ASX stock MFF Capital Investments Ltd (ASX: MFF) is one of my preferred ideas for passive income. It’s one of the largest positions in my portfolio, partly because of how rewarding the dividends are and how confident I am about its future.

MFF is a listed investment company (LIC), one of the largest on the ASX. An LIC aims to make money for shareholders by investing in shares (or other assets) to generate returns.

LICs can fund the dividends they pay from returns they generate. If a LIC performs strongly, it can deliver a triple benefit – a good dividend yield, a rising dividend and capital growth.

Let’s look at the elements of what makes MFF a great investment.

Strong investment performance

MFF says that it aims to build lasting wealth for shareholders primarily through long-term ownership of advantaged businesses. Its strategy favours duration and enables the power of compounding.

The business has largely focused on global blue-chips which can provide pleasing long-term returns. This investment style has delivered good returns.

As of 30 June 2026, over the prior decade, its pre-tax net tangible assets (NTA) return (with taxes reinstated) has averaged 15.5% per year. I think most LICs would be very happy with that level of return over the last 10 years.

Over time, I expect the investment portfolio may change, and MFF has the investment flexibility to look for the best opportunities across the global (and ASX) share market.

Good passive dividend income

MFF has steadily grown its regular annual dividend per share each year since FY18, providing several years of dividend growth, and that trend continued in FY26.

The FY26 annual dividend per share was hiked by 23.5% to 21 cents per share. The MFF leadership has provided guidance that it’s going to continue hiking its half-year dividend by another 1 cent per share in six months. MFF has been growing its half-year dividend each year since 2024. The next dividend is guided to be 12 cents per share in six months.

If the ASX stock continues with that track record, it would pay an annual dividend per share of 25 cents in FY27 – that would represent a grossed-up dividend yield of 6.7%, including franking credits, at the time of writing. It would also represent a year-over-year increase of 19%.

Pleasing capital growth

With all of the investment returns that MFF has generated over the years, the business has been able to provide pleasing dividends and the retained money is helping drive the MFF share price and NTA higher.

Over the prior five years, the MFF share price has climbed by 82%, at the time of writing.

Considering the excellent dividend payouts over the past five years, I’d say that MFF’s capital growth has been very pleasing. Of course, past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.

$1,000 of passive income per month

MFF doesn’t pay a dividend each month, it only pays every six months. But we can take that monthly goal and multiply it by 12 for an annual goal. Investors can then divide the received dividends into monthly chunks.

The FY26 final dividend of 11 cents per share will be paid in October and the LIC expects to announce an interim dividend of 12 cents per share in six months. Therefore, we’re looking at 23 cents per share of dividends within the next 12 months.

To receive $12,000 of dividend cash within the next year, an investor would need to own 52,174 MFF shares.

If we include franking credits as part of the income, then an investor would only need 36,519 MFF shares for $12,000 of annual passive income.

I think this would be a solid investment for the long-term right now and I’d happily buy a bit more of the ASX stock at this price.

The post I’d buy 36,519 shares of this ASX stock to aim for $1,000 a month of passive income appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Mff Capital Investments. 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 Mff Capital Investments. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

CAR Group Ltd (ASX: CAR) has come a long way from the Australian classifieds business many investors still associate with carsales.com.au.

Today, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) share owns leading automotive marketplaces across several major international markets.

I think that global expansion could give the company plenty more room to grow over the next decade.

The model has travelled well

What first catches my attention is that CAR Group has managed to take what worked in Australia and build a much larger international business around it.

The company now operates major marketplaces in Australia, South Korea, Brazil, and North America. Importantly, management says its brands hold the number-one audience position in each market where they operate.

That scale can create a powerful cycle.

Car buyers gravitate towards marketplaces with plenty of vehicles to choose from. Dealers want to advertise where the buyers are. More dealers then bring more inventory, giving consumers another reason to return.

CAR Group now attracts an average monthly audience of around 52 million people across its marketplaces. I think that figure is worth highlighting because it shows how far the opportunity has expanded beyond Australia.

There is also still room to build more services around these audiences, rather than relying solely on charging for vehicle advertisements.

It can become more valuable to dealers

I think the next stage of this ASX 200 share’s story could increasingly be about helping dealers run their businesses.

The company already sits between dealers and millions of potential buyers, giving it access to information about vehicle demand, pricing, enquiries, and how quickly particular cars sell.

It is now using that data to develop tools that can help dealers decide which vehicles to acquire, how to price them, and which enquiries deserve the most attention.

That moves CAR Group further into the daily operations of its customers.

For me, this could strengthen the relationship considerably. A dealer using the platform to advertise vehicles is valuable. A dealer relying on CAR Group to source inventory, set prices, manage leads, and improve turnover could be worth much more over time.

AI could strengthen an advantage it already has

Artificial intelligence (AI) provides another opportunity, although I think CAR Group’s approach is more interesting than simply adding an AI feature to its website.

The company has decades of proprietary information covering listings, prices, enquiries, consumer behaviour, and vehicle transactions across its markets. Management is using this data to power its own AI platform.

The early applications are practical.

Its conversational search tool is helping people find vehicles using natural language, while AI is also being used to improve dealer listings, respond to enquiries, and provide pricing intelligence. CAR Group says users of its AI-led search are four times more likely to submit a lead.

I think this is where the company’s scale becomes particularly valuable. The technology itself will continue evolving, but CAR Group owns data and customer relationships that have taken years to build.

That could allow AI to make an already strong marketplace more effective rather than forcing the company to create an entirely new business.

Foolish takeaway

CAR Group is the sort of ASX 200 share I find increasingly attractive the further ahead I look.

It has already shown that its marketplace model can succeed internationally, and the opportunity is now expanding into dealer technology, transactions, data, and AI.

If CAR Group keeps becoming more important to both buyers and sellers, I think today’s business could look surprisingly small compared with what it becomes by 2036.

That is a growth story I would be happy to buy and give plenty of time.

The post Could this ASX 200 share be one of the best long-term buys? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Grace Alvino 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 CAR Group Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) share price had its best day in recent memory on Tuesday.

The biotech giant’s shares ended the day 17% higher at $157.82 following the release of its FY 2026 results.

Is it too late to buy CSL shares? Let’s see what Bell Potter is saying.

What is the broker saying?

Bell Potter notes that CSL delivered a result in line with guidance for FY 2026. And while weak on paper, the broker was pleased to see the key CSL Behring business rebound in the second half. It said:

NPATA declined -2% to $3.14b (cc) and was in line with $3.1b guidance. Revenue declined -1% to $15.37b (cc) and was above the $15.2b guidance. FX lifted reported revenue to $15.8b (above VA cons and BPe of $15.4b) but dragged down reported NPATA to $3.10b (in line with VA cons and BPe of $3.1b). 

The biggest highlight was in Behring, particularly the rebound in 2H26 Ig sales (+7% at cc or +11% reported) and to a lesser degree albumin declining less than feared (-5% at cc or -1% reported). The excess Ig supply imbalance that was prevalent earlier in CY26 now appears to have largely returned to normalcy based on comments from CSL and its main rivals Takeda and Grifols. Behring gross margin however continued to face pressures, with 2H gross margin of 48.2% the lowest half-yearly result since at least FY17.

The broker also highlights that CSL’s FY 2027 guidance was above expectations. It adds:

FY27 guidance for underlying NPAT +5% (cc) is above the +1% growth consensus had been expecting based on the old metric of NAPTA, hence the downgrade cycle has likely eased for the first time in several results despite the expected drag from Vifor in FY27. Investors will have also been buoyed by FY27 guidance for Behring growth at mid-single digits and an expectation of a turnaround in the Behring GM by ~70bps. We have revised our forecasts following the result and guidance, resulting in upgrades of 8%/6%/6% at the NPATA line across FY27/28/29.

Is the CSL share price in the buy zone?

Despite the positives, Bell Potter is sitting on the fence when it comes to the CSL share price.

According to the note, the broker has retained its hold rating with an improved price target of $150.00 (from $120.00).

Commenting on its recommendation, Bell Potter believes that CSL’s shares are fully valued at current levels. It said:

Based on the new underlying NPAT metric, CSL trades on a PE multiple of ~19x FY26 and ~18x FY27 earnings, with flat revenue growth and low-to-mid single digit earnings growth expected for FY27. While the result today suggests the worst (by way of earnings declines) is in the rear-view for CSL, we find it difficult to justify a greater premium than is now being attributed relative to global biopharma peers.

The post Is the CSL share price in the buy zone after the biotech giant’s results? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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