Feel like crying over missed opportunities? Check out the following returns for some stocks over the past two decades:
Company
Average annual return
Best Buy (NYSE: BBY)
27%
PotashCorp (NYSE: POT)
25%*
Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN)
23%
Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT)
19%
Nike (NYSE: NKE)
17%
Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL)
16%
Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO)
11%
S&P 500
5%
Source: Yahoo! Finance. *Over the past 19 years.
A $5,000 investment in Nike 20 years ago would be worth more than $100,000 today. The same investment in Best Buy would be more than $600,000! Truly, one stock can change everything.
So, why didn't you buy them 20 years ago? Why aren't these amazing returns yours? Why isn't your portfolio home to a few millionaire-maker stocks?
What stopped you? There are lots of reasons you might not have bought these companies 20 years ago. Maybe you weren't yet awake to the promise of the stock market. (I know I wasn't.) Maybe you didn't have money to invest, even if you wanted to. But even if you wanted to invest and had the means to do so, you probably stilldidn't buy these companies for your portfolio. Why? Continued...
Selena Maranjian prepares the Fool's syndicated newspaper column, writes articles for Fool.com, has coordinated the Fool's annual Foolanthropy charity drive, and has written a number of Fool books, among other things.
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