Love It or Leave It

Since the early 1980s we’ve marked the end of the calendar year by asking each of a group of investment pros to name the one stock they think most likely to either outpace or trail the market over the coming 12 months. Our panel of seers now numbers 17, with 12 bulls, 5 bears.

Both sets performed admirably in the year gone by. Long bets from the Love Only One class of 2005 rose an average 16% over the course of the contest versus 7% for the S&P 500. The shorts ended a three-year streak of poor showings. Their picks declined 25% on average. In all, 12 of our 17 contestants earned our customary reward for beating the market, an invitation to return for 2006. Eleven have accepted.

Full story (reg. required) at Forbes.com