Let's face it: finding the best investments for your portfolio in the current environment isn't easy. With so many companies trading at or near historic lows, it's important to separate the wheat from the chaff. Just as you don't want to buy a company only because it's trading on sale, you shouldn't invest in a stock only because the shares are trending upward while the rest of the market is down. 

In other words, you need to choose wisely. Following are two fantastic businesses you may want to consider parking some of your cash in now and holding onto for at least the next several years.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) has a unique competitive edge over the average healthcare stock in that it is the market leader in a multibillion-dollar industry with minimal competition. Vertex develops and manufactures drugs that treat cystic fibrosis patients. These products are part of a class of drugs known as CFTR modulator therapies, which essentially help to tweak the faulty protein that causes someone to develop cystic fibrosis.

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Source Fool.com