Tykr Review: A Beginner-Friendly Stock Research Platform

What Is Tykr?

Wisconsin-based Tykr is a financial technology company founded by Sean Tepper, who built the first version of the platform in 2016 as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. He began developing the software platform in 2019, and Tykr launched in 2020. 

Tepper is still the company's CEO, and according to the website, Tykr now serves 12,000 customers across 50 countries.

What Does It Offer?

Tykr combines stock research and screening tools with portfolio management and educational features designed to simplify investing for beginners. Here's a closer look at some of its key features: 

Stock Analysis

Tykr's stock analysis is its main attraction. It uses a traffic-light-style rating system to summarize stocks as "On Sale", "Watch", or "Overpriced". This allows you to quickly screen potential investments without digging through piles of data on your own and trying to interpret it. You can also view other metrics, such as a stock's "Financial Strength" and "Margin of Safety". 

I think this is a great approach for beginners. While many platforms try to impress users with more data, it seems that Tykr's primary goal is making the data easy to understand. That said, I wouldn't rely solely on a Tykr rating to decide whether to buy or sell a stock.  

One thing I found concerning is the platform's use of the word "safe" to describe a stock that it considers financially strong. 

Specifically, when you click on the box that explains how the scoring system works, the following message appears: "The score represents the overall financial strength of a stock. The higher the score, the safer the investment."

It then states that a score of 100 is considered "Safe," indicating a financially strong stock with a "high probability of a rise in its share price."

This can be very misleading. For example, at the time of this writing, Tykr gives Apple a score of 91/100 for financial strength. A beginner investor might look at that score and assume that Apple is a "safe" investment. However, no individual stock can be considered a "safe investment", no matter how it has performed in the past.

So, to restate my point, I appreciate Tykr's user-friendly rating system, but you really cannot rely on it alone to make investment decisions. 

Retirement Calculator

Tykr also offers a retirement calculator to help you determine whether your current investing strategy has you on track to reach your retirement goals. It's a great feature to have because it shifts the focus from picking individual stocks to your long-term financial goals and why you're investing in the first place. 

Tykr provides other calculators and downloadable resources as well, including a compound interest calculator and fair-value calculators. None of these tools will replace a comprehensive financial plan, but they can help newer investors better understand how their savings and investment choices can impact their long-term financial goals. 

Portfolio Tracker

Tykr's portfolio tracking lets you keep track of your investments in one place while monitoring your portfolio's performance. You can create multiple portfolios, view projections, and see how Tykr tracks your investments.

Tykr supports connections to over 25 brokerages, including Fidelity, Charles Schwab, Robinhood, and E*TRADE. By connecting your brokerage, your portfolio can be automatically synced and updated, so you don't have to enter your investments manually.

The number of broker connections you can make depends on your subscription level. For example, the basic tier (interestingly called Premium) only allows one brokerage connection. Premium Plus allows three connections, and with Advanced, you get five. That appears to be the maximum number. 

Watchlist

Tykr's watchlist is a simple feature and one you would expect from any investment research platform. You can add stocks that you're interested in without having to purchase them, and monitor their performance, and Tykr's ratings. Tykr can notify you when a stock's rating changes, a nice feature. For example, you can receive an alert if a stock moves into Tyker's "On Sale" category, which might give you reason to take a closer look at the company. 

Are There Any Fees?

Tykr currently offers three paid plans, which I've broken down in the following table:

How Does Tykr Compare?

Tykr is far from the only stock research platform on the market. Morningstar Investor offers many similar tools, including stock research, proprietary ratings, screeners, watchlists, and portfolio analysis. Its analysis is more in-depth than Tykr's, making it a better fit for experienced investors who need to dig deeper into a company's fundamentals. The Motley Fool Stock Advisor provides users with new stock recommendations monthly, along with rankings and supporting research from its team of analysts. 

Tykr makes the most sense for newer investors who are looking for a simple way to research and evaluate stocks. For more detailed research, consider a platform such as Morningstar, and if you would rather receive specific stock recommendations, then The Motley Fool is worth considering. 

How Do I Open An Account?

You can get started with Tykr through the website or mobile app, which is available for iOS and Android devices. You can quickly create an account, choose your subscription, enter your credit card information, and start the 30-day free trial. If you want to use the Portfolio Tracker, you can one or more brokerage accounts, although you'll need at least a Premium Plus plan to sync multiple accounts. 

Is It Safe And Secure?

Tykr is an investment research platform, not a brokerage. This means that its not directly holding your investments or managing your money. Tykr uses SnapTrade, a secure, third-party platform to connect your brokerage account. At no time does SnapTrade share your brokerage login ID or password with Tykr. That said, you should still create a very secure password for your Tykr account. 

How Do I Contact Tykr?

You can contact Tykr through the contact form on its website. There is no email, telephone, or chat support. According to Tykr, customer support requests are responded to within 24 to 48 hours, Monday through Friday. 

The company's headquarters are located at: 
11220 W Burleigh St, Wauwatosa, WI 53222

Is It Worth It?

I think Tykr is a solid option if you're a newer investor with a single brokerage account to connect to and want access to stock research without being overwhelmed by data. For the service it offers, I think $99 per year for the Premium (standard) plan is very reasonable.

I really like its straightforward stock ratings, though I don't like that they imply certain stock investments are safe (see above). 

There's less value in the mid- and top- tier plans, which are $399.99 and $999.99 per year, respectively. It seems like a steep price to pay to get a couple of extra brokerage connections, some additional AI credits, and trending alerts. Also, I don't think most beginner investors are looking to spend $1,000/year for investment tracking, but perhaps that's just me.

If you're a more experienced investor, you'll want to compare Tykr to alternatives like Morningstar or The Motley Fool before you sign up, although I will note that The Motley Fool can be even more expensive than Tykr, depending on the plan you choose. 

Check out Tykr here >>