There are a lot of exchange traded funds (ETFs) out there for investors to choose from.

Three popular ETFs that you may want to look deeper into are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

BetaShares Global Energy Companies ETF (ASX: FUEL)

The first ETF for investors to look at is the BetaShares Global Energy Companies ETF. With oil prices trading above US$80 per barrel, energy producers are generating significant free cash flow at present. This bodes well for the companies held by this ETF, which include the leading players in the energy sector. Among its holdings are the likes of BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Royal Dutch Shell.

BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

Another ETF that could be worth looking at is the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF. As its name implies, this exchange traded fund gives investors exposure to the 100 largest non-financial businesses on Wall Street’s famous NASDAQ index. This means that you will be owning a slice of tech giants such as Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Facebook/Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, and Nvidia. And with the NASDAQ still down materially on a 12-month basis, now could be a good time to consider making a long term investment in this quality group of stocks.

Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)

A final ETF for investors to consider buying is the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. This popular ETF give investors easy access to many of the world’s largest listed companies. This means that rather than just investing in the Australian market, investors can take part in the long term growth potential of international markets. Among the ~1,500 companies included in the ETF are Apple, Johnson & Johnson, JP Morgan, Nestle, and Visa.

The post 3 popular ETFs that could be top picks right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• 2 ASX ETFs I’d buy for a tech rebound in 2023
• 3 wonderful ETFs for ASX investors to buy next week
• Forget gold, I’m using the Warren Buffett method to try and get rich!
• The Netflix share price just popped. Here’s one way to buy in on the ASX
• 3 undervalued ASX shares that should be on your radar

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF and Vanguard Msci Index International Shares ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Vanguard Msci Index International Shares ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/o625ih7

There is an increasing amount of angst about celebrating Australia Day on January 26.

And those raised tensions are on both sides of the debate, with increasingly vocal groups arguing for change, or for retention.

There is no small irony in the fact that our national day – when we celebrate us, and our country – is one of the more divisive days on our calendar.

Personally, almost for that reason alone, I think we probably should change it. I also think those who argue for a change have a good case. January 26, 1788, was a momentous day that had a large impact in shaping the country we are today. In good ways, but also in bad. I’m not sure it’s the right date to celebrate our nationhood.

But, as I’ve done in years prior, because today is officially Australia Day, I’m going to reflect on the incredible privilege and opportunity we have as Australians.

We have, despite our challenges and shortcomings, a helluva lot to be proud of, and thankful for.

We are, overwhelmingly, peaceful and free.

We have, even with its imperfections, an enviable system of justice and governance.

We look out for each other.

And we look after each other.We have the ability to discuss, argue and peacefully protest.

We can stand for parliament, free of religious, gender or other restrictions.

We live in what I reckon is the most beautiful, if sometimes harsh, place in the world.

We are enormously prosperous.

I hope you realise all of that.

In the past, I’ve worked for some wonderful businesses, and some not-so-wonderful.

When I worked for the former, I’d sometimes come across a colleague who’d been at that one company for many years.

They’d complain and whinge about all of the problems, seemingly oblivious to the positives.

And I’d often remark – usually to myself! – that they’d only need to spend a few weeks working somewhere else to realise just how good they had it.

That didn’t mean, by the way, that some of those issues weren’t real, or that they didn’t need addressing.

But those colleagues had let the real and perceived problems become so overwhelmingly prominent that they’d lost sight of the bigger picture.

Because that bigger picture was of a wonderful business that, while it had its issues, was better than many, perhaps most, other places to work.

They were lucky to work there.

And that, I reckon, is how we should think about Australia, today and every day.

I worry that, in our focus on the stuff that’s broken, many of us miss the fact that most other countries would kill for our problems, rather than theirs.

Those people spend so much time, effort and energy thinking about the imperfections and issues, and too little being grateful for the positives.

Seriously, in which other country would you rather live?

Which country is more peaceful? Wealthier? More free? Safer? Which country is more beautiful? Has a healthier rule of law? Has a fairer distribution of tax collection and spending? Is more multicultural? And has a better national character?

Now, I’m not saying we’re top of the pops in each category (though we’d be bloody close!). But I am saying that I reckon you’d be hard pressed to score us on those things, and then find another country that beats us, overall.

As an investor, I reckon we’re bloody lucky, too. Because all of those things, and more, give us the opportunity to build real long-term wealth.

Right now, some of you are doing the ‘yeah but what about…’ thing.

Good. Me too.

We have lots of opportunities to be even better.

We’re not taking sufficient care of our environment. Not everyone has an equal shot at success. Our political system is showing some wear and tear. We don’t look after each other the way we used to, and individualism means there’s more “I’m alright, Jack” and less “Fair go” than in times past.

We should work very hard to deal with those things.

So my call is not for complacency, or to rest on our laurels.

But it’s also not a despairing resignation or choosing to wallow in a bleak selective view consisting only of our problems and shortcomings.

Australians have a lot to celebrate, and to be proud of.

Some of it luck. Most of it, the lottery of birth, or the happy circumstances that led us to arrive on Australian shores.

Much of it, left to us by those who came before us; an inheritance we should consider ourselves duty-bound to cherish, protect and then pass on.

And some of it – enough to be proud of, but not so much that we get arrogant – the efforts we’ve made to make this country a better place in which to live and work.

So, let’s celebrate all of that.

Because, despite our problems, we are some of the luckiest people on the planet.

Please don’t be like my former colleagues who had become so insular and lacking in perspective that they could only see the bad things, and not how lucky they were.

Please don’t fall for the doom and gloom – investing, or otherwise.

Do we have challenges? You bet we do.

Will we overcome them, just as we’ve overcome every other challenge in the past? Bloody oath we will.

It takes effort. And goodwill. And a little care for each other. But we have a great base from which to start.

Or rather, from which to continue.

And we should. We owe it to ourselves and to each other.

I hope you have a great Australia Day. If the date itself is painful, I understand. I hope you can at least celebrate, disconnected from the date itself, how lucky we are to be Australian.

And let’s commit ourselves to making sure that, each Australia Day (on whatever date it falls), we can look back at the previous 12 months, and be proud of the progress we’ve made.

And of the country we’re leaving to our kids.

Fool on!

The post appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• Add these ASX shares to your retirement portfolio for growing income: analysts
• How much profit could Fortescue shares make in 2023?
• How I would use these 3 ASX shares to build a portfolio from scratch
• How to generate $50,000 of passive income from BHP shares
• Could this ASX 200 share be a dividend gem hiding in plain sight?

Motley Fool contributor Scott Phillips has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/Xxb1Qkg

Arguably, one of the best ways to set yourself up for a comfortable retirement is by having a passive income stream that is both reliable and has the potential to grow over time.

The good news is that the ASX is home to a number of quality ASX dividend shares that tick these boxes and could be great additions to a retirement portfolio.

Two that are rated as buys are listed below:

Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF)

The first ASX dividend share to consider is Collins Foods. It is a quick service restaurant operator with a large network of KFC restaurants in Australia and Europe. Although the company still has plenty of room to grow in Australia, it is the European market that is expected be the key driver of growth over the next decade. This is because the KFC brand is under-represented in Europe and has a significant expansion opportunity.

According to a note out of Morgans, its analysts have an add rating and $9.50 price target on its shares. The broker is also forecasting fully franked dividends of 24 cents per share in FY 2023 and 26 cents per share in FY 2024. Based on the latest Collins Foods share price of $8.03, this will mean yields of 3% and 3.2%, respectively.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

Rural Funds could be another ASX dividend share to consider for a retirement portfolio. This is due to the quality of the agriculture-focused real estate property trust’s assets and long term tenancy agreements. In addition, Rural Funds’ leases have built-in rental increases, which provides great visibility on its future earnings. It also positions the company to deliver on its target of growing its distribution by 4% per annum.

Bell Potter is positive on Rural Funds and has a buy rating and $2.75 price target on its shares. As for dividends, it is forecasting dividends per share of 11.7 cents in FY 2023 and 12.7 cents in FY 2024. Based on the current Rural Funds share price of $2.46, this will mean yields of 4.75% and 5.15%, respectively.

The post Add these ASX shares to your retirement portfolio for growing income: analysts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• ASX passive income: My game plan to reach $30,000 per year
• ASX income stocks: A once-in-a-decade chance to get rich?
• 2 low risk, high quality ASX shares to buy for a retirement portfolio: analysts
• How to invest $10,000 this year to create ‘safe’ passive income
• Buy South32 and this ASX dividend share: experts

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Collins Foods. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Collins Foods. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Rural Funds Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Collins Foods. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/RhryqSH

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) shares have made a considerable profit over the last three years. But can the business keep making big profits in 2023 and beyond?

As one of the biggest iron ore shares in the world, Fortescue’s success is highly linked to the changing iron ore price.

The last 12 months have been volatile for iron. But the last couple of months have been notable for the commodity. According to Commsec, the iron ore price has reached US$122 per tonne. That’s well up from around the US$80 mark where it sat in early November.

Any extra revenue per tonne adds considerably to net profit before tax because mining costs don’t usually change much month to month. A higher commodity price can generate a lot of extra cash flow for the business, which can lead to bigger dividends as well.

How much profit is Fortescue going to make in 2023?

I think one of the most important financial figures is the earnings per share (EPS). There’s not much point growing profit if it doesn’t lead to rising EPS over time, in my opinion. Certainly, growing EPS can be one of the key factors in driving the Fortescue share price higher.

The EPS can give context to the share price, particularly in price/earnings (P/E) ratio terms.

According to the forecast on Commsec, Fortescue could make EPS of $2.07 in FY23. This would put the Fortescue share price at 11 times FY23’s estimated earnings. This could also enable Fortescue to pay an annual dividend of around $1.48 per share. This would translate into a grossed-up dividend yield of 9.4%.

However, profit is expected to reduce in FY24, with an EPS forecast of $1.62. EPS might reduce again to $1.41 in FY25, But, estimates change all the time, so time will tell how much profit the business will actually make in FY24 and beyond.

What’s improving the outlook?

Fortescue seems to be benefiting from the improving sentiment about China. For most of 2022, the Asian economic superpower was grappling with COVID-19 and lockdowns, which meant the country wasn’t at full economic capacity.

But, after an adjustment of COVID-19 restrictions in China, essentially a lifting of curbs, investors are now seemingly feeling more confident about the situation.

While the iron ore price is unpredictable, every month that it’s at a price of US$120 per tonne or higher is helpful for Fortescue to generate strong profit.

The business also continues to make progress on its green energy targets of decarbonising its own operations and making steps towards producing green hydrogen.

Foolish takeaway

Fortescue is seeing positive sentiment at the moment, with how strongly the iron ore price has rebounded in the last few months. This should enable it to produce another year of strong profit in 2023.

The post How much profit could Fortescue shares make in 2023? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

(function() {
function setButtonColorDefaults(param, property, defaultValue) {
if( !param || !param.includes(‘#’)) {
var button = document.getElementsByClassName(“pitch-snippet”)[0].getElementsByClassName(“pitch-button”)[0];
button.style[property] = defaultValue;
}
}

setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘background’, ‘#5FA85D’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#0095C8”, ‘border-color’, ‘#43A24A’);
setButtonColorDefaults(“#fff”, ‘color’, ‘#fff’);
})()

More reading

• ASX passive income: My game plan to reach $30,000 per year
• Why a merger between Fortescue and this major-league miner could make sense: expert
• Why Fortescue shares could be facing a Meta-like problem
• Should I buy ASX mining shares now or not?
• My top predictions for ASX 200 mining shares in 2023

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Fortescue Metals Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/6qTUCHk