| Hi Fool!
If you are one of the millions of people who play fantasy sports, then you're actually doing something to help your investment portfolio.
(And if you're not, don't worry, there is plenty below to help you win, too!)
Now, I don't have any official statistics to back up my claim. No Ph.D. studies. No super-computer-crunching algorithm.
Just observation, hard work, and lots of trial and error in managing both a fantasy football team and working alongside Tom and David Gardner at Motley Fool Stock Advisor, where for years we've beaten the market using proven, tried-and-true, long-term investing principles.
Below you'll find two of these principles outlined by my friend Matt Koppenheffer. An astute investment writer, Matt writes about two key principles we've outlined in our investing philosophy The Stock Advisor Way — look where others aren't and invest for the long term.
Enjoy Matt's writings and best of success for investing and fantasy football greatness.
Fool on,
Andy Cross
Chief Investment Officer
Don't listen to the doubters telling you that you're wasting your time playing fantasy football. They have no idea how wealthy it's going to make you.
No, I'm not suggesting that you should take out a home-equity loan to join the high-roller league and hope that Ray Rice can help you trundle your way to a big payday. Instead, I think you should take a step back to consider just how much your fantasy football skills can help you improve your investing.
The magic of the undercover winners
Nobody paid much mind to Alfred Morris during the 2012 fantasy football draft. If he was picked up during the draft, it was mostly by a manager filling a backup running back slot. Morris ended up finishing the season with 1,613 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.
Those who ended up with Morris early last season may have been said to have luck on their side. That's possible. It's also possible that they did their research and realized that due to a variety of factors, there was a good shot that Morris could wind up doing something big.
We see the same kind of result all the time in the stock market. While big, well-known companies grab most of the headlines, it's often the small, undercover companies that score the biggest gains for their investors.
Buffalo Wild Wings (Nasdaq: BWLD) is a great example. As a smaller wing-focused restaurant chain, you won't see B-Wild in the news anywhere near as much as industry giant McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), yet its stock has clobbered both Mickey D's and the rest of the market over the past five years.
Like Alfred Morris, B-Wild had the talent and drive, and combined with its lesser-known status, it's been able to deliver major upside.
Our favorite holding period is...
Ongoing management is a key component to winning in fantasy football. Knowing when and who to grab from the free agent pool can add a needed weapon to your team. Likewise, being realistic and accepting when a player just isn't panning out and taking him out of your starting lineup can free up space to bring in an exciting up-and-comer.
As much fun as all of that active management is, though, it's just as important — if not more important — to know when not to get too cute with your player juggling.
Detroit's Calvin Johnson was the top-scoring fantasy football wide receiver last year. New Orleans' Drew Brees was the top quarterback. Unless they get hurt or have a bye week, there's no reason to shuttle players like this in and out from week to week. These are players that you keep in all the time and let them work their magic for you.
The same goes for your portfolio. Many investors fall into the trap of feeling like they have to do something. They think that if they're not constantly buying and selling, they're not earning their keep. Much of the time, the exact opposite is true.
The holy grail of investing is finding companies that are so good that you can comfortably follow Warren Buffett's simple advice about the optimal holding period of “forever.†Consider great companies like Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) (up 700% from its initial public offering), MasterCard (NYSE: MA) (up more than 1,200% since its IPO), and Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B) (up more than 2,000% since 1990). The real money for investors in these companies didn't come from jumping in and out during a given few months or few minutes — it was from buying, owning, and continuing to own.
Just like Calvin Johnson or Drew Brees, making the most of the best companies means keeping them in your starting lineup for... well, forever.
With that in mind, we've compiled a new report outlining three all-stars that can power your portfolio for years and years to come. This free report, 3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich, features a couple stalwart picks that every investor should consider for their portfolio, along with a sleeper high-dividend payer that, like Alfred Morris last year, most investors haven't caught onto yet.
Simply click here now for free access to this report!
And make sure to check back for more investing insights in your next FoolWatch Weekly!
Foolish best,
Matt Koppenheffer
Bureau Chief, Financials
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