Moneywise / Moneywise
Updated: March 11, 2024
For some investors, picking individual stocks is part of building a successful portfolio. However, deciding which stocks to add to the portfolio can be a challenge.
The Motley Fool is one of the most successful investing websites and offers different services for helping you identify promising stocks to invest in. Two of the choices, Stock Advisor and Rules Breakers, can provide you with helpful insights and ideas. Here's what you need to know about Motley Fool Stock Advisor vs. Rule Breakers.
Both Stock Advisor and Rule Breakers are published by The Motley Fool, which was founded by brothers Tom and David Gardner. Both services claim that their picks historically far exceeded the regular returns of the market, so the theory is that if you add the picks from these services to your portfolio, you're likely to see good results.
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor is a premium investment service that provides members with stock recommendations and market analysis.
In order to provide stock picks and analysis, The Motley Fool uses a team of analysts. There's a new stock recommended each month (two recommendations per month). The idea is that these stocks are likely to provide solid long-term returns in a portfolio. Stock Advisor also offers a list of five stocks that should be bought with new money.
The Motley Fool Rule Breakers is a premium investment service that focuses on identifying high-growth companies with the potential to disrupt their industries
The focus is on stocks that are considered opportunities for growth. As the name implies, Rule Breakers takes a look at companies that might be counterintuitive additions to your portfolio. However, Rule Breakers also includes “Starter Stocks” that can help you get a jumpstart on your portfolio.
Both of these services are from The Motley Fool.
Specifically, Rule Breakers provides two new stock picks every month that are high-conviction buys. New members also get five “best buys now” picks that are Motley Fool's favorite companies out of 200+ candidates.
Picks from Rule Breakers, according to The Motley Fool, are up 267%, as of March 11, 2024. However, it's important to note that even though there's a high potential for growth, there could also be a high potential for loss. Rule Breakers stocks don't always perform as well as expected. On the other hand, the successes might make up for the failures.
The Motley Fool’s team of analysts make recommendations in this service, which tend to lean toward value stocks and those that are likely to provide long-term returns that are a little more stable.
Like Rule Breakers, Stock Advisor also provides two new stock picks per month. You also get 10 timely buys chosen from 300+ stocks.
Since its start in 2002, according to The Motley Fool, Stock Advisor picks have historically returned 657%, as of March 11, 2024.
Both of these services are about picking stocks, and they come from the same source, The Motley Fool.
Uses picks from both The Motley Fool’s team of analysts.
Focuses on more conventional stocks.
Looks for stocks that should be held for at least five years.
Stock Advisor currently has a higher average return since its inception than Rule Breakers.
Uses picks from The Motley Fool’s team of analysts.
Focuses on companies that are unorthodox but could win big.
Offers a list of stocks for starting a portfolio.
Both services have access to The Motley Fool customer service. This is available through email, as well as offering phone support 9 A.M. to 5 P.M., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
In general, Rule Breakers is ideal for those who are looking to add potential big winners to their portfolios. With Rule Breakers, you're going to get more sell recommendations, as well as its buy recommendations, because at some point you'll need to unload your stocks. You might consider Rule Breakers if you have a higher risk tolerance since some of the picks might not perform as expected.
On the other hand, Stock Advisor can be a good choice for someone who wants to build a portfolio with individual stocks but is looking to buy and hold companies. Stock Advisor is also aimed more at those who are interested in value stocks.
When looking at Motley Fool Rule Breakers vs. Stock Advisor, it's important to consider your own portfolio goals to determine what's likely to fit your investing style. And you can subscribe to both and get access to different ideas for different areas of your portfolio.
This is a newsletter that offers investment research and makes reports. Using this service, you can get screeners for a variety of stocks and purposes. Some major brokerages include Zacks, so you might already have access. You can get Premium membership for $249 per year and get access to additional tools and resources.
Famous investing show host Jim Cramer is part of the team at The Street and if you want access to some of his picks, you can choose various subscriptions. You can get access to Action Alerts PLUS for $29.99 per month and see what you should be buying and selling. There are discounts if you commit to one or two years at a time.
Get access to regular insights on stocks and industry trends. You can read the latest investment news and see basic analysis for different companies based on what's happening and various trends in the market. The first two months cost $20, after which you pay $34.95 per month.
If you want free content, Seeking Alpha offers a variety of viewpoints and ideas from different writers. However, you can also subscribe to a premium service from Seeking Alpha that goes more in-depth on research and ideas. This costs $29.99 per month or $19.99 per month if paid annually.
Stock Advisor and Rule Breakers are two of the oldest and most popular premium services The Motley Fool offers. But it also has other premium services you can consider like:
It's also worth noting that unlike Stock Advisor, Rule Breakers also has various sub-categories and more premium versions you can explore. For example, you can subscribe to editions of Rule Breakers that focus on sectors like biotech, energy, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and fintech. Most of these editions cost $1,999 per year.
If you're new to stock investing and need a helping hand building your portfolio, Stock Advisor is your best pick. This service provides an excellent foundation of companies you can invest in plus plenty of educational resources to help new investors.
In contrast, Rule Breakers is best if you already have some investing experience and want to add a few more niche picks to your portfolio. It's also better than Stock Advisor if you have a higher risk tolerance and are really seeking to outperform the market.
In the end, what works best for you depends on your investing goals, risk tolerance, and the way you build your portfolio. Both of these services are offered by The Motley Fool, which has a long track record of finding winners, whether it's with high-growth picks or with longer-term buy-and-hold picks. Figure out what you want to accomplish with your portfolio and choose the service that's best for you.
Miranda Marquit is a journalism-trained freelance writer and professional blogger specializing in personal finance.
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