Where do you get your financial information

[roadtoharvard]

I'm curious to see where people get their financial information (mainly about stocks, bonds, mutual funds etc). Do you get research provided through a brokerage account, go visit websites or a combination thereof? Are the services free or do they require payment?

 

[ladelfina]

Great question.. I'd like to expand it, if I may..

I use just the free tools (Schwab/Yahoo or Google finance/Morningstar/ETFforgetthesitenamerightnow).

IF anyone uses a paid service or newspaper/newsletter, could they indicate what that is, and whether they feel they are getting value for that money? Particulars?
Thanks!

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i get all i need right here. sure hope you guys know what yer doing.

 

[LOL!]

There really is no information to get. It takes awhile for one to realize that. If I need a chart to see recent or long term performance I use the deluxe charting at moneycentral.msn.com

Other than that, I like to read the free stuff at the online NYTimes and WSJ. I do use the free Morningstar tools at troweprice.com because they are free. I do not use any research at TDAmeritrade nor at WellsFargo where I have brokerage accounts. Why waste my time?

 

[clifp]

Watch Cramer every day that is all you need.

J/K, almost never watch the guy.

 

[kcowan]

I'm curious to see where people get their financial information (mainly about stocks, bonds, mutual funds etc). Do you get research provided through a brokerage account, go visit websites or a combination thereof? Are the services free or do they require payment?

You can get all you need at Edgar and Sedar. Then Google the company with words like "stock performance reviews" to get a feeling for the lunatic fringe. No fees required unless you aspire to be a day trader.

I use Yahoo. For funds, Webbroker Select and M*.

 

[Nords]

You can get all you need at Edgar and Sedar. Then Google the company with words like "stock performance reviews" to get a feeling for the lunatic fringe. No fees required unless you aspire to be a day trader.

Fidelity's news feeds on their website, their daily news summary e-mail, and their price alerts when our shares dip below long-term averages or prices (indicating it might be time to buy more or rebalance).

Google Alerts for stock & fund tickers.

Prophet.net Java charts (with a free watch list) for tracking cost basis and all the "what if" analysis.

Berkshire Hathaway's website on the first Friday of every Aug, Nov, Feb, & May...

 

[Goonie]

I get everything that I need to know from Cramer and Suze Orman!! (j/k)

But, seriously, I mostly use Yahoo, Google, and T. Rowe-Price's website.

 

[terminator]

In order of importance/usefulness:

1. Edgar SEC filings. Free.
2. Value Line Investment Survey. I've been using that for 20+ years. These days I use it at the library for free. It has the best and longest (17 years) one page data summary that I've seen and I just like the format.
3. Yahoo Finance for tracking and news. Free.
4. Fidelity free research. I basically only use the S&P reports to get the 10 years of financial data. I don't bother with the analyst reports/comments.

 

[Helena]

News and commentary

Forum Topics In Breaking - MarketTicker Forums

 

[CyclingInvestor]

1) Edgar
2) Yahoo, passed thru a common sense filter to catch their numerous mistakes

 

[clifp]

Morningstar (nice portfolio tools star system is reasonably useful and good overall organization)
Schwab
Wall St. Journal: Not sure why I continue to subscribe to the online version, but it is a lot cheaper than the paper version.

 

[JohnP]

I use...

diehards.org, M*, Instant X-Ray
RetireEarly
Vanguard with Financial Engines for "Risk-weighting" my portfolio (my way)
Dan Wiener VG-based Newsletter for tuning out the noise
Bob's Mutual Fund Page for daily trending
Quicken.com for weekly portfolio tracking

JohnP

 

[bigla]

I use

Both Vanguard Diehards sites,
Bob Brinker Free Forum Discussion at Suite101.com
Vanguard
Fund Alarm
The CoffeHouseInvestor

Larry

 

[DblDoc]

Ditto on T.Rowe Price free M* tools
Motley Fool - for the sensible, basic information - I just ignore all the other financial porn they try to sell
Both Diehard Sites
Here

DD

 

[saluki9]

My desktop crack dispenser = Bloomberg

 

[shadowclone]

Value Line Model Portfolio & Other Usage

Hi All:

A new member here. I stumbled into this forum & found its topics very interesting.

On this particular topic about tools, I have used Value Line for a few years already, and am just wondering if anyone out there has followed their model portfolios exactly in their investments. I have tried to follow them, but always got mixed up with my own picks and other recommendations. Now that we are in a defensive mode entering 2008, I am very interested in test-driving their Portfolio#2 (for income).

Just wondering about others experience? Or how else do you use the Value Line? Stock by stock analysis, or more for technical guidance (e.g., keep buying the timely stocks,etc.)

Thanks,

 

[CuppaJoe]

It comes from a great variety of places but ultimately I go with my gut, past experience with how the stock/bond markets interact, and a sense of which way the wind is blowing.

 

[jIMOh]

experience is a better teacher than reading anything.

T Rowe Price web site and newsletters
Smart Money magazine has been a HUGE influence (read this when I started investing and just re-started the subscription last month).
forums don't teach much, but help with deciphering what is real and what is noise.

Fund Alarm forum by far has some of greatest ideas for picking funds- finding the new small cap and mid cap funds, for example.
this forum is good for withdraw rates and investing technique
saving advice.com has great info on budgeting and getting started
misc.financial-planning is good for overall sound advice like combining taxes with investing and budgeting, plus legal and tax issues.

 

[shadowclone]

Hi All:

A new member here. I stumbled into this forum & found its topics very interesting.

On this particular topic about tools, I have used Value Line for a few years already, and am just wondering if anyone out there has followed their model portfolios exactly in their investments. I have tried to follow them, but always got mixed up with my own picks and other recommendations. Now that we are in a defensive mode entering 2008, I am very interested in test-driving their Portfolio#2 (for income).

Just wondering about others experience? Or how else do you use the Value Line? Stock by stock analysis, or more for technical guidance (e.g., keep buying the timely stocks,etc.)

Thanks,

The reason I asked is that according to Value Line, their returns are off the charts if you follow their recommendations in the Portfolios.

 

[clifp]

Schwab, and Vanguard website.
The Motley fool's discussion board, I have tried some of their newsletter but never paid real money.
Wall St. Journal
I do subscribe to Morningstar and use there site extensively for research.
I also have two newletters from M* Dividends and StockInvestor.

I have used Value Line in decades but I did like it reasonably well.

 

[podey]

Mostly EDGAR, research on funds from the Fidelity website (where my brokerage account is) and occasionally morningstar. I check quotes and see company specific news on Yahoo! Finance. I like to read FT and WSJ for general finance news

 

[unclemick]

pssst Wellesley - also peek at Buffett picks, Dodge&Cox and a few others top ten stock holdings.

Only subscription left is Moneypaper which I will let run out after ten plus years cause of exiting the DRIP plan stocks - maybe for sure.

I never research anymore - after forty years it didn't help me anymore than a monkey throwing darts. I generally used to - 1989 - 2000 pick stocks from the middle(Ben Graham's 'the middle way') of the list in Mergents Dividend Achiever's which seemed to be in the upper half of their historical dividend yield or equal to a livable number - div plus div growth better than 11% BUT the div side had to be at least 3%. Handgrenade wise. A recognizible business having been around many decades also helped.

My checkered past is littered with many of the usual suspects: Barron's, Wall Street Journal, Money, etc., etc.

Heck I even read Books - which I now consider a stupid waste of time. I feel I have successfully over forty years made every investment mistake in the book.

"Do or do not - there is no try." Yoda.

I just buy the blindingly obvious - a lot of them - DCA for 7 to 10 years and sell the ones I don't like anymore.

heh heh heh - why not just pssst Wellesley and be done with it - it's a male hormone thing - not sure who I'll brag to - but I will fail to be modest.

 

[megacorp-firee]

I use free tools on Schwab, Optionsxpress, Ameriprise. I also use morningstar, their vanguard forum, and the vanguard site. Finally, this forum. If I need a lot of detail, I will access the library tools, but I have not needed to do that in a while.

 

[Dawg52]

Watch Cramer every day that is all you need.

J/K, almost never watch the guy.

If you followed his strategy of buying certain $80 stocks because they sometimes go to $120, you would have your head handed to you. No joke, 2-3 months ago he was recommending a handful of $80-85 stocks stating that they usually go to $120 because they just do. That was the craziest reasoning I have ever heard. Of course today he said he told everyone to ring the cash register when stocks were hefty. Ring Ring Ring the cash register.