Why do some people succeed spectacularly in the market while others fail?

The market is the same for one person as it is the next.

Yet there are plenty of investors underperforming the market even while it's making new all-time highs like now.

So why the big difference in performance between one person and another?

It all boils down two things:

1) Knowing what works, and 
2) Doing what works

While the stock market isn't a perfect science, the fact remains that if you concentrate on what works and stop doing what doesn't, you will most surely succeed in the market.

Knowledge Is Power

We've all heard the old adage: 'knowledge is power'.

It's a great saying because it's true.

And that saying couldn't be truer than when it comes to investing.

Take a look at your last big loser for example. After analyzing what went wrong, you soon discover some piece of information that – 'had you known that, you never would have gotten into it in the first place'.

I'm not talking about things that are unknowable, like surprise announcements that can catch even the most professional of professionals off guard. I'm talking about things that you could have known about or should have known about before you got in.

This is part of 'knowing what works'.

• Did you know that roughly half of a stock's price movement can be attributed to the group that it's in?

• Did you also know that oftentimes a mediocre stock in a top performing group will outperform a 'great' stock in a poor performing group?

• And did you know that the top 50% of Zacks Ranked Industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1?

• And did you also know that the top 10% of industries outperformed the most?

The Greatest Single Investment Secret

No it's not "Buy and Hold Forever" or "Buy Low. Sell High." Instead, it rides the most powerful force impacting stock prices. For more than a quarter century, it has nearly tripled the market with an average gain of +26% per year. This has been verified by an independent accounting firm.

You can easily master it in your own home without attending a class or seminar. Get started before this Saturday, September 20, and receive a hardbound copy of Finding #1 Stocks by Kevin Matras free of charge.

Get the secret and the free book >>

Was your last loser in one of the top industries or in one of the bottom industries?

If it was in one of the bottom industries, you should have known to not take a chance on something with a reduced probability of success.

That is the 'doing what works' part. (And not doing what doesn't work.)

That's not to say that stocks in crummy industries won't go up -- they do. And that's not to say that stocks in good industries won't go down -- because they do too.

But more stocks go up in the top industries, and more stocks go down in the bottom industries.

And that's part of the science of making money in stocks.

If you follow a set of proven profitable rules, you'll have a higher probability of succeeding.

Know What Works

• Did you know that stocks with 'just' double-digit growth rates typically outperform stocks with triple-digit growth rates?

• Did you also know that stocks with crazy high growth rates test nearly as poorly as those with the lowest growth rates?

Did your last loser have a spectacular growth rate?

If so, and it got crushed, would you have picked it if you knew that stocks with the highest growth rates have spotty track records?

Once again, this is the 'know what works' part.

It seems logical to think that the companies with the highest growth rates would do the best. But it doesn't always turn out to be the case.

One explanation for this is that sky high growth rates are unsustainable. And the moment a more normal (albeit still good) growth rate emerges, the stock gets a dose of reality as well.

Instead, I have found that comparing a stock to the median growth rate for its industry is the best way to find solid outperformers with a lesser chance to disappoint. And there are growth rate ranges that have proven to work the best.

Did You Know?...

• Did you know that stocks receiving broker rating upgrades have historically outperformed those with no rating change by more than 1.5 times? And did you know they outperformed stocks receiving downgrades by more than 10 times as much? The next time one of your stocks is upgraded or downgraded, be sure to remember these statistics so you know how the odds stack up and whether they're for you or against you.

• Did you know that stocks with a Price to Sales ratio of less than 1 have produced significantly superior results over companies with a Price to Sales ratio greater than those levels? And did you know that those with a Price to Sales ratio of greater than 4 have been typically shown to lose money? That doesn't mean that all stocks with a P/S ratio of less than one will go up and those over four will go down, but you can greatly increase your odds of success by following these valuations.

• Did you know that two simple filters added to the Zacks #1 Rank significantly increases its returns? What if you did? We have a screen that utilizes these two additional items. Over the last 10 years, it has produced an average annual return of 59.3% per year. And it's already up 43.9% this year to the market's 9.74%, with still 3 more months to go.

Do you know how well your stock picking strategies have performed?

Whether good or bad - do you know why?

Do you know if your favorite item to look for is helping you or hurting you?

Answers

Get the answers to these questions and more. And discover what works and what doesn't before your next trade.

There's a simple place to start. It's called the Zacks Method for Trading: Home Study Course.

With it, you learn interactively, online. In your own home, on your own time, at your own pace.

You'll quickly see how to identify what kind of trader you are, how to find stocks with the highest probability of success, and how to trade them so you can consistently beat the market regardless of where stock prices are headed. The course also takes you through some of our best-performing strategies from a variety of different trading styles, and it helps you create and test your own.

Today is the perfect time to get in. I'm giving participants free hardbound copies of my book, Finding #1 Stocks, a $49.95 value. Its 300 pages unfold virtually every insider secret I know about the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the S&P 500 for more than a quarter century.

Important: Please note that your opportunity to get the book free ends this Saturday, September 20.

Find out more about the Zacks Home Study Course >>

Thanks and good trading,

Kevin