Some stocks and ETFs represent the best type of long-term growth-focused investing. As a result, these are great stocks to buy for retirement because they leverage the stock market’s greatest advantage — time.

For investors, staying patient and consistent over time is the best way to build a solid retirement fund. This then enables them to live comfortably once they no longer wish to or cannot work.

The three stocks mentioned in this article represent stable investments based on their stability and long-term prospects, which are the critical factors that make for a good retirement portfolio. That said, they are not the be-all-end-all of investing and are simply examples of one direction investors can take with their portfolio.

Bearing this in mind, here are three stocks to buy for long-term solvency. Keep in mind that reinvesting dividends and gains is a critical part of these stocks’ investing strategy.

Fidelity Fundamental Large Cap Growth ETF (FFLG)

When it comes to saving for retirement, sometimes the safest bet comes from a financially managed exchange-traded fund. One of the most promising of such funds is the Fidelity Fundamental Large Cap Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:FFLG). The reason to pick this fund over the vast majority of other ETFs stems from the math behind its recent returns. 

Through careful equity selection and fund allocation, Fidelity has formulated one of the most stably returning funds currently trading on the market. One reason for this stems from the fund’s well-above-average liquidity for the category of high-growth ETFs. This contrasts the traditional industry model of stretching cash to push a position, making it less flexible when certain portions of the portfolio underperform.

In the case of FFLG, Fidelity has structured the equity selection in the fund to allow for quicker market movement, meaning it can more easily pivot away from equities in the portfolio that are not providing investors with meaningful returns. This makes FFLG among the best stocks to buy for retirement, as it enables investors to invest more securely in the fund knowing their positions won’t stagnate over time.

Microsoft (MSFT)

Buying a single stock for retirement is not generally advisable, but one of the best ones to add to your long-term portfolio might just be Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). This is due to the absolute excellence Microsoft has demonstrated in adaptability to global technology trends.

Nearly every major computing and communications technology has a place in the company’s product portfolio.

For long-term investors, this focus on cutting-edge innovation practically guarantees the company’s long-term relevance to the tech industry as a whole.

Moreover, when a company like Microsoft stands so broadly diversified, it becomes a pillar for the rest of the industry to stand on for future technologies.

For example, much of the capital OpenAI has needed to aggressively expand its large language models has come from the billions invested by Microsoft. Yet, a move like this does not just come from blind faith and has enabled MSFT stock to soar as its AI future remains essentially intertwined with that of the current industry leader.

These kinds of investments and plays on constantly forwarding the future of global technology are what make Microsoft one the best stocks to buy for retirement, as they improve its ability to continue growing well into the future.

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)

While this last pick might seem boring, investing for retirement isn’t meant to be exciting, it’s meant to be sustainable. As such, Warren Buffett’s classic investing advice on buying index funds applies, and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:VOO) is one of the better examples of such funds.

What sets VOO apart is its expense ratio, which is essentially the cut the fund manager takes, in this case, Vanguard, for managing the money.

For VOO, the expense ratio is 0.03% which is considerably lower than the average expense ratio for other similar funds, as it hovers around 0.78%.

That means investors pocket more of the returns over time, and while 0.75% doesn’t sound like a big difference up front, compounded over time, it results in thousands of dollars more back to the investor.

Considering that the ETF is up over 400% since its inception 11 years ago, continuously investing a portion of one’s retirement savings in this fund could mean a very comfortable future as it is not contribution-capped like a traditional retirement fund.

On the date of publication, Viktor Zarev did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

On the date of publication, the responsible editor did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.