Rather than leave a spare $5,000 sitting in a bank account, I would suggest investors put their money to work. After all, as small an investment as it might seem, on a long enough time horizon that investment can grow into something significant.
According to Fidelity the Australian share market provided an average annual return of 9.1% in the 30-year period between 1986 and 2016. That means a $5,000 investment in 1986 would have grown to be worth a massive $68,000 today.
With that in mind, here's where I would invest $5,000 today:
a2 Milk Company Ltd (Australia) (ASX: A2M)
I believe this fast-growing dairy company has an extremely bright future. Not only does the company continue to make market share gains in the massive Chinese market, but its performance in the United Kingdom and United States has improved greatly. If a2 Milk can replicate its Australian success in these markets then the company could grow significantly in the future.
CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)
I believe the CSL share price has room for significant growth over the next decade. As well as its core business, which continues to fire on all cylinders, I am very bullish on its Seqirus business. Seqirus was formed when CSL acquired the Novartis influenza vaccines business and integrated it with its bioCSL business. It may be early days for Seqirus, but I've been pleased with its progress so far. In its recent half-year results the segment delivered a 14% increase in revenue and made a positive contribution to the company earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation.
Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)
I think this leading global private hospital operator is in a strong position to profit from the increasing demand for healthcare services. Demand continues to strengthen thanks to ageing populations, longer life expectancy, increased chronic disease burden, and improvements in treatments and diagnostic methods. Because of these tailwinds I believe Ramsay is one of the best buy and hold investment options on the ASX today.
