With interest rates at record lows and likely to remain there for some time to come, I continue to believe the share market is the best place to put your money.

But where should you invest your funds? Here are two top ASX 200 shares I would invest $5,000 into right now:

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

The first ASX 200 share to consider buying with $5,000 is this biotherapeutics company. I believe a recent pullback in its share price has created a buying opportunity for investors. Especially those that are interested in making a long term investment. This share price weakness has been driven by concerns over its plasma collections during the pandemic and the impact this might have on future immunoglobulin and albumin production.

While this is certainly a risk to consider, I’m optimistic that collections will accelerate once the crisis passes. Especially given the higher unemployment levels, which traditionally leads to higher donations. Another positive is that the pandemic is expected to lead to a sharp increase in demand for flu vaccines in the near term. This increase in demand could offset any weakness experienced with immunoglobulin and albumin sales in FY 2021. Outside this, I believe CSL’s pipeline of lucrative therapies have the potential to drive significant sales and profit growth over the next decade. Overall, I think this makes CSL one of the best buy and hold options on the ASX 200 today.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

Another ASX 200 share to consider buying is cloud-based business and accounting software provider Xero. It has really caught the eye in recent years thanks to its stellar recurring revenue growth and the emergence of its operating leverage. This was on display for all to see in FY 2020 when Xero delivered a 29% lift in annualised monthly recurring revenue (AMRR) to NZ$820.6 million and a 52% increase in EBITDA to NZ$139.17 million.

The key drivers of this have been strong growth in subscription numbers, its high retention rate, and a modest increase in average revenue per user. In respect to the former, Xero added 467,000 net subscribers during the 12 months to finish the period at 2.285 million. And while this is a large number, the company estimates that less than 20% of the global English-speaking target market is using cloud-based accounting software at present. Given how superior this type of software is to Excel spreadsheets and notebooks, I expect more businesses to shift to the technology in the coming years. I believe this will support solid subscription and sales growth over the next decade.

More reading

• Is the CSL share price in the buy zone?
• 3 companies with great intangible asset moats
• Why CSL, Harvey Norman, IPH, & Saracen shares are charging higher
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• How to become a millionaire before your parents with ASX shares

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd. and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. 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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High yield ASX dividend shares could be the answer to boost your income.

But you need to be careful. If you go for shares that have unsustainably high dividend yields you could see a dividend cut in the future.

I think the below shares offer the right combination of high yield and potentially a bit of growth:

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

Rural Funds is one of my favourite high yield ASX dividend shares.

The farmland real estate investment trust (REIT) currently has a FY21 distribution yield of 5.6%. It aims to increase its distribution by 4% each year. I think that’s a solid growth rate with how little inflation there is these days.

Contracted rental indexation is a big factor in growing the rental profit and distribution. It is also investing in productivity improvements at its farms for its tenants, unlocking more rental income.

The long-term weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of more than 10 years gives good income visibility for the ASX dividend share.

Arena REIT No 1 (ASX: ARF)

Arena is another REIT that I’m a fan of. It invests in social infrastructure properties like early learning centres and healthcare buildings.

Some of its largest tenants, by rental income, are big childcare providers like Goodstart and G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM).

Arena REIT has been steadily been growing its distributions for several years. The ASX dividend share recently guided that the FY20 distribution would be 13.9 cents to 14 cents per unit. This equates to a FY20 distribution yield of at least 5.8%.

Medibank Private Limited (ASX: MPL)

Medibank isn’t normally a high yield ASX dividend share I’d go for. But I have to give credit to Medibank as a potential income option.

The private health insurer currently has a grossed-up dividend yield of 7.5%. That’s an attractively high yield for an ASX dividend share.

The company recently updated the market to say that it doesn’t really see much of a change to its FY20 guidance despite COVID-19. This should translate into solid earnings for FY20, which should mean Medibank has the ability to maintain its dividend.

There has been a recent agreement for public hospitals to stop charging patients as private patients if they have health insurance. This should be helpful for Medibank’s earnings.

I’m not sure about the long-term direction of Medibank’s policyholder numbers, but there doesn’t need to be much growth for Medibank to continue being a good ASX dividend share during this period. Its good balance sheet also helps the company remain robust.

Foolish takeaway

All three of these ASX dividend shares have attractively high yields. The RBA interest rate is now very low. Of the three options I’m probably most attracted to Rural Funds because it is least affected by what’s going on with COVID-19.

More reading

• Not keen on Westpac? Then buy these top ASX dividend shares instead
• NIB Holdings and 1 other ASX share which I would consider buying for growth and income
• 2 strong ASX dividend shares to bolster your income
• How to replace your entire wage with dividends
• 3 ASX dividend shares for retirees

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of RURALFUNDS STAPLED. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended RURALFUNDS STAPLED. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. 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 a sector, healthcare has provided some of the strongest returns over the past year. The S&P/ASX 200 Health Care Index (ASX: XHJ) has returned more than 26% over the last 12 months, comfortably outperforming the benchmark indexes for other sectors.

But one ASX healthcare share that has blown this return out of the water is Opthea Ltd (ASX: OPT). Impressively, the Opthea share price has skyrocketed more than 350% compared to this time last year.

Opthea is a developer of novel biologic therapies for the treatment of eye diseases. The company specialises in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME). Wet AMD is the leading cause of visual impairment in the elderly, while DME is the leading cause of visual impairment in diabetic populations.

What’s put a rocket under the Opthea share price?

Investors have been buying up Opthea shares in a hurry ever since the company delivered strong clinical trial results in August last year.

These results related to the company’s flagship OPT-302 combination therapy for treatment-naïve patients with wet AMD. 

According to the release, the OPT-302 (2.0 mg) combination therapy showed statistical superiority for mean visual acuity – the most accepted and sensitive primary efficacy outcome.

These results are significant given that wet AMD is the leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 50 across the Western world. And from an investor’s perspective, the current standard of care treatments for wet AMD and DME generated more than US$10 billion of revenue in 2018 – so the addressable market opportunity is significant.

What else has Opthea announced?

Another major announcement came this morning when Opthea reported a further set of trial results. However, this time the results related to the OPT-302 combination therapy for the treatment of DME. 

The phase 2a trial found that when OPT-302 was used in conjunction with existing medication, 52.8% of the refractory DME patients gained ≥ 5 letters of visual acuity after 12 weeks.

“These positive topline Phase 2a results in a second disease indication of DME, build on our extensive prior clinical studies in wet AMD which demonstrated superiority in visual improvement with OPT-302 combination therapy compared to anti-VEGF-A monotherapy standard of care,” said CEO and managing director Dr Megan Baldwin.

While the company viewed the outcome of the phase 2a trial positively, it appears investors were expecting a stronger result. At the time of writing, the Opthea share price is down 9.52%, while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is edging 0.20% higher.

The phase 2a trial is ongoing, with the final participants due to complete the week 24 follow-up visit later this month. The company expects the final outcomes for longer-term safety and treatment durability to be available in the second half of this year.

Meanwhile, Opthea noted that it is continuing to plan for its phase 3 program in wet AMD and progress its manufacturing of OPT-302 for phase 3 clinical trials.

More reading

• EML Payments and these ASX mid cap shares could be destined for big things
• 3 ASX biotech shares that have soared higher today
• 3 quality mid cap ASX shares to buy with $3,000

Motley Fool contributor Cathryn Goh has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. 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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