The Best Stock Research & Investment Tools for 2021
Here’s my core investing philosophy:
Smart decisions based on good data will lead to strong long-term performance.
A key part of that equation is “good data.”
Below are a wide range of tools you can use to research, plan, and execute your investing strategy.
If there’s anything you think I should add, let me know in the comments!
Free Stock Screeners
- FinViz: Great stock screener that includes key dividend data (my favorite, free, simple screener)
- Yahoo Finance: Redesigned stock screener from Yahoo
- Zacks: Some free and some premium elements to screen stocks
- Investing.com: Simple screener covering US and dozens of international countries
- Financial Times: Another international screener with dozens of countries
- Benjamin Graham: Screen stocks based on Ben Graham’s classic value formulas
- Dividend Channel Stock Screener: Stock screener with a focus on dividends (registration required)
- Stock Rover: Stock screener, plus research reports, comparison tools, and more.
- Diversset: Lets you find great stocks / ETFs and construct an efficient portfolio.
Stock Research
- Simply Wall St: Free tool to visualize a stock from a fundamental research perspective.
- Morningstar Premium: Stock, ETF, and mutual fund research tools, including proprietary analyst research and reports.
Investing Education
- American Association of Individual Investors: Independent, non-profit organization that provides investors with tools and education
- Udemy: Online course platform with many good courses on investing and trading
- Trading Academy: Variety of courses on investing and trading
- HowTheMarketWorks: Free stock market contest for paper trading and tracking theoretical portfolio performance
Analyst Opinions
- Tip Ranks: Find out what 15,000 analysts say about your stocks
- MarketBeat: Detailed analyst ratings and changes for stocks
Social Investing Tools
- Scutify: A community for the latest market chatter, scuttlebutt, ideas & more
- StockTwits: A community of investors discussing news and ideas
- Earnings Whisper: Investors guess upcoming earnings results
- Whisper Number: Investors guess upcoming earnings results
- Seeking Alpha: Great community of investors discussing stocks, ETFs, economy, crypto, commodities, futures, etc. (Also great for earnings estimates, per Cedric Boogaerts)
- Reddit Investing: Social community for discussing investing ideas, education, etc.
- Collective2: Social investing platform where you can follow other members’ trade recommendations
Best Brokerage Rankings
- NerdWallet’s Best Online Stock Brokers for Beginners
- StockBrokers Best Online Stock Brokers
- Investopedia Best Online Stock Brokers for Stock Trading
- The Balance 8 Best Online Stock Brokers to Use
- Bankrate Best Online Brokers for Stocks
- Motley Fool Best Stock Brokers for Beginners
Calculators
- CalculateStuff Compound Interest Calculator: Simple compound interest calculator to model compounding annual returns (with graphs)
- Bankrate Investment Calculator: Investment calculator to forecast returns, contributions, taxes, and net profits
- NerdWallet Retirement Calculator: Retirement calculator to forecast retirement and see if you’re on track
- Bankrate Retirement Calculator: Another retirement calculator with more advanced options
- Good Calculators: List of finance and personal investing calculators, including dividend calculators
Mutual Fund Investing
- Fidelity Fund Research: Mutual fund screening tool
- TD Ameritrade Screener: Mutual fund screening tool
- Vanguard Mutual Fund Screener: Mutual fund screening tool
- ActiveShare: Enter the name or ticker of a U.S. equity mutual fund to view the active share
ETF Investing
- ETF Database: Free ETF screener
- ETF.com: Free ETF finder
- SectorSurfer: ETF rotation models that identify the strongest ETFs to buy now
- AllocateSmartly: Tactical assets allocation and rotation models using ETFs
Dividend Strategies / Philosophy
- Investopedia: Basics on dividends and related terminology
- 10 Commandments of Dividend Investing: Dividend.com’s funny (and thoughtful) review of their philosophy on dividends
- Reddit Dividends: Investors discuss their ideas for investing in dividends
- Early Retirement Extreme: Forums for those excited about retirement
- Dividend Growth Forum: Individual investors discuss dividends and specific stocks
Dividend Stock / Fund / ETF Data
- Dividend.com: Tons of dividend data on individual stocks
- Stock Split History: Allows you to see historical prices and splits for stocks
- Dividend Driven: Regular updates on dividend-focused ETFs and mutual funds
- Dividend Channel Declarations: Live data on when companies declare dividends
- StockCharts: Chart dividend stocks and see technical indicators over time
- Morningstar: Detailed metrics on individual stocks, funds, & ETFs (Morningstar’s “Fair Value” estimates are great for value investors)
Dividend News & Research
- Seeking Alpha (Dividends): Great community of investors discussing dividend stocks
- Y-Charts: Lots of detail on stocks, including key dividend data
- Dividend Stocks Online: Regular calendar of upcoming ex-dividend dates
Dividend Tools & Calculators
- Dividend Channel’s DRIP Returns Calculator: See how much more you would’ve made by using a DRIP plan
- DRIP Investing Tools: Variety of tools, data, and spreadsheets for dividend investors
- Dividend Calendar: Projects key dividend dates for 550 stocks across 20 countries so you can plan your dividend investing decisions
- Dividend Ladder’s Dividend Calculator: Calculate how much your money will return over time, including dividends
Did I miss anything? Make a suggestion in the comments!
