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Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.

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Morningstar Premium Subscription Pros & Cons

Is It Worth Paying $189.00 a Year To Subscribe?

Comments

  • Oh, this is the kind of post that may generate not only a large number of comments but all the emotions attached to M*!

    FWIW, I subscribe and I do so for a couple of reasons. I use their research reports (stocks, mutual funds, ETFs) and while I don't always agree with them or how they justify their decisions, they save me time and provide some perspective to base further research on. I also like the portfolio x-ray feature and some of the premium data for funds and stocks. In my case, I would generally say I get my money's worth.

    At the same time, their data is too frequently incorrect, their customer service is somewhere between not very good and terrible and I often find myself needing to double check anything I get from M* because I just don't trust them. I think in many cases and for me as well, these negatives make people question whether paying for a subscription makes any sense.

  • ducrow: No !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Regards,
    Ted
  • Most libraries seem to have M* Premium (or at least some degree of it) for free.
  • --- NO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    BEEN THERE -- DONE THAT -- and CANCELLED PREMIUM MBSHP. --- Years ago-
    AND ITS GOTTEN WORSE = SEE MORNINGSTAR CONV. BOARD =

    "HOW TIRESOME --PORTFOLIO AGAIN NOT UPDATED AGAIN" = OVER 250 REPLYS
    from Morningstar members. !!!!!!!!!
    Ralph
  • You try their 2 weeks free trial membership, and then cancel if you don't like. You can also try it a big longer as they remimurse the remaining amount on pro-rate basis. I am also of the view that it is not worth.

    At one time, I used to eagerly read their Fun commentaries (Fund Spy, etc.) that normally used to come on Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays. In addition, there was a Fund Times (if I remember the name correctly) that used to have Weekly commentary about Fund Mgr changes and a commentary on significant fund industry events for that Week. It seems they stopped publishing latter now.

    I just skim their articles with less enthusiam, but an avid reader and follower of their discussion forums for last 10 years. There were some great posters and still there are some. It is not as friendly forum as MFO, but depth of knowedge is much more there due to number of participants (no slight intended for MFO, as I am also follower of it since FundAlarm days). Their forums lost some great posters since Vanguard Diehards/Bogleheads moved out and started their own discussion forum/Web site.

    In my personal opinion, if you are a participant of M* and MFO forums, I don't think you need paid subscription for anything. People discuss, post great links to great articles, Fund Mgr interviews/commentaries and what not. They guide you on how to learn and how to setup an investment portfolio even if you are a novice.
  • edited January 2015
    Overpriced? compared to what?..., Tell me where you can get the same amount of information for 50 cents a day (peanuts for my investing success)....Necessary evil for decision making, I'm in Morningstar.... till I find a better source..... just don't go too much higher......WSJ much higher for what?
  • Don't even think about PAYING Morningstar for stale, outdated numbers and hackneyed articles and reports.
  • Dittos. If you cannot trust the numbers, then there is no use in the rest of the package. While M* has a unique position in the research arena, other sites like Schwab and Fidelity have some decent sites themselves.
  • one more comment on the "Value " of morning star and I'm done;
    Morningstar is a mainstay in YOUR business of investing money, but if you can't find pennies a day of value in their presentations and Data reporting then Don't pay for their services....just as you would handle other business purchases.....
    "personal likes" and "don't likes" don't mean much.....
  • edited January 2015
    The premium content on the Portfolio pages and the one-stop etf/cef data is what's kept me on their subscriber list.

    It's usually easy to tell on the P-pages where the mistakes and stale content are. That stuff at M* is mostly a convenience, not a necessity (the fund sites report essentially all of it), but the convenience to moi is still worth it.

    Note on negotiating the price: they used to be pretty accommodating if asked for a price reduction, but the last time I re-upped, the CSR got really surly about it, and would only drop the price $50 when I just said straight-out that I was done with Premium if she wasn't able to reduce the price.
  • ducrow, I find their premium membership of value, especially (for me) the premium search tool. BUT, I do not pay for the premium membership. I get it for free thru TROWE PRICE who will pay the fee for you IF you have $100,00 invested with them. I do via two 529 college savings plans.

    Just another thought.

    Matt
  • mcmarasco said:

    ducrow, I find their premium membership of value, especially (for me) the premium search tool. BUT, I do not pay for the premium membership. I get it for free thru TROWE PRICE who will pay the fee for you IF you have $100,00 invested with them. I do via two 529 college savings plans.

    Just another thought.

    Matt

    Was just about to add this. You also get M* research and tools at TDAmeritrade, and Schwab just started giving access to M* analyst reports for stocks.

    I might pay for the something like what Josh Peters provides. Not so much the rest since you can get it elsewhere.
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