Stock research for DIY investors
You don’t have to rely on stock tips from your dentist, blindly follow the herd or only buy stocks in the news. A wealth of investment research full of smart, actionable advice is offered free or at a reasonable cost. Because no single source has a monopoly on good research, it’s smart to gather ideas from multiple sources.
Financial websites
Yahoo Finance (http://finance.yahoo. com) tracks the performance of major stock indexes throughout the trading day, as well as other asset classes ranging from Treasury notes to bitcoin.
If you’re a fan of low-cost exchangetraded funds, add ETF Database (www. etfdb.com) to your favorites list. Its “ETF Channels” slice research into specific investment interests, such as “Retirement Income” or “Disruptive Technology.”
Independent research firm Morningstar (www.morningstar.com), best known for its mutual fund rankings, also provides objective mutual fund and stock research. Many of its more in-depth research tools, however, require a premium membership ($199 per year).
Newsletters
A good option for general market commentary is InvesTech Research (three-month introductory offer, $39;
$175 per year; www.investech.com), published by James Stack. The newsletter analyzes historical economic, market and interest rate data, employing a safety-first strategy that lets subscribers know when to be bullish and when to be cautious.
Zacks Investment Research (www. zacks.com) offers Profit from the Pros, a free, daily e-briefing on market developments that highlights the rationale for five stocks recently added to Zacks’ strong buy list, as well as its top pick, “Bull of the Day.”
Fans of low-cost Vanguard funds should review The Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors (six-month introductory offer, $34.95; http://.adviseronline. investorplace.com). Daniel Wiener looks at top fund managers and analyzes what’s under the hood of select Vanguard funds.
Fidelity Investor (six-month introductory offer, $34.95; http://.fidelityinvestor. investorplace.com), edited by Jim Lowell, covers Fidelity portfolio managers’ stock-picking philosophies, how to spot a winning Fidelity fund and more.
Online brokers
Charles Schwab (www.schwab.com) offers customers in-depth analysis on big-picture topics, such as the health of the broad market. Or drill down to stock sectors and individual stocks with reports from Schwab and other firms, including Credit Suisse, Morningstar and Argus.
Merrill Edge (www.merrilledge.com) offers clients research from analysts at firms including CFRA and BofA Global Research. TD Ameritrade (www.tdameritrade.com) provides customers with a daily morning market report and a useful “Why is it moving?” feature that alerts you during the trading day to stocks experiencing big moves.
Podcasts and blogs
“Invest Like the Best,” hosted by Patrick O’Shaughnessy of O’Shaughnessy Asset Management, educates listeners about the investing process.
Gain access to top thinking from one of Wall Street’s biggest firms with Morgan Stanley’s “Thoughts on the Market.” “A Wealth of Common Sense” (www. awealthofcommonsense.com) is a blog about investments, markets and investor psychology, tackling timely topics in the context of timeless investing concepts.