The best time to invest is when you have cash. Timing the market for the perfect stock buying opportunity is fraught with problems. Normally when stocks are really cheap, things are so ugly you won't want to deploy any capital. When the market is going really well, you think it can't get better, but sometimes it does.

Don't time the market, just invest when you have the cash

Timing the market is impossible. The best thing you can do is deploy capital into reasonable opportunities when you have the cash. If you take a long-term approach (like a 5- or 10-year horizon), misses in valuation (like overpaying for a stock) tend to iron out if the company continues to consistently perform.

The key is to focus on high quality businesses and preferably buy them when they are temporarily out of favour or not well-known by the rest of the market. Here are three smart stocks to buy with $2,000 that fit that bill nicely.

An under-followed real estate stock

Colliers International Group (TSX:CIGI) is high quality stock not many people talk about. It is known for its international commercial real estate brokerage, but this business has become so much more.

Colliers has been consolidating the engineering, project management, and consulting sector over the past several years. It made some significant additions in 2024. The company also has a fairly large asset management business that generates very attractive margins.

This is on top of its more traditional real estate and property management services segments. Today, over 70% of its income is from recurring services.

Colliers still has plenty of opportunity to consolidate the real estate services and consulting market. This stock is not exactly cheap after a 30% rise in 2024. However, if it can continue its high teens return trajectory, shareholders should be pretty happy from here.

A small-cap stock at an attractive valuation

Another stock that is off most investor's radar is Calian Group (TSX:CGY). This company operates four different business segments focused on healthcare services, training, cybersecurity, and satcom/specialized technologies.

While these are separate and unique segments, Calian has been using its diverse platforms to gain larger, integrated project wins. Today, it is at a scale where it can package and cross sell its business elements. This is opening a whole new opportunity of growth.

Speaking of growth, it has been successfully acquiring attractively priced businesses and integrating them into its broader platform. The company has a good balance sheet, a disciplined management team, and a record of mid-teens growth.

Despite all the good, its stock has underperformed the market in 2024. The stock is extremely cheap right now. It also pays a nice 2.4% dividend.

A long-term compounding finance company

goeasy (TSX:GSY) is another stock with a nice combination of growth, income, and value. It is one of the largest non-prime lenders in Canada. With a retail network across the country, it has the scale, expertise, and infrastructure to underwrite this class of riskier loans profitably.

goeasy has delivered exceptional growth in both the near and long-term. Over the past five years, revenues increased by a 16% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) and earnings per share rose by a 28% CAGR.

The lender continues to see growth in its home equity loans, vehicle loans, and point-of-sales loans. It also plans to introduce a reward-based credit card product in 2025. All this to say, the company still has a long runway ahead.

Nonetheless, it trades for less than 10 times earnings, and it has a nice 2.7% dividend yield. GSY is another smart stock bet for a patient long-term investor.