Smart Money Monday - My No-Brainer "Shortcut" for Finding Stocks with Huge Upside

[Read this article on our website.]( [Smart Money Monday] You are receiving these email messages every Monday because you requested information from Mauldin Economics. If you'd prefer not to receive Smart Money Monday, [click here.]( Oct 25, 2021 My No-Brainer “Shortcut” for Finding Stocks with Huge Upside There are no shortcuts in investing. Well, maybe one… There are no shortcuts in investing. Well, maybe one… This “shortcut” is really just a simple strategy. But it can easily boost your returns by 6% or more every year. That might not sound like much. But when a $100K portfolio beats the market by 6% for a decade straight, it translates into $154,000 more in your pocket. And you don’t have to do much to get it. - Simply invest in companies where insiders have a lot of skin in the game. We all know that Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX), and Tesla (TSLA) have handed monster gains to shareholders. They’ve soared 342%, 416%, and 2,135%, respectively, in the last 5 years alone. And they all have one thing in common: strong insider ownership. Jeff Bezos still owns 14% of Amazon. Reed Hastings owns 1.8% of Netflix. And Elon Musk owns 23% of Tesla. This is no coincidence—stocks with strong insider ownership tend to do better than most. In fact, one study found that when insiders purchased shares of their own companies, those stocks outperformed the market by more than 6% annually. - Tracking insiders is an easy way to find great investment ideas. That means tracking their buying activity and the size of their holdings. The more skin insiders have in the game, the more committed they are to bolstering their company’s long-term profits. It makes sense when you think about it. After all, no one washes a rental car. But when you own something, whether it’s a car, a house, or a billion-dollar company, you take better care of it. Announcing the first ever: Phase 2 Crypto Summit Hidden from most investors... a new batch of cryptos is following the path of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Tune in to discover how anyone can buy Phase 2 cryptos... in some cases for as little as ½ a penny. [Reserve your seat at the virtual Summit here]( That’s not always the case with hired guns who run public companies. It’s not that they don’t care. But they focus on short-term issues like, “What does next quarter look like?” Meanwhile, an insider with a big stake will focus on the long term. He’ll ask himself, “How can I grow the value of my investment for myself, my family, and my investors?” Those are the guys we like to invest with. - Heavy insider investment is one of the many reasons [I like small-cap stocks](. It’s common for insiders, and founders in particular, to own large slices of these companies. Albert Namad, the CEO and chairman of Watsco (WSO), is a great example. Watsco is the largest HVAC distributer in the US. After Namad took a controlling interest in the company in 1973, he grew annual revenue from $5 million to $5 billion. Along the way, shares of Watsco shot from $6 to $289. And Namad’s stake is now worth $440 million. - Following insiders with big stakes is a reliable path to profits… I’ve shared some of these opportunities with you here in Smart Money Monday. [Opportunities like steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF)](, where CEO Lourenco Goncalves owns approximately 1% of the company. Goncalves is a big reason I like Cleveland-Cliffs. Under his leadership, it’s acquired a monopoly-like hold on US iron ore and flat-rolled steel production. Earlier this month, Cleveland-Cliffs agreed to buy a leading scrap metal company for $775 million. It’s exactly the kind of smart deal I would expect from an insider like Goncalves, who has a lot of skin in the game. I own shares of Cleveland-Cliffs, and it’s still at buy at current prices. - Strong insider ownership is also a big reason I’m tracking Latham Group (SWIM). Latham Group is one of the largest pool manufacturers in the world. It just IPO’d last April. And CEO Scott Rajeski owns a good chunk of stock—around 4% of the company. After an early surge, shares have fallen around 50%, which is actually pretty common with IPOs. (It’s a prime example of why I rarely get involved on Day 1.) That said, Latham looks like a classic long-term, small-cap growth story like Watsco, which I mentioned earlier. I am still doing some additional due diligence on the company—so I recommend adding it to your watchlist for now. I’ll let you know if and when it’s time to pull the trigger. [Thompson Clark] —Thompson Clark Editor, Smart Money Monday [Thompson Clark]Thompson Clark is a small-cap expert and value-focused investor with nearly a decade of experience in financial publishing. Thompson graduated from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University in 2010 with a focus in finance and accounting. He lives in North Carolina. He is the editor of Mauldin Economics’ free research service, [Smart Money Monday](. Don't let friends miss this timely insight— share it with your network now. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Email]( Share Your Thoughts on This Article [Post a Comment]( [Read important disclosures here.]( YOUR USE OF THESE MATERIALS IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS OF THESE DISCLOSURES. This email was sent as part of your subscription to Smart Money Monday. [To update your email preferences click here.]( Mauldin Economics, LLC | [PO Box 192495 | Dallas, TX 75219](#) Copyright © 2021 Mauldin Economics. All Rights Reserved.