One Little Secret For Big Results In 2023

[Zacks | Our Research. Your Success.] Weekday Wisdom [Kevin Matras - Editor] One Little Secret For Big Results In 2023 By: Kevin Matras December 14th, 2022 --------------------------------------------------------------- With the new year almost here (just 2½ more weeks to go), we’re all thinking about how we can make 2023 our best year yet, both personally and financially. So now is the perfect time to share with you one of the most powerful things I have ever read. It made me believe that anything was possible. And that whatever success I wanted to achieve I indeed could achieve it. It would not be without hard work. But the concept was simple. And I instantly knew it to be true. They called it a secret. In fact, it was literally called “the greatest secret in the world.” And that secret was this: the key to success was that you only needed to be a small, measurable amount better than mediocrity to succeed. Is that really true? In its simplest form it is. The book went on to tell of why this was true. And in short, they described how most people give up on the meaningful things they hope to accomplish. Success Of course, I knew that true greatness would take a lot more than being just a few steps ahead of the pack. And that if you wanted to be the Michael Jordan of your profession, it would take a lifetime of dedication and being born with the right genes. But most people don't need to be the Michael Jordan of anything in their life to have life changing success. They only need to be a small, measurable amount better in the important things in their life. Want to pass that test that will get you that promotion? Stick to your study times and don't blow them off for some silly TV show and you'll be better prepared to pass that test. Want to lose weight? Have one less can of pop each day or one less sugary snack and watch how that can set in motion a metamorphosis. Want to make more money in the stock market? If all you did was have one less loser each month, and replace it with one more winner, that could transform your portfolio. You don't need to be as good as Warren Buffett to achieve your investment goals. By simply making a few changes in how you pick stocks, the extra results can quickly add up. But you have to know where to begin. Continued . . . [Get Your Free Copy of Finding #1 Stocks - A $49.95 Value]( 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 concept. In 2021 - while the market climbed +28.8% - these strategies actually produced gains up to +48.2%, +67.6%, and even +95.3%.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 Saturday, December 17. [Get your free book now »]( One Less Loser Setting a goal to have one less loser may not sound exciting, but the results can be dramatic. There are over 10,000 stocks out there. So be choosey. One of the best ways to put the odds of success in your favor is to focus on the top industries. Why? Because roughly 50% of a stock's price movement can be attributed to the group that it’s in. That's why, oftentimes, even a mediocre stock in a top industry can outperform the strongest stock in a weak industry. In fact, in my testing I have found that the top 50% of Zacks Ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. If your last loser was in an underperforming industry, you were betting against the odds. Instead, stick with the best performing industries and put the odds of success in your favor. And when you do find yourself in a losing trade, get out sooner. Nobody likes to take a loss. But don't let your unwillingness to do so ruin your portfolio. Smaller losses are easy to overcome. But big losses, like -30%, -40%, and -50% losers can devastate your portfolio, not to mention your confidence. If you found yourself driving the wrong way on a one-way street, you wouldn't keep driving the wrong way or speed up, you'd turn around and get off. Same thing with stocks. If you bought a stock expecting it to go up, and it's now doing the exact opposite, get out before you crash your portfolio. One less loser, or even just deciding to take smaller losses, will immediately set you apart from the typical mediocre investor. One More Winner Now if you can replace that one less loser with one more winner, you'll compound your success even more. First, stick with the investing style that's right for you. There are many different investing styles out there. The four main fundamental styles are Momentum, Aggressive Growth, Value, and Growth and Income. You can also apply Technical Analysis to any of these styles, and others as well. But make sure you employ proven techniques to get the most out of each style. If you're an Aggressive Growth investor; did you know that stocks with the highest growth rates perform almost as poorly as those with the lowest growth rates? It's true. This is because the companies with the highest growth rates are often unsustainable. And once those sky-high growth rates start to come down, even though they may still be spectacular, the price of the stock will fall back down to earth as well. For example, a company earning 1 cent a share that is now expected to earn 6 cents, has a 500% growth rate. But, if it receives a downward estimate revision to 5 cents, that’s a significant drop. Even though it still has a 400% growth rate, the estimates were just reduced by -16.7% and the price is likely to follow. If you’ve ever wondered how a stock with a triple-digit growth rate could possibly go down -- that’s how. Instead, stick with companies with growth rates above the median for their industry, but less than 50%. That range has produced some of the best results. If you're a Value investor; do you know which valuation metrics produce the best results? Better yet, do you know what valuation ranges have the highest probability of success? In my testing, I have found that the Price to Sales ratio (P/S) is one of the best valuation metrics out there. And that stocks with a P/S ratio of less than 1, by far, produce the highest returns. Between 1-2 still produce stellar results. And between 2-3 outperform the market. But once you get over 4, there is a higher probability of losing on that stock than winning. That, of course, does not mean all stocks with a P/S ratio above 4 will go down. But if the odds of winning are greater below 1 (or at least below 3) and worse above 4, then by simply focusing on stocks in the optimum valuation range, you are now one step closer to having one more winner. Don't worry whether you've picked the best stock on the planet. In fact, the best stock on the planet today may not be the best stock on the planet tomorrow. But it doesn’t matter. All you need to focus on are good stocks. Or just slightly better stocks than you're picking now to start seeing the kind of success you've always wanted. And one small better decision will set in motion other better decisions. And before you know it, you'll be achieving your goals. Proven Profitable Strategies Picking better stocks and making better decisions is a lot easier when there’s a proven, profitable way to do it. For example, did you know that stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buy have beaten the market in 28 of the last 34 years (an 82% annual win ratio) with an average annual return of 25% per year? That's more than 2 x the S&P. And consistently beating the market year after year can add up to a lot more than just two times the returns. But you’re not there yet, as that one item alone will only narrow down a field of 10,000 stocks to the top 220 or so. Way too many to trade at once. So the next step is to get that list down to a smaller, actionable list of stocks that you can buy. Below are a few of my favorite strategies that do just that, and 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 22 years (2000 through 2021), using a 1-week rebalance, the average annual return has been 43.2% vs. the S&P's 7.5%, which is 5.7 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 22 years (2000 through 2021), using a 1-week rebalance, the average annual return has been 50.4%, beating the market by 6.7 x the returns. Filtered Zacks Rank 5: 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 22 years (2000 through 2021), using a 1-week rebalance, the average annual return has been 51.2%, which is 6.8 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. Where To Start 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 +48.2%, +67.6% and even +95.3% in 2021.¹ 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 Saturday, December 17, 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 of 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](). We look for investment resources and inform you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms of Service". Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. The Zacks #1 Rank Performance covers the period beginning on January 1, 1988 through September 12, 2022. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank #1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit for information about the performance numbers displayed above. 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