Our Best of the Web guide is designed to highlight financial websites you may find to be useful. Where possible, we’ve focused on resources that offer free content and tools of substance.

We welcome your comments on these and suggestions for sites of use to you that we may have overlooked.

 

Financial Planning

Most individuals must deal with a broad array of financial concerns during their lifetimes. Banking, insurance, budgeting, savings, taxes and health care issues are a few of the many aspects of personal finance that make it an ongoing series of decisions.

The main categories highlighted here are personal finance, retirement planning, annuities, taxes, estate planning and health & long-term care insurance. Sites that are included have frequently updated information, tools and/or calculators and meaningful, useful content.

 

Personal Finance

AnnualCreditReport.com
www.annualcreditreport.com
Free

• Official site directed by federal law to provide free credit reports
• Free copy of your credit report every 12 months from each credit reporting company
• Extensive info on what affects credit reports, how to access them, what rights you have when it comes to accessing your credit report and how to request a report in special situations
• Includes how to file a credit report dispute

Bankrate
www.bankrate.com
Free

• Up-to-date rate comparisons for bank accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), mortgages, credit cards and insurance
• Extensive collection of personal finance calculators and tools
• Free credit report

FINRA
www.finra.org
Free

• BrokerCheck tool allows investors to research the backgrounds of investment professionals and firms
• Wide array of tools and calculators: retirement calculator, IRA required minimum distribution calculator, savings calculator, college savings calculator, accrued interest calculator, fund analyzer, 529 college savings plan expense analyzer, risk meter, scam meter and more
• Includes news releases and investor alerts

Kiplinger
www.kiplinger.com
Free – $83.88/year (specials available)

• Articles cover a wide range of personal finance topics
• Rate information on mortgages, CDs, credit cards and auto loans
• Premium: newsletters and special reports

SmartAsset
www.smartasset.com
Free

• Articles on home buying, taxes, retirement, banking, credit cards and investing
• Income tax calculator, housing affordability calculator and other calculators
• Financial Advisor Matching tool

 

Retirement Planning

Bankrate
www.bankrate.com
Free

• Basic retirement planning calculators
• Collection of articles on retirement planning
• Retirement planning blog

MarketWatch
www.marketwatch.com
Free

• Interactive high-quality retirement planning tools and calculators
• How-to guides like “how to invest for retirement” and “how to write a will”
• Wide range of up-to-date article content on retirement

NewRetirement
www.newretirement.com
Free – $96/year (14-day trial; 20% AAII discount)

• Helpful basic retirement calculators and tools
• Pay for advanced retirement planning tools with PlannerPlus, including a personalized retirement plan, advanced tools and more
• Easy-to-understand content
• Analysis charts provide suggestions on how to better optimize your retirement plan
• Adds new tools often and receptive to user feedback

Social Security Administration
www.ssa.gov
Free

• Apply for retirement benefits online and manage Social Security benefits
• Retirement section covers applicable processes, benefits and considerations
• Educational content and articles available in multiple languages
• Basic tool for estimating retirement benefits

ThinkAdvisor
www.thinkadvisor.com
Free

• A website for financial advisers, but still has a wide array of useful financial planning information, including an entire section on retirement planning
• Also includes articles on estate planning, tax planning, life/health insurance and more

Also worth checking out:

Social Security Solutions, Maximize My Social Security, Stanford Center on Longevity, Retirement Budget Calculator and Retirement Options

 

Annuities

Annuity FYI
www.annuityfyi.com
Free

• Annuity basics page discusses what annuities are
• Description of different types of annuities
• Compare rates on annuities
• Articles and guides cover common questions

The Society for Annuity Facts and Education (SAFE)
www.safeannuityeducation.org
Free

• Nonprofit organization to educate and inform about annuities and their place in a portfolio
• Annuities FAQ page and a useful glossary
• “Should I Buy an Income Annuity?” calculator

 

Tax Information

The following sites were chosen for their articles, tax tips, explanations of rules and tools. For information on websites for online tax filing, see “The Most Popular Tax Preparation Services Used by AAII Members” from the March 2019 AAII Journal.

Bankrate
www.bankrate.com
Free

• Easy to read and understand
• A wide range of calculators: 1040 tax calculator; 401(k), 457 and 403(b) payroll deductions; earned income tax credit calculator; estate tax planning; hourly paycheck calculator; determining your tax bracket; net-to-gross paycheck calculator; flexible spending accounts; self-employed tax calculator; 1040EZ tax form calculator; and the tax-deductible loan calculator
• In the tax advice section: tax brackets, income tax calculator, tax deductions, state taxes, filing taxes and more

IRS.gov
www.IRS.gov
Free

• Comprehensive resources
• Authoritative source for answers to tax questions
• Access to tax forms and applicable instructions
• Newsroom section keeps readers up to date on recent tax legislation

MarketWatch
www.marketwatch.com
Free

• TaxWatch section provides updates and guidance with a focus on individual taxpayers
• Displays publication date with articles, something other websites don’t always do

TurboTax
www.turbotax.com
Free

• Offers a wide array of calculators including: TaxCaster, W-4 Withholding Calculator, Self-Employed Expense Estimator, Dependents Credit & Deduction Finder, ItsDeductible, Documents Checklist, Education Credit & Deduction Finder and Tax Bracket Calculator
• Tax tips and videos
• Useful blog and FAQ section

 

Estate Planning

EstatePlanning.com
www.estateplanning.com
Free

• Basic articles on what estate planning is
• Latest news on estate planning
• An estate planning glossary

Nolo
www.nolo.com
Free – $99.99 (estate planning software)

• Specializes in explaining legal matters in lay terms
• Heavy promotion of its own products, but also a large amount of helpful commentary
• Wills, trusts & probate section includes articles and Q&As on estate-planning basics, wills, probate, living trusts, long-term care and more
• Gives guidance on finding a lawyer to work with
• Articles promote premium products, but also contain links to useful external websites

 

Life Insurance

Insure U
https://content.naic.org/consumer.htm
Free

• Public education program by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to assist consumers with information about insurance issues
• Collection of news releases
• Research includes consumer education and statistical reports

Life Happens
www.lifehappens.org
Free

• Straightforward basics on life, disability, long-term care and health insurance from nonprofit industry organization
• Online tool allows you to search for agents by name, ZIP code or city and state
• Articles, videos and consumer guides explain the difference between various types of insurance and the types of policies offered
• Calculators include life insurance needs, disability insurance needs and human life value
• Blog discusses current insurance issues of interest

LifeInsure.com
www.lifeinsure.com
Free

• Quote search engine doesn’t require personal contact information
• The list shows the AM Best rating and premium amount for each resulting company; click on company name for more ratings and a company summary
• Well-written materials explain basic types of insurance, plus how rates are calculated and recent developments
• Video alternative is available for some articles
• Shows how to calculate how much life insurance you need
• Blog discusses life insurance news

 

Health & Long-Term Care Insurance

CMS.gov
www.cms.gov
Free

• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website that offers information for children and adults
• Covers the Affordable Care Act (ACA), with information about the exchanges and ACA regulations
• Extensive information about Medicare including documents for appeals and grievances, billing, CMS forms, coding, Medicare Advantage information, Medicare contracting, Medicare Fee-for-Service information and much more
• Comprehensive directories to other resources including Medicare benefits, CMS forums and education

HealthCare.gov
www.healthcare.gov
Free

• Helps individuals get health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act
• Information on how to change your plan
• Things to consider when selecting a plan
• What you need to know about costs of plans and how to estimate
• Introduction to HMO, PPO, POS and EPO plans

LongTermCare.gov
https://longtermcare.gov
Free

• Good explanations of benefit choices, what long-term care policies cover, plan costs, designing coverage to meet your needs and where to buy
• Useful links to related resources

Medicare.gov
www.medicare.gov
Free

• Official government secure online service for accessing your personal Medicare information
• Extensive collection of resources
• Home page reports news affecting Medicare and commonly accessed resources
• Search tools allow you to locate and compare Medicare prescription drug plans, Medigap (Medicare supplement insurance) and health plan policies, hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies and dialysis facilities
• To use the service, you must be a registered user (requires a Medicare number)

 

News

Financial News and Analysis

With the quality of news on the internet so variable, it’s crucial to get your finance and investing news from a reputable source. The sites mentioned below either offer overall market news and analysis or provide/aggregate company-specific news archives. To confirm company-specific news, check out the company’s investor relations page and look for press releases.

Barron’s
www.barrons.com
$180/year (1st year; print and digital)

• Entirely dedicated to investing
• Provides weekly articles containing investing ideas, trends and concepts
• Several regular columns covering specific investing areas
• Offers 150 different news topics to browse through including: dividends, ETFs, IPOs, M&A, real estate, health, etc.
• Offers videos and a podcast as alternate ways to deliver timely news content
• Data home page has useful stats on stocks, currencies, commodities, bonds, rates, funds & ETFs
• Market Lab provides detailed statistics on the financial markets and the economy

FinViz
https://finviz.com
Free – $299.50/year

• Simple interface
• Good for company-specific news and market commentary
• Offers many news items from third-party sources all aggregated in one place
• Users can’t search for news items by date

MarketWatch
www.marketwatch.com
Free

• Great for company-specific news and market commentary
• Very organized and user-friendly interface
• Publishes its own news articles but also aggregates news from Barron’s and other Dow Jones websites
• Offers a video center for an alternate way to deliver news items

The Wall Street Journal
www.WSJ.com
$360/year (1st year; print and digital)

• Good for company-specific news, but also a wide array of broad articles on the stock market, politics, the economy, technology and real estate
• Offers videos and podcasts for alternate ways of delivering news to users
• Wide range of market information, including key stock data, competitors and stock graphs
• Organized, professional and easy to navigate

 

Economic News and Data

Bloomberg.com
www.bloomberg.com
Free – $330/year (1st year; print and digital)

• 10 free articles per month
• Comprehensive economic calendar
• Offers videos and podcasts for alternate ways to deliver news
• Organized very well, easy navigation
• Sector news selection tool

The Economist
www.economist.com
Free – $225/year (print and digital)

• Several free articles each month with free registration
• Offers daily as well as weekly editions of publications
• Deep analysis of the issues behind the headlines
• Wide array of sections to browse through

 

Specialty Websites

Podcasts

Podcasts are digital audio files that you can download to a computer, smartphone or tablet. Some are also available via smart speakers such as the Amazon Echo. They are somewhat similar to radio shows, but many follow a different format, and they generally offer a wider variety of content. Podcasts can be easily listened to from your cell phone. All those mentioned here are free.

Freakonomics
https://freakonomics.com/archive

• Journalist Stephen Dubner and economist Steven Levitt explore societal, market and behavioral matters from an economics viewpoint

Marketplace
www.marketplace.org/podcasts

• American Public Media podcast provides a good overview of the economic news, often digging deeper into the headlines, interviewing key people and adding a human element to the economy and business
• Several unique podcast offerings ranging from technology to economics for kids

Money Life With Chuck Jaffe
www.moneylifeshow.com

• Nationally syndicated financial columnist Chuck Jaffe discusses investing and related topics
• A variety of guests across the financial sector and academia

Planet Money
www.npr.org/podcasts/510289/planet-money

• This light-hearted NPR podcast explores a variety of financial and economic topics
• Also has a blog and a newsletter

The Meb Faber Show Podcast
https://mebfaber.com/podcast

• Founder of Cambria Investment Management discusses global equity, bond and real asset markets with a variety of “on-air” guests
• Also has a blog

 

529 Plans

529 plans are tax-advantaged savings plans sponsored by states, state agencies or educational institutions.

Savingforcollege.com
www.savingforcollege.com

• Information about specific 529 plans
• Educational articles on ins and outs of plans, including tax-related information
• Calculators

SEC.gov
www.sec.gov/answers/fa_529plan

• Basic but useful section about 529 plans

 

DRIP/DRP Plans

Computershare.com
www.computershare.com

• Transfer agent for many companies that offer DSPPs and DRIPs
• Search DRIP and DSPP plans by hovering over the Individuals tab at the top, then selecting “Make a stock purchase”
• Helpful tips on things like fraud prevention

DRIPInvesting.org
www.dripinvesting.org

• DRIP investing resource center

DirectInvesting.com
https://directinvesting.com

• Basic DRIP information; DRIP forms, news, blogs, research and articles

DRIPInvestor.com
www.dripinvestor.com

• Based on the advice of Charles B. Carlson, CFA
• Monthly newsletter promotes a long-term buy-and-hold stock investing strategy
• Subscribers can access DRIP investing articles and archived commentaries from Carlson

 

Socially Responsible

As You Sow—Invest Your Values
www.asyousow.org/invest-your-values

• Provides seven screeners to determine environmental, social and governance (ESG) values of mutual funds and ETFs
• Screen funds for companies that profit from fossil fuels, gender inequality, weapons, deforestation, tobacco and the prison industrial complex
• Not all funds are included, but each screener provides grade results for all categories

 

Index and Return Data

FTSE Russell
www.ftserussell.com
Free

• Return data for the FTSE Russell indexes
• Blog is available
• Research reports, webinars and insights

Ken French Database
http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pages/faculty/ken.french/data_library.html
Free

• Historical research for Fama-French factors: book-to-market, size and operating profitability, size and investment portfolios, historical benchmark returns and more
• Data is downloadable in text format as well as comma separated value (CSV)
• Clicking “details” next to a particular data category explains the data points collected

MSCI
www.msci.com
Free

• Return data for the MSCI indexes, including returns
• Publishes research and news articles
• Blog available
• Newly released app available

S&P Dow Jones Indices
https://us.spindices.com
Free

• Return data for the S&P indexes
• Indexology blog
• Research, commentary and education content
• A range of short videos at Index TV section

Shiller P/E
www.econ.yale.edu/~shiller/data.htm
Free

• Maintained by Nobel laureate Robert Shiller
• Downloadable data used in Shiller’s book “Irrational Exuberance” (Princeton University Press, 2000)
• Data set consists of monthly stock price, dividends, earnings data and the consumer price index (to allow conversion to real values), all starting January 1871
• Historical housing market data (U.S. home prices) starting in 1890, updated monthly
• Long-term stock, bond, interest rate and consumption data (updated annually) since 1871 also available
• Online economics courses

Wilshire
www.wilshire.com
Free

• Information on Wilshire indexes
• Research, tools and index calculators available

 

Education, Research & Reviews

Investopedia
www.investopedia.com
Free

• Large collection of educational articles and definitions
• Also includes trending articles and stock market simulator game

InvestorJunkie.com
https://investorjunkie.com
Free

• Educational articles spanning several topics
• Comparisons and reviews of robo-advisers, financial software, brokers and more

SimpleThriftyLiving.com
www.simplethriftyliving.com
Free

• Reviews of software, brokers and even credit cards
• Includes “money saving” articles and even has an insurance section
• Lots about personal finance, investing, loans, insurance and credit

SSRN
www.ssrn.com
Free; fee required to read certain papers

• Access a wide array of academic and industry research, including those on finance/investing

 

Financial Blogs

Blogs are similar to websites, except they tend to be more opinionated and free form compared to many traditional websites. Some blogs are created and managed by a larger firm (such as the Schwab blog), whereas other blogs have only one main editorial voice. There are thousands of blogs out there, but below are some of the more popular investing blogs worth mentioning. All are free.

Calculated Risk
www.calculatedriskblog.com

• Long-time blogger Bill McBride provides an in-depth discussion of economic data and trends

Charles Schwab Ideas and Insights
www.schwab.com/resource-center/insights

• Includes market commentary as well as articles on trading, personal finance and planning, retirement and more
• Provides podcasts, videos and graphics

Farr Law Firm Blog
www.farrlawfirm.com/blog

• Discusses estate planning and topics like long-term care, Medicare and more
• Offers blogs, reports, forms and other resources

Franklin Templeton Investments—Emerging Markets Blog
https://emergingmarkets.blog.franklintempleton.com

• Unique insight into emerging markets

Mr. Money Mustache
www.mrmoneymustache.com

• Among the first personal finance blogs to focus on the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement

PIMCO Blog
https://blog.pimco.com

• Covers fixed-income investing topics
• Offers economic and market commentary as well as opinion pieces

The Balance
www.thebalance.com

• Covers personal topics of debt management, financial planning, beginner investing and savings accounts

SPDR Blog
https://global.spdrs.com/blog

• Articles and blogs about the overall market, sector investing and more from the first provider of ETFs
• ETF Finder tool

 

Discussion Boards

Discussion boards provide a forum for investors to share insights and opinions and ask questions of other investors. All are free.

Bogleheads
www.bogleheads.org

• Includes moderated forums; Bogleheads wiki is a library of helpful information on just about anything related to investing

Morningstar Forums
https://community.morningstar.com

• Active discussions on a variety of topics; requires Morningstar sign in

The Motley Fool
https://boards.fool.com

• Discussions on a variety of topics; boards on individual stocks are also maintained

Value Investors Club
www.valueinvestorsclub.com

• Highly selective membership gives recommendation; guests can sign up to view investment ideas with 45-day delay
• Discussions about investment strategies, stock picks and more
• Articles promote premium products, but also contain links to useful external websites

 

Stocks

This section covers stock screening, valuation, research and data and charting and technical analysis. While many of the sites offer two or more of these features, there are some that excel in one over the other. When determining which sites to include, we looked for trustworthy sources with frequently updated data and content. Screening options listed are web-based screening tools (downloadable software was excluded).

Discount brokers have significantly enhanced their online tools and provide these free tools to their clients.

After you’ve narrowed down your desired investable universe, your next step will be analysis. Start at the company’s Investor Relations page online—most provide event presentations, access to the company’s filings (such as 10-K annual reports), a press release news archive, information on the history of the company, dividend history and more.

 

Stock Screening

FinViz
www.finviz.com
Free – $299.50/year

• Solid balance of valuation and technical analysis metrics
• Free version is a good starting place: 50 screener presets
• Elite version: 100 screener presets, fundamental charts, intraday data, email alerts, the ability to export screen results, custom screening ranges, the pre-market scanner, statistical views
• Ability to lag fields or include percentile ranks limited to Elite

GuruFocus
www.gurufocus.com
$449 – $849/year for U.S. markets (7-day trial)

• 100,000+ U.S. & international stocks; 500+ pre-existing filters
• Built-in metrics of gurus as well as hedge fund, mutual fund or global gurus
• Valuation ranks and customizable screening fields
• Premium: Excel add-ins
• No free screening option

Morningstar
www.morningstar.com
Free – $199/year (14-day trial)

• Premium screener far more comprehensive than free: 500+ screening criteria, 15,000 stocks. Custom fields and views
• Screen on proprietary ratings and grades, including Morningstar star rating, fair value, economic moat, stewardship, growth, profitability and financial health

Portfolio123
www.portfolio123.com
$299 – $2,400/year (15-day trial)

• Backtest up to 15 years with 400+ benchmarks
• Large library of fundamental variables, and predefined screens with 1,300+ screening parameters
• Custom variables, universes, rankings & lists
• 9,000+ active U.S. companies (6,000+ with fundamentals) and 1,600+ Canadian stocks
• 64 predefined screens; 41 predefined customizable ranking systems

Profitspi
www.profitspi.com
Free – $69.95/month

• Primarily a technical analysis screening tool
• U.S. exchanges, Canada TSX and TSX Venture stocks
• Free: Use all site functions; data 2 weeks old; save 10 custom screens during visit only
• Premium: 90+ criteria (50+ technical indicators; 40+ fundamental metrics). Unlimited passing stocks & screen saving; daily email with 10,000 symbols passing custom screens. Custom fields not free form
• Predefined scans cover 18 candlestick patterns
• Backtest screen criteria & trading strategies
• Data updated daily; users have ability to lag fields

Stock Rover
www.stockrover.com
$79.99 – $279.99/year (AAII discount)

• No free screening
• 3 paid levels: 200+ metrics & 25 custom views, 300+ metrics & 40 views, 600+ metrics & 60 views
• Views can be shared with other users
• Premium: weighted criteria ranking, custom equations, historical data filter

 

Stock Valuation

Finbox.io
www.finbox.io
Free – $792/year

• Fair value estimate tool based on valuation analyses built using consensus Wall Street estimates
• Spreadsheet add-on: Excel or Google Sheets
• Editable valuation models: discounted cash flow analysis, dividend discount model, earnings power value, comparable companies analysis, cost of capital, historical financials, financial ratio analysis, return on equity analysis and Graham model
• Create a customized watchlist
• Starter: U.S.-listed stocks. Pro: 135+ exchanges and 100,000 stocks
• Free: All features above, but data only for small subset of companies & metrics

Old School Value
www.oldschoolvalue.com
$588/year (7-day trial)

• No free features available for web-based version
• 10 years & 16 quarters of data; U.S. stocks only
• Pro: Excel spreadsheet analyzer & stock screener
• Valuation models: Discounted cash flow analysis (DCF), reverse DCF, Graham, EBIT valuation, Piotroski, Altman Z, Beneish M, customizable competitive analysis

ValuEngine
www.valuengine.com
$199.95 – $899.95/year (14-day trial)

• Free articles, newsletters and blogs
• Research on 4,000+ U.S. & 1,000 Canadian stocks
• Stock valuation analysis and recommendations (strong buy, buy, hold, sell, strong sell), fair market valuations and forecasted target prices
• Four proprietary models: stock valuation, stock forecast, portfolio forecast and the portfolio builder
• Industry and sector group analysis
• Portfolio wizard: build list of stocks to fit specific investment goals
• Smart Ratings show attractiveness to different types of investors
• Screen for top forecasted, most undervalued
• Four portfolios: basic, diversified, REIT & aggressive

 

Stock Research and Data

EDGAR (SEC)
www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml
Free

• Archive of all publicly traded company’s SEC forms and filings
• Tutorial shows how to search and access information

Morningstar
www.morningstar.com
Free – $199/year

Where to find: Use ticker search for data; select Research tab & Stock for articles.

• Free: 10 years of key ratios and 5 years of financial statement data; Stock Quickrank categorizes & ranks stocks, Asset Allocator
• Premium: 10 years of financial data, in-depth fund and stock analysis and commentary, Morningstar ratings, fair value estimate
• Data exportable to Excel
• Shows institutional ownership of stocks

Reuters
www.reuters.com
Free

Where to find: Use ticker search.

• Easy-to-understand, well-known source
• Multiples, growth rates, profitability, financial strength, efficiency & management effectiveness ratios and sales & earnings figures
• Analysts’ revenue and earnings estimates

Seeking Alpha
www.seekingalpha.com
Free – $29.99/month

Where to find: Use ticker search, click Earnings tab & Transcripts subtab.

• Best for conference call transcripts (free)
• Large collection of opinionated articles
• Community commentary on wide array of topics

Stock Rover
www.stockrover.com
$79.99 – $279.99/year (AAII discount)

• Customizable tables and shareable views
• Charting capabilities (logarithmic, candlestick & dividend-adjusted return)
• Ideas section: articles, screening strategies & insights
• Earnings calendar
• Premium & Premium Plus: stock ratings, data export to Excel
• Color-code & tag tickers and integrated note taking

TipRanks
www.tipranks.com
Free – $599/year

• Assess analysts’ expectations, view historical track record and accuracy of bloggers & analysts
• Aggregate analyst recommendations
• 12-month price target based on analysts’ projections
• Premium: insider activity, hedge fund activity, five most recent upgrades & more

Also worth checking out:

Dividend.com, Fast Graphs, Investor’s Business Daily, Motley Fool, Nasdaq.com and TheStreet

 

 

Charting and Technical Analysis

StockCharts.com
www.stockcharts.com
Free – $479/year (plus add-ons)

• ChartSchool: wide array of charting, scanning & educational content
• 50+ technical indicators & overlays
• Add annotations & technical lines to charts
• Free real-time data from the BATS
• Line, bar, Renko, candlestick, Ichimoku, OHLC bar and point & figure charts
• Free: Max of three indicator overlays. Basic, Extra & Pro versions: 25 technical overlays

TradingView
www.tradingview.com
Free – $599/year (30-day free trial)

• Custom indicators using Pine scripting language
• 10 chart types: bars, candles, hollow candles, Heikin Ashi, line, area, Renko, line break, Kagi and point & figure
• 100+ free predefined technical indicators, 50+ free drawing tools
• Free real-time cryptocurrency data
• Share charts with community to rate
• Follows futures, indexes, currencies, bonds, cryptocurrencies and CFDs (contracts for difference)
• Fee-based: real-time intraday data from exchanges
• Add on individual markets for fee
• iOS app version

 

Funds

This section covers the best websites for analyzing, researching and screening mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and closed-end funds (CEFs).

Many investors use their discount broker’s website and tools to search for and analyze mutual funds or ETFs, particularly helpful if your broker offers commission-free funds. When researching an individual fund, the fund company website is a good resource for detailed data and details regarding holdings, strategy and performance. In addition, these third-party websites are good options for researching mutual funds, ETFs and closed-end funds.

CEF Connect
www.cefconnect.com
Free

• CEF share prices and ranges, interactive charts
• Basic data includes category & daily volume, distributions, pricing history and portfolio characteristics & performance
• Sort by discount, premium, distribution rate, total assets and year-to-date return
• Education center covers basic & advanced topics

Closed-End Fund Association
www.cefa.com
Free

• Daily CEF leaders
• Listings by asset classes, including leverage funds
• Lipper market averages; compare CEFs with average
• Weekly average premium/discount scorecard
• Current & archived news includes audio section
• Upcoming offerings

ETF.com
www.etf.com
Free

• Data on 2,357 ETFs includes fund flows data, typically updated daily
• Free account allows custom screen fields & watchlist
• Newsletters, industry perspective, whitepapers and index articles, plus educational content & analysis
• Sector, index and world heat maps
• ETF ratings provided by FactSet
• ETF & portfolio data data/stats, tradability data, ETF sector and country breakdown, MSCI ESG ratings
• Download PDF of reports

Investment Company Institute (ICI)
www.ici.org
Free

• Industry data on ETFs, mutual funds, closed-ends funds, unit investment trusts (UITs) & retirement plans
• ICI blog covers wide array of topics
• Free comprehensive annual Fact Book

Morningstar
www.morningstar.com
Free – $199/year

Where to find: Use ticker search or Research tab.

• Free screener: basic filters; five built-in screens. Premium screener: more metrics; 10 pre-built screens
• Free Fund Compare
• Quickrank categorizes & ranks funds
• Premium: Cost Analyzer, Similar Funds, fair value estimate, valuation rating, consider buying/selling price, expected return, expected excess return, fund analysis & commentary (select funds)
• Thorough breakdown of fund’s portfolio & performance
• Risk statistics, fees, expense & ownership information, SEC filings
• Educational articles & commentary
• CEF returns & Quickrank, plus news

Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/markets/funds
Free

Where to find: Click on “Markets” from the top menu and then select “Funds.” For screener, select Explore More Top Performers under the Top Rated Lipper Leaders on the right side.

• Free basic fund screener: 25,000+ mutual funds and/or 2,300+ ETFs
• Unique passing funds display
• Screener includes Lipper Leaders criteria; field definitions aid screen use
• Comprehensive risk & return data
• Lipper research reports include fund market flows, industry insight & Lipper ratings

Zacks Investment Research
www.zacks.com
Free – $249/year (free 30-day trial)

Where to find: Select Funds tab.

• Free basic mutual fund screener with 50 data points
• Premium: export screens, save screens & additional fields, like Zacks rank criteria for 18,000+ mutual funds
• Basic ETF screener: six pre-built filters
• Broad coverage of ETFs and mutual funds, including educational & opinion articles & videos
• Similar Mutual Funds tool
• Free ETF reports

Also worth checking out:

ETF Trends, MutualFunds.com, Steele Mutual Fund Expert

 

Bonds

EMMA
www.emma.msrb.org
Free

• Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) contains muni disclosures, market transparency data & educational materials
• Real-time pricing, interest rates & historical data
• Personalized email alerts
• New issue calendar, economic calendar, yield curves & indexes
• Price discovery tool to find and compare trade prices and yields for similar munis
• Market statistics tool to access muni trading activity and new muni issues

TreasuryDirect
www.treasurydirect.gov
Free

• Buy Treasury securities online from the government commission-free with single account
• Payroll direct deposit available
• Auction results, upcoming auctions & research data
• Comprehensive data on all Treasury securities & U.S. savings bonds

 

Other Investments

Real Estate

BiggerPockets
www.biggerpockets.com
Free – $390/year

• Wide array of real estate investment educational articles, with a focus on direct real estate investment
• Webinars available (pro subscribers can go through historical webinar archive)
• Involved community with very extensive and comprehensive discussion forums
• Podcast that discusses real estate investing
• Connect with other investors; ability to search for fellow local investors
• Collection of free tools and calculators. Pro users can save reports and download PDFs
• Pro users get access to all 50 state landlord forms, seven forms per state. Other forms available

iREITInvestor
www.ireitinvestor.com
Free

• Research platform for real estate investment trusts (REITs)
• Educational articles on REITs
• Blog about REITs written by Brad Thomas, editor of the Forbes Real Estate Investor newsletter
• Podcast that discusses REITs

REIT.com
www.reit.com
Free

• One of the most comprehensive resources for REITs, including a wide array of educational content
• Interesting and timely research and articles on REITs
• Several reports that provide extensive information on REITs, namely REITWatch report
• Downloadable data called the T-Tracker

 

ADRs/ADSs

ADR.com
www.adr.com
Free

• Great resource for screening and researching American depositary receipts (ADRs), foreign securities traded on U.S. exchanges
• Search for ADRs by name, ticker, exchange, country, industry and more. Results are displayed in a table and include country of origin, dividend payments and corporate actions
• Provides charts, financials, fundamentals and earnings estimates for each ADR
• Consensus recommendations and upward and downward revisions are given when available
• Education and guidance section on depositary receipts

BNY Mellon Depositary Receipts
www.adrbnymellon.com
Free

• Offers extensive list of sponsored and unsponsored ADRs and holding company depositary receipts (HOLDRs). Search for ADRs by region, country, industry, depositary receipts (DR) exchange and depositary
• Profile for each ADR as well as dividends, news and trading summary
• Links for further research on individual listings
• Extensive educational resources in a DR University, which provides both basic and in-depth education
• Free interactive charting tool
• Fundamental data not as strong as that at ADR.com

 

Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs)

Energy Infrastructure Council (EIC)
https://eic.energy
Free

• Where to find: Click “MLPs” under the Education tab along the upper right-hand side of the website
• Formerly the MLP Association
• MLP basics section
• Helpful FAQ page
• Basic tax principles section discusses how MLPs can affect an investor’s tax situation
• List of current MLPs and MLP funds
• Educational articles on MLPs and retirement accounts

 

Options/Futures

Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE)
www.cboe.com
Free

• Delayed quotes are provided free
• Sections for trading resources and strategies for familiarizing yourself with options and futures investing
• Extensive education section provides seminars, online courses, webcasts, market commentary, educational tools, online tutorials and quick facts
• Numerous tools for individual investors. Some areas require site registration

U.S. Commodity Future Trading Commission
www.cftc.gov
Free

• Government-commissioned organization aimed at ensuring the integrity of the futures and options market
• Market reports include financial data, economic analysis and a monthly summary of the futures market
• Education area includes section on fraud awareness and prevention
• File complaints and report suspicious activities, get case status reports and disciplinary history
• Information on industry oversight, laws and regulations. Includes an international section
• New press releases linked on the main page, with a listing of recent events

Options Industry Council
www.optionseducation.org
Free

• Online classes, webcasts, a virtual trading system, seminars and audio and video podcasts designed to educate investors on options and futures
• List of the options seminars presented around the U.S.
• Information on various options and futures trading strategies ranging from basic to more advanced
• Tools include options, collar and covered call calculators
• Delayed quotes
• Extensive market data and free email alerts

 

Portfolio Tracking and Optimization

Portfolio trackers provide useful insights into the performance of your portfolio. Portfolio optimization goes a step further, using analytics to give even deeper insights to make your portfolio more efficient. When determining which sites to include, we focused on tools that can track more than just stocks, have unique analytics, can link directly to a broker or offer other unique calculators and analytics.

Macroaxis
www.macroaxis.com
Free – $719.40/year (7-day trial)

• Optimization engine scores your portfolio’s efficiency
• Correlation analysis for equities and portfolios, volatility-adjusted portfolio return analysis
• Idea-driven portfolio origination and thematic optimization
• Fast portfolio “quick fix” rebalancing module
• Over 500 different fundamental, technical and predictive indicators
• Cryptocurrency center that offers a wide array of tools like screeners, digital portfolio optimization, arbitrage map, coin correlations and more

Morningstar
www.morningstar.com
Free – $199/year (14-day trial)

• Free users have basic access to Portfolio Manager, Instant X-Ray, stock comparison tool and investment radar tool
• Instant X-Ray shows basics on portfolio allocation, stock types, fees and expenses, stock style diversification and geographic diversification, stock stats (like portfolio price-earnings ratio, price-to-book ratio, return on assets and return on equity versus the S&P 500 index)
• Stock Compare and Fund Compare tools: See different stocks and funds side-by-side
• Premium: Portfolio X-Ray tool offers a more in-depth analysis and Portfolio Monitor tool

Personal Capital
www.personalcapital.com
Free

• Registered investment adviser (RIA) and offers a robo-advisory service
• Can track spending, saving and retirement goals (can link debt and credit accounts to budget and manage cash flow)
• Link to brokerage accounts or manual input
• Aggregated tracking of your portfolios with different brokers, performance compared to indexes
• Fee Analyzer tool shows hidden fees in mutual funds, investment accounts and retirement accounts as well as the fee impact on portfolio value over time
• Resources tab includes useful articles on investing, retirement planning, estate planning and personal finance
• Has a mobile application and offers a robo-advisory service

PortfolioCharts
www.portfoliocharts.com
Free

• Helpful information on how to manage your portfolio
• Free calculators include annual returns, drawdowns, financial independence, heat map, long-term returns, portfolio finder, portfolio growth, retirement spending, rolling returns, start date sensitivity, target accuracy and withdrawal rates
• Library of information that includes several topics: basic concepts, goals and milestones, investing psychology, portfolio theory, retirement income and tools and data

Portfolio Visualizer
www.portfoliovisualizer.com
Free – $468/year

• Portfolio optimization tools: mean variance optimization, minimize conditional value-at-risk, minimize maximum drawdown, maximize Sortino ratio, maximize Omega ratio, risk parity and maximize diversification, Black-Litterman Model, rolling optimization, historical and forecasted efficient frontier
• Portfolio analysis tools: Monte Carlo simulation, asset class allocation backtesting tool, financial goals and portfolio backtesting tool
• Asset analytics: fund screener, fund performance, asset correlations and asset class correlations
• Factor analysis: factor regression, match factor exposure, fund and ETF factor regression and factor performance attribution
• Market timing: market-timing models, core-satellite, market valuation, moving averages, momentum rotation, target volatility

SigFig
www.sigfig.com
Free

• Simple and clean design makes navigation easy
• Easy to link brokerage accounts or manually add holdings
• Risk questionnaire to determine risk tolerance
• Allows customizable views of portfolio (add or remove the metrics that are displayed)
• Offers “managed portfolios” (robo-advisory service) for an annual fee

TipRanks
www.tipranks.com
$599/year (AAII discount)

• Add stocks, ETFs and mutual funds
• Can link to brokerage (InteractiveBrokers, Vanguard, E-Trade, TradeStation, Ally Invest, Fidelity or Robinhood) or enter holdings manually
• Email notifications and alerts for portfolio holdings
• Compare and share your portfolio
• Separates news into “bullish” and “bearish” categories. News sentiment page shows overall public sentiment on a particular holding
• Earnings calendar
• Portfolio analytics page: portfolio beta, dividends and price-earnings ratio
• Management fees tool finds similar funds to your current fund holdings that have lower fees and a similar portfolio allocation, investment philosophy, performance record and more
• Make your portfolio shareable with other TipRanks users
• Follow experts that are tracked on TipRanks

Also worth checking out:

AllocateSmartly, FeeX, Next Capital and Stock Rover

 

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