For those who were investing a decade ago, the financial crisis of 2008-9 is likely still a fresh memory. Those were dark times with few places to hide. For some, the financial crisis helped shape who we are today. That includes myself as I was still quite new to the game of investing and trying to forge a career path.
But investors who stuck with it after the Great Recession came away with invaluable lessons. These included how to spot a deal on a quality company, the importance of tuning out the news, and maintaining a long-term mindset. Even in some of the hardest-hit and ugliest-looking sectors of the economy -- such as financial stocks -- there were serious investment opportunities to be had.
Let's take a look back at the top-performing finance stocks of the 2010s and reflect on the lessons learned from the past decade.