Long-term investing matters now more than ever, especially with the advent of commission-free trades (or commissions that are low and marching ever lower) and the growing appetite for hyper-growth plays that promise quick gains (and perhaps losses) over just a span of weeks or months.
Indeed, the stock market might be a tad frothy as we move into October and the start of the fourth and final quarter of 2026. That said, investors should continue to stay the course, play the long game, and ignore all of the short-term-focused noise surrounding what someone smart thinks is up next (usually in the coming weeks) for markets.
Sure, market strategists might be well-educated, with a decent track record of calls, but, at the end of the day, nobody knows what’s next, and it’s really hard to maintain a stellar near-term trading record. Instead, forget about trading and focus on investing, not just for a few years, but for the next decade and perhaps even a bit longer than that!
So, if you’re an investor who’s looking for appreciation over the next 10 years, and not just the next 10 days, consider the following pair of names that I think could be in for substantial appreciation.
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Brookfield Corp.
First, we have Brookfield Corp. (TSX: BN), a fantastic alternative play that I think is well-positioned for an AI infrastructure buildout boom that may very well last for several years. Indeed, we have so many data centre plays moving so fast, taking on considerable sums of debt to floor the growth. On the other hand, we’ve got prudent firms, like Brookfield, that are playing the long game from different angles.
From providing clean energy to power all these data centres to the real estate and other essential ingredients that go into making next-generation AI a thing, Brookfield is on the right track. Add the firm’s solid capital recycling focus into the equation, and I think Brookfield stands out as a name that’s not quite fully priced if management can execute on its game plan. What’s better than a seat to the AI boom?
A seat and someone in the seat who can operate at a very high (and efficient) level. Either way, BN stock is a standout name to just hang onto for the long haul, regardless of what the next year or two holds for a trade that some consider to be overheated and overdue for a big drop.
Meta Platforms
Oh boy, what a pop that was for shares of social-media, mixed-reality, and AI kingpin Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META). With Meta’s Muse agentic platform taking the world by storm, questions linger as to whether the real AI agent revolution has arrived for the average person. With OpenAI following up with a similar offering with Dots, I do think that Meta has kicked off a race that may very well help it keep up with the AI labs at the frontier.
Add the Meta model’s incredible capability (they have gone beyond LLaMA with Muse Spark and Glimmer) into the equation along with a very aggressive data centre expansion plan (and Meta has the cash flow to pay these bills!), and I find it hard to pass up on the name at just 27.8 times trailing price-to-earnings (P/E).
The Mag Seven darling is genuinely making strides in AI, and I think it’s perhaps the best big-tech play to stash away. Meta’s Muse is a big deal, and it might offer a glimpse into the future of consumer-facing AI hardware with its intriguing Muse Charm.
