I’ve added two new shares to my ISA portfolio in April — one from the FTSE 100 and the other a FTSE 250 stock. They’re quite different companies, but both look attractive to me as a long-term investor.
Read on and I’ll tell you why I’m bullish on this pair.
Buying the dip
First, I added 3i Group (LSE:III) to my portfolio. The FTSE 100 stock is down 35% in six months, even after a mini-revival recently.
3i is a private equity firm that invests in other companies. Over the past 10 years, the group’s annualised total return is a very impressive 22%, despite the crash.
A major driver has been Dutch discount store chain Action. In 2011 when 3i first invested, it had 250 stores across three countries and around €80m in EBITDA. At the end of 2025, it had 3,302 stores in 14 countries and generated more than €2.3bn in underlying profit.
In fact, the investment has been so successful that it now accounts for approximately 73% of 3i’s portfolio. So any growth hiccups at Action are bad news. And that’s what we’ve had in recent months, with weaker-than-expected growth in France, its largest market.
However, I think the selling has gone too far. It means 3i has swung from trading at a massive premium to its underlying assets to a near-10% discount. It also now carries a 3.3% forward dividend yield.
Taking advantage of this, long-time CEO Simon Borrows recently bought £8.95m worth of shares, which is obviously noteworthy because he knows the company (and its prospects) inside out.
Finally, it’s worth pointing out that Action sees scope for 4,650 stores. So it’s hardly struggling.
Fitness boom
The second stock I bought is Applied Nutrition (LSE:APN), the leading sports nutrition and supplements brand. The stock’s up 97% in the past year.
However, it dipped 5% earlier this week after shareholder JD Sports unloaded its entire 9.1% stake. Does JD see trouble brewing? Maybe it’s worried about the inflationary Iran conflict hurting Applied Nutrition’s growth or margins. This is a near-term risk.
Alternatively, perhaps JD just crystallised returns after the stock’s strong run. Either way, I’m not worried because I’m investing for the long term. And the global sports nutrition, health and wellness market is projected to grow to £279bn by 2029, at a compound rate of about 8.1%.
What I like is that Applied Nutrition’s growing globally, with its products selling well in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and the US (it has shelf space in Walmart). It’s very innovative, bringing out unique flavours and quickly capitalising on new trends in the fitness and wellness markets.
Crucially, the brand is very trusted. Customers know what they’re getting is the real deal, which is not always the case when it comes to protein and supplements.
I buy Applied Nutrition’s protein, creatine, and daily greens supplement (because I don’t eat anywhere near enough vegetables!) But nearly half of customers are female, boosted by Coleen Rooney-branded collagen beauty supplements.
This year, revenue is expected to surge 31% to £140m. The profitable company is trading at 17.7 times forward earnings, which isn’t very expensive for a quality business with a ton of international growth potential.
I’ll look to build out my position on share price dips over the next year or two.
