I think that looking at massive returns in your portfolio is important however you must also think about risk vs. return in investing. You can sometimes gain a huge return but if the amount of risk you are taking exceeds what is reasonable that you can't expect those same huge Gaines to happen in the future. For instance if you just bought a penny stock that was two cents and it goes to eight cents you have just have a 400% gain which is very unusual but probably will not continue in the future with a similar purchases of risky stocks. One of the things investors should look at is how to maximize return with the smallest amount of risk possible. One of the ways of generating abnormal returns is simply buying in a fashion that is not normal. This does not mean buying off the wall stocks but rather buying the BEST companies when most people are selling. The stocks should also pay a dividend allowing the good stocks to pay off and thereby compound. One of the rules of buying smart stocks is making sure that they are compounding which means paying interest on interest investing in the stock market.