When Chuck Akre left FBR Focus to manage his own Akre Focus Fund (
AKREX), he kept his three-pronged approach: Find a company that has a history of strong returns, a solid management team, and the inclination to reinvest in its business. Then just buy low and hold. It's worked: Akre returned 12% annually for 13 years at FBR, and 11% in 2011 at his new fund. Leading last year's charge was MasterCard (
MA), which he started buying in 2010 and now accounts for 9.3% of his holdings.
NEXT: 1. Move over, cash: Cards are king
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