Business Insider's 6 best investing stories of 2020

Dear Readers,

It's been an unprecedented year in countless ways, and the extreme volatility seen in the stock market was no exception. After suffering the swiftest bear-market plunge in history, US equities recouped those losses in mere months and now sit near all-time highs.

Most major events (the worst recession in 100-plus years, negative oil prices) were byproducts of the coronavirus outbreak. But some (repeated yield-curve inversions in early 2020, the US presidential election) weren't. There were so many forces to contend with that you'd be excused for forgetting some of them were even in play.

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Ever the safety net, the Investing team at Business Insider was with you every step of the way, dissecting the vicious fluctuations while simultaneously telling you how to adjust your portfolios and capitalize on the chaos.

To that end, we've selected the six best Investing stories of the year. Enjoy the selection below, and we'll see you back here in your inbox on the first Tuesday after the holidays.

Thanks for reading!

-- Joe

(1) We spoke with Wall Street's 9 best-performing fund managers of 2020 to learn how they crushed the chaotic market - and compile the biggest bets they're making for 2021

Business Insider spoke to the nine top-performing US mutual fund managers of the year, based on their performance through November 6. They shared insights into investing strategies and stock picks that prevailed through the crisis, and shared their top trade ideas for 2021.

(2) Inside Eagle Investors, the 20,000-member online community run by 2 Indiana University students that's helping spearhead the Gen Z day-trading revolution

Indiana University undergraduates Vishu Namburi and Ishaan Sandhir created Eagle Investors in July 2019, hoping to form a tightly knit community of options traders.

Pandemic-fueled market volatility drove much of Eagle Investors' expansion, and both moderators and clients have made money along the way. But the group's rapid growth presents a challenge for the founders who strive to maintain closeness within the community while still making space for new members.

(3) Nancy Zevenbergen is in the top 1% of investors over the past 5 years. She breaks down what she looks for in young companies - and shares 4 stocks she thinks could be market leaders 10 years from now.

Nancy Zevenbergen - founder of Zevenbergen Capital Investments, which has about $5 billion in assets - has a knack for investing early in companies that see extraordinary growth. She detailed for Business Insider her market-beating approach to investing, and shared four stocks she thinks could be the next market leaders.

(4) 14 Wall Street experts told us the single metric they're each watching to assess coronavirus market fallout - and give their portfolios a leg up

Business Insider asked 14 investment strategists and analysts in April to share one crucial metric, index, or signal they're closely tracking as the novel coronavirus throws markets and economies into disarray. Their answers illustrate where experts have been looking to gauge the way forward for markets and the economy.

(5) Robert Shiller, Rick Rieder, and 18 more of the brightest minds on Wall Street reveal the most important charts in the world

In February, amid the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Business Insider asked 20 financial experts - including Nobel-winning economists and acclaimed investment chiefs - to share charts that capture the biggest trends in markets.

The charts included illustrate opportunities for the decade ahead, potential catalysts for the next economic recession, and other big themes that will inform where investors should be putting their money now.

(6) The ultimate guide to getting started in real-estate investing - according to entrepreneurs who built multimillion-dollar empires from scratch

The most successful investors are highly adaptable. Take Jacob Blackett, the CEO of Holdfolio and founder of SyndicationPro, for example. He lost $70,000 on his first deal, but has since amassed a portfolio of 1,000 units.

The best ones are also rigorous about choosing the right strategy, methodology, and location for their investments. To aid your own decision-making, we've centralized months of reporting on real-estate investing trends into a single guide.