The best investing advice I ever received was from Tom Gardner. I couldn't tell you when or where he said it, or what I was doing when I heard it, but I remember the words distinctly.
"Study the masters," he said.
It's an oft-repeated theme here at The Motley Fool. We think that great investors can be great teachers when they expose you to what they're buying, and why. That's why we follow Buffett so closely. It's also why we created Motley Fool CAPS, a 125,000-strong community of stock pickers where ideas flow freely.
In my experience, the best learning happens when you combine good tools. Here, in this column, we'll compare data from Morningstar and CAPS to track which top investors are buying the best stocks in CAPS -- the ones that are proven to outperform -- and why.
Today's guinea pig? Chinese search star Baidu
|
Fund |
Morningstar |
Shares Bought |
Other Recent Buys |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Allianz RCM Technology
|
**** |
47,000 |
Activision Blizzard |
|
Hartford Growth Opportunities
|
**** |
45,000 |
BMC Software |
|
Harbor Mid-Cap Growth
|
**** |
15,000 |
Varian Medical |
Source: Morningstar.com.
And here's a look at superstar CAPS investors who think that Baidu will outperform:
|
All-Star |
Other Recent Buys |
|
|---|---|---|
|
99.53 |
XTO Energy |
|
|
99.03 |
Gold Fields |
|
|
98.08 |
Goldcorp |
Source: CAPS, as of Jan. 15, 2009.
That's not an easy call. Baidu has been marred by a scandal surrounding its paid-search practices. Critics have since piled on but the one thing they can't change -- Baidu's position as China's search leader -- is what BrianRuth likes about the company.
"I also think that Chinese search is relatively insulated from external pressure given the rapid expansion of technology infrastructure and the vast numbers of people in China who still aren't online," our Fool wrote last March. "Couple that with the rise in income and I think Baidu can still do well despite the rich valuation."
All-Star htgao went further in a December pitch. "I do not live in China, but I use it more often than Google. The fact is, it is BETTER than Google in many ways and people ALL AROUND the world use it."
The remainder of our CAPS community is mostly bullish. Of the 3,520 investors who've rated Baidu, 3,078 -- or 87.4% -- say it will beat the market. Do you agree? Let us know by logging in to CAPS now; it's 100% free to participate.
