Investing Lesson: How I Made a 250% Return in MercadoLibre Stock

As an investor starting out, it's hard to differentiate good investments from the great ones. But as investors gain more experience, it becomes easier to recognize the gems. Finding great stocks is only a part of creating long-term wealth, however. Adding to your winners, even after the price has run up, can be a solid strategy in building a lasting portfolio.

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) is one example of a winning stock that's kept on winning and still has plenty of room to run. Let's take a look at how I built a position in this Latin American e-commerce operator, gaining a three-bagger return, and what the lesson here is for investors.

In 2013, MercadoLibre was still relatively small, but it showed lots of promise. It was the e-commerce market leader in 10 countries in Latin America based on unique visitors and page views. It had a robust ecosystem of six related e-commerce businesses including payments, advertising, and logistics focused on Latin America. The region's 598 million people were adopting the internet at one of the fastest-growing rates in the world. Here are some key stats from that year.

Source Fool.com