With all of the major indexes trading at or near their all-time highs, there are plenty of investors handily beating the market.
So why are so many other investors underperforming the market?
Could it be that one of the reasons why so many people are not seeing the kinds of returns they want is because they don't know of new stocks to get into? They find themselves in mediocre stocks because they don't know of anything better instead?
I think that for some, their knowledge or 'universe' of familiar stocks is relatively small and this limits their opportunity of getting into better ones.
Which Half Are You In?
Nearly half of the companies in the S&P are beating the index and showing positive returns this year. But that means more than half of the stocks in the S&P 500 are underperforming the Index.
Even 'good' companies like Archer-Daniels Midland, they're down -10.47%. Or Target, which is down -18.26%. Or even AutoZone, down -25.36%. So what gives?
I don't single these out so you can feel bad if you have them. But instead, to stop and think about 'why' you have them.
Nobody invests so they can underperform the market. But if you are -- why? You don't have to. If you're underperforming the market, that means you have more of these types of laggards in your portfolio than leaders.
More . . .
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Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
Our 5 best-performing strategies have blown away the S&P's +27.19% gain from 2016 through Q3 2017. Amazingly, they soared +60.5%, +101.7%, +189.3%, +218.4%, and +266%.
Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
See Stocks Free >>
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How the Other Half Lives
Of course, there are a lot of big names beating the S&P too. Take Humana, or Microsoft, or Amazon for example. All are outperforming the S&P with gains of 25%, 33% and 47% respectively.
But now let's move outside of the S&P.
Did you ever hear of a company called Kraton? What if you did? It has outperformed the market by gaining 72.16% since the start of the year. Or Coherent? They're up 96.22%. Or Zagg? Up over 120%. (By the way, these are all Zacks #1 Rank stocks.)
There are hundreds and hundreds of stocks producing fantastic gains that many people may never have even heard of.
What about you? How many times have you heard about a stock or read about a stock that skyrocketed - only to think to yourself; "if only I knew about that stock ahead of time, I would have been in that".
Expand Your Universe and Pick Better Stocks
Increasing your stock knowledge and awareness of new and better stocks is easier than you think. And you don't have to reinvent the wheel.
• For example, over the last 29 years, the Zacks #1 Rank stocks have beaten the S&P 500 in 24 of the last 29 years, with an average annual return of 25.3% a year vs. the market's 10.2%. That's nearly 2.5 times the returns of the S&P with an 82% annual win ratio.
• Stick with the top industries. Since roughly half of a stock's price movement can be attributed to the group that it's in, you'll significantly increase your odds of success by focusing on the best groups. By how much? Our tests have shown that the top 50% of Zacks Ranked Industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of 2 to 1. And the top 10% of industries outperform the most.
• Or select your next stock from a proven profitable stock picking strategy - like our 'Filtered Zacks Rank 5' strategy which was up over 70% last year; or our 'New Highs' strategy which was up 95%; or the 'Value Method 1' strategy which was up a whopping 153% last year!
Once you know what to look for, and how to pick better stocks, it can transform your portfolio.
You don't need to turn yourself into an analyst to beat the market. Just focus on what works, and apply those methods consistently.
Leadership
For most of us, our investments are the largest, most important chunk of money we'll ever be responsible for in our entire life.
And if it isn't now, it likely will be one day.
The leaders in the past (stock names we're all too familiar with) will likely not be the leaders in the future.
But you can stay ahead of the pack by following some simple rules and methods that have proven to work.
And don't be afraid to consider a stock you may never have heard of before. There was a time when some of the best stocks in your portfolio today, were brand new to you before you bought them. And now they're one of your top performers.
The next time you read about or hear about a stock that's skyrocketed in price; instead of thinking, 'I could have been in that had I known about it' - wouldn't it be great to say, "I'm in it!"
Where to Start
You can beat the market. And there's a simple way to get started: Try our Research Wizard stock-picking tool absolutely free for the next 2 weeks.
Choose from proven, market-multiplying strategies that fit your trading style. Over the past 17 years, six of our Top 10 strategies have outperformed the market 10X or more.
How have they done lately? From 2016 through Q3 2017, the Top 10 strategies have racked up a flurry of double and triple-digit gains, nearly quadrupling the already robust market with an average gain of +95.3%.
Today I invite you to see the latest buy recommendations from these Top 10 strategies.
Or, if you prefer, you can use the Research Wizard to create and test your own stock-picking screens. It's easy to do. And you can start outperforming the market on your very next trade.
Note: If you start your free trial no later than Sunday you can download our Top 5 Valuation Secrets (also free). This Special Report shows how to quickly spot the best stocks for making money.
See the latest Research Wizard stocks right now >>
Thanks and good trading,
Kevin
Zacks EVP Kevin Matras is our chart patterns and stock screening expert. He also developed many of Zacks' most powerful market-beating strategies that come with the Research Wizard.
Image: Bigstock
Are You Beating the Market This Year?
With all of the major indexes trading at or near their all-time highs, there are plenty of investors handily beating the market.
So why are so many other investors underperforming the market?
Could it be that one of the reasons why so many people are not seeing the kinds of returns they want is because they don't know of new stocks to get into? They find themselves in mediocre stocks because they don't know of anything better instead?
I think that for some, their knowledge or 'universe' of familiar stocks is relatively small and this limits their opportunity of getting into better ones.
Which Half Are You In?
Nearly half of the companies in the S&P are beating the index and showing positive returns this year. But that means more than half of the stocks in the S&P 500 are underperforming the Index.
Even 'good' companies like Archer-Daniels Midland, they're down -10.47%. Or Target, which is down -18.26%. Or even AutoZone, down -25.36%. So what gives?
I don't single these out so you can feel bad if you have them. But instead, to stop and think about 'why' you have them.
Nobody invests so they can underperform the market. But if you are -- why? You don't have to. If you're underperforming the market, that means you have more of these types of laggards in your portfolio than leaders.
More . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
Our 5 best-performing strategies have blown away the S&P's +27.19% gain from 2016 through Q3 2017. Amazingly, they soared +60.5%, +101.7%, +189.3%, +218.4%, and +266%.
Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
See Stocks Free >>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How the Other Half Lives
Of course, there are a lot of big names beating the S&P too. Take Humana, or Microsoft, or Amazon for example. All are outperforming the S&P with gains of 25%, 33% and 47% respectively.
But now let's move outside of the S&P.
Did you ever hear of a company called Kraton? What if you did? It has outperformed the market by gaining 72.16% since the start of the year. Or Coherent? They're up 96.22%. Or Zagg? Up over 120%. (By the way, these are all Zacks #1 Rank stocks.)
There are hundreds and hundreds of stocks producing fantastic gains that many people may never have even heard of.
What about you? How many times have you heard about a stock or read about a stock that skyrocketed - only to think to yourself; "if only I knew about that stock ahead of time, I would have been in that".
Expand Your Universe and Pick Better Stocks
Increasing your stock knowledge and awareness of new and better stocks is easier than you think. And you don't have to reinvent the wheel.
• For example, over the last 29 years, the Zacks #1 Rank stocks have beaten the S&P 500 in 24 of the last 29 years, with an average annual return of 25.3% a year vs. the market's 10.2%. That's nearly 2.5 times the returns of the S&P with an 82% annual win ratio.
• Stick with the top industries. Since roughly half of a stock's price movement can be attributed to the group that it's in, you'll significantly increase your odds of success by focusing on the best groups. By how much? Our tests have shown that the top 50% of Zacks Ranked Industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of 2 to 1. And the top 10% of industries outperform the most.
• Or select your next stock from a proven profitable stock picking strategy - like our 'Filtered Zacks Rank 5' strategy which was up over 70% last year; or our 'New Highs' strategy which was up 95%; or the 'Value Method 1' strategy which was up a whopping 153% last year!
Once you know what to look for, and how to pick better stocks, it can transform your portfolio.
You don't need to turn yourself into an analyst to beat the market. Just focus on what works, and apply those methods consistently.
Leadership
For most of us, our investments are the largest, most important chunk of money we'll ever be responsible for in our entire life.
And if it isn't now, it likely will be one day.
The leaders in the past (stock names we're all too familiar with) will likely not be the leaders in the future.
But you can stay ahead of the pack by following some simple rules and methods that have proven to work.
And don't be afraid to consider a stock you may never have heard of before. There was a time when some of the best stocks in your portfolio today, were brand new to you before you bought them. And now they're one of your top performers.
The next time you read about or hear about a stock that's skyrocketed in price; instead of thinking, 'I could have been in that had I known about it' - wouldn't it be great to say, "I'm in it!"
Where to Start
You can beat the market. And there's a simple way to get started: Try our Research Wizard stock-picking tool absolutely free for the next 2 weeks.
Choose from proven, market-multiplying strategies that fit your trading style. Over the past 17 years, six of our Top 10 strategies have outperformed the market 10X or more.
How have they done lately? From 2016 through Q3 2017, the Top 10 strategies have racked up a flurry of double and triple-digit gains, nearly quadrupling the already robust market with an average gain of +95.3%.
Today I invite you to see the latest buy recommendations from these Top 10 strategies.
Or, if you prefer, you can use the Research Wizard to create and test your own stock-picking screens. It's easy to do. And you can start outperforming the market on your very next trade.
Note: If you start your free trial no later than Sunday you can download our Top 5 Valuation Secrets (also free). This Special Report shows how to quickly spot the best stocks for making money.
See the latest Research Wizard stocks right now >>
Thanks and good trading,
Kevin
Zacks EVP Kevin Matras is our chart patterns and stock screening expert. He also developed many of Zacks' most powerful market-beating strategies that come with the Research Wizard.