Best And Worst Stock Picks Of 2010

Well it’s time to be accountable for my stock picks over the year. This is where I own up to my best calls and biggest blunders of 2010. These are the stocks that I liked for 2010. While I am a long term investor, every year I pick a few stocks that I think will outperform during a particular year. Let’s see how they performed as a whole.

These were my best calls for the year.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Up 62.7%

ConocoPhillips Up 33.3%

General Electric Up 20.89%

Nuance Communication Up 17.06%

These were my worst calls for the year.

Neutral Tandem Down 36.53%

AK Steel Down 23%

Nucor Down 6.07%

*All returns are annualized.

If you regularly read my blog, you would know that I actually did buy Chicago Bridge & Iron, General Electric, Nuance Communications, Neutral Tandem, and AK Steel. I also updated investors on when I sold positions during the year.

Based on the stocks that I did buy, my average annual return would have been 12.4%. This isn’t the case though because I didn’t invest evenly amongst the stocks. I bought more of CB&I than any of the other stocks on my list.

I sold Nuance Communications because the stock was up 20%.

I still own General Electric.

I got out of Neutral Tandem almost immediately because I was worried about increasing competition.

I still own AK Steel. I bought shares at $18 and the stock is now at $16.

My big winner was CB&I. I was incredibly bullish on CB&I throughout the year and the stock didn’t disappoint. I sold CB&I because the run up was so great.

This year I am going to do something different. I will only be selecting between 1 and 3 stocks for my stocks to watch list.