Ordinary private investors should use the simplest strategies to beat the market. Take investing in stocks with low price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios, for example. You can not only beat the market, but do so consistently!
It’s a favorite investment strategy among value investors, looking for cheap stocks. Research has shown how well low P/E stocks have performed against the broader market. Taking the 50 lowest P/E stocks in the S&P 500 Index, rebalancing the portfolio each quarter, we’re able to show that from 1992 to 2016, an investment of $10,000 would have grown to over $210,000. That’s an over 2,000% return. However, investing the same $10,000 into the S&P 500 would have produced a much smaller amount of under $92,000.
In other words, these low P/E stocks handily beat their more expensive peers. Beating the market is not easy, but possible.
Stick to what works and be disciplined during difficult times.
Sven Franssen