Over the past five years or so, if you had 100% of your portfolio invested in the Vanguard 500 Index (VFINX), you would have seen about 15.3% annualized returns. By comparison, the Vanguard Small-Cap Index (NAESX) returned some 19.6% annually over the same period. By allocating even 10% toward the small-cap index, you would have increased your returns during that period.
Investors have a natural attraction to large-cap stocks, and that's understandable. Everyone's heard of Cisco Systems and Coca-Cola, after all, and most know what they do to generate revenue. There's also a lot of analyst and news coverage for large caps, so we all have a good way of knowing what these firms are up to. Sounds like a great deal, right?
Well, it is -- if you want to settle for lower returns.
Why you need small caps
According to research by Aswath Damodaran, professor of finance at NYU, studies have consistently found that smaller firms "earn higher returns than larger firms of equivalent risk." During Damodaran's study period of 1927 to 2001, the smallest companies outperformed the largest ones with a 20% annual return versus 12% on a value-weighted basis. The outperformance was even greater on an equally weighted basis.
One reason is that small caps, being, um ... small simply have more "room to run" than the big boys do. You can get a good sense of this by looking at some of the top-performing large- and small-cap stocks over the past five years. First, some of the best companies with a market cap of more than $50 billion five years ago:
|
Company |
Oct. 2002 |
Total Return |
|---|---|---|
|
Cisco |
$79.7 |
202% |
|
AT&T |
$123.6 |
111% |
|
Toyota Motor |
$91.0 |
138% |
|
Eni |
$53.1 |
168% |
Now, here are some of the better performers for companies with a market cap roughly between $200 million and $2 billion -- the universe we search to make recommendations for our Motley Fool Hidden Gems small-cap investing service:
|
Company |
Oct. 2002 |
Total Return |
|---|---|---|
|
Research In Motion |
$819 |
4,110% |
|
Corning |
$1,516 |
1,347% |
|
McDermott |
$379 |
1,799% |
|
Intuitive Surgical |
$289 |
1,154% |
|
Williams Cos. |
$1,307 |
1,140% |
Simply put, the smaller companies have much more upside than the larger ones do. But beware: Higher potential reward comes with higher risk. Buy one of the worst-performing small caps, and you'll likely earn a total loss of capital -- which is a fancy Wall Street phrase for "lose all your money." That's why at Hidden Gems we seek out only the highest-quality small caps: those with high insider ownership, a strong balance sheet, a solid business model, and compelling valuation.
It's time to think small
Using these principles, Tom Gardner and his team's stock recommendations have outperformed the S&P 500 by an average of 61% to the S&P's 25% since the service began more than four years ago. This shows that small caps can indeed improve returns and should be a part of any balanced portfolio.
If you're interested in a look at all of the Hidden Gems recommendations, Tom is offering a full-access, 30-day free trial to the service. Here's more information.
This article was originally published on Sept. 14, 2006. It has been updated.
Rex Moore has nearly mastered quantum mechanics, but he's stuck on that wave-particle duality thingie. He owns no shares mentioned in this story. Coca-Cola is an Inside Value choice. Intuitive Surgical is a Rule Breakers recommendation. The Fool's disclosure policy shines year-round.
