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“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

— Warren Buffett

Investors can learn a lot from Warren Buffett, whose above quote teaches the importance of thinking about investment time horizon, and asking ourselves before buying any given stock: can we envision holding onto it for years — even a twenty year holding period possibly?

Suppose a “buy-and-hold” investor was considering an investment into ABIOMED, Inc. (NASD: ABMD) back in 1999: back then, such an investor may have been pondering this very same question. Had they answered “yes” to a full twenty year investment time horizon and then actually held for these past 20 years, here’s how that investment would have turned out.

Start date: 07/19/1999
$10,000

07/19/1999
$327,499

07/17/2019
End date: 07/17/2019
Start price/share: $7.94
End price/share: $260.06
Starting shares: 1,259.45
Ending shares: 1,259.45
Dividends reinvested/share: $0.00
Total return: 3,175.31%
Average annual return: 19.05%
Starting investment: $10,000.00
Ending investment: $327,499.34

As we can see, the twenty year investment result worked out exceptionally well, with an annualized rate of return of 19.05%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 20 years ago into $327,499.34 today (as of 07/17/2019). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 3,175.31% (something to think about: how might ABMD shares perform over the next 20 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]

Another great investment quote to think about:
“The best stock to buy is the one you already own.” — Peter Lynch