Posted by Paul Tracy, StreetAuthority on December 21, 2011 5:45 pm

A few months ago, I sent a report to readers of my Top 10 Stocks advisory covering my 10 Best Stocks to Hold Forever.

Its quickly become one of the most popular pieces of research in StreetAuthoritys history.

Simply put, these are the 10 stocks that we think you can buy today and basically hold for the rest of your life.

When you own them, you dont have to worry about events such as inflation or deflation, bear markets or recessions flash-crashes or rising interest rates.

Dont just take my word for it the numbers speak for themselves

Since I went public with my 10 Forever stocks in mid-July,

Theyve returned 4.5% on average, compared with a 4.4% drop in the S&P 500.

Our biggest winner is up 25.4%, and thats during one of the rockiest periods in stock market history.

Three are already showing double-digit returns.

Three have announced dividend increases

Im not telling you this to brag about my success as an analyst. My job is to help investors make money, so I want to show you why these stocks are outperforming and what makes them worthy of their Forever status.

Before I go on though, let me be forthcoming by telling you I simply cant reveal my full list of 10 Forever ideas here. This wouldnt be fair to my Top 10 Stocks subscribers.

But if you want to find Forever stocks of your own, then you dont necessarily need my list.

There are plenty of Forever stocks that didnt make my list and once you know what youre looking for, finding them is actually much easier than you would think.

See, on the surface the 10 Forever stocks that made my list dont have much in common. They dont target a specific industry, they vary in size and they have their own unique business models.

But dig deeper, and youll find certain qualities that are synonymous with most of the Forever ideas. In particular, I think the best stocks to hold Forever do one or more of the following:

Enjoy huge (and lasting) advantages over the competition

Pay their investors each and every year by dishing out fat dividends

Buy back massive amounts of their own stock

My research has shown that more often than not, these are the companies that make you money in the long run. Once you find them, the strategy is simple buy them and hold them forever.

It makes sense. Strong companies that take care of their shareholders tend to better over time.

Take Philip Morris (NYSE: PM) for example. Philip Morris is one of my 10 Forever stocks. Its one of the most dominant companies Ive ever researched. This company sells its products in 180 countries and owns seven of the worlds top 15 global brands in its market.

But its also the most shareholder-friendly company Ive ever seen. In the past three years, it has raised its dividend 39.1% and by the end of last year, the company had repurchased more than 330 million shares (about 16% of all shares outstanding). Thats one reason why earnings per share (EPS) jumped 20% in 2010. So far in 2011, the company has spent $4.4 billion on share buybacks.

Buy Philip Morris now and youll also lock in a solid yield of 4.0%. Meanwhile, the company plans billions more in share repurchases this year and next, which should support the share price in just about any market.

Moreover, Philip Morris sells cigarettes, a product whose demand rarely fluctuates. I understand that cigarette companies are not for everyone. But there is little argument that sales tend to be steady.

This business stability has meant stability in the share price as well. Since I pegged Philip Morris for my report five months ago, shares are up close to 15%.

Risks to Consider: Of course, with investing theres never a surefire thing. Theres no quality a company can possess that will guarantee its success. But by choosing strong, shareholder-friendly companies, youre investing in proven companies with a commitment to making you wealthier I cant think of a better long-term investment.

Action to Take> That said, if you want Forever stocks of your own, you dont have to look that hard Just find those best-in-class companies that are working around the clock to increase your shareholder value. At the end of the day, Ive found that those are the companies that can make you money, regardless of what the market is doing. And if youre interested in seeing my full Top-10 list of ideas, then click here to find out more .

Paul Tracy Source: StreetAuthority

When some of the brightest people on the planet need safe and sky-high dividend yields, they go to one man — StreetAuthority co-founder Paul Tracy. Click here to read his latest report and to learn about 13 stocks yielding up to 10%.