Seeking Alpha Review 2022

Bob Haegele By: Bob Haegele

January 27, 2022

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Seeking Alpha

4.6/5

4.6 rating based on 5 ratings

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In a nutshell: Seeking Alpha is a stock market investor service that provides a variety of both free and paid subscription content. What differentiates it from other services is its focus on communal input. Its content is generated by both professional and amateur financial advisors. Seeking Alpha also offers a proprietary “Quant” rating for various securities.

FeesReturnsUnique Feature
$29.99/month for premium membership27% return over S&P for strong-buy stockAbility to track content author’s recommendation performance

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • A Free Option
  • Community
  • Accessibility

Cons

  • Not for Rookies
  • Limited Free Content

In This Article

One of Seeking Alpha’s benefits is the staggering amount of content that is generated: claiming that thousands of authors are contributing hundreds of thousands of articles every month. Much of this content is offered free of charge, but users who can’t get enough data might find use in Seeking Alpha’s subscription plans to get even more info on their hands.

Seeking Alpha Overview

In addition to a variety of free articles on stock tips and market trends, subscribers can purchase Seeking Alpha’s premium package for $29.99 per month. This paid subscription offers a variety of analytical tools not available to the firm’s free subscribers.

It should be noted that there is very little hand-holding with this software, and Seeking Alpha offers few educational resources. Seeking Alpha premium’s market software is extensive, but it will require some personal research for you to exercise it to its full potential unless you are already an experienced investor.

If you’re confident of your financial experience, then you might be well served with Seeking Alpha. The company boasts archived stock data that reaches back decades (all while reminding the savvy user that past performance is no promise of future returns).

The myriad of articles and other market advice is both a blessing and a curse. Users will often find conflicting advice. This can overwhelm rookie investors, but experienced subscribers will be able to sort through the great wealth of advice that Seeking Alpha provides to decide what is best for their portfolio parameters and investment goals.

With enough consideration, this can prove to be a benefit to new investors. It might spur them to expand their financial knowledge to reap all that Seeking Alpha has to offer. For the ambitious user, Seeking Alpha can be a viable option for everyone.

Seeking Alpha Quant Rating

Seeking Alpha offers a proprietary quantitative (“Quant”) rating offers ratings on various assets since its introduction in 2010. The platform’s ratings span from strong sell, sell, hold, buy, to strong buy. Seeking Alpha claims that a portfolio based around securities rated as a “strong-buy” would outperform the S&P 500’s returns by over $130,000 (assuming a $10,000 initial deposit). This would amount to over a 27% return, far better than average market performance.

Seeking Alpha Pros

A Free Option – Users who aren’t quite sure if Seeking Alpha is the direction they want to go in can take full advantage of the firm’s free services. This can help you dip your toe in the water to see if the company’s general language and way of disseminating information might be something you’d be interested in paying for additional access to.

Community – Seeking Alpha is unique compared to other robo investors in the sheer amount of content its users contribute. One might even consider it a sort of Seeking Alpha Reddit community all its own. You can find input from investors of all experience levels and financial goals, so you’ll always find a like-minded individual to help you on your path.

Accessibility – The firm offers a variety of ways to engage with the market. Seeking Alpha has a way to log in as long as you have internet access. It offers both a desktop and mobile application, so you can always be plugged into the market.

Seeking Alpha Cons

Not for Rookies – Seeking Alpha is not made for the beginning investor. Between the desktop display and the way information is presented, users will not be spoon-fed. Using the platform will require a background in investing or at least a willingness to learn more outside of the resources that the firm provides immediately.

Limited Free Content – While there is plenty to dig through on Seeking Alpha’s basic site, much of what makes the company interesting is reserved for premium investors. Unique features such as the Quant rating system and access to content authors’ recommendation performances are all reserved for paying members.

Seeking Alpha’s free content might be seen as more of a trial for those thinking of a paid subscription as opposed to something to completely rely on.

Is Seeking Alpha Worth It?

Seeking Alpha is an excellent choice for those with moderate experience who have a moderate amount of money to invest regularly. A premium subscription might be too much for those who only plan on investing small amounts of money at a time, meaning that they can’t properly capitalize on all of the information that the platform has to offer.

If you enjoy researching individual securities, and you are a serious, active trader with multiple individual stocks, then Seeking Alpha can prove to be a worthy investment all its own.

If you decide that Seeking Alpha is right for you, you can get started here!

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Bob Haegele

About the Author:

Bob Haegele is a personal finance writer, entrepreneur, and dog walker. Bob has been writing about personal finance for three years and now manages several personal finance sites, including The Frugal Fellow, Good Credit Info, and Blooming Wealth. You can also find him contributing to popular websites such as Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money, and GOBankingRates. You can see more of his work on Muck Rack and Contently, or connect with him on LinkedIn.