As of the end of the 2018 financial year, research by Fidelity shows that the Australian share market has provided investors with an average return of 9.2% per annum over the last three decades.
This means that if you had invested $1,000 each year for the last 30 years and earned the market return, your investment would have grown to be worth over $150,000.
I believe this return demonstrates how even investing just a small amount consistently each year can generate significant wealth.
With that in mind, listed below are three shares that I think would be great options for a long term investment of $1,000 this year.
Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)
One of my favourite buy and hold options on the local market is this electronic design software provider. Altium is the company behind the award-winning Altium Designer product, which is used to design printed circuit boards (PCB) that are found inside most electronic devices. Due to the Internet of Things boom, I expect subscriptions for its software to growing strongly over the next decade. Combined with its fledgling Octopart business, I believe Altium is well-positioned to deliver above-average earnings growth for some time to come.
SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK)
Another great option for a buy and hold investment could be this job listings company. Although SEEK's bottom line growth in FY 2019 will be a touch underwhelming, this is due to management investing heavily in its future. I believe these investments will make the company stronger and underpin its long-term growth, making it well worth considering an investment with a long-term view. Especially after a recent pull back in its share price.
Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)
Xero is a cloud-based business and accounting software provider which I believe has a very bright future ahead of it. The company has been a stronger performer in recent years and this has continued to be the case in FY 2019. In the first half of the financial year Xero delivered a 37% jump in first half revenue to NZ$256.5 million and a 40% lift in annualised monthly recurring revenue to NZ$589.1 million thanks to its sky high retention rate and the addition of 193,000 net subscribers. I feel confident it is well-positioned to continue this strong growth for the next few years due to the quality and stickiness of its product and its significant market opportunity.
