Here's a sobering reality: The investing decisions you make right now will heavily impact what your financial position is when you're ready to retire. Some investors might automatically think only of the potential for failure. However, the good news is that you can make smart choices today that ultimately set you up for life.
You don't necessarily need to have a huge amount of money to invest upfront. If you've got $10,000, these three growth stocks could turbocharge your financial future.
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1. Innovative Industrial Properties
The country is going to pot -- and it presents a great way for you to make a lot of money. I'm referring to the rapid expansion of the U.S. cannabis industry. Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR 1.47%) stands out as an especially great stock to profit from this marijuana momentum.
IIP ranks as the leader in providing real estate capital for U.S. medical-cannabis operators. The company currently owns and leases 64 properties across 16 states. Its business is booming, with revenue nearly tripling year over year and profits more than tripling in the third quarter of 2020.
The U.S. elections last month brought great news for IIP. Mississippi and South Dakota voted to legalize medical cannabis. Those votes bring the total number of states with legal medical cannabis markets either in business or on the way to 35.
In addition, it appears likely that the Senate will remain in GOP control. This makes federal marijuana law reform basically a non-starter. That's good for IIP because current federal laws make it difficult for cannabis operators to raise capital, therefore increasing the attractiveness of its real estate capital alternative.
There's another big plus for IIP: It's practically a money machine. As a real estate investment trust (REIT), the company must return at least 90% of its taxable income to shareholders in the form of dividends. IIP's dividend has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, with its dividend yield currently topping 3%.
2. StoneCo
You'll want to know two things about StoneCo (STNE 3.25%) right off the bat. First, the company can be viewed as the Square of Brazil. Second, it's one of Warren Buffett's favorite growth stocks.
Like Square, StoneCo offers financial-technology solutions primarily for small- and medium-sized businesses. Also like its larger U.S. counterpart, the company has built an ecosystem of products and services that prove to be "sticky" for customers.
That ecosystem continues to evolve. StoneCo is developing a financial platform that it thinks will replace merchants' current banking relationships. It's moving all of its products to a fintech-as-a-service platform. The company is also building out a platform that will enable customers to scale up their e-commerce capabilities.
These efforts should give StoneCo a clear path to sustained growth. And while the company currently focuses only on the Brazilian market, it should have opportunities to expand to other countries in Latin America in the future. It's not surprising at all that Warren Buffett likes this fast-rising fintech stock.
3. Teladoc Health
One positive result of the COVID-19 pandemic is that telehealth, at long last, has really hit its stride. The biggest beneficiary is the biggest telehealth services provider in the world -- Teladoc Health (TDOC 4.55%).
Teladoc's revenue more than doubled year over year in Q3 as its number of telehealth visits tripled. However, don't think that the company's momentum will fizzle once the pandemic is over. A survey conducted by consulting firm Accenture found a majority of patients plan to continue using telehealth even when COVID-19 is in the rearview mirror.
The recent acquisition of Livongo Health should make Teladoc even more attractive to corporate customers seeking to hold down healthcare costs. Livongo's digital-health platform for helping individuals manage their chronic conditions is a great fit with Teladoc's telehealth offerings. With Livongo in its fold, Teladoc's total addressable market in the U.S. tops $120 billion.
The company also has significant growth opportunities outside the U.S. Buying this high-flying healthcare stock now and holding for the long term looks like a smart move to build a nice retirement nest egg.
