"Never" is a long time commitment. So is "forever."
Stocks and other investments are more powerful the more time you give them, but even famed long-term investor Warren Buffett makes temporary bets sometimes. So do I, and you probably do, too.
However, a few tickers in my portfolio have a permanent home there. I have no intention of selling these stocks and funds until I'm retired and living off my nest egg. Maybe I'll nibble at them from time to time, taking profits or rebalancing my portfolio when the time is right, and nothing is ever 100% certain when planning several decades ahead.
But I'm pretty sure these names will stay in my portfolio forever, for all practical purposes.
My favorite market-tracking fund
Every portfolio needs a solid base of market-tracking funds. Among many popular options, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO -1.04%) plays that role in my portfolio.
This exchange-traded fund (ETF) mirrors the classic S&P 500 (^GSPC -1.11%) market index. It's a large portfolio covering every conceivable sector and industry, focused on high-quality American stocks. Vanguard funds come with strong liquidity, vanishingly small annual fees, and the legacy of index fund genius Jack Bogle.
There are some other ETFs in my portfolio, but only this one will be there to the end. If you look up "stable, predictable, and trustworthy" in your investor dictionary, this fund will be the top result.
The definition of a flexible business plan
Moving on to individual stocks, only a couple of names deserve a spot on this list.
First among them is Google parent company Alphabet (GOOG -1.55%) (GOOGL -1.45%). What started as a student project in a Stanford garage has grown into one of the world's largest and most valuable companies. Along the way, the internet-heavy Google business transformed into the Alphabet umbrella company, preparing the organization and its investors for dramatic market shifts in the future.
Online search and advertising is still Alphabet's core business, but the company is already exploring alternatives such as medical research, a self-driving taxi service, and a cloud-based collection of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Web and mobile app ads won't pay the bills forever, but this company is ready to transform into something else when the market moves on.
If this ultra-flexible management approach can't help Alphabet stay relevant and profitable for at least 30 years, I'll buy a hat just to eat it. This is the safest single-ticker investment I can think of.
The trillion-dollar start-up
Next up is fellow tech giant Amazon.com (AMZN -1.45%). Resting on a massive foundation of e-commerce operations, Amazon is always ready to strike out in new directions. The company is already a leading name in cloud computing and AI services, not to mention its world-class shipping network and award-winning media studio.
From smart home devices and audio books to high-end grocery stores and online pharmacy services, Amazon's portfolio of products and services is almost as impressive as Alphabet's. The management team is famous for running Amazon like it was "day one" for a brand new start-up, even though it's a trillion-dollar company with decades of operating history.
Again, flexibility is the secret to a long and thriving business history. Amazon has it in spades, and I trust this stock to deliver solid gains for the foreseeable future.
Voice controls of the future
This one might be a surprise, given the focus on extreme stability in the first few picks. But I would argue that SoundHound AI (SOUN -1.16%) could become the next Alphabet or Amazon in due time.
It's a radically overpriced small-cap stock today, and I recommend letting the stock cool down a bit before buying your first SoundHound AI share. It trades at 76 times sales on December 6, lifted by a weeks-long meme stock campaign. But be sure to keep an eye on SoundHound AI when the price spike fades out, as it surely will in the near future.
I'm talking about an unmatched AI innovator that is building a huge list of household-name clients, ranging from auto makers and restaurants to consumer electronics designers and phone menu systems. SoundHound AI isn't the only name in the game, but the company's services are based on AI research and data collection. Several tech giants have demonstrated how difficult this task is by shelving their own research to buy experts like Shazam or Dragon Naturally Speaking.
I suppose someone might want to acquire SoundHound AI too, but I never count on that kind of speculation. Voice-controlled devices are already popping up everywhere. The market is worth about $140 billion today and should bloom into a trillion-dollar revenue opportunity over the next decade or so. I want to own the leading name in this revolution.
Again, I don't recommend buying the overheated SoundHound AI stock today. Let it cool down before building a robust position. If you start from a more reasonable price and valuation, SoundHound AI's stock should serve you well in the long run.
Digital money
I'm pretty sure that cryptocurrencies will disrupt financial systems and traditional payment methods someday. Almost nobody uses cryptos instead of dollars in their daily life quite yet, but that day will come. When it does, I don't want to kick myself for failing to grab some Bitcoin (BTC 0.33%) while it was new and cheap.
That might sound like a joke, since Bitcoin just passed the $100,000 price point for the first time. That's not "cheap" unless you have caviar for breakfast and a new car every Thursday.
But you could have said the same thing when Bitcoin backed down from $64,000 per coin in 2021 or when it peaked just below $20,000 in 2017. The difference this time is that the financial world is taking crypto seriously and digital assets are easily available in the form of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
I don't know what a Bitcoin might cost in 2025 or 2030. And this isn't a risk-free idea, since new innovation could disrupt the crypto market and Bitcoin platform at any time. Still, the era of all-digital finance is coming and Bitcoin is the closest thing to a stable long-term bet on that unstoppable trend. Hence, I expect to own Bitcoin and/or Bitcoin-based funds "forever."
Wait a minute, what about...
Maybe you expected an elaborate forever-stock case for some of my biggest winners. I've made more money on media-streaming pioneer Netflix (NFLX -1.80%) and robotic surgery innovator Intuitive Surgical (ISRG -0.73%) than anything else, and you've seen me sing their praises over the years. Perhaps you wanted a long-term investment thesis for more recent ideas or turnaround stories with strong prospects in the far future. Media platform expert Roku (ROKU -3.08%) springs to mind here, along with restaurant management software developer Toast (TOST -1.78%).
All of these names deserve your consideration, and some may be great buys today. I'm just not entirely sure that I'll own them forever.
The forward-looking growth ideas come with substantial risks and tough competition, while the proven winners might saturate their target markets and run out of game-changing ideas in a decade or two. A 10-year position isn't close enough to qualify for this list of everlasting investments.
That's why I'm talking about these handpicked survivors today. They may not be flashy get-rich-quick ideas, but they can build wealth for many decades to come.
Amazon and Alphabet are flexible and deep-pocketed enough to belong on this list. The Vanguard fund -- or another broad market tracker -- could easily be the only holding in an effective retirement portfolio. I think Bitcoin is important and game-changing enough to have a seat at every table. And SoundHound AI may look out of place here but AI-powered voice controls should be a trillion-dollar market someday.
