If you are here because you are intrigued by what Chaikin Analytics' Power Gauge is, you've come to the right place.Â
This review will discuss what it really is, who invented it, and how it works. There will also be a discussion on our critique of the system, and we did not hold back.Â
Since our goal here is to give you our honest feedback, you will read our fair and objective comments. Expect the good, the bad, and the ugly.
In this article, we will not hesitate to highlight what we believe is information that you will find helpful. After all, subscribing to investment research services has its risks.Â
You will entrust your portfolio to the company and newsletter. Of course, there are fees involved as well.Â
Even if you pay for the cheapest service or sign up for the free newsletter, you still give them your personal information. Such data is the treasure of these times for companies.
The reason why the Power Gauge has generated much interest is because of its promise. According to Chaikin Analytics, it uses a scientific model to analyze critical stock factors.
Some ask if the tool is like those used by such firms as Weiss Ratings. If you want to know more information about the services of Weiss after reading this article, check our archives.
We have already reviewed Wealth Megatrends, Weiss Ratings, and Weiss Crypto Ratings.
So what exactly is the Power Gauge, and how does it work? How accurate are its recommendations? Is the company and people behind it reliable?
Let us answer these questions together.Â
Overview of the Power Gauge
- Tool:Â Power Gauge
- Service: An 85 percent fundamental and 15 percent technical model for stocks
- Company:Â Chaikin Analytics
- Founder:Â Marc Chaikin
- Website:Â www.chaikinanalytics.com
- Cost of access through:
- Full membership: Chaikin Analytics Research & Analysis - $2,195 per year
- Newsletter: Power Gauge Investor - Price not indicated
- Newsletter: Power Gauge Report - $49 (from $199) per year
- Application: Power Pulse Premium - $120 per year
The Power Gauge is a tool that helps investors know if stocks are bearish or bullish. The bases of the ratings are 20 various factors and Chaikin's unique weighing system.
The system is developed by Marc Chaikin, founder of Chaikin Analytics. He is also the man behind different technical tools used by Wall Street.
You can access the Power Gauge through different means. One is through the comprehensive membership program that also includes the other top features of Chaikin.
You may also get its benefits plus analyses through two newsletters, Power Gauge Report and Power Gauge Investor. If you want it as a stand-alone feature, you may avail of the Power Pulse Premium app.
Learn more about these in the section about access to the technical tool.
What is the Power Gauge?
Marc Chaikin's press releases confidently brand the Power Gauge as the most superior secret weapon for everyday investors.Â
It is a technical tool and system that claims to "know exactly what the smart money on Wall Street is thinking." An 85 percent fundamental and 15 percent technical model, it weighs 20 factors alongside a secret formula.
What you will get from it is simple enough to understand. It will show a green stock rating for bullish and red for bearish.
Since most people do not have time, the system does all the heavy lifting. So what you are left with is a simple rating that's actually based on complex mathematical processes.
According to Chaikin, the Power Gauge is a superior tool because it updates every night. This means that it factors in even recent news and market updates.
Further, it can take into account experts' opinions and reactions to developments. Chaikin claims that this will give you updated information so you can act immediately.
In addition, the Power Gauge has a weight system on the 20 factors that will give its investors more financial insights.
Even the company's partner, Stansberry Research, makes a bold claim. According to the investment research firm, the Power Gauge is "the most successful stock predictor" they've seen in the company's history.
What makes it such a phenomenal tool? Are the claims warranted? Can regular investors really make huge profits from the stock predictor?
According to Chaikin Analytics, you will know which stocks will be profitable when you use the tool. The claim is that there's a huge chance you will be able to double and triple your money.
This is possible even if you do not have enough information about the companies you'll invest in. The indicator will supply you with the essential information you need so you can invest right away.
The system can accomplish this because of the expertise of Marc Chaikin. He says he has been sharing such information with Wall Street for half a century already.
Thus, it is a sure way to give you and your portfolio a "huge and unfair advantage." Of course, you need to trust Chaikin and Power Gauge.
When you do, the company claims that you will have the power to "smell" financial opportunity even before seeing it. According to Chaikin, this system gives you tomorrow's stocks headlines today.
Are you impressed already? Well, that's the goal of marketing campaigns. But since this review is not commissioned, expect our take to be objective with a hint of skepticism.
We have to admit that the proposition sounds enticing. It is every investor's dream. Having a cheat sheet for over 4,000 stocks means higher chances of making high returns for your investments.
Even the promise of showing you exactly how a stock is "most likely to be rated over the next 3 to 6 months?" Chaikin even says he can do that with "remarkable accuracy." It does not get better than that.
But is this really possible?
On its surface, we think this is too good to be true. The company seems to be overpromising here. If all its claims are accurate, we would definitely hear about it from all over the media.
People will never shut up about such miraculous money-making ventures. It will spread like wildfire, especially with the prevalence of social media in this present age.
To tell you the truth, most feedback and reviews we have seen online are from the company's marketing promotions. As you will read in the following sections, comments talking about the Power Gauge are more measured.
To be clear, we are not saying the tool is a scam; far from it. What we merely want to emphasize here is how wild the claims are. The company seems to want to promise unlimited riches with the tool.
Whenever we hear of claims like those, we get all the more suspicious. As a website rooting for the regular investor, we know that many people easily believe such promises.
Unfortunately, when they finally subscribe and pay, only then will they find out what the fine print says. As a result, disappointed consumers try to get out of the deal.
But we all know how difficult unsubscribing and getting refunds are. So for us, the combination of giving wild claims and not talking about risks is counterproductive.
It is true especially in this case, where the company says investors can potentially make even up to five times their money. In a short amount of time.
So it would have been better if there was a disclaimer from time to time in Chaikin's lengthy pitches.
How to Access the Power Gauge
As previously mentioned, there are various ways by which you can have access to the system. It all depends on the special features you prefer and your budget.
The most expensive option is through the annual premium membership, which costs $2,195. Along with the rating system on more than 5,000 stocks and ETFs, here are the add-ons:
Chaikin Analytics Research & Analysis Platform
Marc Chaikin's Market Insights Newsletter
Pete Carmasino's Afternoon Insights Newsletter
Access to the Discovery Engine, Chaikin Stock Screener, Buy/Sell Signals, Customizable Email Alerts, Earnings Insights, Portfolio Health Check, and Power Gauge Reports
OptionsPlay Functionality
Members-Only Content & Videos
There are also two newsletters available with the Power Gauge.
The first one is called the Power Gauge Report, which you can get for $49 per year. Here are the features:
One free year of access to the Power Pulse system
Four Power Picks for Retirement
Mystery gift ($1,000 value)
The Power Gauge: How to Double Your Money on the Best Stocks
Access to the Power Gauge Report that will be emailed to you monthly
Special updates as needed
Warnings and predictions from Marc Chaikin
The second newsletter requires that you call the company to get its price.
But according to the website, the Power Gauge Investor will give you a top money-making stock each month along with a lucrative portfolio.
If you just want the app, you can get a subscription to the Power Pulse Premium ($120). Through this service, you can:
Personalize the system
Create your own dashboards within the Power Pulse system where you can monitor your entire portfolio
Get email alerts on any Power Gauge rating changes
Create your own lists of stocks and see earnings surprises, changes in Wall Street analyst opinions, and price-performance
Tweak the system to follow any list of stocks you want
Get alerts when it’s time to buy or sell
A reminder from our team: expect the special features to change depending on the time you subscribe. Companies usually tailor-fit them according to the relevant issues of the season.Â
Who is the Proponent of the Power Gauge?
The inventor of the Power Gauge is Marc Chaikin. He is also known for the Chaikin Money Flow and Chaikin Oscillator.
The marketing materials of Chaikin refer to him as a "legendary investor" who has created technical tools that appear in Bloomberg and Reuters.
His profile also states that he is a Wall Street mainstay with almost half a decade of experience as an investor. In fact, his press release claims that he is a "living legend of the markets."
You know how profiles of investment research company editors and founders are.
By now, their MO on their backgrounds are so well-known that we are not surprised anymore by such high praise. Heck, they even come from their own mouths.
So even if there is truth to glowing praise releases, many of you are probably skeptical already.
But Marc Chaikin seems to have a solid track record, even if the company descriptions of him are overblown.
He was once the leader of the Options Department of the Tucker Anthony & RL Day brokerage firm.
Even his analytics workstation is already institutionalized as part of Thomson Reuters. Portfolio managers and stock traders use it for their analysis.
Due to his influence and expertise in the investing world, he was also tapped as a Financial News Network host in the past. He still frequents various programs to speak on financial matters to this day.
What is Chaikin Analytics?
The investment research company offering the Power Gauge is Chaikin Analytics. It provides investiment recommendations to its subscribers.Â
The supposedly unique thing about it, though, is its use of technical tools and models. According to the founder, many people on Wall Street rely on the models he built decades ago.
As per the company, countless investors who rely on the system were already able to make lots of income. In fact, it is not just high-profile investors who benefitted.
According to Chaikin, even everyday Americans have already seen how accurate the system is. Its recommendations about bullish and bearish stocks are spot-on.
Of course, these statements are from the marketing materials of the firm. So we will not take them as is, and we will discuss these claims in the next sections.
We should always be curious when it comes to these promises as potential subscribers. We should always ask how these firms intend to deliver on their promises.
But we also want to say that Chaikin's tools have indeed been around for years. Therefore, it would be safe to assume that people do find them helpful. To a certain extent, they seem to be reliable and accurate.
The Chaikin Money Flow, as per the website, measures a stock's buying pressure against selling pressure over time. Many in the industry apparently rely on this.
In addition, Marc Chaikin also developed the Chaikin Oscillator. This is a momentum indicator, according to company information.
Its other critical technical measurement has to do with Nasdaq. Chaikin has an index on Large Cap, Small Cap, and Dividend Achievers.
The company even rang the Nasdaq opening bell on 30 April 2018 because of a milestone. According to the Bloomberg press release, it was to:
celebrate two of the most successful exchange-traded fund (ETF) launches of 2017: the IQ Chaikin U.S. Small-Cap ETF (CSML) and the IQ Chaikin U.S. Large-Cap ETF (CLRG).
So the firm has built a reputation through the years. We are not here to contest their contributions to to the investment industry. Even Marc Chaikin is also highly regarded on Wall Street.
Our beef with the firm is how it paints a picture of its services. It seems too ideal, too perfect, and therefore, too good to be true.Â
In our view, omitting disclaimers is a disservice to subscribers. Readers will have impossible expectations, which will result in disappointments.
What we find commendable with the firm is its use of and heavy reliance on technical models.Â
We agree with the observation that too many investment research services rely too much on the reputation and analysis of the editor. With Chaikin, you get the insights from scientific algorithms.
On the surface, this means you get to ensure somehow that the analyses will be objective. Usually, human biases and preconceived notions affect the decisions even of experts.
So the company's appeal is due to its scientific models.
If you want a clearer picture of the company itself, read our Chaikin Analytics review.
How the Power Gauge Works
The most straightforward answer here is simple. All you need to do is type the stock name into the search engine. With one click, the rating will appear: it can either be bearish, bullish, or neutral.
Compared with other tools, the Power Gauge boasts a more comprehensive approach to rating stocks.
There are those who are more particular with the news of the day. Meanwhile, some look at earnings more closely. For others, what matters most are developments in the industry.
Chaikin Analytics looks at all these and more. Its system can determine what the smart money on Wall Street looks at before investing.
First, it has a secret formula that is unique to the company. This is what sets the Power Gauge apart from the others.
Second, the combination of the 20 factors contributes significantly to the final stock rating. There are four major divisions under these factors.
The first one is under the banner of Financials:
Debt to equity ratio
Price to book value ratio
Return on equity
Price to sales ratio
Free cash flow analysis
Under Earnings, here are the primary considerations:
Growth
Earnings surprise
Trends
Projected price/earnings ratio
Earnings consistency
The third major grouping is the Technicals:
Strength of an individual stock vs. S&P500Â
Chaikin Money Flow
Chaikin Trend
Price trend rate of change
Volume trend
Finally, there is also a cluster called Experts:
Earnings estimate revision
Short interest
Insider activity
Analyst opinions
Strength of industry group vs. the Market
The beauty of its system is that it is unbiased and unemotional. This is the advantage of Power Gauge, based on its website.
According to Chaikin, the combination of all these factors works like magic. Sure, the company attempts (but fails) to give a small disclaimer. But in the overall posture of the firm, the Power Gauge is the key to unlimited wealth.
Track Record and Reviews
There is a long list of supposed accurate predictions in the promotional material for the Power Gauge Report.
In 2014, the system recommended Nvidia. According to the website, it already is "up as much as 3,200% since then".
As another proof, Chaikin also claims that it "pointed to electric vehicle maker NIO" in 2020. In less than a year, it was apparently up 884%.
Meanwhile, Novovax grew by 335% two months after the Power Gauge recommended it.
There is a lot more so-called proof. However, we have not seen any documentation that would prove that the tool indeed recommended these companies early.
Of course, it would be easier now as we look back to plot "success" stories. Anybody can just make up data and charts.Â
We are not saying this is what Chaikin has done with their evidence. But without "receipts" that they indeed made those early calls, it would be easy to arrive at that conclusion.Â
We all know how investment research companies have become so competitive. A quick scan on third-party review sites would tell us that there are indeed scams out there.
So we hope the firm would release solid proof so more people can judge for themselves before they subscribe.
When you look at the page of Chaikin Analytics on Stock Gumshoe, you will see that it has a decent 3.4/5 stars. As of this writing, 62 readers gave their opinion on the company.
Some commenters were happy with the Power Gauge as a software product. It is a tool that helps you double-check your own assessments, so it is helpful in that way.
The presentation of the fundamental and technical analysis is also well received by some users.
The best way to use the system, according to one subscriber, is to make it a component of your overall analysis. Since it still is not fool-proof, you should still exercise your own judgment.
Here is an example of a positive comment:
There are also users who were not impressed with the overall quality of the service. Some also said the newsletters were not well-made, while the rating system requires more time before making an accurate assessment.
One commenter incorporated TipRanks in his comment:
Naturally, the comments are based on personal assessments. These may or may not be the same as your own experiences, so read them judiciously.
Pros v Cons
Pros
- Combination of technical and fundamental models
- The founder has a solid track record
- An algorithm and model tool can be unbiased and unemotional
Cons
- Exaggerated claims
- Does not tell subscribers what the critical "ingredient" is because it is a "secret formula," which prevents us from examining its accuracy
Conclusion - Is this a Superpower?
So, can you trust Marc Chaikin and his investment research firm, Chaikin Analytics?
If you think about it, how they market the Power Gauge is indeed effective. The hook is that there is a proven and time-tested scientific tool that will help you decide on your stock picks.
It is supposed to be superior because it is based on an objective system. The implication is that, unlike human editors and experts, the tool is not swayed by moods and emotions.
But is it really a fool-proof system, just like how it is advertised?
What we can say is that there are a lot of promises in the marketing pitch. While some, or even a majority, of them may be delivered, it is always better to balance the narrative.Â
Unfortunately, there is not enough effort on Chaikin's part to temper the expectations of would-be subscribers.
This is not to say that the tool is crap. Chaikin has a history of making these kinds of technical systems, and he has believers in the industry.
In the end, it is worth a try, but don't expect too much. When you do subscribe to Chaikin Analytics' Power Gauge, start small and slow.
yes, there is no back data available of average wins average losses. No way to even begin to think intelligently about his over hyped services.
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