Stock Advisor Canada Review

When it comes to trading stocks, Canadians could have an advantage. They can invest in stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the U.S. exchanges to get exposure to some of the world’s best businesses.

However, having so many investment options can make it challenging to find winning ideas consistently. Fortunately, Motley Fool Stock Advisor Canada can make researching Canadian and American stocks easier. 

This review covers what you can expect from the monthly stock picks and the platform’s other research tools. 

What is Stock Advisor Canada?

Motley Fool Stock Advisor Canada is an entry-level investment newsletter for Canadian investors. It’s also the flagship premium service for Motley Fool Canada due to its affordable price and diversified investment strategy.

This stock picking service recommends stocks they believe will outperform the S&P/TSX Composite Index. It tracks the 250 largest traded companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).

Motley Fool Canada also provides market commentary for Canadian and U.S. stocks. 

In addition to the Stock Advisor Canada platform, you can subscribe to services that focus on dividend stocks, small-cap stocks, options and other specialized strategies.

How Stock Advisor Canada Works

With Stock Advisor Canada, you will receive two monthly recommendations for individual stocks.

These suggestions trade on the following stock exchanges:

• Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)
• Nasdaq
• New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)

One of the monthly picks is a Canadian company, while the other trades in the United States.

The U.S. recommendations may overlap the Motley Fool Stock Advisor USA service that exclusively focuses on companies trading on the NYSE and Nasdaq.

These companies are highly liquid, come from various industries and you can purchase them on most trading apps. 

In addition to the biweekly recommendations, the service also provides a list of starter stocks and other commentaries to find additional investment ideas.

This service is best for Canadian investors. However, international investors who want exposure to Canada-based companies can also benefit from this product.

Stock Advisor Canada Investment Philosophy

The Motley Fool investment philosophy is similar for most of its premium products, including Stock Advisor Canada.

The service analyzes stocks based on these factors:

• Company story
• Management team
• Financial history
• Business prospects

When a stock has favorable investment conditions for these four traits, they issue recommendations that they believe will outperform the overall stock market for the next three to five years.

Unlike most investment newsletters, these recommendations don’t have a “buy up to price” or a stop loss. 

Instead, if a stock pick has a buy rating, the analyst team believes it is worth buying at its current share price as long as you will hold it for several years.

Most recommendations are for a stock that’s not in the portfolio. Periodically, the team issues a repeat buy recommendation for an active recommendation. This occurs when it’s an opportune time to buy more shares.

How Much Does Stock Advisor Canada Cost?

Stock Advisor Canada costs $99 for the first year and $199 for each renewal. 

This annual fee is affordable if you anticipate making several trades per year. The service also costs less than most investment sites that may recommend similar stocks.

Several other premium services are available for various investment strategies from Motley Fool Canada. The annual fee ranges from $349 to $1,999 per year.

Key Features

Here are some of the best benefits of a Stock Advisor Canada membership.

Two Monthly Stock Recommendations

The best reason to become a Stock Advisor Canada subscriber is to receive two stock picks each month. One recommendation is a Canadian stock, and the other is a U.S. stock.

These recommendations come from a variety of industries:

• Banking
• Digital payments
• Medical
• Real estate
• Retail
• Social media and gaming
• Technology
• Transportation

Most recommendations are for a stock that’s not currently in the portfolio. Periodically, the team issues a repeat buy recommendation for an active holding when it’s an opportune time to buy more shares. 

These are long-term investment ideas. In most cases, the anticipated minimum holding period is at least three years before the advisory team may recommend selling your position.

This holding period is longer than most investment newsletters that use stop losses to manage portfolio risk.

Each recommendation comes with a detailed overview that includes:

• A company overview
• The best reasons to buy
• A comparison to competitors
• The potential investment risks

Starter Stocks

One of the best resources for any investor is the Starter Stocks list. 

This feature updates annually and features ten stocks that:

• Have healthy growth potential
• Are a long-term investment idea
• Have an easy-to-understand business model
• Are popular among Motley Fool subscribers

These stocks are usually past recommendations. That said, the service believes they are still a good “all-season” buy today for most investors.

This list includes recommendations from “Team Canada” and “Team U.S.” You will see a brief explanation about why you might consider adding each stock to your portfolio.

The Stock Advisor team recommends that subscribers buy at least three starter stocks. They also advise that you eventually hold 15 portfolio recommendations.

Weekly Updates

You can find updated investment ideas on the off-weeks as new monthly picks are released on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month.

Here are some of the ways you can get regular updates:

• Best Buys Now: Showcases the five most attractive active recommendations
• Stocks on Our Radar: Summary of several stocks the Fool team is covering
• Investment topics: A bonus educational article

Each of these updates comes out on a varying Wednesday throughout the month. This correspondence may also mention recommendation downgrades to sell and hold. 

These updates are one of the easiest ways to receive the latest guidance on the picks that Stock Advisor Canada has recommended.

Scorecard 

The Scorecard tool makes it easy to compare the performance of each recommendation to the S&P/TSX Composite Index benchmark. You can also see if the stock currently has a buy rating or is a starter stock.

This feature separates the Canadian and U.S. recommendations into separate cards, making it easier to compare investment performance and find potential ideas if you’re only investing in one market.

Forums

The online forums let you discuss investment ideas and monthly recommendations with other members. You may also interact with members of the Motley Fool advisory team. 

These discussions can present more information than the analyst write-ups, which are detailed but cannot cover every bullish and bearish aspect.

You may even find company-related news that doesn’t make one of the weekly updates but can still be helpful in researching stocks or monitoring your current holdings.

Watchlist

The Stocks on Our Radar watchlist mentions stocks that might become a future formal recommendation. But, for now, they don’t meet all of the criteria to be appealing to most subscribers.

You can read a summary that’s several paragraphs about why the stock makes the watchlist.

If you use a stock screener to find investment ideas, you might compare your results to this list and the scorecards to narrow down your options.

You may decide to buy shares of a watchlist position if it fits your investment strategy. Additionally, even if Stock Advisor Canada doesn’t issue a buy recommendation, it can be profitable if you buy it at the right time.

How-To Guides

New investors can benefit from several investment guides. This material can help you understand how to use the Motley Fool investment strategy and start buying individual stocks.

You can also find special reports covering topics like investing in Canada, outside the border and asset allocation.

Customer Reviews

Here are some recent reviews from investors using Motley Fool Canada that can help you determine if the service is right for you.

Trustpilot

Motley Fool Canada has a 3.8 out of 5 Trustpilot rating with 122 reviews. 

Most complaints concern the multiple marketing emails you will receive to purchase additional premium services. Unfortunately, this is a common tactic for most investment research platforms. 

Here are some of the testimonials on Trustpilot:

“Motley Fool’s provides its clients with information and advice for a fee. Typically paid for advice is better than free advice. I have also fallen prey to some of their clickbait for additional services such as Hidden Gems and also feel the advice has been very good and I have done very well on many of their recommendations.” – Andy

“Spammy service. Bombarded with emails just trying to sell useless plans. Yet to see any value out of this. they have been very prompt with my refund which is why I gave them one star.” – Osama M. Fedda

Better Business Bureau

The service has a 1 out of 5 star rating with three customer reviews on the Better Business Bureau website.

Two of these complaints focus on customer service problems with canceling a subscription. However, Motley Fool claims both errors are from the subscribers who didn’t properly contact customer support by email to cancel their service.

Alternatives to Stock Advisor Canada

While Stock Advisor Canada is a legit investment service with a long-term winning track record, other platforms could be a better fit for your strategy and research needs.

Seeking Alpha

Seeking Alpha Premium provides market commentary for U.S. as well as Canada-based stocks and funds. Independent contributors write bullish and bearish articles for most companies.

This platform is better for researching investment ideas as you can use the stock screener, Quant Ratings and charting tools.

Since the service doesn’t provide focused buy recommendations for a specific investment strategy, you can customize the service to fit your investment needs. 

Starting May 22, 2023: Seeking Alpha Premium is $239/year with a 14-day free trial

Zacks

Zacks provides analyst research for many publicly-traded companies. You can get insights similar to Motley Fool without waiting for a formal buy recommendation.

Each stock includes the iconic Zacks Ranks. This estimates the probability a stock will outperform the S&P 500 over the next three months.

In addition to the in-depth short-term ratings, the service also publishes a Focus List of 50 stocks to hold long-term. This feature is similar to the Stock Advisor investment strategy.

You can find some information for free. However, a Premium subscription ($249 per year) is necessary to get the in-depth reports and stock lists.

Unfortunately, this service has a low Trustpilot score. This is a result of the many marketing emails you will receive as a member.

Stock Rover

Stock Rover is an in-depth stock screener. You can also find ideas mimicking investment gurus and read research reports.

This service offers technical analysis but primarily focuses on fundamental research. 

Since fundamental investors can benefit from this platform, it’s an excellent alternative to Stock Advisor Canada if you are looking for a more interactive experience.

A free subscription is available but has limited research capabilities. Several paid plans are offered.

FAQ’s

These questions can help you decide if Stock Advisor Canada is a good fit to help you with your investing strategy.

Summary

Stock Advisor Canada has an affordable price and makes it easier to research Canadian and U.S. stocks with long-term growth potential. 

You can benefit from this service if you’re willing to hold individual stocks for several years, even during bearish market conditions.

However, you might consider another stock picking service if you want to make short-term trades or need additional research tools covering stocks outside the model portfolio.