Over the last two quarters, my friends Grayson Roze, Julius de Kempenaer, and David Keller joined me in a fantasy stock draft series hosted on EarningsBeats.com. The ranking team also took part, always picking the highest‑scoring stock at the moment of selection.
The goal of these drafts is simple: learn together and see who can pick the best stocks. We all love to compete, so the public can watch the stocks we truly like at a given time.
One thing is crystal clear after two drafts – focusing on relative strength works. As a group we beat the S&P 500 in both contests. The ranking tool, which measures pure momentum, outperformed the index by about 10 percentage points each quarter. Its scores are published daily, ranked from strongest to weakest across all asset classes.
Our results are even more striking because a stock could only be chosen once. Once someone picked a hot name like SanDisk (SNDK), it was off‑limits for the rest of the group. In theory we ended up with about 50 different stocks across five portfolios – a level of diversification that usually makes beating the market harder. Still, we left the S&P 500 far behind.
In the first draft, Julius earned the top spot with a 13.42 % return while the index rose just 3.26 %. In the second challenge, the ranking team won with a 19.25 % gain versus the index’s 6.96 % jump.
Our average portfolio returned 7.90 % in the first draft and 14.14 % in the second, both well above the market’s performance.
The bottom line: picking strong relative‑strength stocks makes a big difference.
Top Picks from Draft #1
David Keller missed the first draft, so Grayson, Julius, and I faced the ranking team. The draft order was random; Julius had the first pick and chose Applied Materials (AMAT). AMAT surged more than 44 % that quarter, helping Julius capture the first championship.
The ranking team’s best pick was SanDisk (SNDK). While we hesitated, the team bought SNDK based on its high score and the stock jumped an astonishing 136 % in under three months.
My own top pick was another semiconductor, Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS), which rose 36.5 %. Grayson’s best stock was GE Vernova (GEV), up 36.1 %.
Top Picks from Draft #2
Julius, the winner of Draft #1, could not join the second competition.
At first I thought I had won, but the challenge was actually set to end on May 8th. The extra week let the ranking team and Grayson overtake me. The ranking team finished with a 19.25 % gain, far beating the S&P 500’s 6.96 % rise.
The secret? SanDisk (SNDK) again. It climbed a massive 163.84 % from February to May, delivering the biggest boost for the team.
Grayson also moved ahead in the final week thanks to a sizzling semiconductor, Intel Corp (INTC).
My best pick that quarter was Viavi Solutions (VIAV), a telecom equipment stock that jumped 94.35 %. David Keller’s top performer was Jabil (JBL), up 38.21 %.
We are now preparing for Draft #3, which will include all five of us plus the ranking team. It promises to be the most exciting draft yet!
If you have free time on Monday at 12 pm ET, join the live stream. It will be educational, entertaining, and full of great stock ideas.
Happy trading!
Source: Materials provided by https://articles.stockcharts.com.Note: Content may be edited for style and length.