Hi, Rocky. I’m sorry you feel that way. This has been a very difficult market in which to invest, though I am personally seeing signs of a rebound in my own portfolio, which is up about 10% since the start of summer. I would just remember that after the bottom of the market fell out in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic, we entered into a 2 month recession and there was fear of massive business failures, homelessness and poverty. And yet, by the end of 2020, we had experienced one of the most amazing 6 month market runs we’ve ever seen.
The recommendation of investing in 15-25 companies (Fools invest in companies, not stocks) is intended to encourage Fools to build a diversified portfolio that is not dependent on a single or just a few positions. Not all positions grow equally, and throughout your investing journey, different positions will take their place leading your portfolio. You just never know which company is going to experience a growth spurt when, so by diversifying your portfolio, you improve your chances that one of your positions at any point in time will catch the market’s fancy.
I would agree with you that you can research your own investments and find great companies in which to invest. The Motley Fool does not have access to information that is not available to the general public (no insider trading here), though its size, scale and experience may provide access to some resources the average investor cannot afford. It is TMF’s goal that Fools learn from their Foolish experience and be able to branch out on their own.
I think in the short-term, recent Foolish recommendations look foolish because the market is making everyone look foolish. But I do think that over the long-term (3-5 years or longer), the investments recommended by the various Foolish premium services will prove out their worth. Not all, but I have seen no reason to believe the statistic that 60% of a portfolio will beat the market at any given time, or that 10% of a portfolio will drive 90% of the gains, is suddenly no longer valid…
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