Would I subscribe to CNBC Investing Club again?
CNBC’s Jim Cramer, host of the long running show Mad Money and co-founder of The Street, often gets a bad rap amongst the investing community. Any time Jimmy Chill rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, Twitter has a field day with numerous calls for a stock market crash.
Personally, I think the haters are a bit too harsh on Cramer. Some may not agree with his investing strategy or Lightning Round antics, but the guy has been extremely successful in his career. With a net worth north of $100 million, it’s hard to argue this point. How many of us have had similar financial success?
A few months ago, I came across Cramer’s Mad Money clips on YouTube. I’m not sure what led me to them, but I ended up watching a few and, I have to admit, I was entertained. Cramer frequently mentioned the CNBC Investing Club, so I decided to take a look.
After a bit of research, I joined Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investing Club in January. The Club was offering a New Year’s discount, so I joined at a cost of $249.99 for the year. The current price to join the Club is $399.99 annually or $49.99 per month.
So would I subscribe again? Let’s find out!
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Cramer’s Philosophy
I’d describe Cramer’s investment philosophy as mostly fundamental with a bit of technicals sprinkled in. He’s definitely not a Warren Buffett type. When Jim buys a stock, he thinks of it as a piece of paper and not an ownership stake in the company.
Not to say he doesn’t have long-term holdings because he does, but he also trades in and out of stocks a lot. This is important to note because if you’re a buy and hold investor, which I am, the CNBC Investing Club probably isn’t for you.
While there are a lot of things I like about the Club, I’m not taking any action in my personal portfolio as a result of it. But if you’re passionate about investing and are a stock market enthusiast, the CNBC Investing Club does have some nice offerings.
Pros
Cramer’s Morning Thoughts
Each morning before the market opens, the Club sends (via email, but also available online) Cramer’s Morning Thoughts, which is a bulleted list of items he is watching that day. Items range a multitude of topics including earnings recaps, macroeconomic news, analyst upgrades/downgrades, upcoming earnings, etc… Cramer usually provides his personal take on each item which is nice. It’s not actionable information per se, but I do enjoy the quick market overview in the mornings.
The Morning Meeting
The second offering I typically don’t take advantage of is “The Morning Meeting.” Each morning at 10:30am, Jim and his co-host Jeff Marks hold a livestream to discuss the markets, hot topics of the day, and what they’re watching. The meeting is available for playback if you’re unable to watch it live. I’ve watched the meeting only a handful of times, but more for entertainment than anything.
The Monthly Meeting
Next is the “Monthly Meeting.” Each month Cramer hosts a long duration (approx. two hours), in-depth meeting to discuss the current state of the market, economy, trades within the Portfolio, gameplan for coming weeks, etc… Prior to the meeting, the Club encourages members to submit questions for Jim to answer on air. Some members are even granted the opportunity to film themselves asking the question, then submit the video to be included in the live meeting. The Club does a pretty good job of creating a club-like atmosphere.
Trade Alerts
The Club sends all members an email alert 15 minutes before Jim makes a buy or sell within the Charitable Trust portfolio. Once executed, the Club informs members on number of shares purchased, the purchase price, and change in portfolio weighting. Plus, Jim’s reasoning for the buy or sell decision.
Access to the Portfolio
Club members have full access to view Jim’s Charitable Trust Portfolio. The information is all inclusive. Members can see each holding, date purchased, average share price, current market value, and P&L. It’s no different than what you’d see in your personal portfolio.
Exclusive Articles
Investing Club members have access to exclusive articles. They provide detailed write-ups on post earnings reports, in-depth coverage on the stocks purchased, and other informative content.
Cons
Too Much Trading
Jim chases momentum. In his opening dialogue for Mad Money he states, “there’s always a bull market somewhere and I promise to help you find it.” He certainly does live by that motto. Jim looks at investing in quarters and not in years. Probably not a problem if you’re a trader. But, if you’re a buy and hold investor, you likely won’t get much actionable advice out of the Investing Club.
Expensive
At $49.99 per month or $399.99 per year, the Investing Club isn’t cheap. Especially if it’s primarily a source of entertainment. You can buy a lot of Netflix for $49.99 per month.
Duplicate Content
There’s a fair amount of duplicate content on Mad Money, Squak on the Street, and CNBC Investing Club. Much of what Jim shares in the Club is also shared elsewhere, though not in near as much detail. Jim doesn’t share information on trades, price purchased, etc… outside the Club, but he will comment, “the club bought some of XXXX today.”
CNBC Investing Club vs Motley Fool Stock Advisor
If you’ve ever looked for an alternative to Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investing Club, you’ve probably come across Motley Fool Stock Advisor (my review here). One of the biggest pros of Stock Advisor is its price. At only $99 per year, an annual subscription to Stock Advisor is significantly cheaper than Cramer’s Investing Club.
Stock Advisor also has a long history of market outperformance, handedly beating the S&P 500 spanning back to the early 2000s. This is what led me to subscribe in the first place.
However, while Motley Fool Stock Advisor’s philosophy is more buy-and-hold which fits my style of investing (they recommend holding at least 25 stocks for 5+ years), in my experience, most of their stock picks tend to be concentrated in technology and are more speculative.
Stock Advisor recommends a lot of adjusted EBITDA kings which I’m typically not a fan of. The Stock Advisor portfolio is sure to have taken a gut punch during the bear market of 2022.
In summary, Cramer’s Investing Club mainly trades in stocks while Motley Fool Stock Advisor invests in stocks. As traders, the Club is very active in providing real-time alerts and earnings recaps while Stock Advisor is much more subdued. Cramer provides daily information while Stock Advisor is more like monthly.
Popular Alternatives to CNBC Investing Club
For interested investors, Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investing Club and Motley Fool Stock Advisor aren’t the only games in town. There are a handful of popular alternatives which strive to grant retail investors an edge up in their portfolios.
A few popular alternatives include:
- Motley Fool Stock Advisor – recommends stocks believed to offer long-term growth potential
- Motley Fool Rule Breakers – not for the faint of heart, focuses on growth stocks which are a bit riskier
- Seeking Alpha’s Alpha Picks – provides 2 stock picks per month based on key metrics like valuation, growth, profitability, momentum and EPS estimates
- Investor’s Business Daily – a strong focus on technical indicators and chart patterns with a bit of fundamentals sprinkled in
Each service, while similar in price, has its own philosophy, stock selection process, buy/sell criteria, etc… so be sure to review each before jumping in.
Conclusion
So, would I subscribe to the CNBC Investing Club again? Yes, but only if they offered another sale.
I’d subscribe again because I’m a stock market enthusiast and love staying up to speed on a company’s performance, earnings beats/misses, upgrades/downgrades, macroeconomic factors, and all the like. Plus, I find Jim Cramer to be quite likeable.
Would I recommend you make buy and sell decisions using the Club? No, but I would recommend it if you’re looking for entertainment and don’t mind my man Jimmy Chill!
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