I'm a big fan of buy and hold investing and believe it is the best way for investors to grow their wealth.
To demonstrate how successful it can be, 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 ASX shares that are listed below:
BWP Trust (ASX: BWP)
This commercial property company has been a market beater over the last decade. This has been thanks to its growing portfolio of warehouses which are predominantly leased to hardware giant Bunnings Warehouse. A combination of inorganic and organic growth through rental increases has supported consistent earnings and distribution growth since 2011. This has led to BWP's shares providing investors with an average total return of 13% per annum. This means a $20,000 investment 10 years ago would have grown to be worth ~$68,000 today.
Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD)
This corporate travel booker's shares have been a fantastic place to invest over the last 10 years, even if they are trading almost 50% lower than their record high. Thanks to the company's successful growth through acquisition strategy and its focus on technology, Corporate Travel Management's sales and earnings and grown rapidly. For example, in FY 2011, the company generated revenue of $46.8 million for the 12 months. Whereas today, it recently reported third quarter revenue of $52.4 million. That's 12% more revenue in just three months and despite COVID-19 headwinds still weighing heavily on its performance. During the last 10 years, its shares have generated a total return of 26.2% per annum for investors. This would have turned a $20,000 investment into $200,000.
NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)
Another company which has come a long way over the last decade is data centre operator NEXTDC. Thanks to the structural shift to the cloud, a significant increase in demand for data centre services, and the expansion of its network footprint, NEXTDC has delivered consistently solid operating earnings and revenue growth over the period. This has resulted in a sustained upward trajectory for the NEXTDC share price, underpinning market-beating returns for investors. Since 2011, its shares have provided an average total return of 21.4% per annum. This would have turned a $20,000 investment into ~$140,000 in 2021.
