AllStocks – This is behind the lawsuit against the stock analysis website

The self-promotion of the AlleAktien portal sounds good: “Become a successful investor with first-class stock analyses, without spending an enormous amount of time,” says the homepage. For 40 euros per month or 400 euros per year, investors should get professional-level analyzes of more than 1000 stocks, including current yield expectations and specific recommendations.

It remains to be seen how useful the analyzes are. In any case, AlleAktien founder Michael Jakob sometimes seems to talk a little too much. Now he is even threatened with legal trouble: the consumer advice center in Baden-Württemberg has filed a lawsuit against AlleAktien. It’s about an order button, missing subscription information and advertising with positive customer reviews. There are other complaints that are being investigated, says Niels Nauhauser, a financial expert at the consumer advice center.

The trouble for AllAktien began last year. The portal is very present on social media. There was a corresponding amount of attention when the journalist Judith Henke speared various inconsistencies surrounding the portal and its founder in several articles for the newspaper “Die Welt”.

Individual users instead of corporate customers

For example, Jakob advertised that well-known companies used his services and showed their logos on his homepage. However, most of the companies had not subscribed to the analyzes of AlleAktien, at most a few of their employees had subscribed. The website also said that WirtschaftsWoche certifies AlleAktien as “Germany’s best stock analyses”. But this statement was never made. Jakob had only been a guest twice in a WiWo podcast.

Jakob is no slouch when it comes to his CV either. He often likes to emphasize that he has already worked for corporations such as the major Swiss bank UBS and the consulting firm McKinsey. However, research by “Welt” revealed that at least some of these were just internships. Jakob’s appearance on social media also contributes to a less than serious overall picture. On Instagram, where AlleAktien has around 74,000 followers, he once described his perfume (a fragrance by Louis Vuitton) as a “can opener” – apparently meaning that the fragrance was well received by women.

Ambitious return targets of ten percent per year and more for AlleAktien-Modelldepots cause experienced investors to frown. Probably the most serious are the allegations of former subscribers: Many have been debited for months despite termination.

Also read: This is how you build a solid investment portfolio

The lawsuit filed by consumer advocates against AlleAktien primarily relates to processes relating to the subscription service. AlleAktien should be prohibited from labeling the button with which investors can subscribe with the words “Become a member now”. The button has since been renamed. All shares have violated legal requirements here, argues consumer advocate Nauhauser. One cannot let that rest.

In addition, the portal should be obliged to provide consumers with more information before concluding a subscription, including the termination modalities and minimum contract period.

Third, consumer advocates want to ban AlleAktien from advertising reviews claiming to come from satisfied customers, without explaining how the company made sure the reviews came from real users. On the homepage, an alleged premium member enthuses: “Before I had AllAktien Premium, it was as if I sped down the autobahn at 300 km/h – without a seat belt and airbag… Thanks for the security!”

Jakob says about the allegations made by the consumer advice center: “The lawsuit relates to an outdated design of the website, to which several changes have long been made.”

No magic formula anywhere

“We warn consumers not to spend money on such services,” says Nauhauser, referring to AlleAktien. The portal’s promises are too high: “There are simply no key figures that could be used to develop investment strategies for trading shares that promise above-average returns.”

Neither a low price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) nor a high dividend yield said anything about the returns investors can expect. “If it were that easy to get above-average returns, the pros who have far better data sources would be able to do it on a regular basis. But the opposite is true, as dozens of studies of actively managed funds have shown over the past decades.”

Nauhauser generally advises caution when it comes to investment tips on the Internet, for example from financial influencers (influencers). “It’s not so easy for consumers to tell whether influencers have valuable information,” he says. “It’s similar to financial advice: If you know which products are appropriate, you don’t need a consultant. And anyone who knows what distinguishes good financial information from bad hardly needs an influencer.” Warning signals include promises of high returns or advertising with so-called affiliate links, from which the link creator earns a share.

Also read: Between the pool, palm trees and legal gray area: the business of influencers