Seeking Alpha is a stock research platform. What does that mean? It is basically a large community of passionate investors that are savvy in the industry. Seeking Alpha allows these investors to get together, share insights, knowledge, and their own stock analysis.
It’s a place where investors go to discuss, debate, and hopefully gain valuable knowledge that increases their expertise (and hopefully helps them make better decisions). It kind of sounds unregulated and anyone can say anything, so is Seeking Alpha legit? Let’s find out.
What is Seeking Alpha? – An Overview
Seeking Alpha deems itself as the largest investing community. All investors, from amateurs to pros can weigh in on what’s going on and offer their opinions.
Seeking Alpha can be used by all, but the software is not for a rookie. There will be a learning curve if you aren’t experienced. When we compare Seeking Alpha to the likes of Motley Fool, for example, the latter is a much better option for newbies. However, Seeking Alpha does have a lot of educational resources that would be sad to pass up.
It’s a largely free service, but of course, additional perks come with a paid membership, as it does with most financial services.
Seeking Alpha Membership
Speaking of memberships, Seeking Alpha has three, the Basic, Premium and Pro plans. As you may have guessed, the Basic option is free, but it offers fewer analytical tools. The Premium is the most popular option and will cost you $19.99 a month. You then have the most expensive Pro plan, which is $199.99 if billed annually, which is a great discount compared to the $299.99 monthly billing alternative.
Which should you go for? It greatly depends on what you need. The Basic plan has limited features, but it’s good enough if all you want is to follow authors and read new articles, read and post blogs and comments, view some Quant ratings and manage most of your portfolio.
The Premium is where things get a little more serious with additional features such as the stock screener, and more. The Pro is where users gain unlimited access to the benefits of the platform by unlocking all of its features.
Is Seeking Alpha Worth It?
So, is it right for you? We’re going to lay out who each plan is best for you to help you make a decision.
Get the Basic plan if you’re just getting into investing and you want to see and test what various platforms can offer you without a monetary commitment.
The Premium plan is excellent for intermediate investors that know the basics but want to get more out of the platform. You want to manage more of your profile and have long-term or retirement goals you are striving for. You want the help to do research and the educational tools that allow you to achieve it. If this sounds like you, then the Premium is for you.
As for the Pro plan, well, it is for who the name suggests – pros. You get full exclusive access to the platform’s features and get treated like a VIP as well.
How Reliable is Seeking Alpha?
The best way to see if a platform is reliable is by analyzing its past performances. Keep in mind that although a platform is reliable now, it doesn’t mean it will be year after year. Performances can fluctuate, but it’s the overall percentage that we want to look at.
Historically, Seeking Alpha has been a very reliable investment research platform. When compared to something as conservative as S&P 500, which is a recommendation for long-term growth without high risk.
Yes, Seeking Alpha is reliable even when we compare it to steady ETFs. Not to mention, their more “bullish” stocks have had excellent returns.
Don’t take our word for it, just check out these user reviews below. Just remember that no matter how high a platform rates on review sites, there are bound to be some negative reviews.
“As a new investor in the US Market. This is a good place to go for information and research on stocks. Their podcast is also a helpful “tools for improving your knowledge.” – Eng Ghee C.
“Overall, a good experience. The most helpful area was others analysis and reasoning for buying certain stocks. The quality varies greatly though, some analysis is very high level and basically useless, while others is in depth and provide a well thought out/researched thesis.” – Sterling R.
“I have been following many of the writers on seeking alpha for many years. I recently became a premium member and use the information everyday. It gives me perspective on stocks from several authors with different opinions which I find very useful when I am evaluating purchasing a new position. “ – David R.
“The interface is solid, and I like the variety of opinions from the authors. Lots of ideas and intelligent articles.”
Josh Ahrens
“I love the Seeking Alpha app. It is my go to source for financial news. It’s the app I would miss most if I couldn’t access it. I became a premium member a year ago because of the incremental insights the service provides. I highly recommend SeekingAlpha.” Scott H. Zucker
Final Thoughts
Seeking Alpha is definitely something to check out, regardless of your experience level. The platform offers a completely free plan for you to browse and see what Seeking Alpha could potentially offer you. Aside from that, Seeking Alpha offers annual discounts plus free trials for their paid plans. Check out more information here.