No investor would like to be reminded of 2001. It was the year when if you wanted to dabble in stocks you could just as well have given away your money. The Sensex plunged 17.5 per cent, from 3,955.08 (January 1, 2001) to 3,262.33 (December 31, 2001). Not an exciting year to have invested in stocks, right? Wrong. If you'd picked the 15 cherries we're going to talk about, you could have easily been that elusive creature, a Master of the Universe.

If by a stroke of genius you'd plonked Rs 10,000 in shares of the state-managed IBP, it would have been worth Rs 28,000 by the year-end. And you could crack open a Veuve Cliquot on the New Year's eve.

Yes, we know you probably didn't do anything of that sort. So to just make those grapes seem a little more sour, we are profiling 15 stocks that could have made you a winner last year.

1 IBP
This was the top performer of 2001. Opening the year at Rs 145, IBP, whose marketing network is the cynosure of entrants like Reliance Petroleum, closed at Rs 408. With the government planning to disinvest, interest in the stock remained high.

2 INFOTECH ENTERPRISE
The story behind this obscure company is not known to many. It is a supplier of GIS solutions, business software; and internet development services. Its scale-up operation and product diversification did the trick. Point to note, however, is Infotech's small capital base of Rs 6.1 crore.

3 BAJAJ AUTO
With a 65 per cent return, Bajaj Auto was one of the biggest gainers amongst older auto companies. Though overtaken by rival Hero Honda, its comeback strategy earned plaudits. ''Bajaj Auto in 2001, was a turnaround story. Cost-cutting and new models worked to its gain,'' says Abhay Kantak, Research Analyst, Motilal Oswal.

4 ASHOK LEYLAND
Ditto for Ashok Leyland. While rival Telco grappled with its passenger car Indica's mixed fortunes, the second-largest truckmaker surged ahead on back of its mid-sized commercial vehicles. Compared to Telco's blues (second-quarter losses were Rs 61.8 crore), Ashok Leyland was on a high (second quarter profits were 18.5 crore). ''It has a well-diversified topline with almost equal cyclical and non-cyclical business. So, in a downturn, Ashok Leyland has always scored over Telco,'' says Govind Rajan, Auto Analyst, Motilal Oswal.

5 BHARAT PETROLEUM
BPCL's customer-orientation earned plaudits from the bourses. With the proposed dismantling of APM, investors were attracted by its marketing strengths.

6 HERO HONDA MOTORS
Hero Honda won the two-wheeler sweepstakes last year and that's why it's on our list. However, Bajaj Auto is higher up returning 65 per cent to Hero Honda's 46. Still, if you had backed either of these horses, you'd have little to complain about.

7 CMC
The company's sale to the TCS gave this public sector slowpoke the leg up it needed. Its shares perked up 45 per cent. ''Being put on the block was its biggest plus-point. It was re-rated since TCS can benefit a lot from CMC's client-profile,'' says Jigar Shah, Head (Research), KR Choksey.

8 CORPORATION BANK
The only bank on our list, Corporation Bank stocks returned a handsome 44.89 per cent thanks to the alliance with LIC. The bank's surplus funds will also be invested by the LIC. ''While the alliance will help this bank go retail, it has also done well in terms of a proactive management, good accounting norms and NPA provisions,'' says Shah of KR Choksey.

9 DR. REDDY'S LABS
Dr Reddy's is one of stars of the Indian pharma firmament and last year it provided investors with a 44.32 per cent return. DRL's strength lies in basic research, but the uncertainties involved were made clear when it lost a case in the US, raising questions about its growth prospects.

10 E-SERVE
This Citibank associate performed well due to assured business from the parent, giving a return of 41.17 per cent. Its focus is on it-enabled financial services, with expertise in processing and customer-care solutions. e-Serve saw growth in 2001 on the back of the scale-up operation in the past three years.

11 HDFC
At number 11, HDFC closed the year with gains of 23.14 per cent in its 25th year of operation. Thanks to the lower interest rates and tax incentives in the housing sector, retail growth continued. The company added a network of offices, intensified marketing efforts and offered a special discount on fees in the quarter-ended December 2001.

12 PHILIPS
The electronics major's stock ruled steady, giving a return of 21.78 per cent chiefly because of the parent's interest in taking over the company and de-listing it. The parent has already made an open offer to buy 17.1 per cent stake from the minority shareholders at Rs 105 per share.

13 TATA POWER
Tata Power ended the year with a 19.43 per cent gain due to a combination of factors. One, the power sector is being seen as safe, and two, the company is planning to invest Rs 880 crore in broadband over the next couple of years.

14 GUJARAT AMBUJA CEMENTS
Successive price increases ensured that cement stocks had top-of-the-mind recall with investors. Successful cartelisation gave a boost to its profitability and the coming quarters will be even better for the stock. It gave a return of 18 per cent.

15 MOSER-BAER
A computer peripherals company scaled up capacity in the last couple of years. Its performance finally started showing in 2001. The company closed the year with a gain of 17.61 per cent.

So did you catch the bus last year or miss it? As they say, in hindsight, everything looks so easy. Meanwhile, here's wishing you all the luck in 2002. Yes, and we'll see how you fare next January.