Opinion of The Motley Fool's advice

[Orchidflower]

I put this subject TMF in search, but could not find a general impression from the populace here of the advice TMF gives out.
Personally, I don't like their asinine writing style, but someone must or they would write differently; however, the real question here is: what is your opinion of the advice The Motley Fool gives out in their daily newsletters (the free ones)?

 

[d]

worth every penny you paid for it (the free ones). more seriously, i have found their mutual fund advice to be rather pedestrian but have not followed/read in sufficient detail to endorse or condemn.

 

[yakers]

Maybe it has changed since I left a couple years ago but MF has some good posters, a lot of 'noise' and some outright cranks. The host information other then some good inititial advice to the real novice is useless.
They have a serious structural issue IMHO. If you don't know anything they can give some good, basic advice (save early/often, look at fees, taxes set up a good AA...) but once you get past that you know enough to not need any more advice from them or most anyone else.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

One word:

 

[brewer12345]

The general investing stuff is fluff, at best. The stuff that they write on individual companies is bad at best, grossly misleading at worst.

I view their stuff as entertainment only.

 

[HFWR]

A fool and his/her money are soon parted...

 

[clifp]

I have taken advantage of the free 30 trails of a number of the MF newsletters as well as having a been a member of their discussion board for years. The specific stock ones I have tried have varied between pedestrian and down right dangerous (Income investing and Global investing). The rule your retirement newsletter is pretty generic, but if you haven't spent a lot of time learning about financial retirement issues, it is a better starting point than most.

The boards do have a lot of knowledgable posters although I'd say the signal to noise ratio is better on this board than most MF boards.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Is that because we've got good signal, or because we have low noise?

 

[Orchidflower]

Thank God, I thought it was just me. They have alot of fluff, and some of the articles I read I thought maybe they were kidding (like the article they have right now telling you not to buy mutual funds..huh?). Not impressive or encouraging. Worth what I paid to read them...and they were free, if you get the point there.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

They used to be pretty good. Once they switched course 180 degrees from do-it-
yourself-and-dont-trust-paid-newsletters to pleeeeeease buy our newsletters, virtually
all their 'news' stories changed into ads for their tout sheets. There still are some posters on
the message boards with some valuable info, but if you were not around way back when,
it is very hard to separate the chaff from the wheat, and probably not worth the effort.

 

[skyline]

They used to be pretty good. Once they switched course 180 degrees from do-it-
yourself-and-dont-trust-paid-newsletters to pleeeeeease buy our newsletters, virtually
all their 'news' stories changed into ads for their tout sheets. There still are some posters on
the message boards with some valuable info, but if you were not around way back when,
it is very hard to separate the chaff from the wheat, and probably not worth the effort.

My thoughts exactly. I can't recall, but many years ago I think they used to have some decent content (or I didn't know jack s*** back then - probably both were accurate). But I recently checked out TMF (about the same time I stumbled onto this board), and was quickly turned off by each and every 'article' ending with a pitch for one of their paid services. It's pretty pathetic and desperate. Not expecting to see TMF around too much longer from the looks of it.

 

[clifp]

Good signal. A huge amount of noise is part of all discussion boards.

"Be assured that a walk through the depths of most people souls would hardly get your feet wet"

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

A huge amount of noise is part of all discussion boards.

I'm doing my best.

Basically they were strongly recommending equity investment strategies at a time when equities were flying and you could succeed with a monkey throwing darts at the WSJ as your stock picker. When the markets turned south, their "advice" did too.

What cracks me up is when you look at their site, all their ads talking about their "great returns" on their recommended ports have a starting date in 2002. I'd like to see them start back around 2000.

 

[Orchidflower]

OK, I get it: avoid TMF forum, too. Thanks for the advice.
(cute fuzzy bunny, I can't figure out if you are a female or male.)

 

[pedorrero]

I did what clifp did (milk some of the 30-day free trials). I've been a freeloading Fool for several years now. I post enough (drivel, I guess) that I keep getting freebie renewals. I have to agree with the general consensus that it's pretty watered down advice. To be fair to the fool, or any other public board for that matter, there is going to be mostly rat manure with only the occasional grain of rice (thanks for that allusion Dad!) -- low Signal to Noise in more EE terms. Their various newsletters will probably do about average. Also, they will no doubt bury the bad news. You won't find much about the Foolish Four or other tried-and-died investment gambits. But don't tar & feather the Fool -- that is par for the course in the investing biz. A biz doesn't make any new customers admitting its mistakes. It's the same principle why the cutest little wench is the hostess to seat you at your local "casual dining" restaurant. Good-to-average males and females are allowed to wait tables. Meanwhile, the employees who look like the Cryptkeeper or the Elephant Man are the ones working unseen in the back or (God forbid) bussing dirty tables. The same philosophy permeates the investing biz -- "financial pornography" one wag has called it.

There is a lot of wisdom in the index-fund-can't-beat-the-averages philosophy. It's still fun to try on your own, whether via a news letter, or picking stocks using whatever black magic of the month you prefer. Just keep the bulk of your funds in a low-cost index fund or ETF. This one piece of advice, thinks I, the early Fool got right.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

(cute fuzzy bunny, I can't figure out if you are a female or male.)

Wow I wouldnt have thought it that challenging. Look for the thread on weedwhackers. If that doesnt do it, look for the one on air compressors and nail guns...

 

[Webzter]

Wow I wouldnt have thought it that challenging. Look for the thread on weedwhackers. If that doesnt do it, look for the one on air compressors and nail guns...

That doesn't mean much... but, you've got an avatar right now that I can really get behind.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

That doesn't mean much... but, you've got an avatar right now that I can really get behind.

It does when I mention my wife repeatedly and her comments about my wicked looking instrument!!!


You'd probably be a little less enthused about my avatar if you saw the closeup. Sort of looks like sandra bernhard after a rough night.

 

[Webzter]

You'd probably be a little less enthused about my avatar if you saw the closeup. Sort of looks like sandra bernhard after a rough night.

That's not good. Sandra looks like Sandra after a rough night. Better slap a pancake on that one and call it good.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

There *is* a pancake on that bunnys head.

Guess your eyes never made it up that far.

You *did* notice that she has a head, right?

Anyone with any remaining doubt as to my gender and sexuality?

 

[Webzter]

On this tiny laptop screen, and without my glasses, I'm going to continue assuming that's just a bad mullet.

 

[bssc]

Wow I wouldnt have thought it that challenging. Look for the thread on weedwhackers. If that doesnt do it, look for the one on air compressors and nail guns...

You must be female since my wife, the engineer is the one who does the yard and owns the nail gun.

 

[bssc]

I followed TMF in the late 90s. Some interesting advice but they were pushing internet stocks and I lost interest when they invented new fundamentals to justify AOL's high price.

 

[Orchidflower]

I gather cute fuzzy bunny is so butch as can be. Got it, Mr. cute fuzzy bunny.

 

[FinanceDude]

You'd be a FOOL to follow their advice.........