Stock Unlock Review: Pro Tools For Everyday Investors
This Stock Unlock review is not something I would usually do. I rarely do product reviews, so you know there must be something interesting here.
I think that even casual investors would benefit from a good portfolio tracker and simple investment analysis tool. The following Stock Unlock review will give you an idea of what to look for in a stock analysis and portfolio tracking tool. And why I like this one.
Actually, I have over 25 years in the finance industry and have seen many SaaS and software tools (and helped build some too). So, it’s hard to surprise me and even harder to impress me.
Most other personal finance tools, however, offer very little in terms of original functionality. Stock Unlock is not one of those.
Disclosure: this is NOT sponsored and there are NO affiliate links here. But if you sign up we will both get a free month.
In My Tool Box
This post is not typical for the site. But I have gotten questions previously about what is in my tool box.
Truth is, it’s all over the map. However, I started paying for Stock Unlock a while back and have become a major fan.
Such technical data-driven analyses are what I spend more of my time on. In contrast to those, this is a fundamental analysis tool.
Now, as noted, I have been in the finance and capital markets space for over 25 years. I have seen many tools, for both personal and professional use. Technical and quantitative analysis is, by its nature, more tool and data-intensive. Such technical data-driven analyses are what I spend more of my time on. In contrast to those, this is a fundamental analysis tool.
Obviously, I also consider fundamental factors in most investing but, in many cases, the standard metrics I use are freely available. So having a dedicated fundamental analysis tool has not been critical in the past. But Stock Unlock has some real benefits.
The Builder
First, it’s worth noting the origin of this thing. The creator, Daniel Pronk, is a younger guy that apparently only started his investing journey (and YouTube channel) in the last ~5 years. I know…
You’re already thinking: JPH…why the F are you shilling a SaaS by some YouTuber kid??
I think that the background and learning arch of this young founder may have also contributed to how this tool ended up so strong.
Well, that kid is pretty bright. And he’s also an adherent of the godfather of value investing, Benjamin Graham and his classic book, The Intelligent Investor. So, no degen here.
In fact, he appears to put a very high premium on value and strong balance sheets. I confess, I am neither degen nor disciplined, in this way. Not so “Intelligent” either (but I’m still learning).
But I think that the background and learning arch of this young founder may have also contributed to how this tool ended up so strong. So continue reading to hear my theory on that.
Strong Foundation
OK.. the app. It has a super clean interface. The left-hand side menu navigation is simple and intuitive.
Straight away, the Portfolio feature is excellent. Seems simple but there are real strengths here that the many free alternatives out there are missing. Over 30 metrics, flexible ordering, load transactions import to create portfolios and more.
(It) lets you see position and instrument details without navigating away from the portfolio page.
An integrated news feed makes it so you really never need to leave the tool. Toggling closed positions on and off is great (if you know, you know). And a very cool UI feature is a drop-down on portfolio holdings that lets you see position and instrument details without navigating away from the portfolio page.
Other standard features include the Screener tool, which is solid. It offers 30+ data types to include in the list and to filter by. There are much more sophisticated (made for purpose) screeners out there but this is all most folks will need.
Likewise, the Watch List tool allows users to create and customize multiple watch lists, and it includes a dozen plus metrics. It’s perfectly serviceable but this is still not the reason to buy the tool.
Lifeblood of a Financial App
The financial information and data sections include an exhaustive array of must-have metrics. Charts, company stats, news, press releases, SEC filings, research and analyst price targets and extensive historical data are just some.
Analyst reports and timely, in depth insider filings are no small thing. Here they are included at no added cost. This is another real differentiator versus other apps.
This is when I got off the fence and decided to subscribe…
There’s another really important consideration. The tool does not just cover North American (US and Canadian) stocks. I track international markets and Stock Unlock provides investment analysis data for over 170,000 stocks and ETFs.
This is when I got off the fence and decided to subscribe, when they added support for international securities.
The Killer Apps
The real stand-out features of Stock Unlock are twofold.
Free Form Tool
The first is the Free Form Tool, which lets you mash up and chart any of 120+ different data attributes. The ability to visualize quarterly, trailing 12 months, and yearly time frames is also there, where applicable.
It sounds simple: take multiple data of any kind and chart it together, over time, to identify patterns and possible trading signals.
This seems like it shouldn’t be hard but there really are no consumer-level finance apps that offer this kind of flexibility. Until now.
Stock Unlock provides a simple and elegant solution to the decision-making by applying historical averages as a starting point.
DCF Tool
The DCF Tool (discounted cash flow) is the other killer app. Discounted cash flow is a valuation method that aims to estimate the current value of an asset based on its expected future cash flows (which the investment or company will generate in the future).
Put another way, it’s a financial model that helps determine whether an asset is worth investing in based on future cash flows. This solid deep dive gives more background, if needed.
The thing is, using a DCF model for investment decisions is not always so easy. The math itself is not hard. But it requires that certain assumptions (projections) be made. This makes DCF calculations just fuzzy and opinion-driven enough that most finance apps don’t offer the function. But Stock Unlock provides a simple and elegant solution to the decision-making by applying historical averages as a starting point.
…one of the biggest mysteries every investor asks at some point: what is a fair price for this stock?
By auto-filling the required fields with historical data (based on the number of years you want to project) Stock Unlock provides a sensible starting point from which you can tweak and adjust inputs.
This gives you an easy to use calculator which literally unlocks one of the biggest mysteries every investor asks at some point: what is a fair price for this stock? I’m not aware of any other tool that’s brought this to everyday average investors.
And There’s More
The integrated tutorial videos and wizards are also a real plus. This makes Stock Unlock a great option for beginners and experienced investors, both. Another strong benefit available to all is the Discord community. This is a very welcoming, active and helpful community.
This gives the ability to pull all your broker account data directly into your Stock Unlock portfolio.
Importantly, they are very much still growing and adding to the app. Apparently they got a seed investment from Y Combinator. So, this isn’t a passing whim for the founders.
Recent developments include the broker account link option. Broker account integration is generally something only advanced SaaS tools offer. This gives the ability to pull all your broker account data directly into your Stock Unlock portfolio.
It is rare to find even one exceptional feature, and this tool has a few.
Conclusion
For years I have seen SaaS tools come and go in the personal finance space. It is rare to find even one exceptional feature, and this tool has a few.
So, how did a young guy that’s still relatively new to investing (and who never built a SaaS before) give birth to this exceptional tool?
Perhaps it was because he was a young guy, with limited experience in finance. He didn’t know what he couldn’t or shouldn’t do. So, when he considered putting more and different features in the hands of regular folks, perhaps his little voice said “why not?” instead of “maybe not”.
Whatever the reason, I strongly suggest you give Stock Unlock a look.