When you are developing your investment strategy, the timeline is a very important variable. Ideally, you should be able to hold reliable growth stocks for decades and benefit from maximum long-term growth, but then, we don’t live in an ideal world. Sometimes, you are looking for stocks that can offer you a certain level of returns within a specific timeline, say 50% growth in three years or doubling your capital in four years.
Your timeline needs for growth stocks can influence how you pick your stocks. And in some cases, you might prefer cyclical stocks for their occasional peaks instead of long-term growth stocks because the former might have a better shot of getting you the gains you want within your timeline. But, if the growth pace of a typical long-term growth stock is fast enough, you might reach your growth goals without the stock actually spiking.
There are two stocks you might consider for tremendous gains within relatively short timelines.
A fashion company
Vancouver-based women’s fashion brand Aritzia (TSX:ATZ) has been operating since 1984. The company has an impressive physical presence in the U.S. and Canada and an international presence covering almost the entire globe. It has 103 boutiques, over two-thirds of which are in Canada, while the rest are in the U.S.
The stock spiked quite aggressively after the pandemic. If you had bought into the company when it hit rock bottom, you’d be sitting on almost 250% growth right now. And the momentum is not showing any signs of slowing down, even though the stock has become quite expensive in the last 12 months.
The spike in both the valuation and revenues during the pandemic is understandable because more and more people started shopping online in the pandemic, and since Aritzia has an impressive online presence in its domain, it benefitted. Now, even when the pandemic is over, the online customers the company gained are likely to stay with the company (if they continue receiving the same quality and innovation).
A financial stock
goeasy (TSX:GSY) is one of the most consistent, reliable, and powerful growth stocks the TSX has to offer. With its 10-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 41.8%, the stock is capable of doubling your money in less than three years. It’s also a very generous Dividend Aristocrat and has grown its payouts by 266% since 2017. Even though its current growth pace has been expedited ever since the pandemic, goeasy was explosive long before that.
The financial company has tapped into a rich clientele of people who need personal loans but can’t go to big banks due to their credit history. The personal finance company has over 400 branches, that is, a national footprint almost as big as the smallest of the Big Six (National Bank of Canada), while goeasy has a better geographically diversified presence.
Foolish takeaway
Whether you choose growth stocks like goeasy or ATZ (which are prone to spiking), the best time would be at or around a market crash, when the stock has dipped, and you can get it at a relatively bargain price. But even if you have to pay a premium for a growth stock that promises to double your capital in three to four years, it might equate to better overall gains than buying a modest/slow growth stock at a discounted valuation.
