Beginner investors often struggle with determining the best stocks to start building a portfolio. Fortunately, the market provides us with plenty of options to consider buying.
Here’s a short list of some of the best stocks for beginner investors to consider buying right now.
Best stocks for beginner investors: Start with a bank
It would be impossible to compile a list of the best stocks for beginner investors without mentioning at least one of Canada’s big banks.
And the bank to consider investing in is Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO). BMO is not the largest of the big banks, but it has been paying out dividends without fail longer than any other company in Canada.
As of the time of writing, BMO offers a quarterly yield that works out to a juicy 4.85% yield. That’s not all; BMO has provided investors with an annual bump to that dividend for over a decade, with the only gap coming during the pandemic.
Turning to growth, earlier this year, BMO completed the acquisition of California-based Bank of the West. The deal has propelled BMO into position as the eighth-largest lender in the United States. More importantly, the deal has opened up several new state markets to BMO, adding 1.8 million new customers and billions in deposits.
In short, BMO is one of the must-have best stocks for beginner investors to buy today and hold for decades.
Buy today and hold for decades
Another great option for beginner investors to buy today is one of Canada’s big telecoms. Telecoms are great, defensive picks. They generate stable revenue streams, offer a growing dividend, and provide increasingly necessary services.
And BCE (TSX:BCE) is the telecom that beginner investors should consider right now. BCE provides subscription-based services to customers across the country. Since the pandemic began, both the mobile and internet segments have seen incredible growth, becoming a necessity for remote workers and students.
By way of example, in the most recent quarter, BCE reported 43,289 net new mobile postpaid subscribers. This reflects a whopping 26.5% increase over the prior period. BCE’s retail internet also saw an increase in the period, with net activations coming in 4.8% better than the prior period.
Like BMO, BCE has a long-established history of providing handsome dividends to investors. Specifically, BCE has provided dividends to investors for well over a century. Today that quarterly dividend works out to a juicy 6.10%, making it the higher-paying option across its big telecom peers.
To summarize, BCE is a great long-term defensive pick that can provide growth and income-producing potential for decades. This fact alone makes it one of the must-have stocks for beginner investors with long timelines.
And like much of the market, BCE is down just over 6% year to date, making it a good time to buy.
Power up your portfolio with this energy infrastructure titan
Most investors recognize Enbridge (TSX:ENB) and its impressive pipeline network. In fact, Enbridge’s pipeline network is the largest and most complex pipeline system on the planet.
Enbridge hauls massive amounts of crude and gas along that pipeline network. In terms of sheer volume, Enbridge hauls about one-third of North American-produced crude and one-fifth of the natural gas needs of the U.S. market.
In other words, Enbridge holds massive defensive appeal to investors. And while that pipeline network accounts for the bulk of Enbridge’s revenue, it isn’t the only revenue stream that the energy infrastructure behemoth boasts.
Enbridge also operates a growing renewable energy network. That renewable portfolio includes over 40 facilities located across North America and Europe. Over the past 20 years, Enbridge has invested over $8 billion into that growing segment. Again, that’s not all. Enbridge also operates one of the largest utilities on the continent.
Turning to income, Enbridge boasts one of the best dividends on the market. The current quarterly dividend boasts a juicy yield of 7.09%, handily making it one of the best-paying options on the market.
Despite that high-paying yield, Enbridge continues to provide annual bumps to that dividend. In fact, Enbridge has provided consecutive annual increases to its dividend for nearly three decades.
