Since 1926, top 4% companies explain the net gain of the entire stock market in the US.
Yes, 4%!
The rest 96% in aggregate matched the US treasury bill returns.
Few investors understand this better than Chuck Akre. Here's why.
The firm has this "weird" philosophy:
"We are unfazed when our businesses are quoted in the market at prices above what we would pay for them."
Why?
I. There may never be an opportunity to buy it back.
II. Great businesses are just too hard to replace.
III. "The very best businesses tend to exceed expectations. What may seem like a high price today may be proven to be perfectly reasonable in hindsight."
If you buy a stock, and the stock doubles, think this before selling:
"Having doubled your money once already, the next time the stock price doubles your investment will be 4x your cost. The next time after that, 8x. Then 16x."
You do. When a business
"1. is no longer growing at an above-average rate,
2. has had its competitive advantage impaired, or
3. has had an adverse change in management."
Akre blog: akrecapital.com/the-art-of-not…
Academic paper: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf…