There are basically three key ingredients necessary to build wealth. You need some money to invest. You have to find the right assets to invest in. And you need enough time to let those investments grow.
The good news is that if you've got the money and the time, it's not all that hard to find great investment options. Want to get richer? Here are three top stocks to buy now and hold forever.
1. Brookfield Infrastructure
Brookfield Infrastructure (BIP -1.42%) (BIPC -1.42%) believes that it will be able to generate total internal returns of between 12% and 15% per year over the long run. If the company hits the high end of that range and its share price grows to reflect that internal growth, an initial investment of $10,000 would increase in value to over $163,000 in two decades.
But can Brookfield Infrastructure really pull off such solid long-term growth? I think so. Consider that since the company's IPO in 2008, the stock's annualized total return has been 16%. More importantly, Brookfield Infrastructure has what it takes to keep the good times rolling.
The company's infrastructure assets include natural gas pipelines, electricity transmission lines, smart meters, rail operations, toll roads, telecom towers, data centers, and semiconductor manufacturing foundries. These assets generate strong recurring revenue for Brookfield.
Three major trends should drive Brookfield Infrastructure's growth: digitalization, decarbonization, and deglobalization. Look for the company to continue deploying capital in ways that take advantage of the tailwinds these trends provide.
2. MercadoLibre
Latin America is home to over 650 million people, and internet penetration in the region is expanding at one of the fastest growth rates in the world. This provides a tremendous opportunity for MercadoLibre (MELI -0.87%).
The company runs the biggest e-commerce and digital payments platform in Latin America. It operates in 18 countries in the region and leads the market in every one of them based on unique visitors and page views on its sites.
MercadoLibre's relatively newer focus on advertising technology should also be a strong growth driver. Mercado Ads provides advertisers with a way to market their products on the company's popular online platform.
The stock might seem to be quite pricey with shares trading at nearly 75 times forward earnings. But considering MercadoLibre's exceptional growth prospects, its valuation shouldn't be concerning to long-term investors.
3. Vertex Pharmaceuticals
You'll have a difficult time finding a better big biotech stock to buy than Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX -1.64%). The company has achieved impressive success with its cystic fibrosis franchise.
Vertex should continue to make a lot of money in treating cystic fibrosis. It doesn't have any competition, and its closest potential rival is years away from having a chance of advancing a product to market. Vertex isn't resting on its laurels, either. The big biotech could file for approval next year for its most powerful cystic fibrosis therapy yet.
Cystic fibrosis isn't the final frontier for Vertex, though. The company awaits regulatory approvals in the U.S. and Europe for exa-cel, a gene-editing therapy that functionally cures the rare blood disorders sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia.
In addition to exa-cel, Vertex's pipeline features two other promising non-cystic fibrosis drugs in pivotal trials. Phase 3 studies evaluating the non-opioid pain drug VX-548 should wrap up by early 2024 at the latest. Vertex also is evaluating inaxaplin as a treatment for APOL1-mediated kidney disease, which impacts more people worldwide than cystic fibrosis does.
