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Working out where and how to invest your money can be a daunting task. Being well-versed in the current trends, market insights and investment news can improve your knowledge and understanding of what kind of investments will serve you best.
That is where investment newsletters come in. These newsletters provide education about the daily These newsletters give you excellent information about the daily influx of investments that hit the Australian market without you having to put in all the effort.
However, picking the right newsletter for you comes down to a couple of things- the kinds of investments you are interested in, the amount of money you wish to spend and even how much you actually want to read. Here's an in-depth guide to the types of investment newsletters out there and how to pick the best one for you.
What is an investment newsletter?
Investment newsletters typically contain recommendations about stocks and whether they should be bought or sold based on the current market. These recommendations will usually come from a reliable and well-known investor or team of investors.
An investment newsletter also provides you with an informative round up of the latest market news, research, and analysis of the stock market. Written by financial market professionals, there can be insights and gems to discover within each article. This information can help you decide on investment strategies and new investment ideas to consider.
Frequency of these newsletters can be daily, weekly, or monthly, and can also be paid or free services.
Why read an investment newsletter?
Reading a newsletter can save you time and effort when managing your personal finances, as the research is already done for you. While doing in-depth research is always a great idea for personal finance decisions, having a newsletter that details all the current trends and new ideas can be extremely helpful.
Having an intelligent investor sharing recommendations, along with educating yourself about the current investing landscape allows you to explore unique opportunities. Better yet regularly reading an investment newsletter lets you be a part of the larger investing community.
The types of investment newsletters
The best investment newsletters involve a mixture of educational investing resources, a reliable track record for stock picks and good value for money. While there are not necessarily different 'types' of investment newsletters, each newsletter will cover different topic areas, have varied costs, and offer divergent advice about investing, wealth management and stock picks.
Within the investment news realm, there are newsletters, stand-alone articles in regular newspapers and even Australian investment blogs where you can receive current news from.
Although regular newspaper articles and investment blogs are considered reliable and informative, when it comes to advice about investing your own money, getting recommendations directly from financial market professionals is always the way to go.
Subscription service vs free newsletters
In terms of cost, many investment newsletters are made to be a subscription service or expect a fee to access the information. There are some listed investment companies and services that provide free news or frequent news articles and blogs.
Although free newsletters save on costs, subscribing to a monthly or weekly newsletter allows you to receive market insights and new ideas on a regular basis. Additionally, paid services are usually seen as more reliable and reputable, especially when it comes to their stock pick recommendations.
What kinds of topics do investment newsletters cover?
While the main reason many investors read investment newsletters is to get reliable recommendations on which stocks to buy and sell, there are many other topics that these newsletters can cover.
Investment property news
For those who have interest in real estate or investment property goals, many newsletters cover how the housing market is faring and offer strategies for those who wish to invest.
Education
Most newsletters are also a great source of education and knowledge, especially for beginners or newcomers to wealth management. If you are just starting on building your investment portfolio, reading a newsletter may give you new ideas and approaches to take. Some investment newsletters provide model portfolios or examples of how an ideal investment portfolio should look as well.
The investing community
Access to the investing community is a big benefit of reading an investment newsletter. Viewing well-known and reputable investors talk shop about their own investments or getting advice about current stocks is an advantage to have.
What makes for the best investment newsletters?
So, how do you choose between the range of newsletters available? There are so many options and variations of investment newsletters out there, and it can be difficult to work out what is reliable and worth your time.
The best investment newsletters have these three key attributes:
1. Good track record
It is always best to choose an investment newsletter based on their track record with recommendations. A good investment newsletter may have a good performance over a long period of time, which demonstrates their credentials in giving advice on stock picks and other investment strategies.
When looking at a newsletter’s recommendations, you should also ensure that they are backed up by statistics, analysis, and cold, hard facts. When it comes to stock performance, the newsletter should be able to tell you not only which stock to pick, but why picking that stock is a good investment.
2. Value for money
Considering costs and your own personal finance is key to picking the right newsletter for you. Some newsletters and subscription services can become quite expensive, so making sure the source you choose has all the information and access you need is important.
While a free weekly newsletter is convenient for price, it may not contain the wealth of knowledge that a paid service may provide.
3. Educational
It may seem like educational resources or information are only for pre-investors or those just starting out, but the Australian Stock Market is forever changing and updating. Making sure that your newsletter provides relevant community updates, along with appropriate information or knowledge of any changes is very advantageous.
How to pick the best investment newsletter for you
Now the question remains, how to pick the best newsletter? Unfortunately, there is no right answer here, as every investor is unique in their personal finance situation. After looking at the key attributes found within quality investment news sources, picking the best newsletter comes down to personal goals and lifestyle.
The best way to decide is by considering three things–what kind of investor you are, what investment goals you have and the amount of time and effort you wish to put into gaining knowledge.
What kind of investor are you?
When it comes down to it, reading investment news, recommendations and strategies are only helpful if you know how you will be using that information. Working out what kind of investor you are- pre-investor, passive investor, or active investor–is integral to finding the best news source for your goals.
Pre-investor
A pre-investor is a beginner or amateur investor. At this stage, you may not have begun to build your investment portfolio yet, and have very limited knowledge of the stock market, investment strategy or even have any savings strategies with your own money and assets.
An investment newsletter with lots of educational information and investing resources would be extremely helpful for pre-investors as they begin to understand investment opportunities they can target. Better yet, getting market insights from an experienced investor or a share advisor would be ideal for beginners to the investment community.
For a pre-investor or beginner to the investing community, gaining knowledge and skill can be a daunting task.
Passive investor
Passive investors are those who are looking for low-maintenance investments and less time spent on researching. This kind of investor usually prefers to invest for long periods of time and adopts a buy-and-hold strategy for their assets and investments.
For passive investors, depending on a fund manager, broker or financial planner is quite common, as they tend to lack extensive knowledge.
If you think you fall into this category, receiving a large amount of information, articles and recommendations may not be optimal. In this case, you may not wish to subscribe to a paid news service, and instead catch up on your investment news through regular newspapers, investment blogs or a free weekly newsletter.
Alternatively, a monthly newsletter subscription may be an option for you to view current trends and news on a regular but limited basis.
Active investor
An active investor takes the most hands-on approach to their investment strategy and fulfillments. This kind of investor must focus on building active strategies that add value in return on capital to ensure success in their goals. While passive investors aim to get market return, an active investor aims to beat the market index.
For investment news and resources, an active investor will spend a lot of time researching and developing their knowledge. For this level of effort, a daily or weekly newsletter that is extremely detailed in their specific investment interests is a must have. Reading up on current news and trends is also important for an active investor. It would be wise for this investor to seek out a service to subscribe to for all their investment news.
Set your investment goals
Setting your investment goals is extremely important for various reasons. When moving from the pre-investor level, having goals and specific interests means that you can narrow your scope of research and have something to work toward.
Whether your goals are focussed on financial freedom, moving toward self-managed funds, or even just gaining knowledge and investing skill, a goal allows for structure. When looking at investment newsletters, setting up your investment strategy means you know what kind of information and topic areas you want to read.
Time and effort
Simply searching 'best investment newsletters Australia' will come up with a huge amount of options for you to work your way through. Finding the right newsletter for you will take time and effort, and you will have to be willing to search throughout for a news service that fits within your investing type and financial goals.
Evaluating what amount of time and effort you wish to spend on your investing will also help you decide on a newsletter. When looking for a suitable newsletter consider what kind of information you want to receive as well as how much you want to read.
Australian Stock Report Pty Ltd ABN 94 106 863 978 AFSL 301682. All rights reserved.
All information in this article is of general nature only; it is not intended or to be construed as an offer, solicitation or recommendation for any financial product and does not take into account your financial situation, objectives or needs. Before acting on the information herein you should consider whether it is appropriate for you in light of your personal circumstances. Where applicable, you should obtain and consider a Product Disclosure Statement, Prospectus or other relevant disclosure material and seek professional investment advice prior to making any decision to acquire or dispose of a financial product. Investing in financial markets and instruments involves risks, including loss of some or all capital. The payment of income and the return of capital are not guaranteed. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. Whilst the information presented herein is believed to be reliable and obtained from trusted sources, ASR does not make any representations as to its accuracy or completeness.
