OTC Focus: Nasdaq Party Still Has Room for Latecomers
NEW YORK -- Investors who arrived late at the small-stock party take heart: You can still get in on the merrymaking, if history serves as a guide.</br></br>Even latecomers fared well in three out of the four small-stock rallies since the Great Depression that most closely resemble the current surge in small stocks.</br></br>Like the current rally, those four began as the economy was crawling out of recessions. They gained steam as the economy strengthened. Only one of the four died. But the loser was the most recent rally, which followed the early 1980s recession.</br></br>Small stocks soared a remarkable 46% last year, as measured by the Russell 2000 index. Now many investors wonder whether they can still profit handsomely if they missed the powerful first stage of a small-stock rally.</br></br>It is a question "that I was asked at least 15 times last week," says Jim Collins, small-stock money manager and publisher of OTC Insight of Moraga, Calif. He is advising clients to invest after the powerful Christmas rally cools a bit.