On Tuesday the Reserve Bank of Australia will meet to decide on the cash rate once again.
The central bank will almost certainly keep rates on hold at the record low of 1.5% for another month, marking two years of rates being held firm.
This means that if you had put $10,000 into an account earnings the cash rate as interest two years ago, it would have grown to be worth just $10,302 now.
Whereas if these funds had been put into the share market they would have grown to be worth $12,299 based on the S&P 200's total return of 10.9% per annum over the last two years.
With that in mind, here are three shares that I would buy instead of leaving funds to gather dust in a savings account.
Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)
Although this language technology data and services provider's shares have gone gangbusters over the last 12 months, recent weakness means that they are down 20% from their 52-week high. I think this has created a buying opportunity for investors willing to make a patient buy and hold investment. This is because Appen operates in the machine learning and artificial intelligence markets which are poised to grow significantly in the future. This year management expects the company to almost double its EBITDA to $55 million.
Bingo Industries Ltd (ASX: BIN)
Bingo Industries is a waste management company which I think would be a great buy and hold option. Bingo is my preferred option in the industry due to its plans to expand its predominantly NSW-based business nationwide over the next few years. I feel this expansion, combined with population growth, the industry's high barriers of entry, and its defensive characteristics, could lead to Bingo delivering strong earnings growth and capital gains over the next decade.
Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB)
I think that this online travel agent would be a great option for investors right now. I've been impressed with the way Webjet has achieved bookings growth well ahead of the industry average. The good news is that management continues to believe that this level of growth is possible over the medium term. In light of this, I believe it is well positioned to deliver above-average earnings growth for the next few years. This could make it a great buy and hold investment option.
