There are several different strategies that investors use to meet their long-term investment goals. Some prefer going all out on income stocks due to the power reinvesting those dividends over the long term.
Others prefer to seek out aggressive growth stocks that can increase in value. Others will use a diversified balanced portfolio that let’s “the market do its thing.”
Regardless of your preferred investment style, there are some great investments that should form the core of every portfolio.
Great investment #1: a bank
Canada’s big banks are incredible investment options that are the envy of foreign markets. In short, Canada’s big banks are incredibly stable, offer diversified networks of branches and segments, consistently outperform during earnings season, and offer growing sources of dividend income.
While all the big banks are great investments, Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS)(NYSE:BNS) has raised eyebrows recently for its lucrative expansion tactics into Central and South America.
Bank of Nova Scotia expanded heavily into those regions in lieu of a stronger U.S. presence pursued by its peers. The result is a more diversified portfolio in regions of the world that have higher interest and loan rates and ongoing growth prospects thanks to Bank of Nova Scotia’s play into the countries of the trading bloc known as the Pacific Alliance.
In terms of income and growth, Bank of Nova Scotia offers a quarterly dividend with a yield of 3.97%, which has seen annual or better growth spanning a decade. The stock price has averaged at least 8% growth over the course of that decade.
With a string of strong results, a growing dividend, and recent acquisitions, Bank of Nova Scotia is the ultimate buy-and-forget stock.
Great investment #2: a retailer
There are few companies in the retail sector with a history as impressive as Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (TSX:ATD.B). Couche-Tard is one of the largest convenience store and gas station operators in the world, with a network of thousands of locations spread across North America, Europe, and Asia.
Couche-Tard’s advantageous position in the market stems from an insatiable appetite for growth that has seen the company gobble up smaller competitors and integrate them into its growing network.
The brilliance in this model becomes apparent by the nature in which gas stations are owned in clusters over a single area. In other words, an acquisition by Couche-Tard over a single competitor often becomes an expansion into a completely new market.
While Couche-Tard offers a dividend to investors, the paltry 0.57% yield is hardly a reason to consider an investment. Instead, investors should turn to the impressive growth of the stock, which, over the past decade, has doubled over the past four years.
Great investment #3: a telecom
Canada’s telecoms are incredible investments. The sheer geography of the country requires some substantial infrastructure to offer coast-to-coast coverage, and that infrastructure provides the opportunity for telecoms to charge handsomely for service, which translates into an impressive dividend for investors.
Few companies can attest to having a more impressive infrastructure than BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE)(NYSE:BCE). BCE’s impressive portfolio blankets the country on multiple fronts to such an extent that we take it for granted. The company has a media arm, in addition to its core subscription services, which owns several radio and TV stations as well as professional sports teams.
In terms of a dividend, BCE offers a quarterly dividend that pays out a handsome yield of 5.35%. BCE has been paying that dividend for well over 100 years.
If there were ever a perfect example of a forever stock, BCE would certainly be it.
