That’s one of my complaints as well (about it being a sales site). MotleyFool used to be primarily funded through advertising back when advertising was very profitable. I get into the change in the company with my interview with David Gardner, but the short version is that around 2001 the internet advertising model for their company broke down so badly they had to have massive layoffs (the internet advertising model broke down for almost all internet companies at that time). Now they make most of their money off their newsletters, which they feel is a more sustainable business model. There’s still a wealth of information on their site that is free (investment articles to caps to personal finance article. But yes, the sales pitches detract from their freely available and good information and analysis. I dont know what their plans on in this regard.

What I tell my clients is to ultimately trust their own instincts. You may garner information and education from a variety of sources, but if there is anything that strikes you as odd or even if you simply have a “gut feeling” in a negative way, you should always trust those feelings. Some people are out to make money off of others while there are still some who are truly independent and are only interested in the benefit of the client (or subscriber).

Glad you liked the write-up. As a Texas Hold’Em player myself, I think your analogy is appropriate.

@WhatIf
Could you source those articles? I’d guess that almost every investment company is guilty of survivorship bias.

I’m strictly amateur, but my playing skills grew immensely when I bought a book, studied it, adopted the strategies that made sense to me, and stuck to it. It’s always challenging, but when I am able to stick to the math and keep my emotions out of it (no matter how low my chip stack gets during the mini-tournaments my friends have), I usually end up first to third when all is said and done. That kind of positive reinforcement keeps me playing in such a disciplined way. That’s also why I know that when the time comes for me to invest in the stock market, I’ll do the same. And your post has made me a little more confident that this will work for me. Thanks, again! : )

Your grandfather was a wise man. It does make it easier to take risks if you know that it won’t hurt you in the long run. He sounds like a good mentor to you.