Ah, to be young
Here are a few remarkable advantages you have when starting early.
1. You have time on your side, which gives you wiggle room if you make some mistakes.
2. Being young allows you to invest more aggressively than many investors.
3. Investing small amounts of money now will give you significant advantages later in life.
And if those reasons aren’t enticing enough, consider the following: Between 1926 and 2010, there was not one single rolling 20-year period with negative returns for stocks. Not one. So let’s get started already!
Building your portfolio
You can construct a great portfolio using a simple method and several high-quality stocks. Allocate a portion of your portfolio in core stocks, a piece in growth stocks, and a sliver in aggressive stocks. If your risk tolerance is extraordinarily high, consider stomaching an extra stock or two in the growth and aggressive piles. On the other hand, if your risk tolerance is low, add more core stocks and fewer aggressive ones.
Core
Core stocks build the foundation for your portfolio, provide you with steady growth, and are considered blue-ribbon companies in their respective sectors. They tend to be the stocks of big, tried-and-true companies that have been around for many decades. These companies are sometimes considered boring, but you can sleep well at night knowing they’ll be around tomorrow. In fact, you may likely own some of these same core stocks for the rest of your life.
Core stocks often pay a hefty dividend, which is basically a bonus for being a shareholder. When you’re young and don’t need income because you receive wages from your job, reinvest these dividends. Each time you do, you’ll buy more shares of the company.
We often use these companies’ products and services on a daily basis. For example, think about where you bank or what type of toothpaste you like. There’s a good chance that the companies behind those are considered core.
For example, Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) and The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) are two core stocks you’ll want to consider. Founded in 1852, San Francisco-based Wells Fargo is one of the nation’s biggest banks and its largest home-lender. The company will likely soon gain approval to raise its already enticing 2.7% dividend yield. Meanwhile, consumer goods giant The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) boasts 25 products that each generate more than $1 billion in sales annually. The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) pays nearly a 3% dividend yield and has raised its dividend for 56 consecutive years.
Growth
Growth stocks aren’t as stodgy as core stocks, but they aren’t as sexy as aggressive ones. These middle-of-the-road stocks still have excellent growth potential and boast well-established business models. Some of these stocks pay a small dividend, but others don’t pay one at all.
For this part of your portfolio, consider eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) and Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG). eBay’s reinvented Marketplaces business is outpacing global e-commerce growth. And its PayPal business, a pioneering leader in next-generation payments, is poised for growth as the industry evolves.
