This is an old article. Relevant, but old.
I wrote it in 2015.
Spoiler alert: there's an update at the end.
Let me tell you a story about three Motley Fool Share Advisor companies. Here's a hint. Their total returns are currently a 215% gain, a 49% gain and a 28% gain. Unsurprisingly, all three are soundly beating the market.
Let me tell you something you mightn't know — after the first 12 months on the Motley Fool Share Advisor scorecard, those same companies had returned 2.9%, -11% and 7%, respectively — for an average gain of -0.3%.
Their names, in case you were wondering, are Vocus Communications (ASX:VOC), ResMed (ASX:RMD) and Cochlear (ASX:COH).
Vocus has been one of the standout performers on our scorecard. Its business strategy is delivering, and investors with foresight and a long-term perspective were able to hold (or better yet, buy more) during this:
While they waited for this:
ResMed's shareholders had a somewhat bumpier ride:
But it was worth it:
And Cochear's short-term woes (and investor pessimism about China) gave us this:
But a little time changed investors' returns, markedly:
When it comes to investing, there's a magic word that all Foolish investors should have, if not tattooed, at least somewhere between their index finger and the sell button: Patience.
There was 28%, 49%, and 215% on offer for those who kept their cool and didn't rush for the exits in the face of stagnant or falling prices.
Oh, and if you're wondering about just waiting a year before you buy, Corporate Travel Management's (ASX:CTD) share price growth since its recommendation is one very good reason not to…
Sometimes, they just keep rising!
In investing, the spoils very often go to the patient, not the brave. That's a core tenet of Foolish investing. In short — ignore the price movement. Concentrate only on the business and the current market price. If it's cheap, buy more, no matter where the shares have been in the past, or go in the short-term. If it's significantly overvalued, sell.
If not, let others fret over squiggly lines and short-term price gyrations. Instead, just, as Warren Buffett has said, let time be the friend of the wonderful businesses you own.
Speaking of letting time be your friend — since that article was published, we sold Vocus (for a profit) and the other three stocks went on to even higher highs!
The lesson, like investment returns, keeps compounding!
Fool on!
