The U.S. stock market has performed admirably so far in 2024. Stocks, as measured by the S&P 500, have appreciated more than 24% as of the market close on Nov. 19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq have also turned in good performance numbers. The Dow is up close to 15% year to date, and the Nasdaq has climbed about 26%. There are still a few weeks left in the trading year, but investors have good reason for optimism.
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Investors looking back over gains they made in 2024 are probably considering committing more capital to the markets in 2025. Historically speaking, that’s not a bad idea. Bear markets are still possible, of course, and stock prices will continue to go up and down over short- and mid-term time horizons, but stocks tend to go up over the long run.
High-quality professional research is an important key to proper asset allocation and identifying value in a stock. It’s helpful to understand the company’s financial fundamentals, review its past performance and consider credible third-party opinions.
Institutional-level securities research, however, is generally out of reach for the small investor. The cost of such research is simply prohibitive. So how can a retail investor get access to advanced analysis tools, comprehensive charts and professional equity research for free or with nominal fees?
Fortunately, there are a number of investing resources available to small investors that won’t break the bank. Here are five of the top charting, research and investing platforms where anyone can perform basic equity research for free:
— Barchart
— TradingView
— Yahoo Finance
— EDGAR
— Online brokers
Barchart
Barchart is a comprehensive financial website covering stocks, standardized options, ETFs, currencies, commodities and futures. Investors will be pleasantly surprised at the vast amount of tools, news and data that is available for free on this site.
Anyone can visit the website and click around without paying a fee. Barchart’s quote function provides current price information as well as access to interactive charting, company fundamentals, key ratios, a summary of analysts’ ratings, up-to-date earnings estimates and more. With a click of a mouse, investors can review a company’s latest earnings reports, balance sheets and income statements. They can also compare any stock to other companies in its sector. And that’s just scratching the surface of what’s available on this platform.
It’s not required but visitors to Barchart can register for a free account. In addition to less advertising, registered guests get one free stock watchlist, the ability to set up and track a hypothetical portfolio, access to some basic stock screeners, and extra charting features.
It would be difficult for investors to exhaust all the free features at Barchart, but if they do find themselves needing more from the site, paid memberships start at $16.97 a month.
TradingView
TradingView is a very powerful and very popular charting and investment information platform that was designed to put cutting-edge research and analysis tools at the fingertips of any investor.
Paid subscriptions to TradingView range from $14.95 to $59.95 a month depending on how much access an investor requires but, rest assured, a tremendous amount of tools, charts, research and data are available absolutely free to anyone who signs up with an email and a password.
The advanced charting tool may be the most valuable free resource on the site. TradingView boasts some of the most user-friendly, intuitive and customizable charts on the web. Investors can switch back and forth between dozens of types of charts and apply hundreds of indicators and studies.
TradingView is more than just an investing hub, it’s also a social network. Visitors can interact with and learn from other investors, get tips and strategies from the community and engage with like-minded people, all for free.
The market data on TradingView is displayed in real time rather than being delayed. This means you can stay current with your holdings while you’re exploring the site. Investors also appreciate the backtesting tools that use accurate historical price data to test hypothetical strategies.
[READ: 6 of the Best Companies to Invest in for 2025]
Yahoo Finance
Yahoo Finance was launched 27 years ago in January 1997. It was one of the first online platforms dedicated to market data and financial news. Today it attracts more than 150 million global visitors a month, making it one of the most popular finance and investing pages on the web.
Yahoo Finance provides breaking financial news, market data on thousands of publicly traded securities, customizable charts and a variety of analysis tools. There are plenty of free resources at Yahoo Finance, including valuable educational videos, company profiles, a basic stock screener, portfolio construction and tracking tools, watchlists and more.
The free version of Yahoo Finance is very user-friendly. It’s appropriate for beginners and intermediate investors who might be looking for stock ideas and basic information but don’t need complex tools or highly advanced charting capacity.
The site offers two levels of paid memberships: Yahoo Finance Plus for $20 a month and Yahoo Finance Plus Essential for $35 a month.
EDGAR
Every government-mandated financial filing plus a wide variety of other reports produced by publicly traded companies is compiled, archived and made available to the public on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System, known as EDGAR. Because of the incredible wealth of information and its ease of access, EDGAR is one of the best and most comprehensive free stock research tools in the world.
EDGAR is not a research organization per se, but it is an excellent place to discover the financial and corporate fundamentals of any U.S.-based public company.
Visitors to EDGAR can retrieve current and past balance sheets, income statements, audit reports, cash flow statements, risk disclosures, management discussion and analysis, known as MD&A reports, and much more.
For investors looking to conduct in-depth due diligence on a U.S. stock, EDGAR is an invaluable free resource.
Online Brokers
Modern brokerage platforms do more than just execute trades and display positions. Most online brokers provide account holders with professional equity research, advanced charting tools, portfolio analysis functions, historical price and financial data, and other valuable tools at no additional costs.
For example, Charles Schwab offers its clients the popular Thinkorswim trading platform as a free benefit. Thinkorswim is highly regarded by traders and investors for its extensive tools and easy access to research. Another example is Bank of America’s online brokerage arm, Merrill Edge. Merrill offers Merrill Edge Market Pro, which provides clients with free access to Morningstar Equity Research, CFRA Research and its own proprietary BofA Global Research.
If you already have an account with a good online broker, all you have to do is log in and click on the appropriate tabs. Brokers have made their websites and mobile apps easy to use. If you don’t have an account, they are easy to open on your own or with help from customer service.
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5 Best Free Stock Analysis and Research Tools originally appeared on usnews.com
