Killeens Financial 

Proinnsias Ó Cillín

Money-Doubling Stocks

I would like to buy stocks that will double my money, and then double it again.  Are there stocks that can do this?

Apparently so.

The following Table shows how long it would take to double your money, based on the outcome for the 12 months to 31 January 2006, for the stocks in the table, (i.e., if they were to perform in the coming year as they have in the past year).  

Of course, these stocks may not grow as fast in 2006 as they did in 2005.

Of course, it's easy to pick the winners after the race is over.

Of  course, some of these may fall back in 2006, even collapse.

Of course, of all the stocks in the table, the financial stock, Allied Irish Banks, is considered the most secure investment.  The 20% rise in the share price over the 12 months to 31 January 2006 is quite exceptional.  If it makes 15% in 2006, well, that's all right too.  Fifteen percent (double your money in 7.3 years) would not be a bad outcome at all.  Look at its 5-year chart (at Charts Reuters.com) and you will see that its total rise over the 5 years was only just above 40%, meaning that it would take 12.5 years to double your money.  (And in that 5 years, there was one where it actually fell!)

All the rest of the securities in the Table would be regarded as growth stocks.  The past predicts the future, and a trend will continue until something happens to bring it to an end.  Therefore, so long as you don't place all your eggs in the one basket, on the balance of probablities, investing in these growth stocks, promises to double your money in double quick time.  (How many cliches have I used in this paragraph?).  

Using the Internet, you can keep a daily watch on the shares you have bought.  When your share rises, you can take some profit by selling part of the holding.  If, however, it shows signs of collapsing, you can avoid further losses by selling as soon as you see the warning signs.  Don't panic at normal down-swings, however.  Drawing top-lines and bottom-lines on the share's chart, as described below, can help to judge whether an upward trend is finished.  You might also keep an eye on the company's performance as reported by Reuters or other information system.

Bad news, financial or political, can cause a sudden fall in a share's price.  If there is no significant change in your company's fundamentals, this can be a signal to buy more shares while the price is down, rather than panicking and selling out. 

Sources of this information:

Information about the Irish and UK shares in the above Table (whose Ticker Names end with ".I" and ".L" respectively) came largely from DavyStockWatch and the financial pages of Irish newspapers.

Information about the American shares came from www.Morningstar.com as well as from www.Reuters.com.  Shares found in Morningstar Stock QuickRank were subjected to some scrutiny on Reuters' site before being included in the Table.