Oak Growth vs Morningstar
Morningstar's analyst-written fair values are genuinely good, and they only exist where an analyst has been. Oak Growth values every company it covers, ranks them all by margin of safety, and costs about a third as much.
The short version
Morningstar is the established name, and its fair value estimates are written by human analysts — genuinely valuable, and the reason institutions have used it for decades. The catch for a private investor is scope and price: analyst coverage reaches a limited slice of the market, the product leans heavily toward funds rather than individual shares, and it costs roughly three times what Oak Growth does.
Side by side
| Oak Growth | Morningstar Investor | |
|---|---|---|
| Fair value coverage | Every company covered | Only stocks under analyst coverage |
| Sort by margin of safety | One click | Star rating, not a ranked gap |
| Buffett four pillars | Moat, management, economics, value | Moat rating only |
| Entry timing | MA dots + RSI | None |
| Live filtered SEC 8-K news | Yes | No |
| Method published | DCF assumptions shown | Analyst judgement |
| Focus | Individual companies and ETFs | Funds and ETFs first |
| ETF coverage | Handpicked, ranked, with verified history | Extensive, with Medalist ratings |
| Price | £18/month · £216/year | $249/year (about $20.75/month), or $34.95 paid monthly |
| Newsletters | Coming soon | $170/year extra |
The four differences that matter
1. Coverage is where analysts have been
Morningstar's fair value estimate exists only for companies an analyst covers. Outside that list there's no number. Oak Growth computes a discounted cash flow for every company in its universe, so the answer is always there — and every one of them can be ranked by the gap to price in a single click.
2. A star rating isn't a sorted list
Morningstar tells you a share is five-star or one-star relative to its own fair value. Useful. But if you want to see the twenty most undervalued companies across eight markets ordered by margin of safety, that's a different thing — and it's what Oak Growth opens on.
3. A fund tool that also does shares, against a company tool that also does funds
Morningstar's centre of gravity is funds, ETFs and Portfolio X-Ray — that's where its reputation was built and where most subscribers spend their time. Oak Growth starts from the individual business — the moat, the management, the economics, the price — and carries a handpicked set of ETFs and ETCs alongside it, ranked on verified historic performance, so a portfolio holding both sits on one screen. Different centres of gravity, and worth knowing which matches how you invest.
4. Price, and what's inside it
Morningstar Investor is $249 a year — about $20.75 a month — or $34.95 if you pay monthly, and the four flagship newsletters are a further $170 a year on top. Oak Growth is £18 a month with nothing held back behind a tier: eight markets, intrinsic value, four-pillar scoring, entry signals, live filtered SEC 8-K news, ETF and commodity views. A newsletter is coming, and it will be included rather than charged for separately.
Where Morningstar is genuinely strong
Human analysts writing a considered fair value with an explicit uncertainty rating is something no automated model replicates, and Morningstar has done it longer than anyone. Its economic moat framework is the reference version. For fund and ETF research, Portfolio X-Ray and the Medalist ratings are excellent and there is no real equivalent elsewhere. If your portfolio is mostly funds, Morningstar is probably the better tool.
Who each one suits
Morningstar if you invest mainly through funds and ETFs, want written analyst narrative, and are comfortable with $249 a year, roughly $20.75 a month, plus extras.
Oak Growth if you pick individual companies — with ETFs and ETCs available alongside them — want a valuation on every company rather than the subset an analyst reached, want to rank the whole universe by margin of safety, and want the UK market treated as a first-class citizen rather than an afterthought. £18 a month, everything included.
A number on every company, not just the covered ones
Oak Growth runs a discounted cash flow on roughly 1,000 companies across eight markets, publishes the assumptions behind it, and lets you sort the lot by margin of safety.
Explore Oak GrowthCommon questions
Is there a cheaper alternative to Morningstar?
Oak Growth is £18 a month with everything included, against Morningstar Investor at $249 a year — about $20.75 a month — or $34.95 paid monthly, plus $170 a year for its newsletters. It covers roughly 1,000 companies across eight markets with an intrinsic value and margin of safety for every one.
Does Morningstar give a fair value for every stock?
No. Morningstar's fair value estimates are produced by analysts and exist only for companies under analyst coverage. Oak Growth computes a discounted cash flow value for every company in its universe, so there is always a number and every company can be ranked by its discount to it.
What is the difference between Morningstar and Oak Growth?
Morningstar is fund-first with analyst-written fair values on covered stocks, at $249 a year. Oak Growth is built entirely around individual companies — Buffett's four pillars, a DCF intrinsic value on every company, margin of safety ranking, entry timing signals and live filtered SEC 8-K news across eight markets, at £18 a month.
Does Morningstar cover UK shares?
Morningstar covers UK-listed companies, though analyst fair value coverage is concentrated on larger names. Oak Growth covers the FTSE 100 and 145 FTSE 250 constituents with a computed intrinsic value for each, alongside seven other markets.
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