A wonderful exercise that could make investors better is to study the best-performing stocks in the past. By understanding what made them successful, we can apply that knowledge to potential investment candidates. 

In the past decade, the stock of (NYSE: MA) has climbed 504%, beating the 162% gain of the broader S 500 index. So someone who put $10,000 into this top financial stock in October of 2013 would see a balance of $60,400 today. That's a great return. 

Let's look at what factors have benefited Mastercard, while also considering what prospective investors should do today. 

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Source Fool.com