Considering Intermediate Term and Long Term Goals

Intermediate term refers to the financial goals you plan to reach within five years. For example, if you want to accumulate funds to put money down for investment in real estate four years from now, some growth-oriented invest­ments may be suitable.

Although some stocks may be appropriate for a two- or three-year period, not all stocks are good intermediate-term investments. Some stocks are fairly stable and hold their value well, such as the stock of large or established dividend-paying companies. Other stocks have prices that jump all over the place, such as those of untested companies that haven’t been in existence long enough to develop a consistent track record.

If you plan to invest in the stock market to meet intermediate-term goals, consider large, established companies or dividend-paying companies in indus­tries that provide the necessities of life (like the food and beverage industry, or electric utilities). In today’s economic environment, I strongly believe that stocks attached to companies that serve basic human needs should have a major presence in most stock portfolios. They’re especially well-suited for intermediate investment goals.

Just because a particular stock is labeled as being appropriate for the inter­mediate term doesn’t mean you should get rid of it by the stroke of midnight five years from now. After all, if the company is doing well and going strong, you can continue holding the stock indefinitely. The more time you give a well-positioned, profitable company’s stock to grow, the better you’ll do.

Investing for a Purpose

When someone asked the lady why she bungee jumped off the bridge that spanned a massive ravine, she answered, “Because it’s fun!” When someone asked the fellow why he dove into a pool chock-full of alligators and snakes, he responded, “Because someone pushed me.” You shouldn’t invest in stocks unless you have a purpose that you understand, like investing for growth or investing for income. Even if an advisor pushes you to invest, be sure that your advisor gives you an explanation of how each stock choice fits your purpose.

Preparing for the long term

Stock investing is best suited for making money over a long period of time. When you measure stocks against other investments in terms of five to (preferably) ten or more years, they excel. Even investors who bought stocks during the depths of the Great Depression saw profitable growth in their stock portfolios over a ten-year period. In fact, if you examine any ten-year period over the past fifty years, you see that stocks beat out other financial investments (such as bonds or bank investments) in almost every period when measured by total return (taking into account reinvesting and compounding of capital gains and dividends)!

Of course, your work doesn’t stop at deciding on a long-term investment. You still have to do your homework and choose stocks wisely, because even in good times, you can lose money if you invest in companies that go out of business.

Because so many different types and categories of stocks are available, virtually any investor with a long-term perspective should add stocks to his investment portfolio. Whether you want to save for a young child’s college fund or for future retirement goals, carefully selected stocks have proven to be a superior long-term investment.