Is Seeking Alpha Premium Worth It?

[@Coyotehello]

Great video Matt, thank you. Not ready to use a paid subscription but if ever I do I will use your link. For sure.

[@mattderron]

Thank you, no worries at all. Do what makes sense for you!

[@VMagic100]

Anyone know why when creating a Portfolio in Seeking Alpha, under the Holdings tab when you add multiple buys of a certain stock, it creates an entire second, third, fourth row etc. for that same stock instead of combining them? Is the platform supposed to work like that? Cuz that's pretty awful if it is. Any insight on this would be appreciated. Thanks.

[@mattderron]

I noticed that too and just adjusted my approach to have one lot with my average price for all shares

[@VMagic100]

@@mattderron Yeah I had figured that was the only alternative to fix the issue, but hadn't been sure if that would reflect all the related data correctly. I gave it a shot though and it seems to be accurate overall. Thanks Matt :) I feel like they could still change that functionality though. Both Yahoo Finance and Google Finance work that way in combining your buys and sells together.

[@Coda1850]

I used to read the Seeking Alpha articles all the time when they were free. I'm not interested in paying to read crowd sourced articles tho.

[@mattderron]

The quality of the articles definitely varies - to me the differences of opinions helps me form my own opinion. But if you have a broker that gives you access to analyst reports (Morningstar, CFRA, Angus, etc) you can get a similar thing for free through your broker

[@georgekalathoor]

What exactly is the inference you gain from knowing 2014 to 2018 data ? when much water flowed since then .

[@mattderron]

I gave examples in the video - but for instance a company can have 5 straight years of growth and you think “they just constantly grow” when the previous 5 years were down because they’re cyclical. Also, the last 10-15 years have been in a zero interest rate environment so knowing what price levels they traded at in different times may be important If you think we’re going back to a different interest rate environment. But again - everybody evaluates their investments their own way, so if it doesn’t make sense for you then cool

[@LuckyLukky]

Thanks for the breakdown! Theres also the opportunity cost of paying for SA instead of contributing to your portfolio, where it wouldn’t make sense for smaller investors with lets say under $10,000 in assets

[@mattderron]

I think that’s fair, I would hope most folks under that amount would just be in simple index funds if they’re still learning. I would argue that if you’re under $10k, investing in multiple individual stocks and just starting your learning process then the $20 a month is likely better spent on a platform that will accelerate your learning than putting that $20 in your 10th best stock idea when you’re starting out or whatever. But this is completely dependent on each persons situation so there’s no one right answer. Thanks for the thoughtful comment!

[@johnmonk3381]

Your best lesson in the market still is taking a loss and moving on. Having losses in your personal finance really hurts because you understand how hard it was to earn each dime and that's why the lesson it imparts is something you will never forget

[@aaron6806]

@@mattderron considering how easy it is to dispose of $20/month on two coffees at Starbucks, research tools like SA do seem like pretty good value. Dammit, now I want a 30 syllable "coffee"!

[@kurniawanms2]

@@aaron6806 do not stop buying Starbucks coffee! From Starbucks stock owner

[@peterfischer7084]

What annoys me as SA premium member residing in Europe is that they only cover securities listed at US exchanges. Do you know of an equivalent with global cover?

[@karapain9]

Try “Simply Wall St”

[@RS-lw9cd]

Everyone has their preferences of research sources...and it is anyone's opinion which ones are the "best". That is fine and is why there are so many resource sources out there. As an investment club member, I have seen club members show their sources and what they liked about each one. Again, each has their own preferences. I am glad that you found one that you prefer. Best to you and your channel.

[@mattderron]

Thanks!

[@redmtn]

My problem with seeking alpha premium is that it does not seem to track the performance of my overall holdings. For example I can enter the individual stocks I own but I can’t compare my overall stock holdings against the S&P like I can do with Yahoo finance. I wish I could track the performance of my stock portfolio with SA so I could drop my Yahoo subscription.

[@mattderron]

Oh I see, yes that is a nice feature. I’m doing that through Schwab because it accounts for the timing of my contributions as well. That was a big reason why I moved most of my accounts there

[@hassanmuhieddine2049]

Dude your videos are the best!!!! I've been learning alot!!!

[@mattderron]

Thank you, I appreciate it, it means a lot!

[@apk3549]

Great commentary on the premium services of SA. Thanks. Was trying to decide between MF, Zacks & SA

[@mattderron]

Thanks, glad it helped!

[@stephenstaulcup9605]

Thank you Matt! I sign up and love it, especially the great articles and commentary!

[@mattderron]

Awesome! Glad it’s working out for you!

[@TheRealMinuteMarket]

I was told you could message fund managers or talk with people in communities. Is that true? all I can find is paid funds

[@mattderron]

What do you mean by "talk to fund managers" do you mean with folks who have their own paid groups? You can interact with folks in the comments of the news articles and analysis articles and that includes people who have paid groups or people in those paid groups, but...I'm not sure if that is what you're asking?

[@sanjosanjo1986]

Hi matt. New subscriber here. Can you please use dark background instead of white? Need sunglasses when watching at night :)

[@mattderron]

Hey thanks - I tend to use a lot of "highlighting" effects to show important parts of transcripts or financials and those just don't show up well on dark backgrounds. I do use dark mode for most of the apps on my phone, but Seeking Alpha isn't one of them. It would make it tough to do certain things that I normally put in my videos - so I probably won't be switching at this time. Sorry, hopefully something like being able to dim the screen will be good enough to still watch

[@bwill1412]

Thanks for the info. I getting your perspective and analysis.

[@chrisapostolou5983]

Hello! I am not buying and selling frequently, I am a long term investor usually buying ETFs but I have a couple of individual stocks in my portfolio. I don't live in the US so I am not getting updated company news. My question is, if it's worth it for me to pay the premium for the analysis, the news, and the rankings (to sell or hold or buy) that seeking Alpha provides or maybe Zacks. Thanks in advance!

[@mattderron]

In your case I probably wouldn’t recommend premium. You can always use a free account to get most of the features and if you need to monitor performance of your individual stocks you can get the quarterly earnings call transcripts from their website usually. Personally I don’t know if the rankings by themselves are worth it, at least I don’t use them that way. Just my opinion, hope it helps.

[@chrisapostolou5983]

I was actually very helpful, Thank you! Good job with the video it was very guiding and informative! @@mattderron

[@OopsFailedArt]

Wonderful breakdown man, thank you for this. Could you do a Motley Fool Premium breakdown next? I love their podcast and I’m always hearing their adds but have never really investigated their premium channel

[@mattderron]

Thank you! I’ve never used Motley Fool Premium so I’m unfamiliar with it. I do enjoy their podcast as well though!

[@camiloramirez798]

Hi Matt. I have not watched the video yet. My wife gave me the Premium subscription yesterday as an anniversary gift. I hope the video don't disappoint 😂😂😂.

[@mattderron]

That's awesome! I'm sure you'll enjoy it lol

[@camiloramirez798]

Watched. One additional thing I have noticed that I don't like is the charting. Even in the Premium some metrics are unable to chart. Ex: Netdebt/EBITDA or Price vs Normalized EPS. But certainly I agree that I asked my wife for the Premium because I wanted full access on the articles, for the metrics I really like TIKR. Matt many thanks for your valuable information. Have a nice holiday.

[@aaron6806]

Have you ever found discrepancies in the data provided by these aggregator sites? Given your attention to detail I assume you verify numbers from SA from time to time to ensure nothing has been lost or recorded incorrectly by the aggregating sites. Dividend payments are the most common number I see mistakenly reported because they often change only every quarter, so some sites have info from the previous quarter and that's a long time to have incorrect info circulating. I don't remember if I've ever seen this with SA

[@mattderron]

Definitely - it's tough because sometimes the numbers are different because they use a different methodology (ie, SA growth rates are TTM vs previous 12 months) and sometimes it's just a wonky calculation. On SA the thing I've seen the most is consecutive years of dividend growth is off sometimes (it will say zero when they clearly grew dividends the past 2-3 years) and I'm not sure why. To me this isn't a huge issue because you can clearly see it in the dividend history graph. I didn't dig into it enough to understand why it does that because it's different across multiple sites anyway. Also, if I see something in the financials that looks weird I'll go to the actual 10-K just to confirm. And how they categorize numbers is slightly different because the 10-K will have cash flow broken out in detail but then they are summed on the site. In my view, it's like anything else - all sites will have some variability because they have to come up with a normalized way to show every company. For the most part though, the biggest issue has been getting familiar with how the metrics are calculated (most of them have a Tool Tip that explains it on SA) so that I know what it's telling me.

[@aaron6806]

"Table stakes". Nice. The feature I found most valuable when I did a trial was the articles and subsequent discussions in the comments. I really like to hear non-ranty opinions and perspectives to ensure I'm not missing something before hitting the cartoonish Jim Cramer buy button I installed on my laptop. Having said that.....I vowed to not be an active trader when I started out, and SA and equivalent services are way overkill for small buy-and-hold fish like me. My positions are few enough that I know them fairly well, and I can research any changes directly from their published materials.

[@mattderron]

Yeah I actually didn't even mention the comments in this video (I've mentioned them before) but I agree - definitely value there as well. What's good about your perspective is you know why it doesn't make sense for you and that's totally cool

[@JAMGAR369]

I’m with ITrade in Canada when you hit 7 figures you become a platinum member and get Trade Pro free it’s usually 55 a month

[@mattderron]

Wow, I’m not familiar with their platform but that’s awesome

[@jessehamlin3420]

I use qualtrim and morningstar, used to use seekingalpha. The one thing I do like about it is the 10+ yr charts to see if a stock is undervalued or not relative to what its traded for in the past. But unfortunately thats all I really use it for so cant justify the purchase solely based on that. Thanks Matt!

[@mattderron]

I've used qualtrim before, it's good I liked it. Morningstar has good information as well (I did a whole video on it last year) but I was getting most of the value through Schwab (morningstar analysis available through there) so I didn't renew.

[@derickharris9273]

How’s Qualtrim? Thinking about getting it for the charts.

[@mattderron]

It's pretty useful, the great thing is that I think he does a free trial so you can try it out and see if you like it first.

[@ParkSloper]

Excellent analysis of Premium access along with a better offer than Black Friday deal. Videos have been very informative, appreciate the perspectives.

[@mattderron]

Thank you, I appreciate it!

[@jrocca42]

You could solve my problem by doing videos on all the stocks I’m watching 😉

[@davidk6498]

If your getting something from them don’t I have be a little skeptical about the review I always try and find independent review if I can so there is no perceived conflict of interest 😮

[@mattderron]

Sure, that's why I explained it in detail at the beginning of the video. I was a paying customer before I became an affiliate. I also use their service in just about all of my videos, so it's clear that I actually use the service and am not just reviewing it. But of course, you should do what makes you comfortable so be as skeptical as you need to be

[@tayfunslife]

Black Friday but still shows 239

[@mattderron]

Did you use my link in the description? I just checked it and it's still $90 off ($209). If you're just going to the website directly, the discount isn't as big ($239)

[@salehalotaibi2903]

no don't use your money on any dumb subscriptions and invest that money instead

[@OopsFailedArt]

If you only have $20k yes…? Just depends on the time you want to spend and how much money you’re managing.. not dumb, different circumstances and priorities. I’m not active enough right now due to having 5 kids under 8 but as they get older and I start managing my portfolio more hands on again, this might be in the cards. By then, I’d hope to be managing at least $400k so why would I worry about $200 per year…

[@xaldath4265]

​@OopsFailedArt Totally agree. It's not just a simple comparison of invest or spend. For many people, the time savings of having stats all together and simply portrayed is literally worth it to pay for that. For some though, it's actually just a luxury that doesn't truly add value. That being said, if a couple $100/year is a meaningful difference, maybe work on growing the income/investment gap.

[@charlielipthratt7291]

If $200 a year is going to make a meaningful investment a year in you're account, then you're right. Otherwise, if you want access to the extra data it gives, that's less than 1 coffee a week at Starbucks. Seems cheap to me and not dumb. Are you just here to troll Matt?

[@AhmetYalchan]

The worst advice ever or you play with small amounts. 200 dollar per year isn't huge for investment tool.

[@waltermittyfonso6801]

Great video...hope you do a similar one on Simply Wall Street, at some point.🙂

[@mattderron]

Thanks, haven't used that one up to this point

[@Allen-L-Canada]

I think the most valuable feature is the Analysis Articles.

[@mattderron]

Agreed, Analysis articles and the comments that people post in them. The transcripts are also great but can be found other places too

[@Allen-L-Canada]

I can get my 10 years data, 10K, 10Q, call transcripts from other sources conveniently. So their articles are a differentiator from other providers.

[@da5731.]

Could talk about Alpha Picks?

[@mattderron]

I haven't actually used Alpha Picks - but I can ask to see if I can at least get access to review

[@larse2678]

This channel is turning into my facorite!

[@SB-yq6ze]

The articles and often the comments at the bottom of the article are the only valuable tool in seeking alpha.

[@mattderron]

I wouldn't say they're the only valuable tool, but I do think they are some of the most valuable

[@colonelstabby]

Solid video!!

[@mattderron]

Thanks!

[@JGGarcia-kh8uq]

There's nothing to read for free, and they only offer a 7 day trial,.. Not for me

[@mattderron]

You should be able to read one free article or transcript a day for free. But ultimately it won't be for everyone and you should do what makes sense for you

[@ionsufana5250]

Great, like usual! :)

[@mattderron]

Thank you!

[@kevinpob]

I use Stock Unlock

[@mattderron]

That's cool, I haven't heard of that one before

[@makaralaura]

Seeking alpha much better thank other advisor

[@mjs28s]

Maybe...for some of the data - assuming you can't get what you want from other sources that are lower cost or free. HOWEVER, for the articles - nope. Too many authors don't understand the basics and I am talking about even those that are degreed in the right fields but there are gaps in their fundamental knowledge. I have quite literally gotten into comment battles with readers as well as some of the authors and demonstrate quite clearly with actual data how they are wrong about something or not understanding a concept that they used as the base for an article yet rather than getting something like "Wow. You're right" or "Hmmm. Let me look into that" they instead choose to die on the hill in which they are wrong. Areas that you often see these obvious mistakes in that you can debunk them in 2 minutes or less: yield chaser type articles, authors that don't understand that you don't need your dividend yield to be higher than inflation but you need the rate at which your dividend increases to be higher than the inflation rate as it is the RATES of CHANGE that matter and not the yield. Then you get writers that like to talk about how poor of an investment ABC or XYZ has been for the last 30 years and then they talk about historical prices and sometimes show charts....price charts. They always seem to act like spin-offs never happened and that said spin-offs may have done well and and then had other spin-offs so after 25 years rather than having just the one company they are bagging on for their performance you might actually be sitting on four, eight, or ten companies that all stemmed from the initial investment. Way too many authors are like that and are almost certainly blasting out articles as you get paid per view, meaning many work from homers or people padding their income. They even asked me to pen articles and I went back and forth a time or two about how they would even think I was qualified. They also didn't test me in any way to see what financial literacy level I was at. A lot of the other writers, well throw some of the ignorant ones in this pile too, are also shilling their news letters or trading programs so you have to be careful with the content as you never know what degree of bias you might be getting hit with. If you need data from them, ok. Worth the money - no. Your broker almost certainly has the same data or more that you can get for free. It astounds me that SA does nothing about it

[@mattderron]

There is definitely variability in terms of the quality and knowledge of the authors, there's no question. In general, I get a ton of value from the articles because I may just get a different perspective on a stock that I was looking at. Or even better, get a decent overview of a company that's in an industry that I'm unfamiliar with. Is it perfect? No, of course not. Authors are getting paid by the article and/or investing group so there's going to be some that just aren't good. But I think this is true in just about anything. Every piece of content or analysis has some bias, even the ones that are free from your broker and long-term reputable services. It's up to each of us to filter the information from them that's useful to us vs the stuff that's not IMO

[@DividendMike]

Is using Alpha Picks worth it?

[@mattderron]

I've never used Alpha Picks myself, so I'm not sure. Sorry that's not very helpful

[@Alex-yl3qu]

I’ve tried alpha picks for 3 months with 20% open profit, so far so goy

[@mattderron]

Nice! I'll be trying it myself in 2025. I'm limited in what I can show on the channel, but I'll be talking about different approaches and how they are performing, so hopefully folks are into it