Power Gauge Report Review (Sept 2026): Real Member Results

Disclosure (Jenna Lofton, StockHitter): Some links in this review are affiliate links. If you subscribe through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I’m also a paying member of this service. This review is based on my own subscription access, portfolio tracking, and experience using the service since October 2021.

Last Reviewed September 28, 2026

Power Gauge Report Review: American Atlas, the October 20 Date, and My 4+ Year Member Verdict

Hey folks, Jenna Lofton here. I first subscribed to this service back in October 2021. Not a free trial. I paid for it, renewed it, and have been tracking every single pick for over four years now.

Most reviews of this service are written by people who’ve never logged in. I have. The portfolio figures below come from my members area export dated July 2, 2026. The pitch, pricing, and bonus reports reflect the American Atlas presentation as of September 28, 2026.

That presentation is why a lot of people are landing here this week. Marc Chaikin is predicting that a new class of government-backed AI supercomputers will reshape the AI industry, and he’s giving away a free stock pick (AMD) to get you in the door. I read the whole thing so you don’t have to, and I sorted what checks out from what is Marc’s projection.

For context on the service itself: as of July 2, the top main portfolio position, a major U.S. financial services stock, was up 209.79% from its November 2023 entry, and the top AI Pick was up 197.38%. Marc also issued a “Sell Half” alert on June 1 for an enterprise technology position that had entered the portfolio less than four weeks earlier, locking in a +94.58% gain. More on all of that below.

What The Power Gauge Report Offers – Quick Specs at a Glance

Is the Power Gauge Report Legit? (Or Is It a Scam?)

Chaikin Analytics is not a scam. It is a legitimate financial research firm founded in March 2011, originally called Chaikin Power Tools, and currently owned by MarketWise Inc., a publicly traded financial publishing company (Nasdaq: MKTW). The Power Gauge system has been used by institutional money managers since before the retail newsletter existed.

I say that as someone who’s been paying for this service since October 2021, not as someone paraphrasing the sales page.

The skeptic’s case is worth addressing upfront. This is a newsletter pitched with aggressive marketing copy and very large claims, in this case a $248 trillion opportunity and an “AI collapse.” That stuff is real and it can be annoying. It doesn’t change what’s inside the service.

Here’s what makes it credible:

The Nasdaq Chaikin Indexes, powered by the Power Gauge rating system, have been independently tracked since April 2014. That’s not a marketing claim. It’s a verifiable index product on Nasdaq’s own platform. You don’t get that without a working system.

The Chaikin Money Flow indicator appears on Bloomberg and Reuters terminals and is covered by Investopedia, Fidelity, and Yahoo Finance. It predates the newsletter business entirely.

The model portfolio data I’ve shared in this review, including the top portfolio positions both in triple-digit gains and the CrowdStrike exit at +70.66% three days before the July 2024 global outage, came directly from my dashboard. I’m not extrapolating from the sales page.

Is every pick a winner? No. One energy position was down 11.59% as of my July 2 export, and AECOM stopped out at -29.26%. I’ve shown those numbers too. A service that only shows you the wins isn’t worth trusting.

So where does that leave legitimacy? Marc Chaikin has a 60-year verifiable Wall Street track record, the Power Gauge has institutional-grade roots, and the newsletter shows real losers alongside the winners. That combination is enough for me to call it legitimate.

Who Is Marc Chaikin?

Marc Chaikin is a 60-year Wall Street veteran and the founder of Chaikin Analytics. He built the first system that enabled traders to see market data and run financial analysis in real time back in 1989, which led to partnerships with some of the most respected names in institutional investing, including George Soros, Paul Tudor Jones, David E. Shaw, Michael Steinhardt, and Steve Cohen.

He created the CMF (Chaikin Money Flow) indicator, covered by Investopedia, Fidelity, and Yahoo Finance, and found on Bloomberg and Reuters terminals worldwide. He helped create three new indexes for Nasdaq, where he once rang the opening bell. By Chaikin’s own account, he called nearly every major market turn since 2020: the COVID crash, the V-shaped recovery, the 2022 bear market, the regional bank crisis, and the 2025 tariff selloff. CNBC’s Jim Cramer has said publicly: “I learned a long time ago not to be on the other side of a Chaikin trade.”

The thing that got my attention when I first subscribed was the Nasdaq partnership. Nasdaq partnered with Chaikin Analytics to bring the Power Gauge rating to the ETF market. That’s a verifiable third-party credential, not a marketing claim.

The Nasdaq Chaikin Indexes have been top-performing products in their category since launching in April 2014. Real track record, not just marketing claims.

Is Marc Chaikin Legit?

Note: Past performance does not guarantee future results. This is not investment advice.

Yes. The Nasdaq partnership alone settles this for me. You don’t get three indexes named after your system by being a newsletter marketer.

The broader Chaikin Analytics platform powers institutional tools that professional money managers pay thousands per month to access. The Power Gauge has a real institutional pedigree. It’s the same tool investors paid up to $5,000 a month to access before Chaikin brought it to retail subscribers.

The American Atlas Presentation: What Marc Is Predicting and What Checks Out

The current sales presentation is titled “The End of Elon?” and it’s built around a thesis Marc calls American Atlas. The pitch: the U.S. Department of Energy is building a network of AI supercomputers at its national laboratories, and Marc argues that network will speed up scientific breakthroughs so much that some of today’s AI leaders could lose ground.

The free stock recommendation in the presentation is AMD (ticker: AMD). Marc says it’s rated Bullish in the Power Gauge and is expected to supply the chips for the first of the new machines.

Two things worth knowing up front. The headline gives October 20th as the earliest start, while the body says the larger event is expected before the end of 2026. The presentation also uses “AI White Swan of 2027” in one place and “the AI collapse of 2026” in another. I read those as Marc’s estimates, not a scheduled event. As of this review, I could not find an official announcement tied to October 20.

The Timeline: What Each Source Actually Says

What Checks Out

Start with the parts that hold up, because there are more of them than I expected. The Genesis Mission is real. Executive Order 14363 was signed on November 24, 2025, and it tells the Department of Energy to build an integrated AI platform on federal scientific datasets. The order itself calls the effort “comparable in urgency and ambition to the Manhattan Project.”

Lux is real too. DOE, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, AMD, HPE, and Oracle announced Lux and a second system, Discovery, on October 27, 2025, as a combined $1 billion public-private investment. Oak Ridge describes Lux as AMD-led, and AMD’s own announcement says it runs on AMD Instinct GPUs and EPYC CPUs. So the vendor in the presentation is the vendor on the paperwork.

Even the FP64 talk has a real basis. Precision matters in scientific computing, and Oak Ridge’s Frontier was the first supercomputer to reach an exaflop in FP64 performance. The schedule is the soft spot. Lux was supposed to arrive in early 2026, Oak Ridge’s Lux page now says it will be deployed within six months, and an August 2026 trade report pointed to October 2026 for the first funded research projects.

Where I’d Slow Down

Now the parts I’d hold at arm’s length. “American Atlas” is Marc’s label, and the presentation admits the project has no official name yet. The nine-system network and the conversion of 50+ existing supercomputers are his reading of Department of Energy announcements. I could confirm Lux and Discovery, but not the whole network as described.

A couple of specifics don’t line up with the public record. The presentation says Lux will run on AMD’s MI430X. The DOE, Oak Ridge, and AMD announcements list MI355X GPUs for Lux and put the MI430X in Discovery, which is scheduled for 2028. AMD is the vendor either way, so the chip name is just off. The money is similar. The presentation says at least $1 billion is about to hit this company’s account, but official announcements describe $1 billion as the combined public-private investment in Lux and Discovery, and Oak Ridge says AMD is co-investing with DOE. That isn’t $1 billion of revenue for AMD.

The big numbers deserve a second look. The presentation reaches $248 trillion by adding three separate estimates from different sources: $23 trillion for AI, $40 trillion for fusion, and $185 trillion for curing cancer. Those measure the size of industries and problems. They aren’t projections of what Atlas would earn or what any stock would return. The “283 trillion times more powerful” line is close to the ratio between the number of values a 64-bit number and a 16-bit number can represent (2 to the 64th power versus 2 to the 16th, roughly 281 trillion). That’s numeric range, not computing speed or scientific output. The “360X” speed-up is a projection I couldn’t tie to an independent source.

The broccoli demo is fun, but it’s one prompt. The presentation asks a chatbot how many C’s are in “broccoli,” the chatbot gets it wrong, and the takeaway is supposed to be a precision problem. Whether numeric precision causes mistakes like that is a technical question I can’t settle here, and researchers often point to how these models read text in chunks. I’d call it an illustration, not proof.

Last, the track record figures. The presentation cites long-term maximum gains on stocks like Micron, Celestica, and Nvidia, plus a backtest claim about the top 10 stocks of each year since 2016. Chaikin’s own fine print says past performance is no guarantee and that the testimonials may not be typical. These are publisher claims I haven’t audited.

Chaikin also has a full Details and Disclosures page for this presentation, which is worth reading before you subscribe.

Putting it together: the government program and the AMD connection are real and documented. The size of the payoff, the timing, and the idea that today’s AI leaders become obsolete are Marc’s projections. You don’t have to accept the projections to get value from what you’re paying for, which is the rating system and the model portfolio.

If you’re new to AI infrastructure stocks, read that guide first. And if you want to use the Power Gauge to learn which earnings and financial metrics matter most when judging a stock’s true value, the rating tool is a good place to start.

What’s Included With Your Subscription (2026)

Chaikin Analytics Features: What’s Included When You Subscribe

• One full year of the Power Gauge Report newsletter and full model portfolio access. The regular $499 price includes the Power Gauge system, which the presentation values at $1,000 a year on its own.
• One full year of Power Gauge rating and stock report access, plus a basic chart. The separate Chaikin Screener is not included in the base Power Gauge Report.
• FREE REPORT: “The American Atlas Portfolio: Top Stocks to Profit from the Dawn of AI Superclusters.” The presentation says it covers 17 companies with deals tied to the buildout, and that AMD is the first name on the list.
• BONUS REPORT: “The Worst AI ‘Landmine Stocks’ to Avoid Right Now”, a list of AI stocks the Power Gauge rates poorly
• Members-only library of special-opportunity reports
• Updates on active portfolio positions
• The current Power Gauge Report model portfolio

The two Atlas-era reports are tied to the current pitch. Treat them as extras.

The core value of this subscription has always lived in the rating system and the model portfolio. Each monthly stock pick comes with fundamental and technical analysis. Marc explains the full thesis rather than just naming a ticker.

Real Portfolio Data: What the Numbers Looked Like on July 2, 2026

This is the part most reviews skip. Here’s what was in the portfolio as of July 2, 2026, exported directly from my members’ area. It’s the most recent full export I have, and every return below is as of that date.

One note on how Chaikin calculates returns: Total Return includes dividends, measured against the original reference price. The portfolio page shows current open positions only. Closed trades drop off the dashboard, which is one of the frustrating things about this service from a transparency standpoint.

Model Portfolio: 10 Positions (July 2, 2026)

Eight winners, two losers. The top position, a major financial services stock, had compounded to +209.79% since its November 2023 entry. It went in at a mid-$40s price and had more than tripled including dividends.

The most notable recent alert was an enterprise technology position that ran nearly 95% in under four weeks. Marc issued a “Sell Half” alert on June 1st. Take profits on the way up, not after the winner reverses.

The two losers were both recent entries, both still on Buy. The power generation position was down 11.59% and the leisure travel position was down 3.08%. Both have stop-loss levels in place well above current prices.

Chaikin’s AI Power Picks: 2 Positions (July 2, 2026)

The AI Power Picks portfolio has been significantly streamlined. As of my July 2, 2026 export it held just two positions:

The top AI Pick, a mega-cap AI and search company, was up 197.38% from an August 2023 entry. The AI infrastructure thesis has been right, and this pick was the Power Gauge’s way of expressing it without chasing speculative names.

The second AI Pick, a video communications platform, was up 19.28%. It shows the system isn’t just picking obvious mega-caps. It flags momentum shifts in companies others have written off.

The watchlist carries four names in quantum computing and next-gen battery technology, added in August 2023. These are monitoring positions only, not active Buy recommendations.

Closed AI Picks With Full Entry-to-Exit Records

The dashboard only shows open positions. Here are the five fully closed AI Power Picks I tracked from entry to exit, the only ones I can verify with complete records:

Three winners, two losers. Winners averaged +66.75%. Losers averaged -7.91%. These are simple per-position averages. For the four positions with recorded exit dates, holding periods ran from about nine months to just over two years. The stock performance on the closed picks shows the stop-loss math clearly: gains run, losses get capped.

How Does the 30% Trailing Stop-Loss Work?

This is the most underrated part of the entire service. No other review covers it properly.

Chaikin uses a 30% trailing stop-loss on all positions, updated every Wednesday. Here’s what I’ve seen over four years:

CrowdStrike (CRWD): Entered August 3, 2023 at $157.55. The stop ratcheted up as the stock climbed. Triggered July 22, 2024 at +70.66%. Three days later, CrowdStrike caused a massive global IT outage that grounded flights, crashed hospital systems, and sent the stock into freefall. The trailing stop got subscribers out with a 70%+ gain right before the disaster unfolded. Luck had little to do with it. The stop did exactly the job it was built to do.

Adobe (ADBE): Stopped out June 2024 at +52.01%. The stock has since fallen below that exit price.

Zebra Technologies (ZBRA): Stopped out March 2025 at -0.87%. Essentially breakeven. Capital preserved.

AECOM (ACM): The AECOM position (AI Power Picks, entered August 2025) is a useful example of the system capping a loss. It dropped steadily and stopped out at -29.26%. Painful, but without the stop it could have gone further.

How Does the Power Gauge Rating System Work?

What the base subscription includes: Power Gauge ratings, stock reports, a basic chart, and the newsletter and portfolio. The screenshots below show an earlier interface; they are not a promise that every tool pictured comes with today’s base offer.

The Power Gauge rating system is a computerized stock analysis system that evaluates 5,000+ stock and ETF tickers using 20 different factors across four categories and delivers a single stock rating: “Bullish,” “Neutral,” or “Bearish.” When a stock is rated “Bullish,” that’s a potential buy signal. When it’s rated “Bearish,” that’s a warning to consider selling or avoiding. Type in any ticker and within seconds you get a full breakdown.

Financials

Five factors covering price-to-book ratios, free cash flow, debt-to-equity ratios, and other key valuation metrics. These tell you about a company’s financial health and whether a stock is a value trap or a legitimate opportunity worth buying.

Earnings

Five factors showing current earnings, growth trends, earnings surprises, and earnings consistency. Critical for timing entries and understanding earnings momentum.

Technicals

Price movements, RSI, momentum, and other technical indicators that measure market sentiment. This is where market sentiment shows up and where you find better entry and exit points relative to the trend.

Experts: The Real Secret Sauce

This is where the Power Gauge earns its reputation. The Expert category tracks what analysts, short sellers, money managers, and insiders are actually doing with their money, including the Chaikin Money Flow indicator itself.

After four years of use, I’m convinced the Expert component acts as a “super-factor” that often overrides weak signals in the other three categories. Stocks with mediocre financials but strong Expert ratings tend to outperform. Stocks with great earnings but weak Expert signals are much more hit-or-miss.

In practice: the Power Gauge is momentum-weighted. It favors stocks where institutional money is flowing in right now, not stocks that look good on a spreadsheet. That makes it better for growth-oriented active investors than for pure value or dividend strategies.

What Is the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) Indicator and How Does It Predict Stock Market Moves?

The CMF is the Power Gauge indicator at the heart of the Expert category. It tracks institutional buying and selling over 21-day periods. Readings above +0.05 signal accumulation (institutions buying). Below -0.05 signals distribution (selling).

During the 2024 market volatility, the CMF flagged several tech stocks shifting from Bullish to Neutral or Bearish about 10 to 14 days before they dropped 8 to 12%.

The Power Gauge turned Bearish on IBM in late December 2024, six weeks before Anthropic’s tools erased $40 billion from IBM’s market cap. It turned Bearish on CrowdStrike before the cybersecurity giant lost $20 billion in two days. I watched both calls play out in real time as a member. Neither was a backtested cherry pick.

What Is the Earnings Quality (EQ) Feature, and Is It Worth It?

In February 2026, Chaikin Analytics launched a new Earnings Quality (EQ) component at their “Breakthrough 2026” event. The EQ rating layers on top of the standard Power Gauge output and focuses specifically on the quality and sustainability of a company’s reported earnings, looking at accruals to flag stocks where earnings might be propped up by accounting adjustments rather than real cash flow.

It is not included in the base subscription. You have to upgrade to the Platinum level or Breakthrough Investor service to access it.

My honest take after watching the rollout: the core rating system is already plenty powerful. The EQ feature sounds compelling in the marketing, but I haven’t found the base subscription lacking without it. Don’t let the upsell emails, and they do come quickly after you join, distract you from getting value out of what you already have.

Power Gauge vs. Power Pulse: What’s the Difference?

Power Gauge is Marc Chaikin’s rating methodology. Power Pulse is the name used in earlier software screenshots and promotional material. For what you get today, use Chaikin’s current subscription chart: the base Power Gauge Report includes the rating, stock report, and basic chart. Looking up a stock’s rating is different from using the separate Chaikin Screener to filter stocks.

Want a Stock Screener? That Requires a Higher-Tier Service

A screener can be useful when you want to narrow a broad stock universe instead of looking up one company at a time. According to Chaikin’s current subscription comparison, Power Gauge Investor includes the Chaikin Screener, Advanced Chart, and Chaikin Discovery Tool. The base Power Gauge Report does not include those features. Screener 2.0 is available with select higher-tier services, including Breakthrough Investor and NextGen Investor; it is not included with Power Gauge Investor or the base Report.

If screening is a priority, compare the service levels and their checkout terms separately. The Power Gauge Report offer linked in this review should be judged on its newsletter, portfolio, and stock-rating access. Joining that offer does not automatically unlock the higher-tier screening tools.

OptionsPlay Integration: Strategy Overlays for Active Traders

If you’re interested in options trading on top of Marc’s stock picks, OptionsPlay provides strategy overlays showing optimal call and put plays based on the Power Gauge stock rating. It gives options traders a starting point for options strategies around the core recommendations. The options strategies shown are tied directly to the Power Gauge signal. If a stock is Bullish, you’ll see suggested call strategies. If Bearish, put strategies. It’s not a replacement for your own options analysis, but it simplifies the process of connecting options trading to the Power Gauge signal.

How Do I Cancel, Get a Refund, or Disable Auto-Renewal?

This is the single most complained-about aspect of Chaikin Analytics on Trustpilot and the BBB, and it’s completely avoidable if you act on day one.

The marketing says “30-day money-back guarantee,” which is accurate. The Atlas presentation describes it as a full refund if you contact member services within 30 days. But if you don’t manually disable auto-renewal, you’ll be charged $499 for the next year at the non-discounted renewal rate. I’ve seen people report this happening even after they thought they cancelled.

Here’s exactly what to do the day you subscribe:

Pros and Cons: What Works and What Doesn’t

What Works

• Top positions at +209.79% and +197.38% as of my July 2, 2026 export, both open with hard stops in place
• Enterprise tech position +94.58% in under 30 days with a disciplined Sell Half alert. The system takes profits proactively.
• CrowdStrike stopped out at +70.66% right before the July 2024 global outage. This is risk management doing its job.
• Closed AI picks: winners averaged +66.75% vs losers averaging -7.91%. The asymmetry is real.
• Power Gauge rating tool covers 5,000+ tickers with institutional money flow as the anchor signal. I use it independently of Marc’s picks and it changes how you evaluate every position.
• The Atlas thesis is anchored to a real, documented program. Executive Order 14363, the Genesis Mission, and the Lux system at Oak Ridge are all public record, and you can verify them yourself.
• 60-year Wall Street track record with verifiable credentials: the Nasdaq partnership, Chaikin Money Flow on Bloomberg and Reuters
• Low entry cost with a 30-day guarantee. Use that window to evaluate the ratings and research; the subscription guarantee does not cover investment losses.

What Doesn’t Work

• One energy position was down 11.59% at my last export and AECOM stopped out at -29.26%. The system has real misses.
• The Atlas pitch mixes documented facts with very large projections. The $248 trillion figure, the timing, and the “obsolete” claims are Marc’s estimates, and some details (like the chip naming) don’t match the official announcements.
• 30-day guarantee is short. You get one monthly issue in that window. Not enough to fully evaluate a monthly research service.
• Auto-renewal at $199 if you don’t disable it manually. Widely complained about and a legitimate grievance.
• Earnings Quality (EQ) feature locked behind an expensive upgrade
• Closed trades disappear from the dashboard. There’s no historical performance record you can browse as a member, which limits your ability to evaluate the full track record independently.
• Learning curve if you’re new to technical analysis. Marc doesn’t simplify for beginners.
• Monthly picks only. Not built for day traders or anyone wanting frequent signals.

Power Gauge Report vs. Motley Fool Stock Advisor: Which Is Better?

Power Gauge Report and Motley Fool Stock Advisor serve different investing styles and are not direct substitutes. Motley Fool Stock Advisor is better for buy-and-hold investors who want two curated picks per month and a simple, beginner-friendly interface. The Power Gauge Report is better for active investors who want a quantitative rating tool to evaluate their own picks plus Marc’s monthly recommendation.

The useful distinction is access to individual stock ratings and reports. If you just want monthly stock picks, Motley Fool is simpler and cheaper at renewal. If you want to also run your own picks through an institutional-grade system between issues, Power Gauge justifies the premium.

How Does It Compare to Other Investment Newsletters?

The $149 entry price is the highest in this comparison, tied with Stansberry Investment Advisory. What justifies the cost is the rating system: 5,000+ tickers, institutional money flow as the anchor signal, updated weekly. The 30-day guarantee is on the shorter end here.

If you want a stock-picking newsletter without a research tool, Growth Investor at $49 or Hidden Alpha at $79 are better value plays. If you want the full rating system and will actually use it, the Power Gauge earns its premium.

Is the Power Gauge Report Worth It? Should You Invest in It? My Verdict After 4 Years

Still subscribed. Still plan to stay subscribed.

The top two positions were each deep in triple-digit gains at my last export. The overall stock performance across both portfolios has justified four consecutive renewals. The system flagged IBM and CrowdStrike as Bearish before major losses hit both stocks. The trailing stop exited CrowdStrike at +70.66% three days before the July 2024 global outage.

Those numbers come straight from my members area as of July 2, 2026, not from a highlight reel.

On the Atlas pitch specifically: the underlying program is real, AMD is a real company with a real role in it, and the Power Gauge lets you check AMD’s rating yourself. What I’d hold at arm’s length is the dramatic framing. The $248 trillion figure, the countdown to a specific date, and the claim that today’s AI leaders become obsolete are projections, and a few details don’t line up with the official announcements. You can take the useful part (the rating tool, the portfolio, a fresh look at AI infrastructure names) without buying the whole narrative.

The caveats are real too. The 30-day guarantee is short. The $199 auto-renewal catches people off guard. The closed trade history disappears from the dashboard. And the AI Power Picks were down to just two active positions at my last export, which is a big change from the broader portfolio structure I tracked in 2024 and 2025.

At $149 for the first year, the risk is minimal if you go in with clear expectations: use the system regularly, set your stop-losses, switch off auto-renewal right away, and judge it on the full 30 days, not just the bonus reports.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the American Atlas Presentation?

It’s the current Power Gauge Report sales presentation, titled “The End of Elon?” Marc Chaikin argues that a network of Department of Energy AI supercomputers, which he calls American Atlas, will speed up scientific breakthroughs and disrupt today’s AI leaders. The program behind it (the Genesis Mission and the Lux system at Oak Ridge) is real. The timing, the $248 trillion figure, and the claim that current AI models become obsolete are Marc’s projections.

What Stock Does Marc Chaikin Recommend for Free in the American Atlas Presentation?

The presentation names Advanced Micro Devices (ticker: AMD) and says it is rated Bullish in the Power Gauge. Ratings update, so check the current rating in the rating tool yourself. The presentation says the free American Atlas Portfolio report covers 17 companies in total, and it describes a networking company without naming it. Those names are in the paid report.

Is the October 20 Catalyst Date Confirmed?

No. The headline puts the earliest start at October 20th, and the body says the larger event is expected before the end of 2026. I could not find an official announcement tied to October 20. Oak Ridge’s Lux page says the system will be deployed within six months, and an August 2026 trade report pointed to October 2026 for the first funded research projects. Treat the date as Chaikin’s estimate.

What Is Supposed to Happen on October 20, 2026?

According to the presentation’s headline, the American Atlas opportunity could start as soon as October 20th. Marc Chaikin doesn’t describe a single scheduled event in the body. He says the larger shift, a next-generation AI data center coming online, is expected before the end of 2026. Nothing official that I could find is scheduled for October 20, so read it as his estimate.

What Should I Do if October 20 Passes and Nothing Happens?

Nothing about the service changes. The Power Gauge rating tool, the model portfolio, and the trailing stops work the same either way, and Chaikin’s own timing for the larger event runs through the end of 2026. Government computing projects do slip. Lux itself moved from an early 2026 target to a fall 2026 start. Judge the subscription on the tool and the portfolio during your 30-day window, and use the guarantee if it isn’t for you.

Are the Gains Shown in the Presentation Typical?

No. The presentation cites long-term maximum gains on stocks like Micron, Celestica, and Nvidia, and Chaikin’s own fine print says past performance is no guarantee of future results. The reader testimonials carry a note that results may not be typical and that you can lose some or all of your investment.

Is It Worth the Price?

For active investors making 10 or more trades a year who will use the rating system, yes. The 5,000+ ticker tool with institutional money flow as the anchor signal is worth the price independently of the monthly picks. Passive investors who won’t use the rating tool will find better value elsewhere.

Is Chaikin Analytics a Scam?

No. Chaikin Analytics is not a scam. It is a legitimate financial research firm founded in March 2011, owned by MarketWise Inc. (Nasdaq: MKTW). The Power Gauge system has verifiable institutional roots. The Nasdaq Chaikin Indexes have been tracked independently since April 2014. The most common complaint is the $199 auto-renewal, which is a billing practice issue, not fraud. Disable auto-renewal on day one and it’s not a problem.

How Accurate Is the Chaikin Power Gauge?

Based on my tracking, five fully closed AI Power Picks produced winners averaging +66.75% against losers averaging -7.91%. The main portfolio had eight of ten positions in positive territory at my July 2, 2026 export. The system’s real strength isn’t just picking winners. It’s the combination of the Expert factor (institutional money flow) and the trailing stop-loss that limits downside on the misses.

What Is the Refund and Cancellation Policy?

A 30-day money-back guarantee. Contact customer service within 30 days for a full refund. Important: subscriptions auto-renew at $199 if you don’t disable it manually. Go to your account settings and turn off auto-renewal on day one.

Who Is Marc Chaikin?

Marc Chaikin is a 60-year Wall Street veteran, founder of Chaikin Analytics, and creator of the CMF indicator found on every Bloomberg and Reuters terminal. He helped build three Nasdaq indexes and rang the Nasdaq opening bell. His early clients included George Soros, Paul Tudor Jones, and Steve Cohen. He came out of retirement after the 2008 financial crisis to build the Power Gauge system for retail investors.

What Is the Difference Between Power Gauge and Power Pulse?

Power Gauge is the rating methodology; Power Pulse is a name used for an earlier software interface. The base Report includes Power Gauge ratings and stock reports. The separate Chaikin Screener is a higher-tier feature, so the names should not be treated as a promise of screening access.

What Is the Earnings Quality (EQ) Feature?

The EQ feature launched in February 2026 as a new layer on top of the standard Power Gauge output. It analyzes the quality and sustainability of a company’s reported earnings, flagging stocks where earnings may be propped up by accounting adjustments rather than real cash flow. It is not included in the base subscription. You need to upgrade to the Platinum level or Breakthrough Investor service to access it.

How Does It Compare to Motley Fool Stock Advisor?

Motley Fool Stock Advisor is aimed at buy-and-hold investors who want curated monthly picks. Power Gauge Report combines monthly research with Power Gauge ratings and stock reports for checking individual stocks. The separate Chaikin Screener requires a higher-tier service and is not part of the base Report offer.

Is It Good for Beginner Investors?

If you understand basic concepts like P/E ratios, market cap, and what a dividend is, you’ll be fine. If you’re completely new to investing and those terms are unfamiliar, start with index funds first. Marc doesn’t simplify his analysis for beginners, and the interface has a real learning curve.

Is It Good for Day Traders?

No. The system updates weekly and is built for swing trading and position trading with holding periods of weeks to months. If you want intraday signals, look elsewhere.

What’s the Difference Between the Main Portfolio and the AI Power Picks?

The main portfolio holds 10 positions across financials, materials, biotech, industrials, and tech. The AI Power Picks is a smaller sub-portfolio that held two positions at my last export. The main portfolio has been more consistent based on my experience. The AI picks carry higher volatility and a smaller sample size.

Any questions about my experience? Drop them in the comments.

Jenna

Other Recommendations

Over the years I’ve reviewed dozens of investment newsletters. I recommend checking out Altucher’s Investment Network, Jim Rickards Strategic Intelligence, Hidden Alpha by Altimetry, Stansberry Investment Advisory, and Louis Navellier’s Growth Investor.

Disclosure: Some links in this review are affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you subscribe. My opinions are based on active membership since October 2021. Review updated September 28, 2026.