Livewire readers share their secret stock winners (and why they bought them)

In the final analysis, we all invest for one reason and one reason only - to accumulate wealth. What people end up doing with that wealth is up to them, but until then, we're all hoping to pick that one great stock (or ETF or fund) that could make you richer. 

Recently, a great article was published in The Australian newspaper. It asked six of Australia's richest people to nominate a stock that they hold which has done very well for them. Without giving it all away, the article found that the billionaires often held stocks that don't marry up with their existing business or what people know them for. For instance, retail titan Gerry Harvey has made a lot of money out of a micro-cap resources company. 

Well, The Australian may have its billionaires. But we have something at our disposal that's better than billionaires - YOU. Yes, the Livewire audience. 

So we invited you all to share one winning stock you have held onto for a long time - and made a lot of money out of. This wire is a compilation of some of the best stories.

Do your homework (or some reading)

Two readers (Ross and Ewen) invested in Melbana Energy (ASX: MAY), an oil and gas exploration company with projects in both Australia and Cuba. Both have held it for some time (over three years) and continues to do so. And while you may think it's an obscure story (especially compared to the Woodside's and Santos' of the world), some digging has reaped both readers great rewards.

"The research at the time indicated a good likelihood of positive drilling results and the market was also at an appropriate stage for buying," Ross wrote to us. 

Ewen told it even simpler.

"Great board and good portfolio with an insight to the future!" he said. 

Another reader, Rob M, told us his long-term story in the London-listed gold miner Centamin PLC (LON: CEY). And while Rob has made a lot of money, it's how he found it that has piqued our interest.

"Long ago, a magazine called 'Shares' had a cover story on Centamin gold miners in Egypt. It looked good and I bought some at 9 cents. When it reached 30 cents, I sold enough to cover my original outlay and left the rest as a speculative buy," Rob told us. 

"Since then it has moved from the Australian to the UK and Canadian exchanges and changed its code, but it produced massive amounts of gold, pays a good dividend and has opened up new fields," he added.

Buy what you know

Not to quote another Warren Buffett saying but - to quote Mr Buffett - you should "invest in what you know... and nothing more."

Reader Dominic told us about an investment he made in IDP Education (ASX: IEL). He says it's returned him more than 500% in the last few years. But the reason he bought it to start with is because he could see the impact IDP was having. 

"I work at a university, and could see first-hand how IEL's business of English language testing would grow in demand as our international student cohort increased year-on-year," Dominic said.

Two readers nominated Boss Energy (ASX: BOE) and another nominated Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) as their secret winning stocks. And all have got the right theme in mind - critical minerals in short supply and in desperate need of producers.

"[BOE] is playing off the thematic of a world starting to consider nuclear as an alternative energy source," reader Roy sent in. Roy says his Boss Energy stake has returned him 72%. Good one, Roy!

Reader Nathan has held it for even longer and just like Roy, he argued that uranium is undersupplied and underpriced. BOE, Nathan said, has returned him more than 1,000%. 

And reader Wally, who told us about his 700%+ return in Pilbara, had a one-word reason for nominating the ASX darling. No prizes for guessing what it is: lithium. 

Don't be afraid of the tech story

We received quite a few responses related to tech businesses so let's compile them under one heading. Dan told us about his very profitable holding in NextDC (ASX: NXT). 

"I realised in 2014 everyone was going to be using the cloud for data storage and processing. And no one ever deletes their data so data centres had huge runways of growth," Dan said to us. 

Well, Dan, given you've told us you still hold the stock, you may want to watch this interview which Ally Selby did with NextDC CEO Craig Scroggie. 

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James told us about his 2,000% return in Wisetech Global (ASX: WTC).

"Even then [when James first bought], it was used by large number of major logistics companies," James said.

And finally, this one from reader BWG who told us about their holding in founder-led and run Dicker Data (ASX: DDR).

"I initially bought it as a quarterly dividend and in the IT sector. [It] did well through COVID. [Also] a founder-led company," they said. 

Look around you

Our next collection of responses involves simply paying attention to the world around you. Take Mark, who has backed (and continues to back) Lindsay Australia (ASX: LAU). Even though he has held it for less than three years, Mark claimed Lindsay has returned some 350% on his original capital. 

So how did he come across the stock?

Management is everything

Buy a good business and everything else will take care of itself, right? That's what reader Susan did when she bought a stake in Washington H. Soul Pattinson (ASX: SOL). The Millner family is famous for its management style and investing approach - and clearly, it also impressed Susan.

"I heard Robert Millner's dad one night on TV. He impressed me with his cost-cutting and manner," Susan writes. 

You can catch more of our conversation with Robert Millner from the recent Livewire Live event here:

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Another reader, Peter, nominated Wesfarmers (ASX: WES). A long-term hold, Peter told us about his three reasons why he's held on for so long.

"A well-managed company, [it's a] conglomerate with consistent cash flows," he said. 

And sometimes... it's just beginner's luck

And finally, my personal favourite. This one is from Lawrie and to say he stumbled upon CSL (ASX: CSL) at the right time is underselling it. Lawrie tells us he bought CSL at the same time that a lot of great businesses were floating (think the newly privatised CBA, etc). But, in all honesty:

That's very humble of you, Lawrie. Enjoy the 3000%+ return you've made on it!

Want to submit your own winning stock?

We'd love to hear from you! Tell us about your winning stock by using this link here.