Stock tips, you must be thinking: How 1999!
But let's face it: Investors like us talk stocks. At the gym ... on the golf course ... even at parties. Or maybe I'm a sap.
Can you blame me?
The other day, I posed for a photo by the big bull on Wall Street. I remembered my old buds, David and Tom Gardner, draped in their goofy hats across that same bull on the cover of Fortune.
That was 1999, an optimistic year. After all, in 1998 alone Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) holders were up 140%, Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) popped 241%, and Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) packed on 615%.
But 2000 was even "better" -- in quotes because of what came after. The Nasdaq puked up 36%. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) plunged 63%. Poster child CMGI (NASDAQ:CMGI) surrendered everything.
I hope you learned your lesson!
But it's not that growth investing is a trap. Or that tech is for chumps. Certainly not that you shouldn't be excited about your stocks.
That's crazy talk. Making money is a blast. That's why I love Jim Cramer. Forget his frantic trading and wardrobe -- the guy has fun. And everybody knows you're better at what you love.
For some, that means running numbers -- buying discarded smokestacks or cigar butts. On average, you'll get richer that way. I invest some that way, too.
But I rarely talk about it
Maybe it's the "on average" that puts me off. Heck even "beating the market" doesn't thrill me. Which makes my 50% index fund allocation a bit dicey. It also explains why I'm always gabbing about the other half.
And why I watch Cramer and read David Gardner's Motley Fool Rule Breakers newsletter. (David's the Motley Fool co-founder who still gets haircuts -- and doesn't focus so much on intrinsic value and discounted cash flow.)
David's the Fool who said it was OK to buy Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) in 1998, when everybody called it expensive (up 700% since). In 1994, he recommended a company that gained 20,000% in five years. But that's my next column. I mention it now so you'll listen to what I say next.
3 whisper-stock party tips
Tip No. 1: Have fun and talk stocks -- loudly. Ben Graham is dead, after all, and Warren Buffett doesn't think about you. Have fun and brag. It'll make you a better investor.
Tips two and three are Rule Breakers. One is Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM), an Internet powerhouse that's up 264% for David's subscribers. The second is Under Armour, either the next Nike (up 5,000% since 1987) or the most overvalued stock in history.
Oh, and it's heavily shorted. If you want to break rules, get used to it. If everybody had the stomach to be great, we'd never get rich. We'd all be average.
Buy both stocks now!
I'm kidding. I leave "recommendations" to smart folks like David Gardner. But do check them out. And keep on digging for companies that excite you. Bonus Tip No. 4 -- tread lightly with the college fund but occasionally take a swing.
One home run changes everything. Already, David's team has found us three stocks that have tripled since 2004. Drop that at a party and see what happens. Sound cheesy? Sure, but so is posing with a metal bull on Wall Street.
Want to sound even smarter? Accept a free no-obligation trial to Rule Breakers. Enjoy the full service for an entire month. See all of David's ultimate growth recommendations and issues. Break some rules. You may find the next Amazon and won't pay a cent. Smart. To start your free trial, click here.
Paul Elliott doesn't own any of the stocks mentioned. Yahoo!, Amazon, and Dell are Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendations. Microsoft and Dell are Inside Value picks, while Akamai and Under Armour are Rule Breakers recommendations. You can see all David's Rule Breakers picks and his entire scorecard with your 30-day free trial. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
