Stock market returns average around 10% over the long term. Invest in index funds, possibly managed by a Robo-advisor or investment advisor, if you want to sit back and relax about your stock investments. It is a simple process, and it is effective. What if your expectations are not met by the average return? The search for individual stocks that will beat the market at large is frequently undertaken by investors seeking an edge over the overall market. Nevertheless, while some investors prefer to research these stocks themselves, using methods such as the CAN SLIM strategy, others are willing to consult with equity experts to assist them in the analysis of these securities.
The purpose of stock picking services is exactly what it sounds like - they select specific stocks they believe will outperform the broader stock market. Those stocks are recommended to you, and you are free to act on or ignore them according to your personal preference. Despite the fact that they seem straightforward, and they are, many new investors confuse them with services that sound very similar to them. The use of a stock screener, for example, allows you to narrow down the thousands of available stocks to a manageable number based on your precise criteria. Another type of online investing tool is stock scanners, which provide stock-related data and alerts in real-time. Additionally, stockbrokers provide the actual mechanism for purchasing and selling stocks online. It is important to keep in mind that these services often overlap. The majority of stockbrokers offer stock screening tools. Real-time stock scanning is offered by some stock screeners.
An Overview Of What To Look For In A Stock Picking Service
As there are some stock picking services that are better than others, as with everything in life. It is important to note, however, that stock pickers do not simply differ based on quality. Their focus also varies. The majority specialize in providing services to day traders or swing traders, in order to identify stocks that are likely to jump or fall sharply on that day or during the following week. There are also those who are serving long-term buy-and-hold investors, recommending stocks they believe will grow rapidly in the future. In the first instance, you should seek out stock pickers who have a proven track record of beating the market. There is no guarantee that stock pickers will get every call right, but the astute ones prove to be right more often than not.
Make sure that any stock picker you intend to use has a track record of success before taking their investment advice. The returns of their picks should be compared to those of the market at large whenever possible. The growth of their picks last year doesn't matter if the market grew by 35%. It is better if the track record is longer. Stock pickers should have experience, as a few good picks in a year or two may be a matter of luck. It is evident that skill has been demonstrated by 20 years of strong picks. Ensure that stock pickers maintain a high level of integrity as well. A stock picker who is ethical and transparent would not mislead their audience by recording trade wins but leaving losing trades open, for example, and reporting only closed trades.
It is also important to note that they do not record profits until they have been executed and received. Consider free trial periods and money-back guarantees as indicators of credibility and transparency. When making a decision to permanently commit your money to a service, it is always a good idea to try it out first. The last step is to ensure that you understand their stock selection strategy. Investing strategies are explained by reputable stock pickers, so make sure you understand their methodology and that it aligns with your own investment objectives.
Here are the best stock picking services available today.
Superman Trades
As a trader and Certified Public Accountant, Paul Scolardi has nearly two decades of experience trading stocks and has become a self-made millionaire through this endeavor. Timothy Sykes' Profit.ly platform serves as the platform for Scolardi's Superman subscription service. Traders who subscribe to Scolardi's newsletter receive daily stock watchlist updates, real-time email, and SMS alerts, and live chat commentary from Scolardi and other traders. A monthly subscription to Superman Alerts costs $147. By paying an additional $100, Superman Pro subscribers will have access to weekly videos, an educational video library, premium stock research reports, and earnings tracking features. While Scolardi does teach day trading - often in quick, in-and-out "scalp" trades - what sets him apart is his experience as a swing trader. It is common for swing traders to hold stocks for more than one day, but still for only a short time (often a few days or weeks).
Tim Alerts
It was around $12,000 in bar mitzvah gift money that Timothy Sykes began trading in his preteen years. His self-made millionaire status was achieved by the time he was a senior in college. In the years since then, Sykes has launched a number of finance-related platforms and services, primarily in order to assist mom-and-pop day traders in earning additional income. Traders receive real-time notifications about Sykes's trades throughout the day via email, SMS, or push notifications through his Tim Alerts, which are released around 8 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Subscribers have access to a live chat room and a proprietary mobile application. In comparison to some of its competitors, Tim Alerts is more affordable at $697 per year. With a Pennystocking Silver subscription, members have access to over 6,000 educational videos and weekly video updates. The Sykes Group has created a variety of successful financial platforms in addition to Tim Alerts.
The Profit.ly platform provides a forum for more than 160,000-day traders to openly share their trades and performance. Furthermore, Sykes founded Investimonials.com, a platform that allows consumers to review financial products and services, and StocksToTrade.com, a website that lets users screen stocks and perform trades.
Investors Underground
There are more than 700 video lessons and guides available on Investors Underground, another platform that focuses on education. The company offers frequent webinars with ample opportunity for questions and answers. Every day, Investors Underground sends out a newsletter that is filled with stock watchlists and game plans, so you are prepared for market day. In the chatroom, you will be able to compare notes, ask questions, and monitor real-time stock scanning and alerts as the trading day begins. However, these alerts do not include an SMS option, which many day traders prefer to passive email alerts. While Investors Underground memberships are far from cheap, they still amount to less than one-third of Warrior Trading's cost. As part of the service, you are required to pay $1,897 per year, and you can also purchase access to the company's premium courses if you wish to increase your trading capabilities. It is available on a monthly basis at $297 per month if you wish to try it for a month.
Warrior Trading
A major strength of Warrior Trading is its education, and this starts with its founder, Ross Cameron. Using live audio feeds, video feeds, and chatroom discussions, Cameron leads highly personal discussions in real-time. It is even possible to view Cameron's own trades in real-time, as well as those of the other professional traders and educators employed by the company. As part of its premium education program, Warriors Trading provides a series of free educational videos. Cameron opened a new account with only $500 as a fun exercise, and he lets subscribers watch his growth as he grows it to $1 million. His business grew from $500 to more than $53,000 in just the first month. Each day, Warriors Trading sends out a newsletter with a few stocks to watch. It is possible to use their real-time scanner to monitor these stocks throughout the trading day as well as to create SMS message alerts as well as email alerts for timely trading. The simulator allows you to practice trading with fake money in order to build confidence. There is a cost associated with all that personal attention. It charges a dizzying $5,997 per year for Warriors Trading's Pro service, so it is not exactly aimed at mildly curious individuals. In addition, you may wish to try their Warrior Starter Course, but it is not cheap either at $997 for the first month followed by $197 each month thereafter.
Zacks Premium
Traders use Zacks Investment Research to conduct stock and financial research. It is well known that Zacks provides a wide range of free offerings for traders, including stock news, research articles as well as stock and mutual fund screens. However, Zacks also provides a premium subscription service for those traders who wish to delve deeper into analyst predictions. With top stock picks from analysts, analyses of potential earnings surprises, and more detailed stock filters and lists, the Premium service stands out to traders looking for new ideas. As a result of predefined stock filters that separate value, growth, and momentum stocks, the #1 Rank List of recommended stocks provides actionable information for a variety of investors. An annual subscription to Zacks Premium begins with a 30-day free trial. The service may be canceled without a charge if you are dissatisfied after 30 days. If you elect to pay for the service, you will also receive a money-back guarantee. Prices are comparable to those offered by other similar services such as the Motley Fool and Gorilla Trades, and the money-back guarantee gives you peace of mind.
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor
Having been around for approximately three decades, the Motley Fool has earned its place at the top of the list among long-term stock pickers. As of July 2022, The Motley Fool's Stock Advisor picks have delivered nearly three times as much return as the S&P 500. It represents a cumulative return of 372%, which is significantly higher than that of the S&P (122%). In 1993, David Gardner and Tom Gardner founded The Motley Fool. Over the years, the two brothers have written four bestselling books, partnered with NPR for radio segments, and produced a series of highly popular podcasts. The Stock Advisor service has been a tremendous success with more than 700,000 subscribers. Every month, four newsletters are delivered, beginning on the first Thursday of the month and continuing until the end of the month. Each of the first and third newsletters contains a new stock recommendation, and the second and fourth newsletters contain five new best buys for the week. It consists of prior picks that they still recommend as strong investments. In the event of a change in market conditions, subscribers receive real-time "sell" recommendations in their email accounts. Moreover, Fool subscribers receive access to the Fool's "Top 10 Best Stocks to Buy RIGHT NOW" report and the Fool's "Top 5 Starter Stocks" that they recommend for all new investors. For the first year, new members may receive a discounted offer of $79 on the Stock Advisor subscription, which costs $199 per year. It offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, which allows you to try the service for a full month before deciding whether to continue.
Mindful Trader
It is one of the great benefits of Mindful Trader that you do not need to continuously stay on standby in anticipation of trade alerts. There is a ten-day lag between buying and selling the swing trades, so you can buy at any time during the trading day. As most of us are not able to keep our eyes glued to the screen all day, this is a very important feature. Based on decades of stock market data, Eric Ferguson, the founder of Mindful Trader, created an algorithm that alerts him to high-probability market movements. Stocks, futures, and options trades are included. In order for you to execute a trade in your own brokerage account, Eric updates his website for logged-in subscribers when he executes the trade. The majority of his trades are made within half an hour of the markets opening every day, so you need only check the website once per day. Swing trades are not nearly as time-sensitive as day trades. An average annual return of 143% would have been earned by Eric's trading system over the last 20 years. The year-by-year return breakdown can be viewed here. There are some months when you will face losses, but it does not mean that you will never encounter them. Traders are familiar with the stomach-churning feeling of a string of losses. The median account drawdown in Eric's backtests was 28%. It is not something that should be taken lightly. The subscription fee for Mindful Trader is $47 per month. Despite not being cheap per se, it is less expensive than many of its competitors. The monthly billing interval allows you to try it for a month or two and then cancel without losing a fortune if you do not like the trading style.
Carnivore Trading
As with other entrants on this list, Carnivore Trading is a copy or mirror trading service that suggests mostly short-term trading opportunities to users who are willing to pay $175 per month - discounted 15% by paying by the year. If you are a Carnivore subscriber, you will receive daily trading alerts throughout the day, preferably in near-real time. As a result of these alerts, the trades made by Carnivore's seasoned trading team will be shown, along with suggested exit points. After the closing bell, Carnivore publishes a daily digest called the Daily Wrap, which provides commentary and analysis on the day's market action. A conflict of interest is created by Carnivore's encouragement for users to copy its team's trades. Nevertheless, this is no different from the other copy trading services listed on this page. To underscore its legitimacy, Carnivore restricts its recommendations to "large, liquid, well-followed stocks" and imposes some other risks-management measures:
⦁ The minimum market capitalization of $300 million, with most recommendations exceeding $2 billion
⦁ There are no over-the-counter stocks available
⦁ There are no options available
⦁ Carnivore does not require users to be familiar with complex trading strategies (though it assumes users are familiar with basic active trading strategies)
Pilot Trading
A psychology-based AI algorithm in Pilot Trading predicts when asset prices will shift directions beyond merely displaying their current trends. Trading is made even easier and faster by connecting directly to many brokerage accounts. A unique feature of Pilot Trading is its wide range of assets. These trends encompass stocks, futures, forex, and cryptocurrency trends, along with anticipated swing points. Pilot Trading also offers simulated paper trading accounts if you have never traded any of those assets before. Unlike many competitors, Pilot Trading doesn't charge massive membership fees. Access to all features is available for $19.95 per month. One affordable price, no upselling, no bells and whistles.
Trade Ideas
In order to generate real-time trade recommendations for subscribers, Trade Ideas uses artificial intelligence called "Holly.". It uses more than 70 proprietary algorithms to simulate more than a million trades every night before trading begins. Consequently, she proposes stock trade picks in real-time, along with suggested entry and exit points. This provides a complete day trading plan for each pick. The company also has its own internal broker, allowing its customers to have Holly execute trades on their behalf rather than having to manually purchase or sell securities through their own brokerage account. The simulated trading option included by Trade Ideas is particularly useful. Trading with fake money gives you the opportunity to gain experience before you start slinging your hard-earned money around. There is a hefty price tag associated with Trade Ideas' many features. There is a starting rate of $1,068 per year, and if you wish to take advantage of all Holly AI features, you must upgrade to the Premium plan which costs $2,268 per year.
Seeking Alpha Premium
This powerful package of market intelligence tools is designed to assist you in becoming a successful investor or trader. The following benefits can be obtained by subscribing to Seeking Alpha Premium for $19.99 per month - an annual savings of $120:
⦁ A wide array of premium content created and curated by Seeking Alpha's expert contributors
⦁ Metrics for Seeking Alpha Author Ratings and Author Performance
⦁ Quantitative ratings that are proprietary are not available anywhere else
⦁ Audio and transcripts of all earnings calls
⦁ Stock screening tools that are powerful
⦁ Data, charts, and ratings are presented in the article sidebars
⦁ Monitoring the performance of each investment idea
⦁ The list goes on and on
The Motley Fool Rule Breakers
There is more to The Motley Fool than its flagship Stock Advisor subscription. The Rule Breakers newsletter offers "hidden gems" of growth stocks, particularly companies set to disrupt their respective industries. Founded in 2004, the Rule Breakers stock picks have returned 210% over the past decade, according to The Motley Fool. That is in stark contrast to the S&P 500's 94% performance during the same period. The results of Stock Advisor's picks may seem weaker but bear in mind that Stock Advisor was launched several years earlier than Stock Advisor. Rather than investing in large, established corporations, Rule Breakers prefers to pick up-and-coming companies. Rule Breakers is an investment that involves a substantial level of risk, so consider it only if you are seeking to invest in scrappy growth stocks that have not yet been discovered by the wider market. Subscribers to Stock Advisor receive stock recommendations every month on the first and third Thursdays, as well as five New Best Buys Now every other Thursday. Aside from real-time sell notifications, you'll also have access to The Motley Fool's starter stocks. The price of Rule Breakers is a bit higher than Stock Advisor, but you are still guaranteed a 30-day money-back guarantee.
American Association Of Individual Investors (AAII)
AAII is a nonprofit organization with approximately 150,000 members whose purpose is to educate individual investors about stock market portfolios, financial planning, and retirement accounts. By providing education, information, and research, AAII aids individuals in becoming effective asset managers. Because it is a not-for-profit corporation, it markets itself as an unbiased source of investment information. Founded in 1978 by James Cloonan, Ph.D., AAII's members have consistently reported investment returns that are higher than the stock market (using the S&P 500 index as a benchmark). Throughout the years, AAII has maintained two real portfolios for educational purposes - a shadow stock portfolio and a mutual fund portfolio. It is possible to access the returns and contents of these portfolios online and, according to the site, they have significantly outperformed the market.
ConclusionThe quality of your information will determine the likelihood of your success as a day trader or swing trader. Information that is timely and accurate enables traders to make a profit; without it, beating the market is nearly impossible. Furthermore, traders and long-term investors alike require assistance in narrowing the field from thousands of stocks to just a few. It is at this point that stock picking services are useful. It is also important to note that they provide education as well. There is no passive and easy way to trade or invest in individual stocks, such as by investing in index funds. The process requires a great deal of knowledge and skill, and a good stock picking service will provide not only alerts and watchlists, but also a replicable system that can be used by any investor or trader. Following the system is the key to beating the market if you follow the instructions.
By Rashmi Goel