Why You Should Bet on Growth Stocks Now

We growth grabbers at Motley Fool Rule Breakers aren't the only ones who believe that growth is on sale. So do the venture capitalists at Sequoia Capital and Battery Ventures. Last week, each firm unveiled new funds with a diversified mission: Invest in growers of all sizes, private and public.

This strategy isn't novel. Private equity players such as BlackRock (NYSE: BLK  ) and The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX  ) have been swimming in both ends of the investing pool for years.

It also makes sense. VCs have more competition than ever before -- corporations, for example. Disney (NYSE: DIS  ) with Steamboat Ventures, Intel (Nasdaq: INTC  ) with Intel Capital, and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG  ) with its new venture investing arm are among those seeking to invest in the Next Big Thing. Banks, too, are old hands at start-up financing; Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS  ) was an early investor in Akamai peer Limelight Networks. Why shouldn't VCs turn the tables?

Sequoia, for its part, explained to VentureBeat that it is hiring staff with public investing expertise. The thinking? Keeping tabs on public disruptors lends greater understanding of where fundable start-ups might fill gaps or create upheaval.

Makes sense to me. But whatever the reason, the timing likely couldn't be better. Fast-growing franchises such as Suntech Power (NYSE: STP  ) have rarely been cheaper. Meanwhile, the IPO market has run drier than a riverbed in August. Limited partners don't want to hear that; they want returns, and the only way to get them is via the sort of liquidity that only the public markets can offer.

There are dozens of ways to beat the market as an investor. One of the best is to follow the movements of the greats -- greats like Sequoia and Battery. They're betting on growth, so why aren't you?

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