The Best Stocks to Invest $500 in Right Now

Canadian investors can own this entire basket of five top stocks for less than $500 today.

Nicholas Dobroruka

Nik has been writing for The Motley Fool Canada since 2020. After studying marketing at University in his hometown of Montréal, Nik decided to pack up and move west to Vancouver. By day, Nik is a digital media ninja, specializing in Programmatic advertising. By night, you can find him either Mountain biking in Vancouver’s famous North Shore trails or writing for TMF Canada. Tech, digital payments, and renewable energy are three areas that Nik enjoys following and writing about.

Published July 18, 2024 9:30 am EDT

The S&P/TSX Composite Index has been on a strong bull run over the past month. The index is trading just below all-time highs and is up close to 10% on the year.

That being said, investors who are sitting on the sidelines don’t need to wait for a pullback to go shopping. Despite the recent surge in the Canadian stock market, plenty of top stocks on the TSX are trading at great prices.

I’ve put together a well-rounded basket of five Canadian companies. At today’s prices, investors can own the entire basket for less than $500.

A person looks at data on a screen — Image source: Getty Images

goeasy

Investors hoping to buy shares of goeasy (TSX:GSY) at a discount will need to act quickly. The growth stock is up more than 50% over the past 12 months and is now down less than 20% from all-time highs.

Over the past five years, goeasy has returned a whopping 240%. In comparison, excluding dividends, the S&P/TSX Composite Index has returned less than 50%.

Don’t miss your chance to load up on a market-crushing growth stock that does not go on sale often.

Descartes Systems

Descartes Systems (TSX:DSG) is another dependable market-beater. The difference with this pick is that it’s not trading at a discount. Shares of the tech stock are trading at all-time highs and priced at a premium.

While it may not be cheap, Descartes Systems is a quality company. The stock has easily outperformed the market’s returns over the past two decades, and the tech company still has plenty of growth left in the tank.

If you’re looking to add some growth to your portfolio, this tech stock is worth paying up for.

WELL Health Technologies

WELL Health Technologies (TSX:WELL) has experienced all kinds of highs and lows over the past five years.

The telemedicine stock initially surged during the pandemic. Today, shares are down 50% from all-time highs that were set in 2021. Still, the stock is up close to 200% over the past five years.

The telemedicine industry is still largely in its early days. The pandemic created a huge short-term tailwind, which investors not long after paid the price for.

Investors who are bullish on the rise of telemedicine shouldn’t miss this buying opportunity.

Sun Life

If you plan on holding high-growth stocks, owning shares of a slow-growing dividend payer would be a wise idea.

At a market cap of $40 billion, Sun Life (TSX:SLF) is a global leader in the insurance and wealth management space. It’s certainly not the fastest-growing market but it is a dependable one.

In addition to the dependability that Sun Life can provide a portfolio, it can also be a significant passive-income generator.

At today’s stock price, the company’s dividend is yielding just shy of 5%.

Brookfield Renewable Partners

Whoever said you need to choose between a dividend or market-beating growth potential?

You’d be hard-pressed to find a dividend stock on the TSX yielding above 5% that can match the market-beating track record of Brookfield Renewable Partners (TSX:BEP.UN).

Like many of its renewable energy peers, Brookfield Renewable Partners stock has struggled as of late. Shares have had trouble returning anywhere near all-time highs, which were last set in early 2021.

At these prices, renewable energy investors should not be on the sidelines.