Stock market downturns always feel terrible. However, they can be some of the best times to invest if you have an enduring time horizon. In fact, often the best times to invest are when it feels the worst.
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The best time to buy stocks is often when it feels the worst
Why? The market gets hit and valuations rapidly decline. You can act against the flow of the market and pick up some very attractive bargains. The problem is you often need to be patient for the market to turn around.
You can be wrong in the short term, but very right in the long term. So, you need to have some guts and a lot of fortitude when this happens. The great news is that when the market does turn around, you can see some serious outperformance.
While markets may not have hit a bottom from the tariff war, valuations have declined and created attractive entry opportunities. If you have $7,000 cash to invest into your Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), here are three stocks to consider adding for long-term growth.
A global real estate firm
Colliers International (TSX:CIGI) has been a great stock to hold for the long run. It has delivered nearly 20% compounded annual returns over the past 30 years. Yet, its stock is down 15.5% this year. This could be an attractive entry point.
Colliers has a global commercial real estate brand. It offers everything from brokerage solutions to property management to investment management to advisory/project management services.
The company has been a smart serial acquirer. It just announced the major addition of Canadian asset management platform, Triovest.
Colliers has a highly invested management team, a diversified platform, and an attractive valuation today. It’s an interesting stock to add to a TFSA if you have a decades-long time horizon.
A top Canadian software stock
Descartes Systems Group (TSX:DSG) has consistently been one of Canada’s best-performing tech stocks. It is up 147% over the past five years and 536% in the past 10 years.
However, its stock has pulled back by 15% in 2025. Descartes provides software and networking solutions for the logistics, supply chain, and transport industries. Given Trump’s tariff wars across the world, some investors are worried that Descartes could be affected.
Descartes actually offers solutions to help customers with the recent uptick in uncertainty. Although the stock is down, it could be a net beneficiary in this environment.
This company has a strong management team and a cash-rich balance sheet. It is likely to be opportunistic in its acquisition strategy if the economy continues to weaken.
A tech company for the healthcare industry
Another stock to buy with $7,000 is VitalHub (TSX:VHI). With a market cap of only $552 million, it is a small cap stock with big potential. It hit a profitability and free cash flow threshold a few years ago. Ever since, VHI stock has soared. It is up 234% in the past three years.
VitalHub has software solutions that improve healthcare efficiency, while also improving patient outcomes. Healthcare systems are incredibly stressed these days. Long-term demand for VitalHub’s solutions should continue to rise.
The company has a strong balance sheet for acquisitions. It also has a great development platform that can drive organic growth. If you want a stock that could multiply several times over in the years ahead, this is one to look at.
