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“Only buy something that you’d be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.”

— Warren Buffett

This inspiring quote from Warren Buffett teaches us the importance of considering our investment time horizon when approaching any given investment: Could we envision ourselves holding the stock we are considering for many years? Even a ten year holding period potentially?

For “buy-and-hold” investors taking a long-term view, what’s important isn’t the short-term stock market fluctuations that will inevitably occur, but what happens over the long haul. Looking back 10 years to 2011, investors considering an investment into shares of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASD: TTWO) may have been pondering this very question and thinking about their potential investment result over a full ten year time horizon. Here’s how that would have worked out.

Start date: 10/27/2011
$10,000

10/27/2011
$115,566

10/26/2021
End date: 10/26/2021
Start price/share: $15.80
End price/share: $182.54
Starting shares: 632.91
Ending shares: 632.91
Dividends reinvested/share: $0.00
Total return: 1,055.32%
Average annual return: 27.71%
Starting investment: $10,000.00
Ending investment: $115,566.27

As shown above, the ten year investment result worked out exceptionally well, with an annualized rate of return of 27.71%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 10 years ago into $115,566.27 today (as of 10/26/2021). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 1,055.32% (something to think about: how might TTWO shares perform over the next 10 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]

One more investment quote to leave you with:
“Cash combined with courage in a time of crisis is priceless.” — Warren Buffett