Under Armour Inc (UA): What Can You Do?

Compared to many of my compatriots here at The Motley Fool, I am still relatively new to investing. Prior to last year, my investing experience was limited primarily to mutual funds, with some light dabbling into individual stocks. I had some successes along the way, but my “trader” mentality often got the best of me and led me to sell my shares on a whim, buying or selling based on price and not a whole lot else.

I like to think that I’ve shifted my mentality a bit over the past 18 months. I feel more like an investor than ever before, and plan on holding onto many of my investments for a long time. Once I make an investment decision, I try to avoid thinking about other opportunities that I let slip away. Alas, I am human, and my choice of Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA) last year over a group of other qualified candidates has had me thinking recently about the way I make investment decisions. Instead of dwelling on the missed gains, however, I decided to learn from the decision and adjust my thinking going forward.

A bit of history
Last August, I identified five companies that I was considering adding to my portfolio, and spent the month looking at various reasons why they would have made great additions to my portfolio. I ultimately went with Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA), and while the other stocks remained on my watchlist, I decided to turn my attention to following Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA) more closely.

Nevertheless, the performance of the other companies on the list over the past eight months has been hard to ignore, so I decided to take a look how each of the candidates has fared since I made my decision, and it is no wonder that I hope for what could have been:

Source: UA data by YCharts.

What can you do?
While it is slightly disheartening to have missed out on the great performance from three of these companies, I have no regrets. I still think Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA) will be a winner in the long run, and remain committed to the company and CEO Kevin Plank. With a long-term horizon and no need to access these funds for quite some time, I view this eight-month snapshot as a learning opportunity more than anything else.

Personally, I look back on my decision last September and wonder if I missed something about Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX). I honestly thought it was an acquisition candidate, and wouldn’t remain as an independent company for much longer. Instead, the company continues to add subscribers, including a robust 3 million during its most recent quarter, and could put up similar results going forward with the return of Arrested Development later this month. I just have to file this in the “lessons learned” category and continue to look for opportunities.