One of the simplest and arguably most effective investment strategies is buy and hold investing.
This strategy involves buying the shares of quality companies with strong long-term growth prospects and holding onto them for many years.
One prime example of how successful the strategy can be is Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP).
If you had invested $10,000 in this pizza chain operator's shares 10 years ago that investment would have grown to be worth over $250,000 today. While returns of this nature are admittedly rare, they do happen.
Furthermore, even a "boring" share such as Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) has provided investors with strong returns. A $10,000 investment in this conglomerate's shares over the same period would be worth almost $45,000 today.
With that in mind, below are two shares that I think could be great buy and hold options.
Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT)
While Afterpay Touch is certainly a high-risk investment, I believe it has the potential to be a market-beater over the long term. Especially given its early success in the massive U.S. market. Last week it released a business update that revealed it now has 300,000 consumers and over 900 retailers on the Afterpay platform in the United States. Furthermore, another 1,300 retailers have signed agreements or are in the process of integrating onto the platform. If the company can continue to build on this and expand successfully into the UK market, then I expect shareholders to be rewarded handsomely.
Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL)
Another tech share that I think would be a great buy and hold investment option is Aristocrat Leisure. While I expect its core pokie machine business to continue its solid growth over the coming years, it is the company's digital segment which I'm most excited about. Over the next decade I believe this segment has the potential to become its biggest contributor to earnings thanks to its massive addressable market and the growing popularity of its portfolio of games. So with its shares changing hands at just 18x estimated FY 2019 earnings, I believe the risk/reward on offer here is compelling.
