Been thinking about what the best stocks to invest in looked like back in 2019. Came across this old market analysis and honestly, some of the thinking still holds up pretty well, even if the market's moved on since then.

The whole thing started with a pretty solid foundation idea - if you're not trying to beat the market or don't have time for stock picking, just grab two ETFs and call it a day. The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) giving you exposure to 4,000+ US stocks and the Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) covering 6,000+ global stocks outside the US. That combo was considered a no-brainer for building a core portfolio back then, and the logic hasn't really changed.

But if you wanted to get more tactical, the analysis broke down the best stocks to invest into three buckets. First up were the big tech plays that seemed unstoppable at the time - Amazon, Alphabet, and Facebook. These FAANG-adjacent stocks had massive competitive moats. Amazon was already crushing e-commerce and had AWS printing money. Alphabet owned search and YouTube. Facebook had Instagram and WhatsApp. All three had brand recognition that made them natural picks for newer investors.

Then there were the dividend stocks - your AT&T, Verizon, Ford, GM types. These were yielding 4-7% when the S&P 500 was sitting around 2%. The thesis was simple: telecom duopoly would keep profiting as data usage grew, while the automakers were cheap because the market was already pricing in disruption fears.

The growth bucket included some interesting names - iRobot (Roomba's parent), Netflix, Wayfair, Lululemon, and Constellation Brands. These were companies reinvesting profits into expansion rather than paying dividends, betting on long-term category growth.

Looking back, it's wild how some of these picks aged versus others. But the framework - mixing broad index exposure with selective individual stocks across different growth profiles - that's still a solid way to think about building a portfolio. The best stocks to invest in always come down to your timeline and risk tolerance, not just what looks good on a list.