The earlier you start investing the longer you give compounding to work its magic for your wealth.
Relatively small amounts of money invested each year can turn into hundreds of thousands of dollars over long periods of time.
People aged 55 have at least a decade to grow their portfolio, which is an extremely long time in the investment world.
Investors in their 20s have quite a few decades to work with. At that age I think it's important to go for growth. Businesses growing barely faster than inflation may offer more certainty, but over the longer-term won't be as beneficial for your wealth.
Here are three long-term growth options for investors in their 20s:
BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS (ASX: NDQ)
Some of the best shares to own in the world over the past decade have been Apple, Alphabet (Google), Facebook and Amazon. I continue to believe that this group of shares will be among the top performers because of how integrated technology will become in our lives. It's already everywhere.
The tech companies are also branching out into other technological segments such as jobs, dating, cars and virtual reality.
This exchange-trade fund (ETF) gives investors a relatively low-cost way of investing in all of these top tech shares, as well as the rest of the biggest 100 businesses on the NASDAQ, from the comfort of the ASX.
Vanguard FTSE Asia Ex Japan Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAE)
It's been hard to miss China's rise to power over the past 20 years. Asia is truly becoming an economic powerhouse.
Vanguard is a global leader in providing extremely low-cost index funds that give investors good diversification with a single investment.
This particular Vanguard ETF owns shares of over 800 businesses located in Asia with some of its top holdings being Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu and Samsung.
I think this century will belong to the Asian continent and this ETF could grow faster than the ASX Index or the global economy as a whole.
The younger you are the longer you have to let business plans and strategies play out. Altium is an electronic PCB software business that gives engineers the tools they need to develop the products and services of the future. Some of its clients include Tesla, Space X, Amazon, Google, Apple, Boeing and Microsoft.
This company has already been an exceptional one for shareholders, consequently sending its valuation to very high levels today. However, over the next 10 years it could turn into the leading electronic PCB business in the world if it achieves its targets.
That's why I think it could be worth buying and holding for a decade despite it trading at 50x FY19's estimated earnings.
Foolish takeaway
I believe in the long-term future of all three of the above shares, although they could be very volatile over the next year or two. I already own Altium shares and want to invest in the Vanguard Asian ETF in the near future because the trade war is sending its price down.
