price)

How Much Does Stock Advisor Cost?

The Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor is now available at its lowest price ever.  Last year I paid $199 and if you go to their website you will see the full retail price is $199.  BUT–They do run pricing promotions of $19 a month or $89 a year for new subscribers.  Either way you can cancel and take advantage of their 30 day money back guarantee and get a full refund.

Is Motley Fool a pump and dump?

Absolutely not.  In fact, they are the opposite.  They recommend you hold their stock picks for at least 5 years.

Does it Cover Penny Stocks?

No, the Motley Fool services focuses on blue chip stocks, which are large & well-established companies in their respective industry.  They do NOT recommend penny stocks.

For penny stocks, I would suggest looking into Timothy Sykes, a penny stock trader who made $1.65 million by day trading as a university student.

He has a couple of teaching segments that you might interest you:

• Tim Sykes teaches Penny stocks
• Superman Trade alerts and premium research
• Guru – learn from proven profitable traders
• Analyze your trades

Is the Motley Fool Good for Technical Analysis?

No, definitely not. Technical analysis involves analyzing trade volume and prices and then trying to forecast the direction of stock prices.

The Motley Fool service is based on fundamental analysis and is for longer-term investing.  Hence they focus on the company’s financial statements, their competitors, the overall health of the economy, etc.

Is it Good for Day Traders?

No. Day Trading involves buying and selling stocks on the same day. The Motley Fool recommends stocks they want you to hold stocks for years, not minutes.

It is focused on buy & hold portfolios that seek capital growth. This involves a lot less stress and growth for the long-term.

Motley Fool Stock Advisor Conclusion

So… is the Motley Fool Stock Advisor worth the money?

The answer is a definite YES.

Of all the stock subscriptions I have tried over the years, Tom and David Gardner’s Stock Advisor gives you the greatest bang for your buck and is most definitely worth the $89 for the first 12 months for new subscribers.

I’ve been a paying customer to the Stock Advisor subscription for over since 2016.  I buy $1,000-$2,000 worth of each of their 2 specific stock picks every month.  I wrote this Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor Review so others can see how great the Fool’s Stock Advisor service picks have been for me over the last 5 years.

As I stated at the beginning of this review, my portfolio has outperformed the SP500 by an average of 139% over the last 5 years so I can definitely say it’s been worth it.

The biggest negative experience is:

• With over 1,000,000 subscribers, there is definitely a Fool Effect on the stock prices. Within the first few hours of getting a recommendation, the price of the stock typically shoots up $2 or $3 so I have learned to get my order in quickly.

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor Service Compared to Their Rule Breakers Service

The Rule Breaker stock picking service works in much the same way as Stock Advisor.  They both consistently beat the market, release 2 stock picks per month, and are best for long term investors.  The differences are:

• Rule Breakers picks are coming from just David Gardner and his team
• These stock picking tips focus on high-growth stocks that they feel are poised to be market leaders
• The results are much more volatile than Stock Advisor’s

The Motley Fool Rule Breakers picks have higher returns over the long run, but more variance as well.  So if you missed out on just one Rule Breaker pick each year, your results could be significantly worse.

For more information on Rule Breakers, see our Motley Fool Rule Breakers Review article.

Their August 4th pick is already up 32%.
Try it for 12 months for only $89. Next pick: September 29, 2022.