As the No. 1 ranked investor in the new Motley Fool CAPS service, I have a lot of folks ask me what my best picks are. That's a good question -- and I thought I'd take a moment to answer it. My best picks may not be the ones you'd think.
One of my best may have been my "underperform" call on Ann Taylor
Another of my best picks is Dell
Another contrarian pick I've made was an "underperform" on Whole Foods
There's one more pick worth mentioning ... and it happens to involve two CAPS calls, but is really one "pick" -- my "outperform" on Intel
But the central theme of my best selections is that they were all instances where I put a thought into action that I'd never put into action before and learned a great deal from the experience. Sure, these were all successful CAPS calls, and I've had quite a few unsuccessful ones along the way. Still, I'm slowly beginning to come around to the idea that this thing I call "instinct" or "intuition" might be a more powerful investing tool than I'd ever realized.
I still have a lot to learn -- several lifetimes wouldn't be enough to encompass it all. And I am doing my best not to let a few short-term successes go to my head. I am really looking forward to learning more and more about investing and, perhaps more importantly, learning more and more about myself in the process. I'm pretty sure CAPS will be an invaluable part of this learning experience. To get in the game yourself, click here.
This piece originally appeared as a blog entry on our new Motley Fool CAPS investment research service. It has been edited.
Whole Foods, Dell, and Intel are Motley Fool Inside Value recommendations. To find more top-shelf stocks at bargain-bin prices, sign up today for a free 30-day guest pass . Dell is also a Stock Advisor selection.
Russell Carpenter (TMF Eldrehad) is currently ranked No. 1 out of 14,650 players in Motley Fool CAPS. He does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article. The Fool's disclosure policy always goes with its gut.