Editorial StaffIt’s common for many people to wonder when they should invest and in what. They might think that they don’t have enough to invest yet if they only have, say, $1,000. Or they may think that for best results, they should wait for a big market crash to produce bargains.
But you can start investing with very few dollars, especially now that many good brokerages are charging nothing to buy or sell stocks. And the best time to invest is often right now — whenever you’re ready. Ideally, you’ll keep adding dollars to your investments over time, too.
Here are three solid investments to consider. The fact that the market recently dropped has made them even more attractive.
1. Invesco QQQ Trust
The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF), a security that’s a lot like a mutual fund, but trades like a stock. This ETF is perfect for those wishing they could buy stocks such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, and Google parent Alphabet, especially since many are trading at significantly lower prices lately than they were some months ago.
The ETF tracks the Nasdaq-100 index, which in its own words, “defines today’s modern-day industrials — [being] comprised of 100 of the largest and most innovative non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market based on market capitalization.”
More than 40% of the fund’s value is in the five companies mentioned above. And the ETF puts 95 other companies in your portfolio, too. Putting $1,000, or any amount, in this ETF will instantly have you diversified across many companies.
2. Veeva Systems
Veeva Systems (NYSE: VEEV) is not a familiar name to many investors, but it’s an exciting growth stock. This software-as-a-service (SaaS) company had a recent market value near $35 billion. It has only been publicly traded since 2013, but it has averaged annual gains of more than 22% over the past nine years.
Veeva targets industries such as consumer goods, chemicals, cosmetics, and life sciences, offering customer relationship management (CRM) services. One of its specialties is helping pharmaceutical businesses manage their clinical trials of drugs.
Many of the major pharmaceutical companies use Veeva’s services, and it still has plenty of room to grow by adding more customers and offering more services to existing customers. Veeva is a public benefit corporation, which requires it to balance the interests of customers, employees, and the industries it serves as well as shareholders.
In its first quarter, revenue grew by 16% year over year, with cash, equivalents, and short-term investments rising to $2.8 billion, providing plenty of dry powder for taking advantage of business opportunities.
3. Block
You might remember Block (NYSE: SQ) by its former name, Square. It’s the company behind those white countertop credit card readers used by many small businesses, as well as the little square card readers that can be inserted into a smartphone.
There’s more to this fintech, too. It’s actually building a financial ecosystem, and is home to the widely used Cash App service focused on helping people spend, send, store, and invest money. It also owns the global music and entertainment platform Tidal, among other things. Last year, it bought Afterpay, an Australian buy now, pay later service, further broadening its offerings.
Block’s shares have cratered in recent months, and were recently down more than 70% from their 52-week high. That’s partly on worries of a recession. A recession may slow down Block’s progress, but it isn’t likely to kill it. Some also question whether Block overpaid for Afterpay.
There are plenty of Block bulls, though, and they like the growth in its range of products. In the company’s last 10-K report, it noted: “Our Square ecosystem consists of more than 30 distinct software, hardware, and financial services products. We monetize these products through a combination of transaction, subscription, and service fees.” Revenue in 2021 topped that of 2020 by 86%, but it dipped in the company’s second quarter of this year, when Block posted a net loss.
These are three investments well worth considering. If any interest you, dig deeper to see if they’d be a good fit for your portfolio.
Source: MSN Money
