7 Great Stocks for the Next 15 Years
When you purchase a stock, you should think of yourself as a partner in the business forever—or until you need the cash. But forever, or even 30 years, is way out on the dim horizon. A more manageable view might be 15 years. If you invest $10,000 today in a stock that returns an average of 12% per year (a return that is two percentage points higher than the historic long-term return of Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index), you’ll end up with about $55,000.
Not all stocks, however, are suitable long-term buys. A company you expect to be attached to for 15 years should have six characteristics: products that can endure and aren’t fads; a history of leaders who can adapt; a strong balance sheet; a benign competitive environment; a track record of innovation balanced by vigilance against taking on too much risk; and a strategy that looks beyond the next year and certainly beyond the next quarter.
It’s hard to find all of those traits in one place. But if you’re going long, here are seven companies that have staying power and a good shot at delivering 12% annualized returns over the next 15 years. Lard your portfolio with stocks like these, but also diversify with a few index funds.
Adapted from the author’s Opening Shot column in the October 2014 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. Stock prices and related data as of September 17, 2014. Stocks, none of which Glassman owns, are listed in alphabetical order.
Read more at http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/investing/T052-S003-7-great-stocks-for-the-next-15-years/index.html#MBYD4woGDdV6qojo.99
