“I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.”
— 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 five year holding period possibly?
Suppose a “buy-and-hold” investor was considering an investment into Fiserv Inc (NASD: FISV) back in 2016: back then, such an investor may have been pondering this very same question. Had they answered “yes” to a full five year investment time horizon and then actually held for these past 5 years, here’s how that investment would have turned out.
| Start date: | 03/03/2016 |
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| End date: | 03/02/2021 | ||||
| Start price/share: | $48.65 | ||||
| End price/share: | $115.68 | ||||
| Starting shares: | 205.55 | ||||
| Ending shares: | 205.55 | ||||
| Dividends reinvested/share: | $0.00 | ||||
| Total return: | 137.78% | ||||
| Average annual return: | 18.91% | ||||
| Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
| Ending investment: | $23,773.43 | ||||
As we can see, the five year investment result worked out exceptionally well, with an annualized rate of return of 18.91%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 5 years ago into $23,773.43 today (as of 03/02/2021). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 137.78% (something to think about: how might FISV shares perform over the next 5 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]
Here’s one more great investment quote before you go:
“The most important thing about an investment philosophy is that you have one.” — David Booth
