Nate Pile is a long-standing expert on small cap growth stocks. However, for those seeking exposure to growth plus income, he launched a new service last summer — The Little River Investment Guide.

Two stocks in our model portfolio that I believe are worthy of "Top Pick" status as 2021 gets underway are a "new era" company, Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR), and one that is definitely "old school" — but doing quite well in the 21st century — Colgate-Palmolive (CL).

Innovative Industrial is a REIT based in San Diego, CA, that is focused on the acquisition, ownership, and management of specialized properties leased to state-licensed operators of regulated medical-use cannabis facilities around the country.

Though we are not there yet, I think the handwriting is on the wall that cannabis will eventually be legalized at the federal level, and, while it remains to be seen just how big the overall cannabis industry will eventually become, the size of its real estate footprint is almost certainly only going to grow as time goes by.

I believe Innovative Industrial Properties is extremely well-positioned to cash in on the trend. The stock currently pays a quarterly dividend that works out to $4.96 per year, and IIPR is considered a buy under $185.

At the other end of the "era" spectrum is Colgate-Palmolive, a company that has been around for quite awhile now; indeed, it was founded in 1806!

The company provides all kinds of consumer products (mostly related to health and personal care, as well as pet nutrition) to customers around the world under a variety of brand names that it has either developed or acquired over the years.

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Though it is a very old company, it has done a great job of keeping up with both the times and technology, and this is being reflected in the stock price (which is essentially sitting at an all-time high as of the time this is being written).

No, there is nothing glamorous about what the company sells, but it is a solid company paying a nice dividend (current yield is just over 2%) while it helps to keep folks around the world clean and healthy (and their pets well-fed).

To be sure, there is a lot of uncertainty about where the global economy will be heading next, but I believe Colgate-Palmolive will navigate whatever comes along just fine. CL is a buy under $90.

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