After receiving some nice messages from old readers throughout 2022, getting back to posting here made it onto my list of New Year’s resolutions!

So, where to start? There’s no shortage of things to write about, but one of the most common requests I’ve had is to repost my contenders for Warren Buffett’s hypothetical stock punch card. For those unfamiliar with it, the stock punch card is a thought experiment designed to narrow one’s portfolio down to the very best ideas. ‘Best’ is obviously subjective and wide open to interpretation so let’s first define terms. For the purposes of this blog, ‘best’ has always meant “gun-to-head which stocks would you hold forever à la Voya’s Corporate Leaders Trust Fund”, so I guess that means an emphasis on earnings quality and longevity.

I think the original punch card had 20 slots, but I’m not going to limit myself that much here. Instead I’m posting 75 names that might make up my pool. Not quite punch card, but a group I’d happily hold and not worry about again. For simplicity I’ve limited things to North America, though there might be a few ADRs in there.

Of course, one of the really good things about the contemporary DIY investing environment is that you could probably set this portfolio up in less than 10 minutes without spending so much as a dime on costs. All you would need is an online broker account and some capital. Each quarter you could deploy the dividend income to what you consider the most undervalued of the group. Or you could just as easily buy two or three ETFs and call it a day!

Let me know in the comments what changes you’d make.

All the best for 2023!

• AAPL – Apple Inc.
• ADBE – Adobe Inc.
• ADP – Automatic Data Processing, Inc.
• ANSS – ANSYS, Inc.
• AXP – American Express Company
• BAC – Bank of America Corporation
• BF.B – Brown-Forman Corporation
• BHP – BHP Group Limited
• BK – The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation
• BRK.B – Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
• BUD – Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV.
• CAT – Caterpillar Inc.
• CL – Colgate-Palmolive Company
• CMCSA – Comcast Corporation
• CMG – Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.
• CNI – Canadian National Railway Company
• COF – Capital One Financial Corporation
• COST – Costco Wholesale Corporation
• CP – Canadian Pacific Railway Limited
• CSCO – Cisco Systems, Inc.
• CVX – Chevron Corporation
• DEO – Diageo plc
• DE – Deere & Company
• DIS – The Walt Disney Company
• DOW – Dow Inc.
• DPZ – Domino’s Pizza, Inc.
• EL – The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
• GOOG – Alphabet Inc.
• HD – The Home Depot, Inc.
• HRL – Hormel Foods Corporation
• HSY – The Hershey Company
• JKHY – Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.
• JNJ – Johnson & Johnson
• JPM – JPMorgan Chase & Co.
• K – Kellogg Company
• KHC – The Kraft Heinz Company
• KO – The Coca-Cola Company
• LLY – Eli Lilly and Company.
• MA – Mastercard Incorporated
• MCD – McDonald’s Corporation
• MCO – Moody’s Corporation
• MDLZ – Mondelez International, Inc.
• MKC – McCormick & Company, Incorporated
• MRK – Merck & Co., Inc.
• MSCI – MSCI Inc.
• MSFT – Microsoft Corporation
• NKE – NIKE, Inc.
• NOC – Northrop Grumman Corporation
• NSC – Norfolk Southern Corporation
• NTRS – Northern Trust Corporation
• O – Realty Income Corporation
• PEP – PepsiCo, Inc.
• PFE – Pfizer Inc.
• PG – The Procter & Gamble Company
• PYPL – PayPal Holdings, Inc.
• QSR – Restaurant Brands International Inc.
• RY – Royal Bank of Canada
• SCHW – The Charles Schwab Corporation
• SHW – The Sherwin-Williams Company
• SPGI – S&P Global Inc.
• STT – State Street Corporation
• T – AT&T Inc.
• TD – The Toronto-Dominion Bank
• TMO – Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
• TSCO – Tractor Supply Company
• UL – Unilever PLC
• UNP – Union Pacific Corporation
• V – Visa Inc.
• VZ – Verizon Communications Inc.
• WBD – Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.
• WFC – Wells Fargo & Company
• WM – Waste Management, Inc.
• WMT – Walmart Inc.
• XOM – Exxon Mobil Corporation
• YUM – Yum! Brands, Inc.

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