I'm a big fan of buy and hold investing and believe it is one of the best ways for investors to grow their wealth.
To demonstrate how successful it can be, every so often I like to pick out a number of popular ASX shares to see how much a single $20,000 investment 10 years ago would be worth today.
This time around I have picked out the three shares that are listed below:
BWP Trust (ASX: BWP)
BWP is a real estate investment trust with a focus on commercial properties throughout Australia. The majority of its properties are large format retailing properties leased to hardware giant Bunnings Warehouse. Despite its relatively simple business model, its shares have generated market beating returns for investors over the last decade. Since this time in 2010, its shares have provided investors with an average total return of 11.04% per annum. This would have turned a $20,000 investment into almost $57,000.
InvoCare Limited (ASX: IVC)
Although there have been a number of ups and downs along the way, this funeral company's growth through acquisition strategy has been a success over the last decade. During this time the company has grown its network to 290 funeral locations and 16 cemeteries across the ANZ region and Singapore. This has underpinned solid earnings and dividend growth over the period, which has led to strong total returns for its shareholders. Over the last 10 years InvoCare's shares have generated an average total return of 9.6% per annum. This would have turned a $20,000 investment into $50,000.
Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)
This fund manager's shares have been among the best performers on the Australian share market over the last decade. This strong form has been driven by its successful investments in high-quality global stocks that have benefited from a number of key themes over the past decade. These themes included the emerging consumer, the cashless society, and the dominance of business software giants. The sum of this was an average total return of 51.4% per annum over the last 10 years. This means a $20,000 investment in Magellan's shares in May 2010 would now be worth a staggering ~$1.25 million.
