Equities are the preferred investment vehicle for people who want better returns at some risk.

However, the best returns come when the investment horizon is lon g. Domestic brokerage firm Edelweiss has come out with a report called "5 stocks to buy for financial freedom." The report identifies the key sectors and stocks th at are set to benefit from the long term growth India is set to witness. "Fundamental factors like young population (median age of 26), growing middle cl ass, rising income levels with stable and growing household savings make India s m edium to long- term growth secure. These significant changes will manifest in th ree key investment themes for the next decade - savings, consumption and infrast ructure. Further, India s competitiveness on the global scale in the services sect or will continue to gain strength over the next decade," the report said. Here are the 5 stocks Edelweiss thinks investors should buy for the next 10 year s. 1) Bajaj Auto is the second largest two-wheeler manufacturer in India with a dom estic market share of 28 per cent. Why buy the stock: i) Two-wheeler penetration in India is expected to rise driven by growing dispos able incomes, favourable demographics, better availability and penetration of fi nancing, and increasing availability of product choices. The two wheelers market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12 per cent to Rs 1.2 lakh crore in 2020. ii) Revival of exports in key destinations and performance of new launches in do mestic market would augur well for volume growth. Further, weak rupee has improv ed the profitability prospects of Bajaj Auto. 2) ICICI Bank is the largest private sector bank in India in terms of asset size , with a balance sheet of Rs 4.7 lakh crore as of March 2012. It holds near mark et leadership in almost all its businesses. The bank earns substantial fee incom e from transaction and retail banking activities. Why buy the stock: i) In FY13, overall loan book growth is likely to settle at ~18-20 per cent. Hig her share from high-margin domestic business, coupled with further traction on C ASA could boost margin in FY12 and settle at 2.8 per cent. ii) At 18.5 per cent, the bank has one of the highest capital adequacy ratios in the sector that can be deployed to ramp up business as the economic scenario im proves. iii) The asset quality continues to improve. Restructuring book has declined seq uentially. 3) TCS is India's largest and one of its oldest IT companies. It has a large div ersified client base (1003 active clients), TCS employee force stands at 238,583 (including subsidiaries) and its revenues for the last twelve months (TTM) stood at Rs 48,900 crore ($10.1 billion). Why buy the stock: i) TCS has outperformed both Infosys and Wipro over the past few years in revenu

e growth, led by BFSI, retail, manufacturing and telecom verticals. It is expect ed to grow at ~14.5 per cent and 15.5 per cent in FY13E and FY14E, respectively. ii) TCS has multiple margin levers at its disposal, which will sustain its margi ns, shielding it from continued pressures on account of wage increases across th e industry. 4) Yes Bank is a private Indian bank with financial support from Rabobank Nederl and, and global institutional private equity investors AIF Capital, and ChrysCapi tal. It has balance sheet of Rs 78,200 crore and a CASA ratio of 16.3 per cent. Corporate lending forms 60 per cent of its book, commercial 20 per cent and reta il 16 per cent. Why buy the stock: i) The loan book is expected to grow at more than 24 per cent for the next two y ears. ii) The bank s high proportion of fee income enables high return on assets and ind icates its potential of generating higher than presently reported return on equi ty, once the capital ratios normalise. iii) It is the perfect acquisition candidate for a foreign player, once the regu lations ease. iv) The bank has best in class asset quality gross NPA ratio at 0.3 per cent and net NPA ratio of 0.1 per cent. Outstanding restructured assets stand at a mere 0.5 per cent of advances. v) Yes Bank is expected to grow well above the system, with a well-entrenched fe e income platform, superior CASA and lower credit costs, delivering superior ear nings and attractive RoA/RoE. 5) Coromandel is owned by the Murugappa Chettiar Group. The company manufactures and markets fertilisers and pesticides. It is the second largest phosphatic fer tiliser player in India (after IFFCO). Why buy the stock: i) Coromandel is poised to be the biggest beneficiary in the complex fertiliser space with the implementation of the nutrient based subsidy (NBS) scheme. NBS wi ll benefit the company in the long term by means reduction in working capital an d lesser volatility in earnings, on the back of its raw material linkages, scale of operations and operational efficiencies. ii) The company is planning to expand its fertiliser capacity from the current 3 .3 million MT per annum to ~4 million MT in during FY13, at a capital outlay of Rs 330 crore. iii) Coromandel is also targeting an improvement in the non-subsidy business sub stantially over the next four years, contributing as high as 50 per cent to EBIT DA (from the current 30 per cent). Specialty nutrients are likely to lead the ch arge in this division on the back of a strong growth in municipal compost and wa ter soluble fertilisers in India.