When it comes to building wealth, you do not need a lot of money to get started. You can invest whatever you are left with at the end of the month to embark on your investment journey. With $1,000, you can build a starter portfolio as long you understand your financial situation and risk appetite.
If you want to invest $1,000 into the Canadian market right now, I have listed three of the best stocks which I think give you a good position in the market. Let’s go through each of them.
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Alimentation Couche-Tard
The first stock on my list is none other than Quebec-based multinational convenience store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard (TSX: ATD). The company is one of the largest convenience retailers in the world, with around 16,800 stores in 31 countries, including North America, Europe, and Asia. The company has been steadily expanding its presence through acquisitions in some of the most prosperous markets.
Couche-Tard has been steadily making high-value acquisitions, including retail assets from TotalEnergies SE, a French energy giant for $4.5 billion, as well as a joint venture with TotalEnergies. Now, it is attempting to acquire the parent company of 7-Eleven, which would be Couche-Tard’s biggest acquisition to date.
Alimentation Couche-Tard has also shown a resilient business model through some of the most challenging economic cycles. It also gave consistent dividends to investors, with constant dividend increases over the past 14 successive years.
Manulife Financial
Based in Toronto, Manulife Financial (TSX: MFC) is one of the top three insurers in Canada and a leading insurer in the U.S. and several Asian countries. The company has been rapidly expanding its presence in the Asian markets, especially its wealth management and asset management business. This, along with its recent solid capital position and growth, makes it a stock worth considering.
Manulife’s 2024 financial performance for the third quarter has been impressive. Its adjusted net profit is up 8.2% year-on-year to $1.83 billion, driven by strong international growth and significant increases in new business. In Asia, the company saw its annual premium equivalent sales increase by 64% YoY and its new business value increase by 55% YoY from the previous year.
The company is now focusing its strategic initiatives to expand its Asian presence with new product lineups and digital applications. It is also investing in high return-on-equity segments in North America and Europe for long-term benefits.
Shopify
2024 has been an excellent year for Shopify (TSX: SHOP), a leading global e-commerce platform provider and one of Canada’s favourite stocks. The company is rapidly winning market share from industry giants like Amazon and still has more room to expand in the coming years.
Indeed, the company’s results have been exceptional. In the latest quarter, Shopify achieved 26% revenue growth, 19% free cash flow growth and a net income of $344 million. Meanwhile, its gross profit is up by 24.1% year over year, driven by a surge of 24% in Shopify’s gross merchandise volume. I think this growth rate certainly could continue or accelerate in the year to come.
Shopify plans to invest its massive surplus cash to add extra services and integrate generative artificial intelligence into its ecosystem. With the peak shopping season approaching, more merchants will rely on the Shopify platform, which could see massive benefits for the company.
