100 Baggers: Stocks That Return 100-to-1 and How to Find Them

I’ve previously written about Nick & Zak’s Adventures in Capitalism and how a key attribute covered throughout the book is the ability to do very little for long periods of time, allowing compounding to do the heavy lifting. Although 100 Baggers by Christopher Mayer does extend the focus to analysing what makes a 100-bagger, it has a similar underlying theme.

A core point repeated throughout is the focus on patience and the ability to sit with investments for years, sometimes decades, while compounding works its magic. Mayer is upfront that many of his examples are, by definition, backward-looking so benefit from hindsight. Whilst reviews that have highlighted this are fair, I don’t think the fact it benefits from hindsight takes away from the lessons and principles Mayer is putting forwards. If anything, it substantiates them. The examples exist to demonstrate what the long term journey to 100-bagger looks like. Deep drawdowns, periods of stagnation, and volatility that will inevitably lead some to sell.

Mayer doesn’t claim to offer a formula for guaranteed 100-baggers but instead outlines an approach designed to increase the probability of finding them. One of the most valuable aspects of the book are the examples that state the duration required to reach 100-bagger status. Could you trade your way to similar gains more quickly? Possibly. But that path comes with higher risk, trading costs, tax implications, and the ever-present temptation to use leverage, which can just as easily undo progress when markets turn.

Long-term investing is simple, but it isn’t easy. The temptation to act for the sake of action is constant. Selling because others are exiting, reacting to news or macro noise, or trimming winners early simply to ‘take profit’ despite having no immediate need for the capital. Mayer does a good job of highlighting how succumbing to the temptations to act can be the enemy of achieving exceptional long outcomes.

Depending on where you are in your investing journey I suspect the book may also create a sense of both urgency and realism as to how long it takes to realise large gains and as a consequence when you should seek to be getting started.

I’ve read a lot of investing books over the years, but 100 Baggers does a very good job of keeping to the point, not getting into overly technical knowledge and instead laying out the key principles for extraordinary returns. Armed with this knowledge you can go onto other books for greater detail on stock picking strategies and analysis.

Who’s it for?

Anyone already interested in investing will find this valuable. It’s equally useful for those newer to the idea of individual stock picking, as it helps frame both the type of businesses that can deliver outsized returns and the time and temperament required to see those returns realised. Above all, it’s a book for investors willing to think long-term and to let compounding, rather than constant activity, do the work.