David Gardner recommended Nvidia at $2 per share in 2005. It returned 1,000 times that investment. His three rules: buy when fundamentals are strong, never sell winners, and let compounding work through volatility. The hard part isn't picking stocks. It's not selling them.
In 2005, David Gardner recommended Nvidia at $2 per share. Today, it's over $2,000 per share. That's a 1,000-fold return, but only if you held through every crash and moment of doubt. Gardner co-founded The Motley Fool and beats the market by doing what feels wrong. Here are some rules from his latest book. Rule number 1, buy high. When a great company is succeeding, most investors think it's too late. Gardner says if the fundamentals are strong, success compounds for years. Rule number 2: Don't sell winners. Most investors cut losses slowly but cash out winners fast. Gardner flips it. Hold your winners, cut your losers. Real wealth comes from extraordinary companies held for a very long time. Rule number 3: Let compounding work. $10,000 in Nvidia in 2005 is worth $10 million today, but only if you rode out the volatility. Our brains are wired to lock in gains and avoid regret. Selling winners feels safe. Holding feels risky. But the data show the opposite. The hardest move in investing isn't picking stocks. It's simply holding on.
