Seeking Alpha?

[rtroxel]

Hi, everyone,

I'm thinking of joining an online investment advice website called SeekingAlpha.com. The question is: Do they give good advice, or are they just pages of ads, hype and unresearched opinions? So far, I've seen a little of each there and they seem to be heavily pushing oil companies.

Has anyone had experience with Seeking Alpha?

Thanks, as always,

Roy in New Mexico

 

[Qs Laptop]

Hi, everyone,

I'm thinking of joining an online investment advice website called SeekingAlpha.com. The question is: Do they give good advice, or are they just pages of ads, hype and unresearched opinions? So far, I've seen a little of each there and they seem to be heavily pushing oil companies.

Has anyone had experience with Seeking Alpha?

Thanks, as always,

Roy in New Mexico

They might be pushing oil stocks now because that is one sector that isn't doing too badly at the moment.

I used to read it years ago (5?) when it was free. It's a place where anybody can go and write their opinions about the stock market, individual stocks, ETF's, etc.

There was more heat than light given off over there, IMO. While there were some useful articles there were too many articles about technical investing (interpreting price and volume charts looking for patterns) for my taste, maybe because I'm a fundamental investor (earnings, PE ratios, balance sheet analysis, etc.)

Basically, there is a lot of swamp to wade through to find the treasures.

 

[Trailwalker]

Seeking Alpha

You can find just about any viewpoint/financial philosophy there, so a lot of wading through to get what you are looking for is required. I get a digest of articles each day in the subject areas that I'm interested in, and I probably click on an article or two per day. I would not pay for any of the premium subscriptions, but I'm cheap that way.

 

[jazz4cash]

I think of Seeking Alpha like youtube. Anyone can be a contributor so there is no consensus on any particular stock or topic. You will find a variety of opinions and both researched and unresearched opinions. Many contributors on SA offer free analysis as a means to attract paid subscribers. For a while SA tried to restrict nearly all articles to their paid subscribers but I guess that failed. I like to use my free account for news on my favorite stocks. I find the comments to be more valuable than the articles, so I read them first and then skim the article.

 

[NW-Bound]

I occasionally read opinions on the stocks that I own. I often find the negative opinions more interesting than the positive ones, because they may bring up some points that I miss.

It's always good to temper one's enthusiasm, and to not think that your favorite stocks are so invincible.

 

[garyt]

I agree that the comments often contain more value than the articles.

 

[rtroxel]

Thank you, everyone.

And yes, the comments are more revealing than a lot of the regular articles.

Roy

 

[target2019]

Yeah, I enjoy the comments more than the boilerplate articles.

After a few years I've found that the portfolio feature gives you a nice summary. At the end of the day I may open the mobile app, select a portfolio of interest, and there are the tickers.

Actually investing due to advice about a currently-popular sector may not end well for the innocent.

 

[Winemaker]

I agree that the comments often contain more value than the articles.

+1

 

[aja8888]

My experience after years of reading SA:

Authors articles are not always original (cut/paste jobs).

Author's articles are not timely (old news).

Authors sometimes leave pertinent facts out of articles to show only good news.

Authors are being paid for the articles.

Authors stock picks are hit/miss with usually more misses.

Authors are really advertising their newsletters, etc.

Comments to articles are where the "meat" is usually found.

 

[Ncc1701]

My experience after years of reading SA:

Authors articles are not always original (cut/paste jobs).

Author's articles are not timely (old news).

Authors sometimes leave pertinent facts out of articles to show only good news.

Authors are being paid for the articles.

Authors stock picks are hit/miss with usually more misses.

Authors are really advertising their newsletters, etc.

Comments to articles are where the "meat" is usually found.

I've used SA for years and 100% agree !

 

[rtroxel]

They might be pushing oil stocks now because that is one sector that isn't doing too badly at the moment.

Isn't that against the conventional wisdom of "buy low, sell high"?

Roy

 

[all4j]

1st of all, I'm not a paid subscriber to SA, but do find it useful in several ways. I actually like that most 'authors' are touting their product. Compare thier incentive to the anonymous posters on this forum, Bogleheads,etc. I don't read all of any of those & perhaps that skews my view. But Bogleheads & ERO have strong echo chamber effects on certain topics. I welcome different perspectives that can sometimes be had. I've little patience with those that seem to be of the opinion that anything said by enough people, loud enough, often enough must be truth...especially when presented sarcastically. (btw, I see that in many places besides these forums!).

I wouldn't recommend SA, BH or ERO to beginners as far as learning investing. But otherwise, why not try it & see.

 

[rtroxel]

1st of all, I'm not a paid subscriber to SA, but do find it useful in several ways. I actually like that most 'authors' are touting their product. Compare thier incentive to the anonymous posters on this forum, Bogleheads,etc. I don't read all of any of those & perhaps that skews my view. But Bogleheads & ERO have strong echo chamber effects on certain topics. I welcome different perspectives that can sometimes be had. I've little patience with those that seem to be of the opinion that anything said by enough people, loud enough, often enough must be truth...especially when presented sarcastically. (btw, I see that in many places besides these forums!).

I wouldn't recommend SA, BH or ERO to beginners as far as learning investing. But otherwise, why not try it & see.

OK, I just took the plunge, and have become a paying subscriber of SA. I've been an active investor for the past 16 years, so, if nothing else, I know how to separate the truth from the hype. If it turns into a waste of time, I just won't renew my subscription next year.

Thanks for all the feedback, everyone.

Roy