The Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) has performed admirably in the first few months of 2023. It has gone up by around 16%, whereas the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is almost flat for the year to date.

The movements of the unit price of the exchange-traded fund (ETF) are interesting considering everything that has been going on.

I think it’s important to keep in mind that when the new year began, the share prices of technology businesses had hit a fairly low point by the end of 2022.

So, some of the fund’s increase may simply have been a recovery of investor sentiment from last year’s low.

And here is an interesting thought regarding the current banking problems in the US and Switzerland. The uncertainty could lead to central banks being less draconian with interest rates, therefore, reducing their impact on asset prices.

A number of tech shares within the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF suffered a sell-off amid the rapid surge in interest rates. But, lower-than-expected interest rates could have a positive impact on the share prices of those tech names. That may already be playing out.

Is now a good time to buy the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF?

Investors can invest in units of the ETF whenever they like, so there’s no need to fear missing out on ever owning it.

Of course, if we could choose, we’d go for a unit price that’s below $25 rather than the higher price it is today. The fund closed Thursday trading at $28.72 per unit.

But, the underlying businesses like Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon.com have a long-term track record of delivering business growth, which will hopefully translate into unit price growth over time as well.

The Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF unit price is down 20% from its December 2021 peak, but it’s still up by around 80% over the past five years, showing the growth of the businesses involved.

Don’t forget, there is a wide array of 100 businesses within this ETF — it’s not just a few of the biggest tech businesses in the world. To that end, it offers pretty good diversification.

At the end of February 2023, the ETF had a forward price/earnings (P/E) ratio of 23x. I wouldn’t describe that as cheap.

A number of the biggest businesses in the ETF’s portfolio have made job cuts recently, which may increase ongoing profitability, but it also shows that the management of those companies thought they were necessary moves to boost profit, save cash, or whatever else was a key factor in the decisions.

There could be a better price to come in 2023 but I think at the current level, investors can do well over the long term by investing in this portfolio of quality names.

The post The Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF has soared 15% so far in 2023. Is it too late to buy? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Alphabet, Amazon.com, Apple, BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet, Amazon.com, and Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Most ASX investors would know that the past week has been a brutal one for ASX shares and the Australian share market. But it’s not just our markets that are in a world of pain right now. So today, let’s check out the damage with the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS). 

This exchange-traded fund (ETF) from provider Vanguard is one of the best barometers for global shares around. The Vanguard International Shares ETF is a massive fund in scope and scale. It holds shares from all kinds of advanced economies around the world. Here you’ll find shares from Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Israel, Singapore and Hong Kong.

But most of its major constituents come from the United States. This ETF’s top holdings are names that will probably be familiar to most readers. They include the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla and Exxon Mobil.

As such, this ETF is a popular and effective choice for any investor wishing to diversify their ASX share portfolio using a single, simple index fund.

So let’s look at the damage that the past week or so has done to this ETF. Since 7 March, the Vanguard International Shares ETF has fallen from $98.60 a unit to the $95.60 we see today. That’s a hefty loss of 3%.

Thus, many investors might be wondering if this is a buying opportunity for this popular ETF.

Is it time to buy the Vanguard International Shares ETF?

Well, I would argue that it is. Whenever a quality index fund experiences a significant drop in value, it can be a good chance to pick up additional units. Index funds are not individual companies. They hold an ever-changing basket of shares, weighted by market capitalisation.

In this ETF’s case, these sources are from around the world, but the same principle applies. Because an index fund is periodically rebalanced to ensure it always has the largest companies within it, losers are weeded out over time, while winners are added.

Because of this nature, investing in index funds using a dollar-cost-averaging strategy is usually a popular and effective way of building wealth. That would work well for most investors. But the principles of ‘buy low sell high’ still apply here too.

If you can handle the emotional baggage of buying more of an investment when it falls in price, then you should do so. As the great Warren Buffett once said, “Whether we’re talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down”.

So I think it is indeed a great time to buy the Vanguard International Shares ETF right now. Remember, this index fund has returned an average of 11.09% per annum since its inception in 2014. Past performance is no guarantee of future results, of course. But it still leads me to believe that the cheaper you can get this ETF, the better.

The post Is right now a massive buying opportunity for the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (VGS)? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Amazon.com, Apple, Microsoft, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Amazon.com, Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, and Vanguard Msci Index International Shares ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon.com, Apple, and 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.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished 1.46% lower today and Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) was among the fallers.

The Qantas share price dropped 1.87% to close the day at $6.30.

Let’s take a look at what may have weighed on the Qantas share price today.

Broader market falls

Qantas was not the only ASX 200 travel share to slide today. The Webjet Ltd (ASX: WEB) share price descended 1.9%, while Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) shares dropped 3.57%.

ASX 200 shares, including travel shares, plunged today following market chaos in the United States and Europe overnight.

Credit Suisse shares dived 24% after its major shareholder declined to increase its stake in the Swiss bank, as my Foolish colleague Bronwyn reported today.

This economic uncertainty weighed on most ASX 200 shares today, with eight sectors finishing in the red and only three in the green.

In other news today, Qantas today announced it will provide customers with a further 12 months to take advantage of COVID travel credits.

Travellers with credit will still need to book travel by 31 December 2023, but they will be able to complete their travel as late as December 2024.

Commenting on the news, Qantas chief customer officer Markus Svensson said:

We literally had millions of bookings that were cancelled during several waves of lockdowns and border closures. No airline had systems that were designed to manage that in a seamless way and we realise there’s been frustration for some customers as a result.

Our main goal is for everyone who has a COVID credit to be able to put it to good use, which is why we’re doing one final extension of the travel expiry date by 12 months. 

Qantas share price snapshot

The Qantas share price has surged 25% in the last year, but it has fallen nearly 3% in the past month.

Qantas has a market capitalisation of about $11.4 billion based on the current share price.

The post What’s with the Qantas share price on Thursday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea 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 recommended Flight Centre Travel Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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As well as providing investors with access to sectors and indices, exchange traded funds (ETFs) can be used by investors seeking a source of income.

For example, the two ETFs listed below provide investors with exposure to large groups of dividend-paying shares through a single investment. Here’s why income investors might want to check them out:

BetaShares S&P 500 Yield Maximiser (ASX: UMAX)

The BetaShares S&P 500 Yield Maximiser is a very interesting ETF. It aims to provide investors with quarterly dividend income that is significantly greater than what you would ordinarily receive by investing in Wall Street’s S&P 500 index.

This is because it uses a clever equity income investment strategy over a portfolio of shares comprising the S&P 500 Index to maximise the yield. Hence its name.

Among its holdings are the largest companies listed on Wall Street. This includes dividend-payers such as Apple, Bank of America, Exxon Mobil, and Walmart.

At present, the BetaShares S&P 500 Yield Maximiser’s units provide investors with a 7.6% distribution yield.

Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY)

The Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF is far simpler.

This ETF uses broker research to find the ASX shares that are forecast to provide the biggest dividend yields over the next 12 months. It then buys these shares for investors and brings them together into the ETF.

It is worth noting that it excludes Australian Real Estate Investment Trusts (A-REITS) and maintains a diverse portfolio. This means you’re not just buying an ETF filled with banks or coal miners. It restricts the proportion invested in any one industry to 40% and 10% for any single company.

At present, there are 73 ASX shares included in the portfolio. This includes giants such as BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), and Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS).

The Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF currently trades with an estimated forward dividend yield of 5.4%.

The post Income investors could get very big dividends from these ASX ETFs appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 positions in and has recommended BetaShares S&p 500 Yield Maximiser Fund and Telstra Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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