When it comes to buy and hold investments, I think some of the best options can be found in the technology sector.
Three which are at the top of my list at the moment are as follows:
Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)
The strong demand for Appen's voice recognition and language data services from government agencies, automakers, and major technology companies led the company to report a 23% increase in net profit after tax in FY 2016. Due to the increasing use of machine learning and artificial intelligence driving the demand for quality data, management believes the company is well positioned to continue to profit. So much so they expect full-year earnings growth in excess of 20% in FY 2017.
Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT)
As more and more businesses migrate to the cloud, I expect this leading data centre operator will see demand for its services continue to rise. Strong demand recently led to a 32% rise in contracted utilisation to a massive 30 megawatts during the first-half of FY 2017. This allowed the company to post an impressive 110% increase in half-year EBITDA to $23.9 million. I expect an even stronger showing in the second-half will more than justify the premium its shares trade at today.
XERO FPO NZX (ASX: XRO)
This fast-growing provider of cloud-based accounting software for small to medium enterprises recently announced that it had broken through the one million subscriber mark. I believe this is just scratching at the surface of a much larger global opportunity. Around two-thirds of the company's revenue is generated in the Australia and New Zealand market, but in time I believe its international segment will easily become its biggest earner. While its growth in the United States may have been slower than many had hoped, I believe the quality of the product will allow it to carve out a meaningful market share over the next decade.