Great Companies, Great Returns: The Breakthrough Investing Strategy that Produces Great Returns over the Long- Term Cycle of Bull and Bear Markets

Great Companies, Great Returns shows that anyone can trounce the stock market over time just by investing in "the crown jewels of the best economic system on the globe." Jim Huguet builds a convincing case for accumulating a portfolio of stocks in American International Group, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Citigroup, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, General Electric, Gillette, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Merck, Merrill Lynch, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, and Schering-Plough. "These Great Companies don't have just good quarters or years; they consistently have good decades. They are not just great American companies, they are companies that can compete with and win against any company anywhere in the world, and they do, day after day after day."

According to Huguet's research, anyone who invested equally in all these 14 stocks for the 10 years between December 31, 1988 and 1998 would have beaten the S&P 500 index by an amazing 56 percent. The results are nearly as impressive for the 20 years ending in 1998. Why do these blue chips perform so well? Huguet says they share important traits: they derive no less than 40 percent of revenues from international operations; and they have superior management, dependable earnings growth, outstanding shareholder returns, distinctive brands, and track records of at least 50 years. The author also provides the details of his investing style, along with interviews with CEOs John Welch of GE, Maurice Greenberg of AIG, Alfred Zeien of Gillette, and William Steere Jr. of Pfizer. An excellent book for people looking for a relatively simple and safe way to invest for the long term. --Dan Ring