I don’t like investing in individual companies – they seem to go up when you think they’re doing poorly and go down when you think they’re doing well. Individual companies possess something called “Company-Specific” Risk which means their stock price is susceptible to risks such as lawsuits, management changes and other non-market factors.

While I don’t recommend exposing yourself to company-specific risk, you can decrease the chances of being burnt by individual companies by purchasing proven quality and diversifying.  Here’s a list of 10 Companies that Everyone Should Own Stock In:

1. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
2. Coca-Cola.
3. International Business Machines Corp.
4. Chevron Corp.
5. PepsiCo, Inc.
6. Procter & Gamble Co
7. Exxon Mobil Corp
8. United Technologies.
9. McDonald’s Corp.
10. 3M.

Why own each of the above companies?