So, you’ve decided to start investing. Congrats! That’s a very big step and arguably one of the most important things someone can do. Now you may be wondering, “How do I get started?” The investment journey starts by figuring out which stocks you’d like to hold in a portfolio. For new investors, I suggest looking for companies with steady businesses that receive a predictable and recurring source of revenue. In this article, I’ll discuss three stocks that beginners should buy today!
Start with a company you know
The easiest way to find companies to hold in your portfolio is to think of the companies you interact with on a daily basis. If you’re pleased with the products or services that the company offers, then it may be a good stock to consider for your portfolio. This is because you would already be familiar with how the company operates and now that its products or services are in high demand. An example of this would be the company that you bank with.
Let’s take Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX: BNS)(NYSE: BNS) as an example. It’s one of the largest banks in the country in terms of assets, revenue, and market cap. Bank of Nova Scotia offers investors a reliable dividend, while having a bit of growth potential as well. In terms of its dividend, Bank of Nova Scotia has been paying shareholders a portion of its earnings in each of the past 189 years. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Consider this Canadian behemoth
Another company that you may be familiar with is Telus (TSX: T)(NYSE: TU). This company operates the largest telecom network in Canada. It provides coverage to 99% of the Canadian population. With the Rogers network outage occurring last week, we could also see a shift towards Telus’s business in the near future, making this company even more attractive.
What investors should take note of is that Telus also operates another business line that deserves a lot of attention. It provides personal and professional healthcare solutions. On its personal care side, Telus offers MyCare, which is an app that allows users to seek out medical professionals from the comfort of their own homes. Through its professional solutions, Telus offers a suite of EMR and administrative solutions.
Like Bank of Nova Scotia, Telus is a tremendous dividend stock. It has raised its dividend in each of the past 17 years.
Look into dividend stocks
You may have noticed that I made a conscious effort to mention the dividends that Bank of Nova Scotia and Telus offer. This is because strong dividend companies, tend to be great stocks to hold in a beginner portfolio. Generally, dividend stocks are less volatile than growth stocks. This could allow a new investor to ease into the market and get used to the daily swings in their portfolio.
When looking for dividend stocks, investors could refer to the list of Canadian Dividend Aristocrats. This is a list of stocks that have raised dividends for at least five consecutive years.
Of that list of stocks, I believe Fortis (TSX: FTS)(NYSE: FTS) is a company worth mentioning. The company provides regulated gas and electric utilities to more than three million customers across Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. It’s perhaps because of that steady business that the company has been able to raise its dividend in each of the past 47 years.
