When it comes to finding shares to buy and hold for an extended period, I think the healthcare and information technology sectors are great places to start looking.
This is because I feel both these sectors have a number of quality companies with strong long-term growth potential to choose from.
Here's why I think the following three shares would be great buy and hold investment candidates:
Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH)
I think that this hearing solutions company could be a great buy and hold investment option due to the tailwinds it is experiencing from ageing populations across the globe. As people age, their hearing will more often than not fade. Untreated hearing loss has been shown to have serious emotional and social consequences for older people, which makes it vitally important that they look at assisted hearing products. As Cochlear's products are arguably the best in their class, I believe it is positioned perfectly to continue delivering above-average profit growth for a long time to come.
CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)
This biotherapeutics company could be the ultimate buy and hold share. Over the last 10 years it has provided investors with an impressive average annual total return of 18.2%. The good news is that I believe this market-beating run could continue over the next few years. This is not only down to the success of its core business and the pipeline of products under development, but also its fast-growing Seqirus influenza business. Seqirus has been performing well ahead of expectations and I expect its strong growth to continue for some time to come.
Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)
One of the best buy and hold investment options in the tech sector in my opinion is this New Zealand-based accounting software provider. I have been very impressed at the way the company continues to win market share in the ANZ and UK markets. And although its US growth has been slower than expected, I remain confident that the quality of the product will allow it to successfully penetrate the lucrative market in the near future.
