How To Double Your Stock Returns In 2021

[Zacks | Our Research. Your Success.] WeekendWisdom Tactics that Work in Good Markets and Bad [Kevin Matras - Editor] How To Double Your Stock Returns In 2021 By: Kevin Matras March 20, 2021 --------------------------------------------------------------- Stocks have been on a tear. Since the pandemic lows in late March last year, the Dow has surged by more than 81%, the S&P by 81%, the Nasdaq by 113%, and the small-cap Russell 2000 by more than 144%! It's been a record-setting move. But the best part is that it looks like there's a lot more upside to go. With Q4 GDP having just clocked in at 4.1% (the highest quarterly growth rate in more than 6 years), after Q3 just came in at 33.4% (the highest quarterly growth rate ever), not to mention expectations for Q1 to come in at 5.7%, and full-year GDP to grow at the fastest pace in 33 years, along with near zero interest rates for the foreseeable future, stocks look poised to soar. Then add in the three FDA approved COVID vaccines (Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson), and the EU approved Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine (they also just applied for FDA approval here in the states), which makes four worldwide, and we could be in store for an explosive rally, the likes of which we have never seen before, as these vaccines mark the beginning of the end of the pandemic. As an investor, you should be handily beating the market right now. If not, now would be a good time to reflect on what you're doing right in the market, what you're doing wrong, and what you'd like to do better. This includes patting yourself on the back for your successes. Being honest with yourself for your failures. And setting big goals for what you'd like to accomplish this year. Like doubling your investment returns. (That's right, double!) Think Big It takes no more mental energy to work on a big goal than it does to work on a small one. But the end results can be enormous. Most people set their sights on small ideas because they don't yet know how they'll achieve them. But in today's day and age, somebody has likely accomplished the very thing you've set out to do — and left a roadmap on how to do it. That goes for the market too. Continued . . . [Saturday Deadline: Claim your Free Copy of Finding #1 Stocks]( One single idea changed Kevin Matras' life as an investor, enabling him to tap into the greatest force driving stock prices. In Finding #1 Stocks, Kevin reveals his top stock-picking secrets and strategies based on this powerful idea. Now you can claim a free copy of the 300-page hardcover book. Over the past five years (2016 through 2020), while the market climbed an impressive +103.9%, these strategies gained up to +424.1%, +429.0% and even +477.8%.¹ You can take full advantage of them without attending a single class or seminar, in a lot less time than you think. Opportunity ends midnight Saturday, March 20. [Get your free book now »]( The Smart Money Is Getting More Bullish And So Should You Top analysts are growing more and more bullish. Firms like Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs, to name a few, are upping their outlook for the economy and the market. Morgan Stanley's Andrew Sheets, after pointing to the economy's expected V-shaped recovery, said to "keep the faith, trust the recovery." Goldman Sachs' David Kostin, said he expects the market to reach 4,300 this year (+9.8% from here); and 4,600 by the end of 2022 (that's another 7.0% on top of that). All in all, that represents a 17.5% increase from where we are today. And if you get into the right socks and industries, your gains can be far greater than that. I think JP Morgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, said it best when commenting on the growth outlook if the stimulus bill passed (which we now know it did). He said "there's a very good chance you're going to have a gangbuster economy for the rest of this year and easily into 2022." That sounds pretty bullish. Rising Yields: There Is No Boogeyman In the last few weeks, there's been lots of hand-wringing over the potential for future inflation, and the Fed raising rates sooner rather than later, which has given rise to bond yields. But the Fed has repeatedly reiterated (they did so again literally just a couple of days ago), that they have no intention of raising rates anytime soon, and they still see rates staying near zero thru 2023. Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, is indeed expecting inflation to tick up later this year, but he contends it will be transitory. And he is on the record as being more concerned with the lack of inflation over the last handful of years than rising inflation. And he has been right, because inflation has not been able to get to the Fed's targeted 2% level in the longest time. (Modest inflation is not bad for the economy, it's actually good for the economy, and preferred.) Moreover, as inflation finally does begin to rise, that should be viewed as a positive. Lindsey Bell, Chief Investment Strategist at Ally Invest, noted that "yields tend to rise early on in bull markets and in economic recoveries because the outlook is improving." You can even see that yourself as yields on the 10-year during the worst of the pandemic was at 0.54% while the S&P was at 2,237. Now yields are at 1.73% and the S&P is at 3,915. Both have risen simultaneously. Lastly, let's not forget that the 10-year was at 1.92% before the pandemic. And prior to that, since 2012, the 10-year has traded roughly between 1.5% and just over 3%, all-while stocks have put in a record-setting move up. My point is, the rising yields are not the boogeyman people are making it out to be. At this time, it should be looked at as a signal that the economy is looking up. And that's bullish for stocks. What's happening right now in the economy and the market is history in the making. And if you play it right, it could transform your portfolio. So don't squander this opportunity with preventable mistakes. If you ever wished you would've traded the market differently in the past, now is your chance. And making money in the market is easier than you think. You only need to do a few things right. Do What Works So how do you fully take advantage of this historic opportunity? By implementing tried and true methods that work to find the best stocks. This is part of the roadmap to success. For example, did you know that stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buy have beaten the market in 26 of the last 32 years with an average annual return of 24.7% per year? That's nearly 2.5 x the S&P. But when doing this year after year, that can add up to a lot more than just two and a half times the returns. And did you also know that stocks in the top 50% of Zacks Ranked Industries outperform those in the bottom 50% by a factor of 2 to 1? There's a reason why they say that half of a stock's price movement can be attributed to the group that it's in. Because it's true! Those two things will give any investor a huge probability of success and put you well on your way to achieving your goals. But you're not there yet, as those two items alone will only narrow down a field of 10,000 stocks to the top 100 or so. Way too many to trade at once. So the next step is to get that list down to the best 5-10 stocks that you can buy. Proven Profitable Strategies Picking the best stocks is a lot easier when there's a proven, profitable method to do it. And by concentrating on what has proven to work in the past, you'll have a better idea as to what your probability of success will be now and in the future. For example, if your strategy did nothing but lose money year after year, trade after trade, over and over again, there's no way you'd want to use that strategy to pick stocks with. Why? Because it's proven to pick bad stocks. On the other hand, if your strategy did great year after year, trade after trade, over and over again, you'd of course want to use that strategy to pick stocks with. Why? Because it's proven to pick winning stocks. Of course, this won't preclude you from ever having another losing trade. But if your stock picking strategy picks winners more often than losers, you can feel confident that your next trade will have a high probability of success. Here are a few of my favorite strategies that have regularly crushed the market year after year. New Highs: Studies have shown that stocks making new highs have a tendency of making even higher highs. And this strategy proves it. The alignment of positive price action and strong fundamentals creates all the necessary conditions to see these stocks soar to even greater heights. Over the last 21 years (2000 thru 2020), using a 1-week rebalance, the average annual return has been 45.5% vs. the S&P's 6.6%, which is nearly 7 x the market. Small-Cap Growth: Small-caps have historically outperformed the market time and time again. Often these are newer companies in the early part of their growth cycle, which is when they grow the fastest. This strategy combines the aggressive growth of small-caps with our special blend of growth and valuation metrics for explosive returns. Over the last 21 years (2000 thru 2020), using a 1-week rebalance, the average annual return has been 51.2%, beating the market by 7.6 x the returns. Filtered Zacks Rank5: This strategy leverages the Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys, and adds two time-tested filters to narrow the list of stocks down to five high probability picks each week. Over the last 21 years (2000 thru 2020), using a 1-week rebalance, the average annual return has been 51.3%, which is 7.7 x the market. The best part about these strategies (aside from the returns) is that all of the testing and hard work has already been done. There's no guesswork involved. Just point and click and start getting into better stocks on your very next trade. Roadmap To Success As you can see, there's a clear roadmap to success to help you achieve your goal of doubling your stock returns — this year, and for years to come. No need to reinvent the wheel. The path has already been created. Now it's just about doing it. And there's never been a better time, because historic times bring historic opportunity. So make sure you're taking full advantage of it. Where To Start With stocks poised for a historic move, there's a simple way to add a big performance advantage for your stock-picking success. It's called the [Zacks Method for Trading: Home Study Course](. With this fun, interactive online program, you can master the Zacks Rank in your own home and at your own pace. You don't have to attend a single class or seminar. Zacks Method for Trading covers the investment ideas I just shared and guides you to better trading step by step, plus so much more. You'll quickly see how to get the most out of the proven system that has more than doubled the market for over three decades. Discover what kind of trader you are, how to find stocks with the highest probability of success, and how to trade them so you can consistently beat the market no matter where stock prices are headed. You'll get the formulas behind our top-performing strategies suited for a variety of different trading styles. The best of these strategies produced gains up to +424.1%, +429.0% and even +477.8% over the past five years (2016 through 2020).¹ The course will also help you create and test your own stock-picking strategies. Today is the perfect time to get in. I'm giving participants free hardbound copies of my book, Finding #1 Stocks, a $49.95 value. Its 300 pages unfold virtually every trading secret I've learned over the last 25 years to beat the market. Please note: Copies of the book are limited and your opportunity to get one free ends midnight Saturday, March 20, unless we run out of books first. If you're interested, I encourage you to check this out now. [Find out more about Zacks Method for Trading: Home Study Course »]( Thanks and good trading, [Kevin Matras - signature] Kevin Zacks Executive VP Kevin Matras is responsible for all our trading and investing services. He developed many of our most powerful market-beating strategies and directs the [Zacks Method for Trading: Home Study Course](. ¹ The results listed above are not (or may not be) representative of the performance of all strategies developed by Zacks Investment Research. This free resource is being sent by [Zacks.com](. 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