The Motley Fool
Type of business | Private |
---|---|
Type of site | Financial advisory services |
Founded | July 1993 |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong |
Owner | The Motley Fool, LLC |
Founder(s) |
|
URL | www |
The Motley Fool is a private financial and investing advice company based in Alexandria, Virginia. It was founded in July 1993 by co-chairmen and brothers David Gardner and Tom Gardner, and Todd Etter and Erik Rydholm.[1][2][3] The company employs over 300 people worldwide.[4]
Company name
The name “Motley Fool” is taken from Shakespeare's comedy As You Like It. It references the one character – the court jester – who could speak the truth to the Duke without having his head lopped off.[5]
History
Early years
In 1994, The Motley Fool published a series of statements online promoting a nonexistent sewage-disposal company.
In 1996, David and Tom Gardner published The Motley Fool Investment Guide, which ranked on bestseller lists for The New York Times and Bloomberg Businessweek.[10] The book was controversial; Bloomberg wrote about The Motley Fool's "Fanatical following",[11] while a PBS Frontline episode described the company as made up of "20-somethings" giving "so-called advice".[12]
In 1997, the Motley Fool's online presence moved from AOL to its own domain, Fool.com, where it continued to provide investment advice under an advertising-based revenue model.[13]
"Foolish Four" and dot-com bust
In the late 1990s, the Motley Fool publicized their "Foolish Four" method of
During the dot-com bubble and market collapse of 2001, the Motley Fool company removed 80% of its staff in three rounds of layoffs.[18]
Expansion
In February 2002, The Motley Fool shifted to a subscription-based business model[19] The company launched its Stock Advisor program, offering subscribers monthly stock picks and premium investment education.[20]
The company also established free and subscription-based businesses in several countries. As of 2023, The Motley Fool has operations in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.[21] In October 2019, the company announced that it was shutting down operations in Singapore.[22] A year later, in October 2020, the company announced that it was also shutting down operations in Hong Kong.[23]
In August 2018, the company launched a personal-finance sub-brand called The Ascent[24] to provide personal finance product reviews and free educational resources.
In September 2019, the Motley Fool launched two more sub-brands. Millionacres provides subscription-based real estate investing advice and real estate resources.[25]
On September 17, 2019, the Motley Fool launched its mobile game, Investor Island.[26] Investor Island is a real-time strategy board game based on investing. Players compete online to destroy each other's bases and gain a monopoly. Players collect stocks that reflect actual market data and give players money based on historical actions in the stock market. The Motley Fools claims that "everyone might just learn a little about the power of investing in the stock market" after playing their game. Investor Island is available on the iOS Appstore.
Legislative efforts
Representatives of The Motley Fool have testified before Congress against mutual fund fees,[27] in support of fair financial disclosure,[28] on the Enron scandal,[29] and the IPO process.[30]
In 1999, the
See also
References
- ^ "America is Leading the Global Economy Above And Beyond Its Pre-Pandemic Strength". www.nasdaq.com. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ Morgan, Jacob (2012-03-16). "I Found a Chief Collaboration Officer and his name is Todd". Jacob Morgan | Best-Selling Author, Speaker, & Futurist | Leadership | Future of Work | Employee Experience. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
- ^ "Motley Fool's Todd Etter Speaks At Baylor". www.chattanoogan.com. 2001-10-03. Retrieved 2023-04-08.
- ^ "The Motley Fool's Competitors, Revenue, Number of Employees, Funding and Acquisitions". Owler. January 1, 2020. Archived from the original on February 3, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
- ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
- ^ Gomes, Lee (May 24, 1994). "On-line Ripoffs". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- ^ Doward, Jamie (April 29, 2000). "If the jester's cap fits ..." The Guardian.
- ^ Kornbluth, Jesse (December 24, 1995). "Who Needs America Online?". The New York Times Magazine.
- ^ Kornbluth, Jesse (December 11, 1994). "What a (Motley) Fool Believes". The New Yorker.
- ^ "The Motley Fool Investment Guide". Goodreads. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ Foust, Dean (July 15, 1996). "Getting The Net To Help Build Your Portfolio". Bloomberg News.
- ^ "Tapes & Transcripts | 'Betting On The Market'". Frontline. PBS. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
- ^ ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
- ^ Brian Bauer (1999). The Foolish Four: How to Crush Your Mutual Funds in 15 Minutes a Year. Motley Fool Publishing, ISBN 978-1892547019
- ^ Zweig, Jason (June 24, 2015). "False Profits". JasonZweig.com. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Investor Home - Dow 10, Foolish Four and other Dow Dividend Strategies". Investor Home. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Fool.com: Fool Four Moves On [Foolish Four] December 29, 2000". August 16, 2013. Archived from the original on August 16, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
- ^ MeMore, Money. "Motley Fool Stock Advisor Review". MeMoreMoney.
- ^ "About The Motley Fool". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
- ^ Tan, Claudia (October 10, 2019). "Motley Fool ceasing Singapore operations over regulatory issues". The Business Times. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
- ^ "Motley Fool to close Hong Kong business due to political uncertainty". Reuters. October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
- ^ "The Motley Fool Is 25 This Year. Here's How They Changed the Way America Invests". Washingtonian. April 1, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
- ^ "The Motley Fool rolls out a new company. Its focus? Real estate investing". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
- ^ "Investor Island by The Motley Fool". AppAdvice. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ "Fool.com: Mutual Funds -- Costs -- Mr. Gardner Goes to Washington". zing.ncsl.nist.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-10-02. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Testimony, Sept. 13 Hearing on Auditor Independence Proposal". U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Financial Collapse of Enron". C-SPAN.org. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ "Initial Public Offering Process". C-SPAN.org. June 20, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ Barker, Bill (March 21, 2000). "Fool.com: The SEC Needs Your Help (Special)". zing.ncsl.nist.gov. Retrieved October 1, 2018.[dead link]