An eye-popping 305%. That's the return on the Jubak's Picks portfolio since its inception nearly 15 years ago. That's nearly six times the return of the S&P 500 in the same period.

The secret? There is no secret, Jim Jubak says. There's no magic formula -- just hard work, an understanding of the big trends and a long view that lets him stay focused even when others panic.

Jubak has been writing about stocks and the market for nearly 30 years, including stints as the senior financial editor at Worth magazine and the editor of Venture magazine.

But the Jubak's Picks story really begins in May 1997, when Jim started his Jubak's Journal column on MSN Money and launched his first portfolio.

From Day One of Jubak's Picks, he has tracked every buy and sell, chronicling his successful moves and owning up the ones that failed. And over those years, there have been far more successes than failures.

In fact, Jubak's Picks was up 305% from its inception in 1997 through the end of 2011. (For comparison, the Standard and Poor's 500 Index was up just 54.2% over the same period.) A second Jubak portfolio -- the long-term, buy-and-holdish Jubak Picks 50 -- has been around since December 2008. It ran 6 percentage points ahead of the S&P 500 in its first three years.

A third, Jim's Dividend Income Portfolio, recreates a portfolio he began for income investors in December 2005. Since it was relaunched in October 2009, this portfolio, with $10,000 invested in each of 10 equally weighted stocks, has generated more than $30,000 in cash. And with no dividends reinvested, by simply rolling over the money from each holding into a new position, the original $100,000 has grown more than $150,000.

Sound impressive? It should.

You can find all three of these portfolios on MSN Money and on Jim's own website, JubakPicks.com.

For more insight from Jim, his columns run Tuesdays and Fridays on MSN Money, JubakPicks.com and MoneyShow.com. He also blogs most weekdays on MSN Money's Top Stocks blog and at MoneyShow.com, and more often on his website. In addition, Jim manages a mutual fund, Jubak Global Equity Fund, which you can learn more about at JubakFund.com.

His goal: to bring you the best market intelligence on a schedule that keeps you at least one step ahead of the market.

How does Jim define market intelligence? "I've always aimed for a mix of analysis that lets you understand how things work -- money flows, new technologies, company strategies, economic trends -- and specific stock picks that let you make money from that analysis. When I make a buy or a sell, I want you to understand the logic and facts behind it so you can say, 'Yes, that makes sense for me,' or 'No, I disagree because . . . .'"

P.S.: Jim loves hearing from readers, so feel free to send him any ideas or suggestions here.

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Jubak's Picks

Check out Jim's top stocks for the next 12 months.(registration required).
 

Jubak Picks 50

Follow the long-term portfolio from Jim's book "The Jubak Picks." (registration required).

Dividend stocks for income investors

See Jim's new portfolio to help navigate the treacherous interest-rate environment. (registration required).