Benzinga Pro just may be a bit of both. While most platforms of this nature concentrate on technical analyses, Benzinga Pro adopts a greater, encompassing approach, functioning both as a stock pick tool and unique news source.
With the increased popularity of day trading, the average joe is constantly looking for a way to gain an edge. One way to do this is by simply looking at various news outlets, especially feeds which spotlight the financial sector.
But how much does one really glean from this casual activity? This sort of content is often common knowledge; in other words, there is no edge to be had, at least in our experience. The kind of information we need as day traders is inside information, the kind of juicy gossip that can pay dividends.
With Benzinga Pro, one gains access to exclusive headlines and stories, which Modest Money’s Benzinga review notes can give traders a real edge over the average retail investor.
What makes their news feed special? Well, we believe it has a lot to do with cultivating pre-market and after hours news data. While some of these stories may be speculative in character, Benzinga Pro refuses to confine itself to reporting only during trading hours. These kind of preemptive tips can have you armed and ready for the next trading day.
What’s more, there is a lively chat feature which allows users to spread personal anecdotes and share tips that you would not otherwise find in a general news feed. With over 16 million unique visitors monthly, this aspect can be a pot of gold.
There is also a built in stock screener, though it is not as robust or intuitive as other platforms. Benzinga Pro’s application works best, in our estimation, as a general news feed for those serious about the market and are looking to get into active day trading.
It provides the kind of information and updates that can be difficult find, and you get it all in one consolidated view. This makes sifting through the intricacies of the world markets not only manageable, but fun and rewarding.
Key Features of Benzinga Pro
- Work Spaces: users can imagine Benzingo’s “workspaces” as a fully customizable windows into the world of investing. One can decide exactly what kind of content is presented, the kinds of notifications and alerts active, and the general character of the news stream. There are also preconfigured options available which pander to a variety of investor archetypes. What’s more, there are options for managing multiple “workspaces”, giving you even more control over content.
- News Feed: perhaps the bread and butter of the Benzinga platform, their newsfeed looks like any other generic broadcasting channel, but it’s really not. While services like MarketWatch, Yahoo! Finance, and Moneycontrol rely on sometimes less than enthustiastic reporters, Benzinga’s team is driven to bring home the market news which What we’ve found is that Benzinga’s articles and stories often directly help us with our portfolios, rather than serving as mere curios.
- Stock Screener: one of their newer features, its pretty simple and straightforward as far as stock screeners go. Demanding users may find that it is too simple, but it’s a useful tool to pair with breaking news stories, and helps you keep track of daily winners and losers.
- Squawk Box: despite the funny title, we find that this may be Benzinga’s most useful tool. Like the name suggests, this feature literally squawks alerts out via your device’s audio, alerting even the most absent minded to important happenings in the market. This is great for the day trader that fancies themselves a serious multi-tasker; whatever may be going on, you are surely to notice these demanding alerts.
Drawbacks of Benzinga Pro
While a novel platform that pairs well with any private trading venture, Benzinga does have its drawbacks.
- Pricing: Benzinga Pro’s price points are nothing extraordinary, but we feel that you have to be a fairly established trader to dish out $100 a month, which is the cost of the basic The “essential” service, which comes with all the bells and whistles which make Benzinga what it is, runs a hefty $249 a month.
- Real Estate: or should we say, the lack thereof. Benzinga Pro’s news feeds and alerts focus primarily on equities, and while it does that beautifully, those that take a more holistic approach to investing, wanting to incorporate such things as real estate and farm land, will find little of value here.
The Bottom Line
Benzinga Pro is the kind of software that fits fiery investors like a glove, provided you are a serious day trader with the extra cash to spend. Though it has a fairly high monthly fee, it does offer something unique in the world of investing platforms: tailored, individualized news streams.
And like we mentioned above, these are the kind of stories that you are unlikely to find on more popular news sites, even those devoted to finance. Because Benzinga is furnished by its own internal journalistic team, the information truly feels like insider info, or dare I say, gossip.
