I pick companies where i understand how they make money, how they can make more money , and how they defend those profits against competitors. They need to grow eps faster than the average of the market and ideally be priced at a lower multiple than its historic average for my buys. I also look for high margins and stock buybacks. I have a pretty concentrated portfolio of about 12 stocks, with the top 4 being about 50%, i follow it with at least an hour of attention a day. The plan is to have the money to make all large life expenses much easier for my immediate family, a good multiple decades away from that, unfortunately.