3 stocks I’d put 100% of my money into

I have no intention of having only three shares. That’s because diversification helps me sleep well at night.

That said, I think it’s a useful exercise to choose some of the shares I have, if I have to choose. It makes me focus on what I consider to be absolute quality.

So, here are my three stocks.

Going for value

For my first choice, I’m going with Warren Buffett. Or, more precisely, its parent company Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A)(NYSE:BRK.B).

First of all, this stock will provide tremendous diversification. That’s because Berkshire owns about 65 companies in many industries, including insurance giants GEICO and See’s Candies.

It also has a position in around 50 stocks, including large stocks Apple and Bank of America. And owns 400m shares of Coca Colait is worth about $25bn today.

In addition, the company has $129bn in cash at the end of 2022. This huge cash pile gives it great scope to buy more shares or make acquisitions.

Finally, I like that stocks tend to perform well in troubled markets. For example, in S&P 500 It’s been flat over the last two years, while Berkshire’s stock has risen 18.5%.

The flip side of this is that stocks can temporarily underperform if growth stocks return to mode.

Going cashless

The second stock I bought was visa, which is also owned by Buffett. The card network facilitates electronic transactions between consumers and retailers in more than 200 countries.

It is one of the most stable businesses, reflected in operating margins that rarely fluctuate outside the 62%-66% range.

Today, most transactions in the world are still based on cash. So the growth runway still ahead of the company seems enormous.

Some see cryptocurrencies as a threat to Visa, as peer-to-peer payments can bypass the network. But I highly doubt that the company is threatened. In fact, it has only begun to connect crypto and blockchain networks to its own global payment network.

Going for growth

Third, I want to participate Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (LSE: SMT). It was launched in 1909 to provide financing for rubber plantations in Malaya amid demand for tires for the newly created automobile industry.

Looking at my portfolio today shows that I will be investing in animals that are different from my previous choices.

Indeed, I expect that the stock may be different from Berkshire. That is, by outperforming bull markets and underperforming in uncertain times.

Importantly, the trust will also give me the fastest growing private company in the world. This includes battery manufacturer Northvolt – with the aim to “making oil history“- and SpaceX, which is revolutionizing access to space with the ultimate goal of inhabiting other planets.

I would be hard pressed to get access to that company anywhere else – and certainly not for the 0.32% ongoing fee.

That said, investing in private companies can create problems. Now, the market fears that the current valuation of the trust’s private holdings may be on the decline.

As a result, the stock is now trading at a massive 20.9% discount to the trust’s net asset value (NAV).

However, I think it provides some margin of safety for new long-term investors today.