Got $2,500? 2 Top Stocks That You Can Buy and Hold for a Lifetime

Are you looking for two stocks that you can hold for a lifetime? Here are two top picks!

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Stock investing tends to give better results the longer you hold shares. This is because there are a lot of factors that can cause a stock to be volatile over the short term. However, over the long term, a stock’s underlying business and its performance should be the ultimate factor in determining its change in value.

In this article, I’ll discuss two stocks that investors should consider buying today with $2,500.

Invest in this top tech stock

Constellation Software (TSX:CSU) is the first stock that I think investors should consider buying today. For those that are unfamiliar, this company is a tech conglomerate that acquires vertical market software (VMS) businesses. Upon completing a transaction, Constellation Software provides the coaching and resources required to turn those acquisitions into exceptional business units.

For most of its history, Constellation Software has focused on acquiring small- and medium-sized businesses. However, in the past couple of years, the company has begun to start focusing on larger VMS businesses. Its most recent acquisition was of Lumine Group (TSXV:LMN), which led to a spin out similar to what happened with Topicus.

In my opinion, Constellation Software could provide investors with an attractive growth rate, while not taking on as much risk as you would if you were to invest in a company like Shopify or Nuvei, where competition is more fierce and uncertainties within the industry are rampant. Still led by its founder, Mark Leonard, Constellation Software stock has generated a return of more than 30% since its initial public offering.

If you’re interested in dividend stocks, this could be a great buy

While Constellation Software may be a great stock for those interested in growth, not everyone fits that bill. If you’re looking for a more conservative investment, then dividend stocks should be your focus. Fortunately, the Canadian stock market offers a plethora of outstanding dividend stocks. If I could suggest only one dividend stock today, it would be Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS).

One of the Big Five banks, Bank of Nova Scotia holds a firm leadership position within Canada’s banking industry. What interests me about this company is the fact that it has managed to distribute dividends to investors for nearly 190 years. If you consider how many periods of economic uncertainty have occurred over that time, then the feat becomes even more impressive.

As of this writing, Bank of Nova Scotia stock offers investors a forward dividend yield of 6.11%. With a payout ratio of about 56.5%, the stock also has a reasonable amount of room to continue growing that dividend in the future.

It should be noted that Bank of Nova Scotia is also known for being Canada’s most international bank, with particular focus on the Pacific Alliance. This means that the stock could offer investors an intriguing growth opportunity, even if that isn’t what they’re necessarily after. In my opinion, this stock offers the best of both worlds.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium service or advisor. We’re Motley! Questioning an investing thesis — even one of our own — helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer, so we sometimes publish articles that may not be in line with recommendations, rankings or other content.

Fool contributor Jed Lloren has positions in Bank Of Nova Scotia, Constellation Software, Lumine Group, Shopify, and Topicus.com. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nuvei, Shopify, and Topicus.com. The Motley Fool recommends Bank Of Nova Scotia and Constellation Software. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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