“Only buy something that you’d be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years.”
— Warren Buffett
The investment philosophy practiced by Warren Buffett calls for investors to take a long-term horizon when making an investment, such as a ten year holding period (or even longer), and reconsider making the investment in the first place if unable to envision holding the stock for at least five years. Today, we look at how such a long-term strategy would have done for investors in Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE: CRM) back in 2011, holding through to today.
| Start date: | 05/17/2011 |
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| End date: | 05/14/2021 | ||||
| Start price/share: | $32.52 | ||||
| End price/share: | $217.66 | ||||
| Starting shares: | 307.50 | ||||
| Ending shares: | 307.50 | ||||
| Dividends reinvested/share: | $0.00 | ||||
| Total return: | 569.31% | ||||
| Average annual return: | 20.94% | ||||
| Starting investment: | $10,000.00 | ||||
| Ending investment: | $66,942.15 | ||||
As shown above, the ten year investment result worked out exceptionally well, with an annualized rate of return of 20.94%. This would have turned a $10K investment made 10 years ago into $66,942.15 today (as of 05/14/2021). On a total return basis, that’s a result of 569.31% (something to think about: how might CRM shares perform over the next 10 years?). [These numbers were computed with the Dividend Channel DRIP Returns Calculator.]
Here’s one more great investment quote before you go:
“The underlying principles of sound investment should not alter from decade to decade, but the application of these principles must be adapted to significant changes in the financial mechanisms and climate.” — Benjamin Graham
