One investment strategy that is very popular with investors is buy and hold investing.
Given the enormous success that legendary investor Warren Buffett has had with this strategy over several decades, it isn't hard to see why it is so popular.
The good news is that it isn't hard to replicate on the Australian share market.
With that in mind, listed below are two shares which could be top buy and hold options:
Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)
Appen is a company that many believe could be a great buy and hold option. This is because artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising our lives. But in order for AI models to work successfully, they need to be trained. This is where Appen comes in.
Through its team of over one million skilled contractors across the globe, the company provides or prepares the training data for AI models. A testament to the quality of its service is its customer base. This includes Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft.
While COVID-19 headwinds have slowed its growth this year, management expects the company to bounce back strongly in FY 2021. Analysts at UBS expect this to be the case too. Last month they retained their buy rating and $44.00 price target on its shares following its trading update.
Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH)
Another buy and hold option to look at is Pushpay. It is a donor management and community engagement provider to the church market.
It has been a very strong performer over the last 12 months and released a stellar half year result in November. Pushpay delivered a 53% increase in operating revenue to US$85.6 million and a 177% jump in EBITDAF to US$26.7 million. This was driven by the quality of its platform, its leadership position in the market, and the shift to a cashless society.
The good news is that management appears confident this strong growth can continue and has set itself bold long term targets. This includes winning a 50% share of the U.S. medium to large church market, which is estimated to be worth US$1 billion a year.
It is hoping the recent launch of ChurchStaq will help it achieve these goals. Churchstaq is the combination of its Pushpay and Church Community Builder software. It brings together digital giving, donor development, church apps, and church management software (ChMS) to deliver a fully integrated engagement platform.
Goldman Sachs is a big fan of Pushpay. The broker has a conviction buy rating and ~$2.59 price target on its shares.
