“Our favourite holding period is forever.” So says the great Warren Buffett, and who are we to argue! While the practicalities of buying and owning shares in a quality company without ever selling comes with some caveats, it remains a good rule of thumb to aim for. Here are the stocks that five of our free-site writers believe can beat the market for decades upon decades! Apple What it does: Apple is one of the world’s leading consumer electronics companies. It’s best known for its production of the iPhone. By Charlie Keough. I’ve owned Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock for a few years now. I ..read more

I can easily spend £10 a day on random things, such as a couple of coffees or a McDonalds meal. If I put that same tenner into quality UK stocks paying dividends, I could earn a nice additional income stream. Let me illustrate how I could do that, as well as detail one pick that could help as part of a diversified portfolio. A numbers game On the surface of things, £10 a day may not sound like a lot of money. However, adding that up, I get an annual figure of £3,640. The magic of compounding can boost this. Using a Stocks and Shares ISA as my investment method of choice, I’m going to invest f ..read more

The FTSE 100 closed at a record high on Monday 22 April. The UK’s leading stock market index then hit a record intra-day high of 8,076 in early trading on Tuesday 23, topping the previous record of 8,047 set in February 2023. Does this mean FTSE 100 stocks are now officially expensive? I don’t think so. In fact, I think many of them are still pretty cheap. Why the FTSE 100 is probably still cheap Share prices tend to rise over the long term. But company profits also tend to rise over time, at least in line with inflation. I reckon the relationship between price and earnings is a more useful g ..read more

A big part of my investment aim is to ensure I have a passive income stream for when I retire. I do wish I was retiring tomorrow, but I’m not quite there yet. However, I do feel the retirement age some mornings. Let’s say I was, and had to put all my money into just three stocks. I’d choose National Grid (LSE: NG.), Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV), and Legal & General (LSE: LGEN). Here’s why! National Grid The UK’s sole owner and operator of the gas and electricity transmission system is a no-brainer buy for me. A big reason for this is the firm’s monopoly on operations. A lack of compet ..read more

The FTSE 100 closed at an all-time high of 8,024 points on 22 April. And on the day after, as I write, it briefly peaked above 8,076 points. Is the gloom of the past few years finally lifting, and are the days of cheap UK shares numbered? Sentiment is clearly improving. And weak sentiment is what has kept Footsie share prices so low over the past five years. Interest rates are playing a big part. Why risk money on the UK stock market in tough times when we can get a guaranteed 5% from a Cash ISA? A zero-risk cash investment has its attractions. But rates can’t stay that high once the Bank of ..read more

Yesterday saw the FTSE 100 climb to record highs, closing on 8,023p. I reckon this is good news, as it shows investor appetite and sentiment could be on the up. With that in mind, a fair few stocks could benefit nicely. Two picks on my radar at present, that I feel could be good buys ahead of any potential surge, are BAE Systems (LSE: BA.) and Next (LSE: NXT). Here’s why I’d be willing to buy some shares in both when I next can. BAE Systems The shares are up 29% over a 12-month period, from 1,022p at this time last year, to current levels of 1,328p. It goes without saying that a peaceful res ..read more

It’s fair to say that Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock has had a pretty awful 2024 to date. As I type, the electric car maker has slumped 42% in value and now sits at a 52-week low. Is there worse to come? I wouldn’t rule it out. What’s going on? The appalling year-to-date performance, while arguably extreme, isn’t hard to fathom. Since disappointing the market with Q4 numbers, the Austin-based business has been cutting prices left, right and centre. This is fine if the demand is there. However, electric vehicles sales have slumped in light of the cost-of-living crisis and the $445bn firm has faced ..read more

Even though the FTSE 100 hit all-time highs yesterday (23 April), it doesn’t mean all UK stocks are flying high right now. The FTSE 250 isn’t even at 52-week highs as I write, with some dividend stocks actually looking very cheap. Here are two I’m thinking about buying that I think are undervalued. Pivoting the business I recently wrote about British American Tobacco (LSE:BATS) as a stock that I feel could do well from a value perspective. The stock is down 19% over the past year, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.28. I think it’ll be popular with US investors who feel US stocks are becomin ..read more

Over the long term, JD Sports has hit the back of the net with investors. In the past decade, the JD Sports share price has soared 589%. Over the past five years though, the gain has been a meagre 3%. So far this year, the shares have lost a fifth of their value. Yet while the share price has been moving sideways in recent years, sales have been soaring — and that looks set to continue. So could the JD Sports share price now boom? I hope so. I have been buying the shares this year! Long-term sales growth Last year, revenue hit a record £10.1bn. Compare that to the £3.2bn the company managed f ..read more

There are plenty of ways people try and earn passive income. They could start a business or enter the property game. But by investing in blue-chip companies with proven business models, I hope to build passive income streams through dividends. I find it one of the simplest methods. Companies pay dividends to shareholders as a form of profit sharing. With the excess cash they make every year, they look to reward loyal shareholders with a payout. Of course, this isn’t always guaranteed. A business may not make enough money to pay them. Even if it does, it may decide not to. Dividends are never ..read more