May 10, 2017

20 Years In The Coca-Cola DRIP



20 years ago, I started buying Coca-Cola's (NYSE:KO) stock through the dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) as an aspiring young investor on the notion that if Warren Buffett owned Coca-Cola, so should I.

On top of that, I was a Sprite addict in my youth. As a fan of Peter Lynch's writings, I wanted to own stock in companies I knew well.

Buffett, of course, is the first to advise against buying a stock just because he owns it. He bought Coca-Cola in 1988 after the stock market crash when the valuation was attractive.

Even when the stock was at sky-high levels during the late 1990s, Buffett didn't sell. His favorite holding period is forever.

Buffett holding a stock is not a reason for independent investors to buy a stock.

Two decades wiser, I've learned that just because someone famous and accomplished owns a stock, it doesn't guarantee returns. Coca-Cola has been a positive investment over the past 20 years, but it far underperformed the S&P 500 index.

I've participated in the Coca-Cola DRIP for 20 years now. In this article, I'll share the performance of my personal investment in Coca-Cola from April 1st, 1997, to the latest dividend received on April 3rd, 2017.




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