The Best Stocks for a Balanced Portfolio

Investors have a natural attraction to large-cap stocks -- understandably so. Everyone's heard of Cisco Systems and Coca-Cola, after all, and most know what they do to generate revenue. There's also abundant analyst and news coverage for large caps, so we all have a good way of knowing what these companies 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 from NYU professor Aswath Damodaran, studies have consistently found that smaller companies "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. You can get a better sense of this by looking at 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:

Now, here are some of the companies among the top 20 best performers with a market cap between $200 million and $2 billion. That's the universe we search to make recommendations for our Motley Fool Hidden Gems small-cap investing service:

Data provided by Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's.

Simply put, the smallest companies have much more upside than the largest. But be aware: 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 "losing all your money." That's why at Hidden Gems, we seek 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 38% to 13% since the service began more than four years ago. This track record 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 article. Coca-Cola is an Inside Value recommendation. Akamai is a Rule Breakers recommendation. JPMorgan Chase is an Income Investor pick. The Fool's disclosure policy shines year-round.