Whether you invest in stocks as a hobby or rely on it as your primary source of income, your goals in the endeavor should be the same: To predictably create wealth and beat the broader market's returns in the process. But the latter is easier said than done considering the S&P 500 has generated historical annual returns of nearly 10%.
Yet since its inception in 2002, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter has consistently beat the market. In fact, with its average pick climbing over 220%, Stock Advisor has more than tripled the 66.5% return achieved by the S&P 500 over the same period (returns as of 4/19/2017).
But life isn't all about picking stocks. Which is why the Motley Fool Rule Your Retirement newsletter has served for years as a guiding light for investors both young and old as they work to manage their finances through a crucial time in their lives.
But what, exactly, makes these two newsletters different, and how can they benefit you?
FOOL CO-FOUNDERS TOM AND DAVID GARDNER, IMAGE SOURCE: THE MOTLEY FOOL
How Stock Advisor has destroyed the market
Supported by their own respective teams of talented analysts, Motley Fool co-founders Tom and David Gardner stand tall at the helm of Stock Advisor. Every month, Team David and Team Tom each recommend a stock -- whether it's a new company or from their pool of hundreds of previous picks -- that they believe Stock Advisor subscribers would do well to consider buying. Each team also provides updates as needed on previous picks that they believe should be put on "hold" for temporary concerns, or sold if they no longer believe in its prospects as a market-beating investment.
In addition, Team Tom and Team David each provide a list of their own "Best Buys Now" once per month. These lists contain five companies from their pool of existing Stock Advisor picks that represent timely opportunities for your new investing dollars. Stock Advisor also maintains a list of "Starter Stocks," or strong companies that they believe can form the foundation of any well-rounded portfolio.
Collectively, there are several overarching principles that guide both teams' Stock Advisor approach:
- Buy businesses, not tickers. Recognize that underlying the ticker symbols are real businesses generating revenue and profits from actual products.
- Be a lifetime investor. Take a long-term view of investing, which means keeping track of the news, earnings reports, and industries surrounding the stocks they recommend.
- Diversify. Building a diversified portfolio helps protect against volatility, and lets Stock Advisor members sleep better at night.
- Fish where others aren't. Don't follow the crowd, which means thinking for yourself and doing your own research.
- Check emotions at the door. Be prepared to calmly endure, comprehend, and potentially take advantage of big swings in the share prices of your stocks.
- Keep score. Stock Advisor members have access to the performance of all previous picks at any time, dating back to David's and Tom's earliest recommendations in 2002.
- Be Foolish (with a capital "F") and have fun. Investing isn't as hard as it sounds. Stock Advisor believes individual investors outperform their brokers and enjoy themselves along the way.
But Team Tom and Team David also employ their own unique methods to fine-tune this approach.
For example, Team David strives to find companies that are not only poised to benefit from "undeniable, long-term trends," but also have a certain level of "unquantifiable greatness" -- that is, a secret sauce that gives them an edge, and more often wins the love of consumers as a result. David wants to be able to get in early on these great businesses, and has no problem adding to his positions as these winners keep winning over the long term.
And Team Tom first looks for great companies operating in beaten-down (but still relevant) industries. He also seeks those with strong financials and a proven business model, as well as shareholder-friendly management teams. Signs of the latter tend to include high levels of insider ownership, and reasonable compensation structures.
MOTLEY FOOL RULE YOUR RETIREMENT ADVISOR ROBERT BROKAMP, IMAGE SOURCE: THE MOTLEY FOOL
How Rule Your Retirement helps you conquer your golden years
By contrast, Rule Your Retirement isn't explicitly a stock-picking service. Then again, the journey toward retirement is about much more than just buying and holding great investments. Rather, through the leadership of Advisor and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Robert Brokamp, Rule Your Retirement's focus is to both educate and and provide actionable recommendations on topics like building a balanced portfolio, calculating savings rates, planning for insurance, handling your taxes, and managing your estate.
Robert Brokamp, for his part, has been a full-time Fool since 1999, and has contributed to publications including Better Investing and Newsweek. He also wrote The Motley Fool's Guide to Paying for School, co-authored The Motley Fool Personal Finance Workbook, and contributed to both The Motley Fool's Money After 40 and The Motley Fool's Guide to Couples and Cash.
Of course, the trove of information included with Rule Your Retirement could easily be overwhelming. As such, Rule Your Retirement members receive an email digest with each week's content every Thursday, as well as a monthly digest on the first Thursday of each month. And to help you navigate all that useful content later, the Rule Your Retirement site is neatly organized by topics including:
- Portfolio
- Funds
- Saving
- Everyday Finances
- Accounts
- Estate Planning
- How to Retire
- Property and Mortgages
- Insurance
- Paying for College
- Health and Wellness
In addition, Rule Your Retirement gives you access to a thriving community where you can interact with other members and advisors in any of 16 discussion boards devoted to every aspect of retirement planning.
Start your journey today!
Whether you're looking for Motley Fool Stock Advisor's proven stock-picking prowess, or want to absorb the trove of retirement-centric guidance offered by Motley Fool Rule Your Retirement, both services offer invaluable ways for anyone to vastly improve their financial well-being.
Best of all, you can sign up for either -- or both -- at a special introductory rate right now. Rather than paying the usual price, take advantage of this offer and click here to pay a significant discount to list price for Motley Fool Stock Advisor. Or you can click here to pay a significant discount to list price for Motley Fool Rule Your Retirement. Either way, it could mark the beginning of your journey to life-changing wealth.
