If there is one legendary investor who not just beat the market but destroyed it, it is Peter Lynch. Lynch ran Fidelity’s Magellan Fund in the US for 13 years, from 1977 to 1990. During this period, he beat the US stock market index S&P 500 in 11 years. His average annual return during this period stood at a mind-boggling 29%. It means that every US$ 1 invested in his fund in 1977 grew to more than US$ 27 by 1990.
Lynch was not only a great investor, he had a wonderful way of getting across the secrets of his success in everyday language, exemplified by this warning of the perils of putting money into businesses that you don’t understand. His most famous investment principle is simply – Invest in what you know.
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