It can seem daunting and time-consuming to pick individual stocks, and many stock-picking services tend to focus on a specific strategy such as growth or dividends. This Motley Fool Epic review shows how you can receive five monthly recommendations for multiple investment strategies. 

You will receive insights from several Motley Fool services, including their premium ratings and research tools. As a Motley Fool subscriber, I share my feedback on the potential perks and who’s the ideal investor for Epic.

Summary

The Motley Fool is a well-known source of stock investment information. With Motley Fool Epic, you’ll have access to five stock picks each month. These picks can help investors find potential winners without putting too much time into research. 

Pros

• Five monthly stock picks 
• Easy to implement
• Track record of success

Cons

• Annual fee
• No short-term picks
• No guaranteed success

What is Motley Fool Epic?

Motley Fool Epic is the second of five levels of The Motley Fool investment newsletters. I like that it provides five monthly recommendations for aggressive, moderate, and cautious investing styles. The recommendations feature well-known companies and lesser-known ones with high growth potential.

In comparison, most newsletters only provide one monthly pick and have a narrow investment strategy. The Motley Fool recommends this service for portfolios of $50,000 or more. You may also consider upgrading if you already use Motley Fool Stock Advisor but want more insights.

Further, in an industry full of scams, it is reassuring to know that The Motley Fool offers a proven track record with products designed for individual investors ready to invest for three to five years. Instead of dealing with pump-and-dump schemes, you have useful tools for everyday investors. 

I also like that this product provides in-depth ratings and AI-powered research tools that reduce your reliance and subscription costs on other top-notch investment websites.

How Does Motley Fool Epic Work?

You are cutting out the major time commitment that is typically involved with stock research when you sign up for Motley Fool Epic. Instead, the service will handle the bulk of the research for you: 

• Five monthly stock picks
• In-depth research reports, videos, and podcasts
• Quant Ratings with five-year projections
• Customizable investment strategies

The chief monthly perk is receiving five new stock picks. From there, you can choose to invest in those stocks or not. With that many recommendations, you most likely won’t invest in them all every month, but it’s easier to pick those that fit your investing goals.

Before you start looking for overnight returns, keep in mind that this service is designed for long-term investors. The stock analysts highlight stocks with an outsized possibility of beating the stock market if you hold your share for the next three to five years.

However, as a long-time Motley Fool subscriber, I can personally attest that not every monthly pick is a winner. It can also be heard to realize positive gains when the broad market is bearish.

The platform suggests that you hold at least 25 of the stock picks for at least five years to build wealth for the long term. I think this is a good suggestion as you diversify your portfolio, but you need a sizable portfolio to invest regularly and justify the $499 annual fee.

How Much Does Motley Fool Epic Cost?

Working with Motley Fool Epic isn’t free. Luckily, it is more affordable than you might expect. 

New and existing members can sign up for $499 per year. This is relatively expensive. Thankfully, you have 30 days to request a full refund if the service isn’t a good fit.

Epic costs more than entry-level stock newsletters, which usually cost $199, such as Motley Fool Stock Advisor. But this is a mid-tier product that provides advanced research and five monthly picks instead of two.

In my opinion, it’s competitively priced for the quantity and diversity of analysis.

Key Features

If you want to build a profitable portfolio of individual stocks with considerable growth potential without sinking hours into it, then Motley Fool Epic should be a top consideration. 

At a relatively affordable price point, you’ll unlock the following features. 

Five Stock Picks Per Month

The main draw of this service is receiving five stock picks each month, ranging from aggressive growth to dividends.  

• Stock Advisor: Two picks from the entry-level platform appealing to most investors.
• Rule Breakers: One pick focusing on high-growth potential but more volatility than Stock Advisor.
• Hidden Gems: One long-term investing idea.
• Dividend Investor: One high-quality dividend stock per month.

With five new stock picks each month, you can build a robust portfolio within a year as you get 60 new recommendations. You will also receive monthly updates featuring the best open investments from each of the four model portfolios to fill in the gaps.

Easy-to-Implement Guidance

As the month progresses, you will receive the latest stock picks and updated stock rankings. It can only take a few minutes to implement the guidance in your portfolio as you read the potential rewards and risks. You will also find a link to read the latest research report. 

Essentially, you’ll need to decide whether or not you want to move forward with that particular stock purchase. If you do, then it is just a matter of logging into your brokerage account to execute a buy order. 

Long-Term Outlook for Individual Stocks

This service is designed for investors looking to build a portfolio for the long term. The Motley Fool believes that “the best chance to succeed in the stock market is to buy at least 25 stocks and hold them for at least five years.”

You can simulate potential investment returns with a portfolio simulator. The proprietary quant ratings also project the maximum drawdown and profit potential over the next five years.

Stock Screener

The members-only stock screener lets you quickly identify potential investments from the open recommendations across the Epic portfolio.

It can be challenging to invest in every monthly pick and the screener can help find stocks fitting your criteria to maintain a diversified portfolio. For example, you can customize them by risk rating or other factors.

Rule Breakers Reviews

Here are some reviews from people who have used the platform:

“Motley Fool’s changed my life in this main respect: I’m financially independent today. I didn’t think that would be possible until maybe my mid or late 60s. I have the ability to make choices and quality-of-life decisions now that I would never be able to make before.” – Mark T

“I use the Fool to do the things that I don’t have time to do. If you have a busy life and want to invest in the market, this is one of the best vehicles to support you in doing that.”  – Bob A

Is Motley Fool Epic Worth It?

Joining Motley Fool Epic can be worth it if you’re an aggressive investor with a long-term investment horizon. Most of the monthly stock picks look for growing companies that most investors don’t know about, and it can take several years of volatility to realize a profit.

Simultaneously, the dividend and Hidden Gems picks can be more cautious to help balance your portfolio allocation. It’s possible to have Epic be your only investment newsletter subscription for a flat $499 annual fee.

Motley Fool Epic Alternatives

If you are looking for help with researching investments at a more affordable price, Epic is not your only option. Here are a few other options worth considering.

Motley Fool Stock Advisor

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor is a premium newsletter service that also offers two new stock picks each month. This service is a bit cheaper as the first year for new members costs $99^, and the second year costs $199. 

You can also take advantage of a 30-day membership-fee back guarantee.

^Based on $199/year list price. The introductory promotion of $99 for the first year is for new members only

Seeking Alpha

If you want to stay away from The Motley Fool altogether, consider trying Seeking Alpha. You receive access to investment research and premium ratings for most stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. You’re not restricted to a model portfolio. Cost range from free to $2,400 and year.

Related article: Seeking Alpha Vs Motley Fool: Which Is Better?

Stock Rover

Stock Rover can be another great choice if you are looking for self-directed research tools helping long-term investors. The service offers useful tools like a stock screener, portfolio tracking and comparison tools.

It costs anywhere from $79.99 to $279.99 annually depending on the subscription you select. Customers can try the service for free for 14 days.

Zacks Premium

Another option if you’d like to avoid The Motley Fool services is Zacks Premium. This investment research service is the cheapest option offered by Zacks at $249 annually after a 30-day free trial. Read research reports for most stocks and funds, plus a long-term model portfolio.

FAQ

If you are still on the fence about using Motley Fool Epic, these frequently asked questions might be able to help you make a decision.

Summary

Motley Fool Epic presents a great opportunity for investors who are short on time but have the money to invest in aggressive and cautious stocks with long-term growth potential. The five monthly stock picks make it easy to find investment ideas, but you must be comfortable with the $499 annual fee.

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Motley Fool Stock Advisor and TheStreet’s Action Alerts PLUS are two popular stock-picking services. They can help you find individual stocks that will outperform the broad stock market.

However, each service caters to a different investment strategy, has varying recommendation frequencies, and provides different platform features. This Motley Fool Stock Advisor vs. TheStreet’s Action Alerts PLUS comparison will help you choose the better investment service for your goals. 

What is the Motley Fool Stock Advisor?

Motley Fool Stock Advisor is an entry-level investing newsletter that publishes two new stock recommendations each month, along with constant portfolio updates.

You will receive suggestions from various industries, including information technology, e-commerce, and large-cap biotechnology. 

However, you won’t see a model portfolio that tells you how much the company’s management team invests in each recommendation. Instead, you decide a percentage of your portfolio to invest in each idea, if you decide to buy that particular stock.

The anticipated holding period for each recommendation is three to five years, longer than that of most competing publications, including Action Alerts PLUS (AAP).

I like that The Motley Fool doesn’t require constant trading like AAP. As a parent and full-time worker, I don’t always have time to read multiple trade alerts each week, and I also want to minimize my selling frequency to avoid tax-reportable investment transactions that complicate tax prep.

Unique Features

Here are some of the best member benefits of a Stock Advisor subscription. 

Current and Previous Tips

You can access all active and closed stock recommendations since the service’s inception. 

Each stock pick includes the investment performance and a write-up explaining why the Stock Advisor team chose that stock at that particular time. I also like reviewing the reader-submitted questions and analyst video accompanying the stock pick release.

While you might focus on the newest recommendations since they can have the best potential for upside growth, the service also publishes a monthly “Top-Ranked Stocks” list. The benefit of this list is that it highlights the top opportunities among all open recommendations with the best potential to beat the stock market.

No Stock Advisor recommendation includes a “buy up to” trading price or a stop-loss suggestion. The service discourages timing the market and reacting to short-term price movements. Instead, they focus on purchasing high-quality companies whose share prices can outpace the overall market.

You can gradually scale your portfolio as your budget and investing goals permit. I think this approach helps you diversify your brokerage account responsibly, and the asset allocation tool indicates which stocks align with a cautious, moderate, or aggressive strategy.

Stock Advisor recommends holding at least 25 stocks for a diversified portfolio and a maximum asset allocation of 3% of your total portfolio balance.

Starter Stock Suggestions

In addition to the two monthly stock picks, the service provides a list of 10 Starter Stocks—also known as Foundational Stocks—that you can buy at any time to potentially improve your portfolio performance.

The service updates this list quarterly and suggests that new subscribers invest in at least two or three of these companies, in addition to the monthly recommendations. Just make sure that your investments fit your strategy.

The Starter Stocks feature companies from a variety of industries that are usually leaders in their niches. I have found a few good investing ideas from this membership perk and it pairs well with the twice-monthly recommendations.

Since Stock Advisor may have recommended some of these stocks initially several years ago, they may not have as much growth potential as a new monthly pick. 

However, Motley Fool believes they can be a winning idea, and their investment performance might be less volatile than new recommendations.

Read our Motley Fool review to learn more about Stock Advisor.

What is Action Alerts PLUS?

Action Alerts PLUS (AAP) is the flagship investment newsletter run by TheStreet. 

Expect multiple buy and sell recommendations each month for companies across all nine S&P 500 industries, with overweight exposure to those with the strongest growth potential.

This service was founded by legendary CNBC analyst Jim Cramer. However, he stopped managing the portfolio a few years ago to focus on other endeavors. Investors Bob Lang and Chris Versace now oversee the model portfolio. They blend technical analysis and fundamental research to recommend stocks and rebalance the portfolio.

This service has a more active investment strategy and a shorter holding period than Stock Advisor. It can be a better option if you’re comfortable making several trades per month.

I have subscribed to this service for several years and receive weekly trade notifications. That’s too frequent for some investors, but it strikes a good balance between long-term and swing trading, allowing them to take advantage of mid-term investment opportunities.

While this service uses more technical analysis than Stock Advisor, the AAP team aims to recommend stocks you can hold for at least the next 6 to 12 months. In my experience, that’s usually the case, though not every idea matches or outperforms S&P 500 returns.

As a result, it’s better for long-term investors than short-term traders who rely solely on chart analysis. 

Unique Features

Action Alerts PLUS has a couple of unique features worth mentioning.

Conference Calls

You can call or stream a live monthly conference call. The primary focus of the call is an in-depth review of each portfolio holding. 

The analysts also comment on trends they’re watching for the next month and may answer investor questions. You can watch these videos later if you can’t attend the live broadcast.

In addition to the monthly one-on-one calls, you will receive weekly portfolio updates and as-needed trading alerts. I like this hands-on resource because most investment newsletters don’t allow you to communicate directly with the analysts.

Model Portfolio

There are approximately 30 active recommendations you might be ready to buy or add to your watchlist. You can view the recent trades list and the investment performance of each recommendation.

Each holding has a buy rating to help you choose the best investment ideas.

The ratings include:

1. Buy Now: Stocks we would buy right now
2. Stockpile: Stocks that we’d buy on a pullback
3. Holding Pattern: Consider selling this stock on strength
4. Sell: Sell this stock as soon as possible

In addition to the open recommendations stock screener, you can see the closed positions, including the sell date. The portfolio managers may only sell a partial position to rebalance the portfolio.

A third portfolio section to check out is the Bullpen list of stocks the team is watching. Some of these companies may eventually receive a buy recommendation if the investment conditions improve.

For transparency, the AAP portfolio has underperformed its S&P 500 index benchmark (including dividends paid) for most years since its 2002 inception. This pales in comparison to Stock Advisor, which has outperformed in most years.

Similarities

Stock Advisor and AAP share similarities that make them extremely useful for investors. 

Stock Recommendations

You will receive multiple buy recommendations each month from both services. They look for growth-focused companies that may also pay a dividend.

The company might be in the S&P 500 index. However, the recommendations will likely be other large-cap and mid-cap stocks with more long-term growth potential. 

These companies may eventually make it into the S&P 500, and you can enjoy their growth along the way before the S&P 500 index funds buy a position. I like that both services focus on well-known companies and industry leaders who can be tomorrow’s leaders.

Since these are both entry-level newsletters, you won’t be investing in obscure small-cap stocks that are very volatile and inherently riskier. 

Both platforms recommend stocks with high liquidity and relatively stable share prices. You can buy these companies commission-free through most free investing apps. 

These platforms let you interact with other subscribers using online forums. You can discuss recent trading alerts and other investing topics.

The discussions can help you better understand why you might invest in a particular company or how it might be a good fit for your investing strategy.

This dialogue opportunity can provide additional value if you want hands-on guidance to potentially improve your research and buying process.

Educational Resources

You can also find basic educational tools that might help improve your investing skills. These resources can give you a better understanding of the newsletter’s investment philosophy.

Even if you’re an experienced investor, reviewing some resources can help you set up your investment portfolio and interpret the investment recommendations.

New investors can also find an investment glossary that defines basic investment terms. 

You can even read stock market commentary on either website. Some articles discuss a specific active recommendation, while others focus on the broad market or an industry sector.

Customer Support

It’s easy to email customer support when you have questions about your subscription and need help navigating the online platform.

Action Alerts PLUS also offers phone-based support, although I’ve usually communicated by email. 

Differences

Here are several ways Stock Advisor and AAP differ.

Price

The price difference is notable for either service, as are the subscription options.

Motley Fool Pricing

Stock Advisor is cheaper than Action Alerts PLUS. Your annual subscription is only $99 for the first year and $199 for each renewal. 

While Motley Fool bills your payment card immediately, you have a 30-day risk-free trial period during which you can request a refund if you don’t like the service. Stock Advisor doesn’t have a monthly subscription option.

Action Alerts PLUS Pricing

The membership fee for AAP is now bundled into TheStreet Pro subscription:

• Monthly billing: $5 for the first month and then $99 per month
• Annual billing: $5 for the first month and then $984 per year ($82/month)

There isn’t a trial period, but you can cancel anytime and receive a prorated refund.

A Pro subscription includes the following memberships:

• Action Alerts PLUS portfolio
• Daily diary
• Options indicators
• Sentiment indicators
• Trading activity monitor

This subscription is expensive but includes access to over 200 monthly trading ideas and 125 daily research articles from over investment professionals and former hedge fund managers.

Stock Suggestions

While there may be some overlap between the stock recommendations, both platforms have different holding periods.

Before investing in any suggestion, remember that not every stock recommendation from any service will make money.

Stock Advisor Stock Suggestions

Stock Advisor recommends buying stocks with promising long-term fundamentals. Under normal circumstances, the minimum holding period is three to five years. 

You will only see sell recommendations when the Motley Fool team believes it’s time to close your entire position. AAP is more likely to recommend reducing your exposure to maximize short-term weakness or strength. 

Periodically, Motley Fool advises selling a stock for a profit if the company receives a buyout offer, it will be difficult to continue outperforming the market, or it’s simply a losing stock idea.

In addition to rarely receiving sell recommendations, Stock Advisor won’t recommend ETFs.

Action Alerts PLUS Stock Suggestions

AAP projects a holding period of six to 12 months for stocks and ETFs. However, it’s not uncommon for the core positions to have a multi-year investment horizon.

The advisory team uses fundamental and technical analysis to recommend a buy, hold, or sell rating.

Most of the recommendations are for individual stocks. Periodically, the team adds a sector ETF for more diversified exposure to an investing idea. It’s also essential to note that many sell recommendations only suggest reducing your current position size. 

For example, you might sell some of your shares after a recent runup to take some profits and invest the proceeds in a different stock, which is more likely to have strong gains.

This newsletter requires more portfolio maintenance. If you invest in a taxable brokerage account instead of a tax-advantaged IRA, your stock sales can be subject to taxation. 

Access

AAP investors can interact with the portfolio managers in the online forum and monthly conference calls. 

It’s difficult to directly communicate with the Motley Fool analysts as the forums are mostly conversations between individual investors. 

However, you may have the chance to ask questions during the live video sessions where Stock Advisor announces the new monthly recommendations.

You can access both services from your computer or a mobile web browser.

Who Is Each Service Best For?

Stock Advisor is best for long-term investors who want to make minimal trades each month. In most months, you may only act on the two new stock recommendations.

However, the multi-year holding period can require a higher risk tolerance. Motley Fool is more likely to ignore short-term price swings that may encourage you to rebalance.

Consider Action Alerts PLUS when you’re willing to buy and sell shares on a monthly basis. Depending on the macroeconomic conditions, some months will be busier than others. 

Additionally, you may appreciate the weekly and monthly portfolio reviews that can provide more in-depth analysis than Stock Advisor.

Alternatives

Depending on your investment strategy and research needs, you may prefer these investment services instead.

Morningstar Investor

Morningstar Investor provides analyst reviews for stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds. However, this service doesn’t offer focused monthly recommendations for a model portfolio like Stock Advisor or AAP. 

Instead, you can find investment ideas by using the stock screener, reading market commentary articles, and consulting stock and fund lists featuring five-star ratings in specific categories. 

This service also includes a portfolio x-ray tool to rate your current holdings.

Read our Morningstar review to learn more.

Seeking Alpha

Seeking Alpha provides an abundance of market research articles for stocks and funds. You can read the bullish and bearish viewpoints for many investment ideas. A Premium subscription includes Quant Ratings and a customizable stock screener for multiple investment strategies.

While this service doesn’t offer model portfolios, you can follow analysts who may share their portfolios. A paid subscription also lets you track their historical investment performance. 

Read our Seeking Alpha review to learn more

Zacks

Zacks provides analysis for stocks and funds with its famous Zacks Rank. This score estimates the likelihood that a stock will outperform the market over the next 30 days. Long-term investors can also enjoy the Focus List, which ranks stocks the service believes will outperform the market for the next 12 months.

This stock screener can even help you find investment ideas based on select fundamental and technical metrics. In addition to the stock and fund rankings, you can read market commentary articles and analyst reports for a particular company.

Read our Zacks Premium review to find out more.

Summary

Motley Fool Stock Advisor and TheStreet’s Action Alerts PLUS provide monthly stock recommendations to help guide your investments.

While either service can help you find winning investment ideas, you must compare your investing goals to the average holding period and the required portfolio maintenance.

Overall, Stock Advisor may be the better option as you will be selling stocks less frequently, and its annual subscription is more affordable. Still, both offer affordable first-month trial periods to find the perfect match for your investing style.

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