The BW 50
The BW 50 is designed to capture the corporate creme de la creme, and once again we weren't disappointed. For the third straight year, our list of the fastest-growing companies on the S&P 500 outraced the broad blue-chip stock indexes. From Mar. 1, 1999, through Mar. 1, 2000, the BW 50 class of 1999 stocks racked up a 29.2% gain. Compare that with the S&P 500's 11.5% increase and the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 8.7%. Of course, no broad market index could touch the tech-laden Nasdaq composite during that period. It skyrocketed 108.4%.
But that was in a fast-growth environment. How will the BW 50 do when the champagne stops flowing? Not as well, according to our historical analysis. The BW 50, if calculated on a calendar-year basis, would have consistently outperformed the broader S&P 500 in all but two years since 1988, as the roaring bull market focused on growth strategies. But the BW 50 would have trailed the S&P 500 in all but three of the 13 years from 1973 through 1985, when overall stock gains were far more erratic.
Ranking the BW 50 As of March 27, 2000: Company names are linked to company profiles
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The BW 50 is designed to capture the corporate creme de la creme, and once again we weren't disappointed. For the third straight year, our list of the fastest-growing companies on the S&P 500 outraced the broad blue-chip stock indexes. From Mar. 1, 1999, through Mar. 1, 2000, the BW 50 class of 1999 stocks racked up a 29.2% gain. Compare that with the S&P 500's 11.5% increase and the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 8.7%. Of course, no broad market index could touch the tech-laden Nasdaq composite during that period. It skyrocketed 108.4%.
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