If you have a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) and are struggling to find which stocks to put in your portfolio, one way to simplify your strategy is to invest for the very long term.
Without worrying about near-term struggles and adversity, you can invest in brands and stocks that are likely going to remain strong buys for the foreseeable future. The three stocks listed below are excellent long-term buys that you can hold onto for many years.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSX: CM)(NYSE: CM) is one of Canada’s top bank stocks. If that alone doesn’t make it a great long-term investment, consider that its dividend yield of 5.2% is tops among the Big Five banks.
Similar to its peers, CIBC has been increasing its dividend payments annually and the income that you earn from holding shares of the stock will only rise over the years.
In five years, its quarterly payouts have grown from $1.06 to $1.44. That’s an increase of 35.8% and equates to a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3%. If CIBC were to continue that rate of increase, it would take fewer than 12 years for its dividend payments to double.
If you were to hold its shares for decades, it could double multiple times. CIBC is a low risk investment that you won’t have to worry about given that its performance will be tied to the strength of the economy.
While there will be downturns, when looking at such a long period, it’s hard to envision a scenario where the stock will be down.
Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp (TSX: AQN)(NYSE: AQN) may not be as safe as a bank stock, but the utility provider also can be just as reliable of an investment.
With a focus on renewable energy and assets across North America, the company is in a good position to benefit from a movement toward greener sources of energy.
Its dividend yield of 3.6% is another great source of income for your portfolio and it too has been rising over the years. Quarterly payments of US$0.141 have risen by 61.1% in five years for a CAGR of just over 10%.
At that rate, it would take a little more than seven years for Alongquin’s payouts to double. The added benefit for investors is that if the U.S. dollar appreciates relative to the Canadian dollar, it could be another way for shareholders to see their dividend income rise over time.
Restaurant Brands International Inc (TSX: QSR)(NYSE: QSR) could have the most growth potential of the stocks on this list. The company, which owns Burger King, Popeyes, and Tim Hortons, is still very aggressive in its growth and has been expanding into other countries and experimenting with new menu items.
There’s still lots of potential for Restaurant Brands to grow these businesses and that’s where it may be the most exciting stock to invest in given the opportunity for capital appreciation over the years.
But similar to the other two stocks on this list, Restaurant Brands also offers a fairly good dividend with a yield of over 3% per year. Like Algonquin, it also pays dividends in U.S. dollars.
Restaurant Brands has been aggressively raising its dividend payouts over the years, from just US$0.09 five years ago to the US$0.52 that it pays today.
It’s not likely that the stock will continue raising its payouts as significantly as it has over the years. This week it raised its quarterly payouts by a modest rate of 4%, from US$0.50 to US$0.52. If it continues to hike payments at that rate, it would take about 18 years for its dividend to double.
