In hindsight, having a big chunk of money riding on these 20+ stocks in April 2014, would have seen you more than double your money. Over the same time, the All Ordinaries (ASX: XAO) (INDEXASX: XAO) has gained a (by comparison) pitiful 8.5%.
Of course, you would've had to sit tight and do nothing for a year, ignoring market falls of around 10% late last year, and not sell any of them, whether the market was going down, or the stocks were going up.
| Company | Gain | Market cap ($m) |
| iWebgate Ltd (ASX: IWG) | 509% | 227.6 |
| Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (ASX: LNG) | 486% | 1,444.4 |
| Highfield Resources Ltd (ASX: HFR) | 303% | 378.0 |
| Impedimed Limited (ASX: IPD) | 269% | 241.9 |
| Terramin Australia Limited (ASX: TZN) | 243% | 197.0 |
| Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API) | 218% | 888.4 |
| Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) | 186% | 6,980.0 |
| Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP) | 184% | 263.5 |
| Panorama Synergy LTD (ASX: PSY) | 174% | 83.9 |
| Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD) | 172% | 201.8 |
| Newfield Resources Ltd (ASX: NWF) | 169% | 142.2 |
| HFA Holdings Limited (ASX: HFA) | 122% | 348.6 |
| AMA Group Ltd (ASX: AMA) | 120% | 180.5 |
| Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) | 120% | 1,286.1 |
| Vita Group Limited (ASX: VTG) | 117% | 240.2 |
| Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN) | 112% | 533.7 |
| Rhipe Ltd (ASX: RHP) | 111% | 170.0 |
| Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR) | 109% | 202.3 |
| Phileo Australia Limited (ASX: PHI) | 108% | 195.3 |
| Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL) | 106% | 932.7 |
| ASG Group Limited (ASX: ASZ) | 105% | 162.3 |
| Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV) | 104% | 152.4 |
| Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) | 100% | 155.9 |
Source: CapitalIQ
Not only that, but you'd have had to have a wide knowledge of stocks, with many different companies in the table including resources, pharmaceuticals, industrials, airlines, oil and gas, financial, technology, agricultural and gold stocks.
And all of that illustrates one important lesson for investors.
It's impossible to own every winner.
Ignore the fact that Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (ASX: LNG) has gone up 486% if you didn't own it last April. Likewise Impedimed Limited (ASX: IPD) and its 269% gain, and all the other stocks in the table. Forget about jumping on them now and expecting similar returns over the next 12 months – that's very unlikely, but not impossible.
Instead, if you really want to be wealthy, focus on buying quality companies and holding them for the long-term, adding more to your winners over time and letting compounding do its work.
To give you a personal example. Since buying shares in Capitol Health Limited (ASX: CAJ) in late 2012, the share price has moved up or down by 5% in a day 114 times. But I've held on, even adding more as the price fell and I'm now happily sitting on a ten-bagger.
