Improving Your Retirement with Three Funds
While some people certainly invest in the stock market for fun, most people are simply trying to build a nest egg for retirement. With all the uncertainty in the world, it’s good to know that there’s a sum of money growing for the days after work. With small investments now, the goal is to reap the rewards later in life.
However, the unpredictable nature of the stock market makes this difficult for some. Often, it seems as though every decision is the wrong one, and we’re not actually getting closer to that magical retirement goal.
If you’re constantly frustrated at how your investments are going, we have some advice today. The first thing you need to do is stop chasing that mythical, high-gain treasure. Sometimes, the best route for your retirement fund is patience with some growth prospects. While they may not provide as much excitement, they do generate larger retirement savings.
With this in mind, we’ve listed three funds to help your retirement fund in the coming years!
PayPal Holdings
In the eWallet market, it’s fair to say that PayPal has seen some new competition in recent years. For example, some people are now using Adyen and Square. Yet, PayPal is still dominant in the market, and we don’t expect this to change any time soon. PayPal is the original and trusted middleman service for online payments (and a great investment!).
In 2020, the world went on a shopping spree as they sought entertainment during the pandemic. Just because this wave is over, it doesn’t mean that PayPal’s growth has slowed. For the first quarter of 2021, revenue increased by nearly 30%, and the number of payments going through PayPal increased by over 45%. During this same period, nearly 15 million people created an account and started using the payment system.
In total, nearly 400 million now use PayPal, but it has the potential to improve its reach even further. With consumers wanting reliable and safe payment methods, more are turning to eWallets and middleman services. Of course, there’s also the issue of privacy and personal information. PayPal is a way to buy products online without giving too much away.
According to Juniper Research, the $5.5 trillion in payments from 2020 will almost double to $10 trillion in the next five years. PayPal is encouraging growth itself with the recent acquisition of Happy Returns. If you haven’t seen this name before, the service helps consumers to return products from online orders. In 2020, while the world was trying to cope with a global pandemic, PayPal helped consumers to shop the market with Honey.
What about future prospects? We’ve seen that the market will grow, and PayPal has spoken about offering stock trading, savings accounts, and check-cashing services. If all goes to plan, those invested in PayPal will do well. Even if the plan goes awry, PayPal should have enough to offer security.
Apple
From one of the planet’s biggest companies to another, Apple is one of the most recognizable names in the world right now, and it has earned this right with supreme customer service and quality products. The reason Apple is so attractive from an investor’s perspective is the steady long-term growth.
Believe it or not, there was a time when investors would question the viability of Apple for long-term growth. With so much reliance upon the iPhone, investors were concerned about what would happen when consumer demands changed. Now, we can see iPhones aren’t just a trend. Even if they were, Apple has enough room elsewhere to expand (the recent TV service is a great example of this!).
At the beginning of 2021, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, revealed that 1 billion iPhones were active around the world. According to some statistics, this means that one in every four mobile devices in the world is an iPhone. With 4 billion active mobile devices worldwide, we’re almost certain that Apple wants to increase this percentage in the coming years.
Apple is always supplementing its income with different services, including various subscriptions and apps. In the first quarter of 2021, revenue figures nearly hit $17 billion, a growth of 27%. Apple continues to reinvest, launch high-quality products, and add value to various markets. Ultimately, this makes for a strong retirement investment.
Amgen
As the third fund for retirement savings, we want to suggest Amgen. While many major drug companies rely on one single product, Amgen has eggs in various baskets. Enbrel is currently the best-selling product for the company, and it still only contributes around 20% of all revenue. According to Amgen, no other drug contributes more than 10% of revenue each year. Therefore, you’ll invest in a diverse portfolio with this one investment alone. If one drug were to fail or suddenly fall from grace, Amgen has several others to pick up the slack.
There are some risks to an Amgen investment, and it’s perhaps riskier than PayPal and Apple combined. For example, other companies can create a competitor to Enbrel after 2029. Also, the drug manufacturing industry is always changing, with companies constantly investing in competing products. Manufacturers are always researching and developing, and the battle is a furious one.
Yet, Amgen is doing the same research and aiming to introduce yet more successful drugs to the market. For example, one trial is investigating the impact of particular products on gastrointestinal issues and other health problems.
There are certainly concerns about this investment, but the company seems to have a production line of reliable and functional drugs. With a strong portfolio that’s always evolving, the company had a cash flow of $10 billion in 2020 which shows the company’s ability to constantly research (and keep its position at the top of the industry!).
Just recently, the company acquired Five Prime and made moves to keep all retirement savers confident (this includes purchasing Rodeo Therapeutics). Five Prime is working on gastric cancer treatment, and Rodeo Therapeutics will contribute new anti-inflammation solutions to the company.
