When the Time Comes to Buy, You Won’t Want To is the title of a book written by market analyst Walter Deemer. It fits the current stock market so well. The TSX dipped 11% on the Trump tariff execution on April 2 and is now rising after the 90-day pause. On the one hand, Trump says his policies won’t change. On the other hand, there is a pause and negotiation because a sudden break can leave many industries vulnerable.
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Seeing current market volatility from a long-term perspective
Trump tariffs are not here to make life difficult for all but to correct the decades of trade imbalance that is weakening the foundation with ever-rising deficits. When you do repair work at your house, each family member faces inconvenience. However, this short-term inconvenience is necessary for long-term stability.
Tariffs are not new. Every country imposes tariffs to protect domestic companies from cheap imports. Even when the economy was booming, tariffs existed. However, their execution was subtle, giving market participants time to prepare. Trump’s execution of tariffs in one go is aggressive, causing market volatility.
This market volatility has created an opportunity to invest in buy-and-hold stocks.
Opportunity to invest in buy-and-hold stocks
When the market is volatile, it is better to avoid cyclical stocks and focus on resilient growth stocks that are a buy-and-hold forever. Such stocks are in the form of growth and dividend stocks, depending on your investment goals.
Growth stock to buy and hold forever
Descartes Systems (TSX: DSG) has a unique supply chain management system that caters to specific issues. For instance, Descartes’s Global Trade Intelligence solutions help suppliers stay updated on important events and plan trade accordingly. It also has customs and regulatory compliance, which is crucial in the changing trade environment. In the 2018 U.S.-China trade war, the above solutions drove Descartes’s revenue.
The company has been developing e-commerce solutions through acquisitions. This has helped Descartes double its net income margin from 11% in 2020 to 22% in 2025. A company that has improved its net margin alongside revenue growth shows that it is expanding efficiently. This growth and efficiency drove Descartes’s stock price up 155% in five years. This growth is not a one-off event. It has been growing consistently, surging 3,600% since April 2009, by innovating and offering solutions that are the need of the hour.
Descartes allows customers to use its solutions for a single trade or end-to-end solutions. The company’s strength is the Global Logistics Network, which has been built over the years to help automate and standardize multi-party business processes. The rising trade complexities and changes in the global supply chain present an opportunity for Descartes to grow its revenue, making it a stock to buy and hold.
Dividend stock to buy and hold forever
Telus (TSX: T) is a dividend stock to buy and hold forever. This telecom stock has been consistently growing its dividends for two decades at an average annual rate of 12%. With the passage of time and the upgradation of telecom infrastructure, the company slowed the growth rate and reinvested the money in infrastructure.
The stock has dipped significantly in every major crisis because of its leveraged balance sheet and the cyclicality of the telecom industry. The cycle begins with a high initial cost in infrastructure development and moves to monetizing the infrastructure, followed by the maturing of the technology. Telus is nearing the end of the initial phase of 5G infrastructure development and entering the monetization phase.
Now is a good time to invest in this stock as you can buy the share at its nine-year low and lock in a higher yield of 7.83% and the share price growth from 5G monetization. Telus also offers a dividend-reinvestment plan that allows you to compound your dividends in the long term.
