Best personal finance newsletters

• The Reddit thread was created three years ago and is still active with recent comments
• The thread is titled “Does anyone know some good newsletter about the stock market?” and has 49 points
• A Reddit user warns against trusting anything from Motley Fool.com, Investorplace.com, Jim Cramer, Charles Gasparino, or Rich Greenfield and has 58 karma
• Another Reddit user disagrees with the warning against Motley Fool and particularly enjoys their podcasts, “Industry Focus”, which advocates for a long-term, buy-and-hold investing approach and has 1 karma
• A third user agrees that you shouldn’t trust newsletter info but that it is good to learn about new tickers and then do your own due diligence with 1 karma
• Another user claims that Motley Fool is “a hedge fund pretending to be a respectable outlet” with 1 karma
• A user alleges that Motley Fool is paid by Citadel and their articles reflect what they are told to write about, but another user questions the source for this information with 0 karma
• One user offers to send a weekly letter for $30/month with 27 karma
• Several users recommend personal finance books, including “How to make money in stocks” by William J O’Neil and “Learn to Earn” by Peter Lynch with 8 karma, “The Little Book that Beats the Market” by Joel Greenblatt with 10 karma, and Howard Marks’ monthly memos with 6 karma
• Other recommended newsletters and sources of information include: FLS letter, Oaktree Capital memos, Exec Sum newsletter, StockDweebs newsletter, Morning Brew newsletter, Opto from CMC markets, ARMR Report on YouTube, Seeking Alpha and TipRanks (with a trial subscription), and Alpha Picks newsletter, though several users caution against blindly following stock picks recommended by newsletters with 2 karma
• One user suggests starting with safe dividend investments like IQTRENDS.COM with 2 karma
• Some users recommend using research and news provided by brokerage sites like Schwab and CFRA, Morningstar, and Credit Suisse reports with 1 karma
• A user suggests getting a library card from the local library to access resources like Value Line, which costs more than $500 per year as a retail investor and offers commentary on the market and individual stocks with 1 karma
• Some users warn against expensive courses from influencers that claim to have a “get rich quick” strategy and highlight the importance of doing your own research and pulling

• The webpage is a reddit thread from r/slatestarcodex titled “What are the best Finance blogs/newsletters?” posted 3 years ago

• The original poster is asking for recommendations other than Matt Levine’s Money Stuff

• One commenter listed the following:

  • Matt Levine’s Money Stuff - daily links to finance (10 karma)
  • Andrew Walker’s YAVB “Some Things and Ideas” - monthly (usually) finance links
  • FT Alphaville’s Further Reading - daily. Broad range
  • Climateer Investing - not really a “round up” post as much as a constant stream of interesting links each week
  • Collaborative Fund’s What we’re reading - weekly round up
  • Liberty’s Highlights - daily links with commentary. Finance-y
  • Best of Econtwitter - weekly round up of Econtwitter
  • Long Vol Short Prediction Markets - Things I’ve Enjoyed. Weekly links - mostly financy
  • Nuno Sempere’s Forecasting Newsletter - monthly prediction market / forecasting links
  • Byrne Hobart’s The Diff (4 karma)

• Another commenter recommends Morgan Housel’s blog - 4 karma

• Another commenter agrees that Matt Levine is the best but recommends Felix Salmon’s newsletter as a runner-up - 2 karma

• Another commenter mentions D-squared’s archives as worth a binge - 1 karma

• Another commenter recommends Naked Capitalism for link roundups and dissections of corporate malfeasance - 1 karma

• One commenter referred to an earlier comment they had made with more link roundups but did not include them in this comment.

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Notes:

• The author is researching investment newsletters and stock-picking services with a strong long-term track record.
• Hulbert Ratings is mentioned as having audited a large selection of such services and compared their returns over different time periods.
• According to Hulbert Ratings, Nate’s Notes and Investment Advisory Service have consistently outperformed not only the S&P 500 but also the Russell 2000, Wilshire 5000, and NASDAQ Composite over different time periods (3 years, 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, and 20 years).
• These two services appear to have consistently outperformed the market over both very long and short time periods, with the “Model Portfolio” of Nate’s Notes outperforming the S&P 500 by more than 6% p.a. over the last 20 years and Investment Advisory Service outperforming it by more than 4% p.a. over the same period.
• Nate’s Notes has been published from the beginning (1995) by a single person, Nate Pile. The editor-in-chief of Investment Advisory Service, Douglas Gerlach, has held this position since 2003.
• Despite their impressive record, Nate’s Notes and Investment Advisory Service are not well-known/recommended on Reddit or in many reviews online.
• The author shares concerns about The Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor product, despite some evidence showing that it has historically outperformed the S&P 500 index over different time periods. The author raises concerns that the service has a tech-heavy focus, that many Motley Fool services have been discontinued following significant underperformance relative to the index, and that David Gardner’s Stock Advisor picks have significantly outperformed his brother Tom Gardner’s.
• In the comments section, a question is raised regarding whether Hulbert Ratings subtracted costs of active management or any 12b-1 or loading fees and whether their analysis was based on dollar-weighted vs. time-weighted returns from when they made their advice recommendation. Another comment points out the potential impact of taxes and the difficulty of real-life investors executing all of the recommended trades in a timely manner.
• Reddit moderation rules are posted in the comments section, including rules about advice requests and beginner questions, political posting guidelines, and conduct expectations.
• The post was made 3 years ago and received 15 points on Reddit.

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Relevant: true Importance: 7

Notes:

• Reddit thread discussing personal finance newsletters
• Original post asking for recommendations posted 1 year ago in r/investing.
• Multiple recommendations given by users.
• Recommendations:
  • The Financial Times - Unhedged (mentioned once with no upvotes or downvotes)
  • The Wall Street Journal - The 10-Point (mentioned once with no upvotes or downvotes, but one user mentioned that WSJ, Marketwatch, Barron’s, and Investor’s Daily all come in the same subscription bundle)
  • The Economist - Money Talks (mentioned once with no upvotes or downvotes)
  • Deloitte - Deloitte Insights (mentioned once with no upvotes or downvotes)
  • BlackRock - Best of BlackRock Investment Commentary (mentioned once with no upvotes or downvotes)
  • JPMorgan Chase - In Context (mentioned once with no upvotes or downvotes)
  • Morning Brew (mentioned once with 2 upvotes, described as a quick, fun read over coffee to start the day, with lots of finance snark without deep analysis)
  • The New York Times - DealBook (mentioned once with no upvotes or downvotes)
  • McKinsey - The Daily Read (mentioned once with no upvotes or downvotes)
  • Axios - AM, PM, Macro, Markets (mentioned once with no upvotes or downvotes, described as never taking more than 15 minutes to read and the “Extra Upsides” are always entertaining)
  • Morgan Stanley - Five Ideas (mentioned once with no upvotes or downvotes)
  • Market Watch (mentioned once with no upvotes or downvotes)
  • Bloomberg - Money Stuff (Matt Levine) (mentioned once with 1 upvote, described as being about interesting (or funny) but not hugely impactful topics, like yesterday’s piece about LNG companies reneging on delivery contracts)
  • CNBC- Investing Club with Jim Cramer (mentioned once with no upvotes or downvotes)
  • CNN- Seeking Alpha (mentioned once with 1 downvote, described as bullshit)
• Some commenters suggest index funds instead of newsletters. One commenter recommends to “just index funds, set and forget.”
• Another commenter recommends following both WSJ and Bloomberg for a true sense of what’s really going on out there, but notes WSJ is right-leaning while Bloomberg is left-leaning.

• Reddit post titled “What are the best personal finance blogs/newsletters to follow the learn the basics of personal finance?”
• User wants to know blogs/newsletters that explain personal finance basics in an interesting manner with examples, stories, or anecdotes.
• Recommender suggests several blogs/newsletters:
  • Collaborative Fund’s blog: Well put together, easy-to-read articles that present money and life stories in an interesting way.
  • Barry Ritholtz’s The Big Picture: Contains 10 links and a graphic a day that give context to financial events and sometimes include packed presentations with stories and anecdotes.
  • Ben Carlson’s A Wealth of Common Sense: Provides comparisons of present-day developments with the past.
  • Ben Thompson’s Stratechery: About company strategies, but lays out thought processes that give readers a framework to understand the world around them, which inevitably influences and impacts personal finances.
• The recommender describes Collaborative Fund’s blog as “energizing easy reads,” suggests that The Big Picture provides “context for what is happening around us everyday,” and recommends Stratechery for “brilliant” long-form readings.
• Morgan Housel, author of The Psychology of Money, is a partner at Collaborative Fund.
• The Big Picture is associated with Ritholtz Wealth Management.
• Other Reddit users posted additional recommendations, but the top-voted answer was the one above.

Here are the bullet points summarizing the content of the linked Reddit thread on financial newsletters and blogs:

• The Reddit thread posted in r/M1Finance four years ago starts with a user asking for suggestions for personal finance newsletters, blogs, and news organizations.
• One user responded by suggesting the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and several podcasts on Spotify, including:
  • The Motley Fool
  • Chit Chat Money
  • Investing Insights (Morningstar)
  • We Study Billionaires (The Investors Podcast)
  • Wall Street Breakfast (Seeking Alpha)
  • Robinhood Snacks
  • WSJ Money Briefing.
• Another user commented on these podcasts and added a few YouTube channels to follow:
  • Dave Lee on Investing
  • Meet Kevin
  • Ben Felix.
• Some users added other recommendations:
  • Morning Brew: a daily newsletter that provides recaps on news in a readable format
  • Meb Faber: website that features research papers focused on global asset allocation
  • Stansberry Research: website with quality recommendations but nothing too risky
  • Finimize: a brief newsletter
  • Rick Ferri’s Bogleheads on Investing: podcast with interviews with experts and discussions on investing
  • Ben Felix’s Rational Reminder: podcast with discussions on finance, investing, and economics
  • PBS’s Two Cents: YouTube channel that provides financial advice
  • Portfolio Charts and Bogleheads Blog: reading sites that offer insights on various aspects of personal finance.
• Some users made additional comments:
  • Some YouTubers tend to be “cowboys dropping 5 digits on penny stocks they pump and dump,” so one user cautioned viewers to be careful with whom they follow.
  • Some popular YouTubers don’t know a lot about the market beyond what’s currently hot or new and may attract viewers who only want to hear what’s about to go to the moon.
  • Another user mentioned that formal education is important, and cautioned viewers against following Graham Stephan’s messaging that formal education is worthless.
  • Yet another user pointed out that “y’all” is a regional expression, but it has become a bit political.
• The original user thanked everyone and decided to check out WSJ’s newsletter and Morning Brew and consider purchasing Morningstar’s newsletter, as it was offered at 50% off.

• OP in r/CFA asked for recommendations on where to find free finance newsletters/data sources covering topics such as Alternative Credit, Hedge Funds, Private Equity, Real Assets, Venture Capital, and Economic updates that are accessible in India.
• Several users responded with their recommendations:
  • Matt Levine (Bloomberg) - “hilarious and fucking brilliant.” (6 karma)
  • Barry Ritholtz - “puts out a great run down of the top news and everyone reads him.”
  • J.P. Morgan’s Guide to Alternatives - “free and amazing.” (6 karma)
  • Bloomberg Surveillance podcast - “daily, about 40 minutes or so, and features interviews with actual market participants / investors / etc. Everyone watches/listens to it and respects the hell out of it.”
  • Term Sheet / Axios ProRata - for VC/PE (5 karma)
  • Howard Marks’ memos - “a great education in business/economics, all available for free online.” (5 karma)
  • Seeking Alpha - “There’s a huge swath of topics and some really good research reports from time to time. Highly recommend.” (4 karma)
  • Bain’s annual PE survey - “free and you can completely regurgitate those insights in interviews.” (4 karma)
  • Cohen and Steers - “puts out some good research/updates on alternatives.”
  • Prequin - “has a few reports you can get for free that covers alts.”
  • Mergers and Acquisitions - “has a free newsletter and covers big deals.”
  • Semafor newsletters - “mainly global/general business news.” (2 karma)
  • My First Million, Not Investment Advice, Invest Like the Best - podcasts related to public markets. (2 karma)
  • Macro Voices - “Weekly in-depth analysis of the economy, better or worse depending on guests.” (2 karma)
  • Wealthion - “Similar to Macro Voices, again depends on guests. Daily.” (2 karma)
  • Behind the Markets podcast
  • This Week in Startups
  • The After Hours Report - “a free daily newsletter consisting of the day’s market report, an earnings report, an M&A Report looking at recent deals and possible deal arbitrage, and an IPO report looking into the latest fillings.” (2 karma)
  • UpperWestGuy’s Substack - “free daily market recap, super easy to follow.” (1 karma)
  • The Wall Street Rollup

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💭  Looking into

The unique benefits and drawbacks to each popular personal finance newsletter

💭  Looking into

The top 3 most highly reviewed and recommended personal finance newsletters