Another reason to like small companies is that they are typically closely held by management. That means that the people running the company have a significant financial stake in the success not just of the company, but also of the stock itself. In fact, in many cases, the performance of the stock has a greater influence on the wealth of the

When you’re running a valuation, try to find out whether there’s something people misunderstand about a company—some clouds that are obscuring the long-term vision for those who aren’t patient enough to look out several years. That’s when you can find amazing long-term bargains.

The successful investor Bernard Baruch was once asked at a party for some stock picks. Rather than share his favorite ticker, Baruch explained his simple methodology for finding winning investments—one I’ve embraced as well: Find companies whose product you buy, use, throw away, or however you’ve used it, you need to repurchase it within thirty

Put these three factors together, and you’ll find: A company with pricing power with a large and growing market opportunity, whose customers are enthusiastically going there over and over again, because it is the best place to find what they want or need.

The primary reason for buying small-cap stocks is that mutual funds and institutions often cannot buy them . . . yet. Or even if they can, mutual funds and institutions cannot build up any meaningful holding. “Meaningful” here is defined as “in a sufficient quantity to make any noticeable difference to the fund’s overall performance.

OVERVIEW: WHAT TOM LOOKS FOR 1. An ownership structure that is vested and aligned with the interests of shareholders. 2. A higher purpose that inspires long-term growth. 3. Evidence that when the business wins, customers, employees, and the world also win. 4. High levels of employee engagement and retention.

In the end, owning great innovators from phase 1 all the way into phase 5 is how Rule Breaker investors pile up the big returns. It’s not about guessing the growth periods so much as identifying, buying, and holding many companies through the five Gartner Hype Cycle phases.

We’re now talking about the two biggest threats to your (or your family’s) long-term investment survival. Chasing Wealth, you may run headlong into a guillotine. But chasing Security is no less deadly a pursuit. In our first-ever issue of Ye Olde Printed Foole, we shared this contrarian line to which we still very much subscribe: “The

Never underestimate your mind’s power to convince you to do something you know you shouldn