5 Canadian Stocks to Buy and Forget + Are CPP’s Returns Actually Bad?

The Canadian Investor Podcast tackles two major themes: a deep dive into the Canada Pension Plan's (CPP) 7.8% return for fiscal 2026 and a provocative list of five Canadian stocks you'd be happy to buy and never look at again. The hosts argue that criticizing CPP's return by comparing it to the S&P 500 or TSX is fundamentally flawed—its portfolio is 36% public equities, 22% private equity, 20% real assets, and 22% fixed income, making direct equity benchmarks misleading. They highlight that 42% of CPP's assets are illiquid, privately held investments, which are marked using models rather than market prices, raising questions about transparency and true performance. Despite the criticism, CPP has averaged 8.8% annual returns over the past decade, outperforming Norway’s sovereign fund in the long run, though Norway’s ultra-low fees (0.04%) and index-heavy approach make it a more efficient model. The second segment challenges investors to think beyond growth: which Canadian companies would still thrive in a decade if you couldn’t sell or check their price? The top picks—Waste Connections, Franco Nevada, CP Rail, Canadian Natural, and Loblaw—were chosen for their durable business models, low disruption risk, and ability to generate consistent cash flow, even in uncertain times. Tech stocks, despite their current dominance, were excluded due to rapid innovation and high obsolescence risk.