Well, I stand corrected, at least in part. I've been investing for over 50 years now so it could be that I am out of date, but I do note that my statement held for more than 20 years. I might say that the 1970s were a difficult decade to make money and the thought that buying the best gainers meant something (Though I didn't follow it.), but it could be that my memory harks back to that time.

I might say that in 1960 I bought the best gainer among mutual funds of the 1950s called Keystone S-4 which invested mainly in small company growth stocks (Yes, this is not a new concept). I had it for 15 years before I got discouraged and sold. I didn't actually lose money but probably could have done better by investing in California bank CDs which were yielding 4% interest at the time. So, yes, past performance is no guarantee of future success, as they say.

brucedoe