Top 100 Brands Outperform S&P 500 by Nearly 60 Percentage Points, WeSeed Study Shows.

CHICAGO -- A new study by WeSeed - the stock market for the rest of us -- finds that during the past nine years America's top 100 brands have drastically outperformed the S&P 500 by a whopping 59.52 percentage points. The findings underscore the power of stocks with strong consumer affinity.

The S&P 500 produced a drop of 28.13% for the nine years ending in 2008, while the Top 100 Brands, based on the Business Week/InterBrand Best Global Brands ranking, generated a 31.39% return. These leading names were also less risky as a group, with a volatility measuring 57.71% for the S&P 500 vs. 52.85%. Brands from the same company (such as KFC and Pizza Hut) were counted as one company (YUM! Brands). Data details are available upon request.

If $10,000 were invested in January of 2000 through December of 2008 in the S&P 500, it would have resulted in a $2,810 loss for a value of $7,190 while investing in the top 100 brands would have returned $13,140 or a gain of $3,140- enough for a down payment on a car or about a year's worth of groceries for a typical family (US Census Bureau).

"For the millions of Americans who've seen their retirement accounts decimated, this study confirms that you can invest in the everyday brands you know and love and witness far better results," said Jennifer Openshaw, WeSeed's President and author of The Millionaire Zone (Hyperion). "These companies generally perform well because they reinvest in the brand and deliver what consumers want."

Openshaw will hold a free webinar on this topic on Tuesday, February 3rd (7:00PM EST/6:00 PM CST) - Boost Your Investments: Learn Why Top Brands are Topping the Market. She'll also take participant questions. To register, go here (https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/535264958).

Despite the drag of financial and retail companies in the latter part of 2008, the overall top brands outperformed because of their strong consumer brand products. They include the following:

The top 10 performers (ticker):           >
2000-2008 Total Return (%)


1. Volkswagen/Audi (VLKAY)                >
702.35


2. BlackBerry (Research in Motion: RIMM)  >
427.16


3. Marlboro (Altria Group: MO)            >
354.87


4. Google (GOOG)                          >
261.94


5. Pizza Hut/KFC (YUM! Brands: YUM)       >
246.65


6. Apple (AAPL)                           >
232.06


7. Nintendo (NTDOY)                       >
168.22


8. Smirnoff (Diageo Plc: DEO)             >
145.03


9. Danone (GDNNY)                         >
140.00


10. Accenture (ACN)                       >
137.33

What's also worth noting about the study is that the top 100 brands include names like AIG (down 97.67%), Citi (down 77.21%), Merrill Lynch (down 67.31%) and Ford (down 90.31%). Even with their dramatic drops, consumers would have seen a higher return overall had they opted for "what they know." WeSeed believes consumers can benefit by following the WeSeed philosophy of using the experiences from their everyday lives to improve their investment decisions.

Sports, Autos Lead the Pack

As one would expect with the financial crisis of 2008, financials were the worst performing group. They were far outpaced by sports, autos (largely due Volkswagen), and food and drink.

                         >                            >     Average

Volatility
Sports                   >                            >       96.29

43.61
Autos                    >                            >       90.18

70.25
Food & Drink         >                            >       74.30

37.57
Consumer Products        >                            >       71.40

37.18
Health                   >                            >       28.24

27.07
Transportation/Shipping  >                            >       27.05

39.09
Technology               >                            >       20.83

51.50
Fashion                  >                            >       17.76

47.79
Entertainment/Media      >                            >      -15.30

45.59
Energy                   >                            >      -21.68

45.76
Online Retail            >                            >      -21.71

55.72
Financial                >                            >      -30.78

76.99
Other                    >                            >       83.89

50.59

"Our mission at WeSeed is to help real, everyday people understand that they're smarter investors than they think," said Openshaw. "If Americans simply use the insight they already have - by listening, watching and talking to others -- they can make smarter decisions about their 401(k)s, their jobs, their lives."

The WeSeed community is a Facebook-meets-Wall Street-like platform where users can learn about stocks and give investing a try in a safe, risk-free environment. The site features a proprietary tool - WeSearch - that delivers relevant stock ideas based on key words.

To learn more or to join the WeSeed community, please visit: www.weseed.com.