The Motley Fool Debuts CAPS Stock Tracking and Investor Rating Service

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Motley Fool today introduced the public beta of CAPS (http://caps.fool.com), the first online service that rates stocks and tracks professional and individual investors from Wall Street to Main Street, so that everyone has access to market-beating investment ideas. Powered by a unique process, CAPS is an easy-to-use and powerful research tool that harnesses investor sentiment and recommendations in real-time.

“Despite having access to competing stock information from many sources, today’s investor hasn’t had a reliable way to evaluate which are the most accurate,” said David Gardner, co-founder and co-chairman of The Motley Fool. “With traditional analyst coverage declining, the desire and need for unbiased and updated stock advice is greater than ever before. By tracking the ideas and analysis of Wall Street professionals as well as individuals, Motley Fool CAPS enables anyone to find better stocks and follow the best investors.”

According to Reuters and NASDAQ, approximately 35% of U.S. public companies lack analyst coverage.¹ With more than 1,100 stocks to date already rated in its private beta, Motley Fool CAPS provides broader coverage of stocks than most professional firms are capable of delivering.

“In the past few years, consumers have been demanding more attention and better investment tools, especially as their assets become increasingly virtual,” said Chris Howard, vice president of Burton Group. “Sophisticated research is moving from the realm of paneled offices to flat panels on the individual investor’s desk. A service like Motley Fool CAPS will harness the collective intelligence of its participants, providing a rich source of data about the behavior of the market. We expect patterns to emerge from this data that will benefit investors and investment bankers alike.”

Likewise, CAPS creates a higher level of accountability and transparency by keeping score of how every participant is doing and rating their performance -- from novices to the most well-known firms on Wall Street.

“CAPS is the logical outgrowth of what The Motley Fool has always been: a place where investors help investors beat the market,” said Scott Schedler, president of The Motley Fool. “We have been providing superior investment ideas and bringing investors together online and offline for more than a decade. CAPS is the next evolution in that mission.”

About The Motley Fool

A worldwide investment and financial advisory services company, The Motley Fool has helped millions of people grow their wealth and achieve financial independence across a wide variety of online and offline media channels including: its award-winning website at www.fool.com; eight best-selling Simon & Schuster and self-published books; a nationally syndicated weekly newspaper column carried by more than 200 publications; a nationally syndicated PBS television special; and the company’s award-winning UK subsidiary, Fool UK (www.fool.co.uk).

¹ Reuters/NASDAQ estimate from news release dated June 7, 2005