Robert S. Bacarella is Founder and Chairman of Monetta Financial Services, Inc., a registered investment adviser founded in 1984, and he has served as the Portfolio Manager or Co-Manager of the Monetta Fund and the Monetta Core Growth Fund — formerly the Monetta Young Investor Fund — since the funds’ inceptions. Before founding Monetta, Mr. Bacarella spent over 15 years with Borg-Warner Corporation, including in the role of Director-Pension Fund Investments.
In this exclusive 4.009 word interview in the Wall Street Transcript, Mr. Bacarella offers his hard won investment wisdom.
“Trying to time the market is a loser’s game. Even the best of us can’t do it. It’s very difficult to do because you’ve got to be right twice: when to get in and when to get out. And then, once you do get out, you have to decide when to get back in.
And many investors during market corrections panic to get out of the market and never re-enter the market. This approach has proven to have a negative impact on long-term performance because they do not reinvest until the market starts to trend the other way. By that time, they miss a major portion of the rallies as the market recovers…
Listen, I got into this business in 1972 and 1973. Those were two years of torture. And I saw stock values plummet 50%, 60% gradually, torturously down during that period. I thought the end of the world was near.
I remember interest rates when they were 18% and looking at a bond at that time that was going to yield me 18.2%. And I was worried that interest rates would go to 20%. I mean, that’s what happens during these periods of panic.
And what I’ve learned over my years is to stay invested, think long term and take advantage of the opportunities that occur, where you can buy stocks at a discount, especially top-quality, large-cap growth stocks.”
An example from Mr. Bacarella:
“Second one will be Visa (NYSE:V), the credit card company. Again, a brand name company, the largest processor in the credit card business. They have 53% of the market share and have consistently produced 10% year-over-year earnings growth. Good, solid holding.
Their competition is Mastercard (NYSE:MA) at 22% and American Express (NYSE:AXP) at 22%. They are the market leaders.”
Get the other top picks in this exclusive 4,009 word interview, only in the Wall Street Transcript.
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