CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) and Cochlear Ltd (ASX: COH) have both tested investors’ patience recently.

That may be discouraging for existing shareholders, but I think it has also created an opportunity for investors willing to look well beyond the next result.

Here is why I would buy and hold both ASX healthcare shares.

CSL shares

Many investors see CSL simply as a collection of medicines. I think its real strength is the global biological supply chain it has built over decades.

Collecting plasma at scale, turning it into specialist therapies, meeting demanding regulatory standards, and reliably supplying patients around the world requires infrastructure and expertise that cannot be created quickly.

The biotechnology company’s recent performance has clearly fallen short of expectations. CSL lowered its FY26 outlook in May and acknowledged problems including weaker financial returns, operational complexity, disappointing research productivity, and the underperformance of the Vifor acquisition.

Those issues explain why confidence has fallen so sharply. Management now needs to simplify the organisation, improve plasma and manufacturing efficiency, and become more disciplined with capital.

I still think the foundations are attractive. CSL expects immunoglobulin demand to grow at a mid to high single-digit rate, supported by significant unmet medical need. Its May update suggested only around 35% of potential patients across major immunoglobulin indications are diagnosed, which leaves a large long-term opportunity if CSL can improve execution.

The next few years may be more about repairing the business than returning immediately to its former growth rate. But I think the company’s plasma network, rare disease franchise, scientific capabilities, and global reach still give it the ingredients for a recovery over time.

Cochlear shares

Cochlear is another ASX healthcare share I’d buy and hold. 

The appeal of the global leader in implantable hearing solutions goes well beyond selling industry-leading products.

A recipient can remain connected to the company for years through sound processor upgrades, accessories, digital services, clinical support, and new technology. That creates a relationship that can deepen long after the original procedure.

Cochlear has also spent years developing its next generation of products. The Nucleus Nexa System, launched in 2025 after two decades of research and development, is the first cochlear implant system with upgradeable firmware.

The current year has been challenging. Cochlear reduced its FY26 underlying profit guidance after softer implant demand in developed markets, hospital capacity constraints, weaker referrals, Middle East disruption, currency movements, and restructuring costs.

I see those pressures as important near-term obstacles rather than a reason to abandon the long-term story. Ageing populations, improving awareness, and better referral pathways could help more people receive treatment over time.

Foolish takeaway

Healthcare compounders rarely reward investors evenly.

Years of research, infrastructure investment, regulatory work, and market development can be followed by periods when growth slows and confidence disappears.

I think that is where CSL and Cochlear currently sit. Their immediate problems are highly visible, while the capabilities built over decades are easier for the market to overlook.

Both companies need to execute better from here, and patience could be required. But I believe their positions in global healthcare remain difficult to recreate.

That is why I would be comfortable buying CSL and Cochlear shares today and holding them through the next stage of their development.

The post Here’s why I’d buy and hold CSL and Cochlear shares for 10 years appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s what brokers tip for CSL shares over the next 12 months
• How have CSL shares performed over 10 years?
• Cochlear shares have bounced 16%. Should you buy, hold, or sell now?
• What did the market look like 10 years ago? Here’s what’s changed for the ASX 200
• Would Warren Buffett buy CSL shares?

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

Most Australians hope to retire on autopilot, clocking off at 67 because that is when the Age Pension turns up, not because their superannuation told them to stop. But super runs on its own clock, and it is seven years faster than the pension’s.

Once you turn 60 and meet a condition of release, your superannuation balance is yours to draw on. The real question isn’t whether you’re allowed to retire early. It’s whether your portfolio can actually carry you through the years before the Age Pension exists, and comfortably beyond it.

The seven-year delay

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) estimates that a comfortable single retirement needs a balance of around $630,000, generating roughly $54,840 a year. A comfortable couple needs about $730,000, for around $77,375 a year. Modest retirements need far less: $110,000 for a single and $120,000 for a couple.

Those figures assume retirement begins at 67 and the money lasts to around 85. Retire at 60 instead, and there is no Age Pension for seven years. Every dollar of income in that gap has to come from the portfolio alone.

What the portfolio actually needs to do

There are two honest ways to fund that gap. Draw the portfolio down at 5% a year, spending some capital along with the growth. Or aim for a 4% income yield and leave the capital untouched.

For a single retiree chasing $54,840 a year, a 5% drawdown needs a portfolio of roughly $1.1 million. Relying purely on a 4% yield lifts that to around $1.37 million. Couples chasing $77,375 a year need about $1.55 million under the drawdown approach, or close to $1.93 million on yield alone.

That is meaningfully more than ASFA’s benchmark, because a self-funded bridge to 67, and beyond, carries no pension safety net. A portfolio built around income-producing assets, such as dividend-paying quality companies like Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL) or a broad market ETF like the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) can realistically produce yields in that 4% range from Australian shares alone.

The last $10,000 isn’t worth it

Here is the trap. Once your portfolio clears the comfortable benchmark, each extra year of work buys diminishing returns. An extra $200,000 in the portfolio, at a 5% drawdown, adds just $10,000 a year of income.

Is another three, five, or seven years at a desk worth $10,000 a year, when nobody can guarantee they will live long enough, or stay healthy enough, to spend it? For many Australians already past the comfortable line, the honest answer is no.

Tax noise, real advantage

Division 296, the new tax on super balances above $3 million, dominated personal finance headlines before the new capital gains tax reforms. It is real, but it only bites earnings on balances above $3 million, and only realised earnings at that. For the vast majority of Australians building a $700,000 to $1.5 million retirement portfolio, superannuation remains one of the most tax-effective structures available, with earnings taxed at up to 15% in the accumulation phase and typically 0% once a pension begins.

Foolish Takeaway

Retiring at 60 was never really about hitting an age. It’s about whether your portfolio can pay you an income without relying on a payslip, or eventually, the Age Pension. Once that portfolio clears its target, whether through a 5% drawdown or an approximate 4% yield, working longer buys smaller and smaller returns. Sometimes the smartest retirement decision is simply knowing when to stop chasing more.

The post The superannuation portfolio that lets you retire at 60, not 67 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 ASX dividend shares with yields above 7%
• Why these Vanguard ETFs could be strong buys
• Buy, hold, sell: BHP, CBA, and Rio Tinto shares
• Where to invest $10,000 in ASX 200 shares in July
• Why the 5 years before retirement could make or break your future

Motley Fool contributor Leigh Gant 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 Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

I love finding ASX dividend shares that offer investors great dividend yields. A yield of 7% or more is very appealing, even in this higher interest rate era.

I’d only want to buy businesses that can provide stable or growing payouts. If we’re aiming for passive income, I want to have confidence that those cash payments will continue flowing.

Of course, dividends are not guaranteed from any business. But, some companies already have a track record of reliable or increasing payouts. Let’s get into two great ideas.

Universal Store Holdings Ltd (ASX: UNI)

Universal Store is one of the leading retailers on the ASX, in my view, with how impressively it has managed to grow earnings over the last five years through all economic conditions.

It’s best known for its premium youth fashion-focused businesses Universal Store and Perfect Stranger.

Those two businesses have delivered pleasing growth at their existing store network, and they continue to expand. In the first 43 weeks of FY26, the company reported like-for-like sales growth of 8.5% for Universal Store and 12.9% for Perfect Stranger.

Partially thanks to four new Universal Stores and seven new Perfect Stranger stores in the year to date (at the point of that update), those two segments were able to report total sales growth of 11.8% and 39.8% respectively in the first 43 weeks of FY26.

It’s clearly doing a great job of winning more retail spending from customers, while also growing earnings. The mid-point of its FY26 guidance suggests overall sales could rise 11.5% year-over-year, while underlying operating profit (underlying EBITA) could rise 15.4% – faster than the sales growth.

Universal Store has increased its annual dividend per share each year since it started paying passive income in FY21. Its latest two dividends come to 42.5 cents per share, which translates into a grossed-up dividend yield of 8.3%, including franking credits.

Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW)

The other ASX share I want to highlight with a yield of more than 7% is this real estate investment trust (REIT) that’s invested in an array of properties across Australia.

It’s invested in things like pubs, service stations, industrial and logistics, office, data centres and social infrastructure.

At December 2025, the business had 515 assets worth around $6 billion with an average weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of approximately nine years and an occupancy rate of 99.9%, with 99% of the portfolio leased to blue-chip tenants. That shows the business is maximising its rental potential for the long-term.

Pleasingly, the rental income continues to grow, which can help fund larger distributions in the coming years. Around half of the portfolio has CPI-linked rental growth, while fixed increases provide rental growth for the rest of the properties.

In the first half of FY26, the business achieved like-for-like rental growth of 3%, which helped fund a 2% rise in the distribution to 25.5 cents per security. At the time of writing, the attractive valuation offers a distribution yield of 7.02%.

I think these ASX shares would make excellent investments today.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares with yields above 7% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How much do I need in my superannuation to earn an annual $60,000 passive income?
• 2 ASX blue-chip shares offering big dividend yields
• How much passive income can I earn off a $50,000 portfolio?
• How to build a successful ASX dividend portfolio
• How much could a $500,000 ASX share portfolio pay in dividends?

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 no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Universal Store. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.