Ask IBM shareholders if Lou Gerstner has made a difference. Apple Computer with Steve Jobs is a different company than Apple Computer without Steve Jobs. Bernie Marcus was Home Depot. Sumner Redstone is Viacom. Scott McNealy is the image of Sun Microsystems.
Bankers are right.
While a company's competitive advantages are central to establishing its growth stock credentials, so too is how the company is positioned relative to major socio-economic trends. If the world is changing to your benefit, you may enjoy the experience of swimming downstream. It clearly beats swimming upstream as any salmon will tell you. The aging of the population, the information revolution and economic globalization are three trends which influence our investment decisions. Companies in the cross hairs of these trends have little to fear.