These 3 Stocks Are Aggressively Average. Here's Why I've Owned Them For 10+ Years.

It sounds counterintuitive, but the best returns often come from so-called "boring" investments. While many investors chase high-growth stocks in emerging and unproven industries, it is often the well-established companies in mature markets that deliver the best long-term gains. They do so without putting shareholders through excessive volatility, too.

That's been the case in my own portfolio, which is tilted toward companies with excellent brand strength and a long track record for steady growth. Here's why I've had a few of these "average" stocks in my portfolio for more than a decade.

I was early on in my investing career when I bought Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW). I liked the paint giant for superficial factors like its large sales base and its growing dividend payment. I had no idea that Sherwin-Williams would succeed in boosting that revenue base through a mix of organic growth and big acquisitions, or that profitability would rise significantly. These factors helped the stock rise over 400% in the past decade, including dividend payments, to double the wider market's rally.

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Source Fool.com