Warren Buffett once said: "I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years."
That quote truly highlights the mantra of long-term investing. Indeed, such a strategy requires an enormous level of commitment, discipline and patience, but the rewards can be truly incredible – as reflected by Buffett's incredible investing success.
In fact, having left college with roughly $10,000 cash, he has since turned that into a $72.7 billion treasure chest, according to Forbes.
While Buffett's story is just one example, history has repeatedly shown us that long-term buy-and-hold investing is the best (and easiest) way for an investor to become rich. Just look at Benjamin Graham and Peter Lynch as two other prime examples.
By simply buying high quality companies when they're trading at reasonable prices, and then holding onto them through thick and thin, you too could become extremely wealthy.
While the logic is certainly simple, the tricky part is actually finding the right companies to help you achieve that success. It becomes even more difficult when the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is trading at such a high premium, with some of Australia's largest stocks at record prices.
However, no matter the market conditions, there will always be an attractive investing opportunity – you just need to know where to look.
The 3 Best ASX Stocks
In terms of growth prospects, pet specialist Greencross Limited (ASX: GXL) is one company you can be comfortable holding for the long term. The company currently controls an estimated 7.5% of the local market but is striving for even more with a target of 20% market dominance. The shares have dropped considerably in price in recent weeks, and with management having just yesterday reconfirmed its earnings guidance of 36 cents per share, Greencross could be an excellent buy at $8.47.
Veda Group Ltd (ASX: VED) is another stock worth considering. While its business might be considered boring (it provides data related to people's and business' credit histories), the returns could potentially be explosive – particularly since the introduction of the Comprehensive Credit Reporting regime. Right now, the stock is changing hands at $2.30.
Despite its recent woes (or perhaps, because of them), Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd (ASX: CCL) is also shaping up as an ideal long-term investment. The company has identified plenty of areas for improvement and expects that there won't be any further losses after FY14. With fantastic growth prospects in Indonesia, the beverage manufacturer also offers a tasty dividend yield – which is the ideal formula for tantalising long-term returns.
Another company which offers enormous growth prospects and an even better dividend than Coca-Cola Amatil has just been identified as The Motley Fool's TOP dividend pick for 2015, and I think it's an incredible buy at today's price.
