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There is no fixed period of time FTSE 250 investors should hold on to their shares before they consider selling.
The exact time depends on the personal goals of the investor. And it is less than stock wealth over time. A rock solid company today can turn into a basket case within a few years due to various internal and external factors.
Having said that, I always buy stocks with the idea of holding them for at least ten years. This way I can reduce the impact of market volatility on my bottom line.
Here are the top two FTSE 250 stocks I would buy today to hold until the mid-2030s, if I had the money.
Chemring Group
Investing in defensive stocks can be a safe choice for long-term investors. Contract deadlines, supply chain issues, and cost issues can threaten earnings forecasts at times. But improving industry conditions suggest they could enjoy a bright decade ahead.
Take it Chemring Group (LSE:CHG), for example. This business makes munitions, sensors, and power products for military use. And it has an ambitious plan twice annual revenue to £1bn by 2030.
Defense spending increased significantly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. And since then, concerns about China’s growth have grown and conditions in the Middle East have worsened, pushing the budget higher.
Against this sad situation, Chemring says it is evident “continuing to take strong“, rose to £638m in the year to September, from £604m a year earlier. This reduced its closing order book to £1.1bn from £869m previously, with record order books reported across the business.
The number of NATO members meeting defense spending targets has quadrupled between 2021 and 2024. The number sits at an all-time high of 23 and is poised to continue growing in response to the rapid rearmament of China and Russia.
City analysts therefore expect Chemring’s earnings growth to accelerate over the next two years, at least. Growth of 6% and 12% is predicted for fiscal 2025 and 2026 respectively.
NCC Group
NCC Group‘s (LSE:NCC) has also indicated that it will grow earnings rapidly over the next few years. As a supplier of cybersecurity products, it will benefit from the growth of digitalization around the world and the consequent increase in hacking and similar attacks.
City analysts expect revenue to increase by 120% this fiscal year (until May 2025). Increases of 25% and 21% are predicted for fiscal 2026 and 2027 respectively.
The benefit here is more consistent, with businesses cutting back on spending on things like software when economic conditions worsen. NCC has suffered in recent years due to weakness in the North American technology sector.
But business is growing again and may continue as interest rates fall. Revenue of £104m in the four months to September was up 4% year-on-year.
Fortune Business Insights believes that the cyber security market will grow at a compound annual rate of 14.3% until 2032. If accurate, profits at NCC Group could – despite the threat of intense competition – explode through the roof.
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