To say that 2020 has been a challenging year for Wall Street would be a gross understatement. Thus far, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has cost more than 20 million people their jobs, and it, at one point, sent the broad-based S&P 500 lower by 34% in less than five weeks. That's the fastest bear market decline on record.
Then again, we've also witnessed one of the best quarters for the stock market in over two decades. The technology-dependent Nasdaq Composite has galloped to new all-time highs, while the S&P 500 has regained a significant portion of what it lost.
The ultimate lesson 2020 has taught investors is that sticking to your investment thesis, and thusly holding your stocks over long periods of time, is what will generate significant wealth. Taking this lesson to heart, here are my top five portfolio holdings (by dollar amount invested) as we enter the second half of what's been an unprecedented year.