On the New York Times website, I especially like to check out the list of most-emailed articles. It tells me which stories struck such a chord with readers that they wanted to share with others. That made me wonder which Fool investing articles our readers favored. After a bit of digging, I offer this list of 10 of our most-read recent articles.
Check some of them out -- whether you're learning something new about investing or discovering stocks to potentially buy or sell, your portfolio may thank you for it later.
"3 Sell Signs." by Rex Moore
Rex outlined some of the reasons that you might want to sell a stock you own. This is critical stuff, since knowing when to buy is only half of the equation for successful investing. He cited excessive executive compensation, aggressive accounting, active insider selling, and declining market share as red flags. "A classic example of this occurred at Tyco (NYSE:TYC) a few years ago, under former CEO Dennis Kozlowski's watch," Rex noted.
"Time to Hedge Your Bets," by Shannon Zimmerman
Shannon pointed out that some experts, worried about the stock market in 2006, are adjusting their investments accordingly. He recommended that readers consider investing in carefully selected mutual funds, among other things.
"How to Cheat the Market," by James Early
James offered some good and bad news. The bad: "Your odds of picking stocks that beat the market aren't good." The good: You can beat the odds. He cited some research by three professors showing that unloved, low-expectation value stocks tend to outperform high-priced, high-expectation glamour stocks.
"Massive Growth!" By Tim Beyers
In this piece, Tim marveled at the hype surrounding a penny stock, pointing out that there are plenty of great-performing companies around us that don't carry the risk of penny stocks. He listed seven examples, each of which grew revenue by more than 50% annually over the past five years. Two of the seven are J2 Global Communications (NASDAQ:JCOM) and Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL).
"Behold: The 'Highest-Rated' Stocks," by Selena Maranjian
In this article, I took issue with the Investor's Business Daily newspaper and the way it selects its most-promising investment ideas. The folks at IBD later took issue with me, and so I issued a follow-up article.
"A Broken Stock Full of Promise," by Tim Hanson
Tim related how he lost money on insurance company Montpelier Re (NYSE:MRH) -- and how, thanks to Tim, his father-in-law lost money on it, too. Click to read what he had to say about small-cap stocks and why he's hanging on to this one.
"The Case Against Small Caps," by Paul Elliott
Here, Paul shared some investing lessons that it took him 20 years to learn. In a nutshell, he explained why small-cap investors are often misguided and how we can make a lot of money by seeking out great values in the small-cap world. He pointed out how many small caps today are still miles away from being what Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) was in 1975 -- they don't have the revenue, income levels, or growth rates.
"How to Get Stinkin' Rich," by Richard Gibbons
Don't we all want to get stinkin' rich? Richard Gibbons does, and he explained how we can best position ourselves to succeed at it: "I learned at a young age the key to getting rich. ... Here's how it works. Every month, invest a certain amount of cash in great companies. Wait for a few decades." He offered an eye-opening table showing how big various modest monthly investments can grow, and he warned against speculative stocks: "Investors in Elan (NYSE:ELN) and Micron Technology (NYSE:MU) have experienced some volatile times for the last decade, but they would have basically just broken even if they had held for that whole time. A 0% return might not seem so terrible, but remember how important time is for compounded returns. Ten years of investment time was essentially wasted."
"The World's Hottest Stocks," by Stephen Simpson
Stephen noted that "Just last year, markets in Austria, Egypt, Turkey, and South Korea delivered better than 50% returns, and that's no one-year fluke." He then went on to discuss the merits of investing internationally, listing some foreign companies that have outperformed their American competitors.
"I Turned $3,000 into $210,000," by Selena Maranjian
In this piece, I explained how I ended up making a boatload of money on an investment and how I could have made even more. I also offered some tips on how others might find similar stocks.
In sum
These are just a few of our most popular articles. If you'd like to check out even more articles, bookmark this page and visit it often.
Here's to a happier portfolio! (And hey -- consider forwarding this article to anyone you care about. Just click on the "Email this page" link near the bottom of the page.)
Tyco is a Motley Fool Inside Value pick, while Montpelier Re has been singled out by both Motley Fool Hidden Gems and Motley Fool Stock Advisor .
Selena Maranjian 's favorite discussion boards include Book Club , Eclectic Library, Television Banter and Card & Board Games. She owns shares of Wal-Mart. For more about Selena, viewher bio and her profile. You might also be interested in these books she has written or co-written:The Motley Fool Money GuideandThe Motley Fool Investment Guide for Teens. The Motley Fool is Fools writing for Fools.
