The New Year's Best Investing Ideas: "Fortune" vs. CAPS

'Tis the season for picking the best stock investments for the new year! Fools know better than to put their nest eggs into short-term stock predictions, but holiday traditions are hard to resist, like drinking eggnog, putting plastic reindeer antlers on the dogs, and playing Twister while singing Christmas carols.

About the same time as we start fixing holiday lights onto our lawn ornaments every year, we enter the "10 Best Stocks" predictions from Fortune into CAPS. TrackFortune2009 performed respectably, returning 31% across Fortune's Top 10 Stocks for 2009 picks -- slightly better than the S&P, which returned 29.8% in 2009.

As I pour our first round of holiday cheer into your glass, I have to ask: How did the picks from the CAPS community fare versus the wisdom of Fortune's Wall Street wizards? What companies are on Fortune's list for 2010, and what does the CAPS community think about those stocks?

Wipe the eggnog off your chin and join me as we put on our Foolish stocking caps and are visited by the Ghost of Market Past. He's a jolly, right good friend who laughs at our mistakes and celebrates our successes, who will soon be followed by the Ghost of Market Future: a dark and dour Fool who nonetheless wants to dream peacefully of next year's home run stocks ...

The Ghost of Market Past
Let's take a closer look at Fortune's "Best Stocks for 2009" picks, followed by the top 10 rated tickers on CAPS as of Jan. 2, 2009:

Those returns look pretty good, with (as noted above) the average return of a little more than 31% edging out the S&P's 29.8%. 

But what's this? Heavens to Betsy, the Ghost of Market Past is filling our cups with wassail and revealing the top 10 rated stocks on CAPS as of Jan. 2, 2009. Hark, the CAPS investors sing!

Just what I'd expect from the CAPS community: A bit more of a motley selection, but with average TTM returns coming in at 43%, we soundly trounced the market as well as the poor Wall Street gurus over at Fortune. But what were you Fools thinking with Horizon Financial Corp.?

Let's ask the Ghost of Market Past why we fall for such market losers ... hey, where did he go? Did that wassail make you a little dizzy? Who is this dark figure? Is that Stocks 360 in your hand? Ah, an app for next year's winning stocks ... this must be the Ghost of Market Future.

The Ghost of Market Future
Let's start once again with those celebrated soothsayers from Fortune, with their predictions for the 10 Best Stocks for 2010:

But, O Ghost of Market Future, the CAPS community really doesn't think much of these stocks. What can that mean? How will the future unfold? What are you trying to show me with this Stocks 360? It wouldn't be fair to compare these picks with the top 10 rated stocks on CAPS, you say? It hardly figures that the CAPS community wouldn't beat the pants off the Fortune stock picks? Ah, I see now that you've entered these stocks into Stocks 360 to see what the CAPS community would choose as alternatives to these Fortune picks (selecting an alternative from the same industry with similar market cap):

Yet another motley selection of stocks. But what does this mean for me, Ghost of Market Future? What will become of my portfolio? Where did you go? Hey, you left your Stocks 360!

Oh well, at least the Ghost of Market Past left the wassail bowl. Cheers and happy holidays!