Legacy Investing: These Market Leaders Are Planting Seeds for Generation-Spanning Returns

For investors determined to build generational wealth, the assessment criteria for long-term holdings need to be a bit more comprehensive.

When choosing stocks that can help you not just build generational wealth but may remain relevant for decades to come and can be passed on to the next generations, you have to look beyond the fundamentals. You have to look at the business models, their focus, the opportunities they may have in the future, and if they are evolving rapidly enough to survive and thrive.

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A leader in digital health services

Digital health isn’t a new industry or even a discipline, but it did get a lot of traction during and after COVID. WELL Health (TSX: WELL) has been around for far longer than that, but the stock experienced a massive surge around the pandemic and grew over 500% in less than a year. But it’s not just its explosive growth in a favourable market that you should consider, but its status in the domain it’s operating in.

It’s no longer simply a digital health services and support provider for healthcare professionals but a comprehensive player in the healthcare industry. It has about 4,000 healthcare providers working directly under the company umbrella and over 38,000 that it supports through its platform. The company is steadily growing its footprint, service portfolio, and ecosystem of digital apps in its network. If it retains this leadership status and an early-bird advantage, it will be a promising pick decades later.

A fuel cell leader

Fuel cells are more than just a competing technology for electric vehicles (EVs); they are a power system built around hydrogen as a fuel source. They’re clean and powerful but not nearly efficient and financially feasible enough right now. But when that changes, Ballard Power Systems (TSX: BLDP) will emerge as a powerful player in the industry. It’s already a leader in the fuel cell market.

The stock also experienced a powerful surge alongside other green investments when ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investing became a strong trend. However, now that the wave has ebbed and companies in this arena are being evaluated for their practicality and technical strengths, Ballard is bearish. More accurately, it’s currently among the most brutally discounted stocks in the industry, trading at a 96% slump from its five-year peak.

A telecom giant

Telus (TSX: T) is one of the three telecom giants in Canada and a strong company with a solid local footprint and reach. But there are reasons why it’s the only telecom company on this list instead of the other two, including its forays outside the conventional telecom domains. The company is heavily invested in telehealth.

It has also entered the IT market (with a heavy artificial intelligence focus) through a subsidiary, and though it’s not doing very well right now, the growth prospect is not to be ignored. The company is also emerging as a strong home security market leader that can grow into a whole suite of smart-home technologies. It has also historically offered the best combination of growth and dividends (among the three telecom giants).

Foolish takeaway

The three stocks are worth investing in now, at their current discounted state, and holding long-term. All three require different market conditions and catalysts to gain significant positive traction, but if you can buy and hold them now, you may get the most out of that bull market phase.

Fool contributor Adam Othman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends TELUS. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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