How often do you change investments? Market volatility, opportunity, or even fear itself can be a powerful motivator for some to sell some investments and buy others. But there are some stocks that investors can buy now and hold forever.
These buy-now-and-hold-forever stocks provide investors with superb appeal for both growth and income-seekers. Here’s a look at a trio of options to consider and why they belong in your portfolio.
Option 1 – Fortis
Fortis (TSX:FTS) has a reputation for being one of the most defensive options on the market. As one of the largest utility stocks in North America, there’s some truth to that statement.
Utilities like Fortis generate a recurring and reliable revenue stream that is backed by long-term regulated contracts. In short, as long as Fortis continues to provide service, it generates a stable revenue stream, which allows it to invest in growth and pay out a dividend.
That dividend currently pays out a quarterly dividend with a respectable yield of 4%. But what makes this a buy now and hold forever option?
That designation is thanks to Fortis’ status as one of only two Dividend Kings in Canada. Specifically, Fortis has provided investors with generous annual upticks for an incredible 50 consecutive years without fail.
There’s nothing that screams buy now and hold forever more than a half-century of annual upticks.
Option 2- Bank of Montreal
Another great stock to buy now and hold forever is Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO). BMO is the oldest of Canada’s big bank stocks. Incredibly, BMO has paid out dividends to investors for nearly two centuries without fail.
That’s an amazing amount of time, spanning every conceivable market fluctuation. Today the quarterly dividend on offer works out to a juicy 5.5%, making it a great option to buy now and hold forever.
Prospective investors should also note that BMO isn’t just an income stock. The company has also invested heavily over the years into growth initiatives. One such investment was the acquisition of California-based Bank of the West.
That deal, which concluded last year, added hundreds of new branch locations and millions of customers into BMO’s growing U.S. operation.
Thanks to that deal, BMO’s U.S. presence now spans across a whopping 32 state markets, making it one of the largest banks in that lucrative market.
Prospective investors should keep in mind that BMO’s U.S. presence is in addition to its stable and mature segment at home in Canada.
Collectively, both the domestic and international arms make BMO a great option for any portfolio.
Option 3 – Telus
Canada’s big telecoms represent yet another lucrative segment to buy now and hold forever, and Telus (TSX:T) is the telecom to consider right now.
Telus operates the typical array of subscription-based services to expect from a large telecom – specifically, wireline, TV, internet and wireless units. And it’s those latter two segments that are fueling growth and represent an opportunity for investors right now.
In the years since the pandemic started, the need for a fast and consistent internet connection has grown immensely. The necessity of a mobile connection has also grown exponentially.
Both of these continue to lend a hand to Telus, providing a bump during earnings season. In fact, in the most recent quarter, Telus set records for both segments in terms of new customer connections.
Specifically, the mobile segment saw net additions of 101,000, and the company saw 33,000 net new internet connections in the quarter.
Turning to dividends, Telus really shines. The company offers a juicy quarterly dividend with an insane 6.9% yield.
Even better, Telus has provided annual or better increases to that dividend going back an incredible 19 years without fail.
That fact alone makes Telus one of the buy now and hold forever options to own today.
Final thoughts – will you buy now and hold forever?
All three of the stocks mentioned above boast some defensive appeal in addition to a juicy income with annual increases.
In my opinion, that combination makes them great options to form part of any well-diversified portfolio.
