Alternatives to Seeking Alpha

[jazz4cash]

My SA free subscription used to be a valuable resource. The last revamp of the service resulted in a very slick looking product but almost everything of value is restricted to premium subscribers. I find it especially interesting that you can see a summary of most articles, but the comments are limited to subscribers. I always felt the comments were an essential component of the service. I would be willing to pay something but I could not get enough value to justify $30/mo for the only subscription level.

What are the alternatives, preferably resources that include constructive comments?

 

[OldShooter]

Not directly responsive to your questions, but I advise students in my Adult-Ed investing class to avoid reading any of that general crap. It is simply random noise and infomercials.

I think Seeking Alpha is particularly pernicious because, being "crowd sourced", it it virtually all infomercials. If there is anyone who actually knows anything useful, they are on their yachts and private tropical islands somewhere. They are not groveling for Seeking Alpha clicks or pitching their advisory services or newsletters.

I guess it's ok if you find it entertaining and you understand it for the random noise that it is. ER members maybe do understand, but I don't think the general public does.

Just MO.

 

[aja8888]

Just about every "author" who writes for SA and gives the article as a freebie (non-subscription) is selling their newsletter. It's usually mentioned at the end of each article.

I agree with Old Shooter on the non-value aspect of SA anymore (or maybe it never had much value to start with).

 

[OldShooter]

Taylor Larimore of bogleheads.org has a wonderful page for mining wisdom on the markets (https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Taylor_Larimore's_market_timing_quotes).

Here is one gem:

"Only two newsletters have managed to keep ahead of the market averages over the past decade (and none have done so over the past 15 years)." (Eric Tyson, author of Mutual Funds for Dummies)​

 

[target2019]

My SA free subscription used to be a valuable resource. The last revamp of the service resulted in a very slick looking product but almost everything of value is restricted to premium subscribers. I find it especially interesting that you can see a summary of most articles, but the comments are limited to subscribers. I always felt the comments were an essential component of the service. I would be willing to pay something but I could not get enough value to justify $30/mo for the only subscription level.

What are the alternatives, preferably resources that include constructive comments?

I understand your point. Think you need to search for new authors, ones who do not have premium articles. I usually look for articles with the largest number of comments.

I gave up on Morningstar discussion a while back.

 

[jazz4cash]

Thanks, target. Lately, just about everything is premium. I have a couple portfolios there and it was a great place for discussion specific to the handful of individual stocks I have. As you suggest even the decent forums for individual stock discussion seem to go off the rails at some point.

 

[Mulligan]

Just about every "author" who writes for SA and gives the article as a freebie (non-subscription) is selling their newsletter. It's usually mentioned at the end of each article.

I agree with Old Shooter on the non-value aspect of SA anymore (or maybe it never had much value to start with).

Aja, I rarely see any value in the writers. But the collection of news wire sources on what Im looking for is very helpful, such as conference calls, and divi declarations and such... And some smart guys who dig into things I wont will help provide helpful info. For example the PCG preferreds are very much looking to be a nice cash in for me. I wouldnt have stayed until nut cuttin time without some key info a few were digging to extract and post out of court filings.
But the worthless Rida Morwas and Brad Thomas I have no use for.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

Given that even some of the Premium subscription authors are amateurs, I find the annual cost to be outlandish. That said, the free articles are useful at times in presenting a stock I am not very familiar with, with sources, so that I have some foundational knowledge to go forward with my own DD. Also the comments can be very helpful. Since you lose access to even the free articles after a few weeks, I tend to save off (as pdfs) articles I want to return to.

 

[OldShooter]

... I tend to save off (as pdfs) articles I want to return to.

OT (sorry) but you might want to look at Evernote and its web clipper. Very low effort to capture and save web pages as "Notes." EN has a very clumsy filing system but a very capable keyword system. You can assign as many keywords to a clipped page as you like. EN also provides full text searching of all your notes, clipped or created in some other way. EN basic functionality, which is probably plenty for your use case, is free.

I have folders and notes on various investment topics as well as folders and notes on my barbecue hobby plus more folders and notes on travel arrangements for big trips. It can be very heterogeneous.

 

[Montecfo]

SA is valuable for background and perspective, and yes I love the comments.

Now, none of that means I take anything I read there at face value. Nor do I subscribe. Just ideas for further investigation.

I find that I can get plenty of valuable investment ideas from mainstream publications such as Barron's and a few podcasts by folks I respect. Plus by following my own stocks and discussing ideas with fellow investors-especially those with perspectives different than mine.

 

[aja8888]

I recall our member Brewer12345 used to publish articles on SA. I wonder if he still does?

 

[Time2]

I have paid for one service all about REITs, I made money with the advice and there are loads of happy customers in the chat section. But, it got to be more time consuming to keep track of what to buy and what to sell. I just did not want to do it, Even though the guy digs deep and knows his stuff and presents it well. The REIT Forum. Here's the commercial

https://seekingalpha.com/instablog/...ns-this-year-reit-forum-continues-to-dominate