A $100,000 portfolio deserves a proper plan. But what if you don’t like picking stocks?

Well, the good news is that there is another way.

With a small number of ASX exchange traded funds (ETFs), it is possible to build a balanced portfolio which offers exposure to global markets, long-term growth themes, and defensive consumer spending.

Here is one way to think about it.

Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

The Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF could be used as the growth engine of the portfolio.

This fund gives investors exposure to the Nasdaq 100, which is home to many of the world’s most influential technology and innovation-led companies.

Rather than trying to pick the next winner in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, software, chips, digital advertising, or consumer technology, this ETF gives investors a broad slice of the companies already shaping those areas.

It is a higher-growth option and will likely come with more volatility than a broad global market fund.

But that volatility is the price investors often pay for exposure to companies with large addressable markets, powerful platforms, and the ability to scale across the world.

Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)

The Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF could sit at the centre of the portfolio.

This fund gives investors exposure to a large basket of companies listed across developed markets outside Australia.

That can include businesses from the United States, Europe, Japan, Canada, and other major markets.

The Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF helps spread money across many countries, sectors, currencies, and companies. It gives investors access to global healthcare, financials, industrials, consumer goods, technology, and other parts of the international share market.

That makes it useful as the core holding. After all, a portfolio built only around the Australian share market can end up heavily exposed to banks, miners, supermarkets, and a small group of large local companies.

iShares Global Consumer Staples ETF (ASX: IXI)

Finally, the iShares Global Consumer Staples ETF could add a defensive layer to the portfolio.

This fund invests in global consumer staples companies. These are businesses selling products people keep buying through different economic conditions, such as food, beverages, household goods, personal care products, and other everyday essentials.

It is tied less to excitement and more to repeat demand. People may cut back in difficult times, but they still buy groceries, toothpaste, cleaning products, packaged food, and basic household items.

A fund like this can help balance a portfolio that already has exposure to technology and broader global markets.

It will still move with share markets, but its underlying companies tend to be linked to steadier spending habits than many growth sectors.

Constructing this ASX ETF portfolio

One possible $100,000 portfolio with these funds could look like this.

$40,000 in the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF for strong growth potential, $30,000 in Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF for broad global exposure, and $30,000 in the iShares Global Consumer Staples ETF for defensive consumer staples exposure

That mix gives investors a global core, a technology-led growth engine, and exposure to everyday consumer spending.

The post How to build a $100,000 ASX ETF portfolio appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. 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.

It was a busy week for Australia’s top brokers. This has led to a number of broker notes being released.

Three broker buy ratings that you might want to know more about are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ)

According to a note out of Citi, its analysts have retained their buy rating and $39.25 price target on this banking giant’s shares. The broker thinks proposed changes to negative gearing could have a big (and negative) impact on mortgage lending in the near term. In fact, Citi expects mortgage credit growth to slow to just 3.5% from 7%. However, the good news is that the broker believes business lending will be robust, especially given AI-related project investments. Citi thinks this bodes well for ANZ due to its extensive business banking division. The ANZ share price ended the week at $35.04.

Judo Capital Holdings Ltd (ASX: JDO)

A note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating on this small business lender’s shares with a heavily reduced price target of $1.47. The broker acknowledges that Judo Capital downgraded its earnings guidance for FY 2026. While this was a letdown, the biggest disappointment for Morgans was the company’s guidance for FY 2027. It notes that this guidance fell well short of consensus estimates for next year. Nevertheless, the broker thinks the doom and gloom and vicious selloff were an overreaction. Morgans highlights that Judo Capital’s shares are now trading at under 7x FY 2027 earnings. This is despite its guidance pointing to 30% earnings growth across both FY 2026 and FY 2027. Morgans suspects that the market has now priced in a significant risk premium or probability of failure. The Judo Capital share price was fetching 88 cents at Friday’s close.

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)

Analysts at Ord Minnett have retained their buy rating on this logistics software company’s shares with a reduced price target of $60.00. According to the note, Ord Minnett believes the company could be struggling to convert customers to its new pricing model. It suspects that customers are not in a rush to switch to the new model and could be waiting until the end of their contracts before doing so. As a result, it has downgraded its revenue assumptions meaningfully to reflect this. Nevertheless, Ord Minnett remains positive and sees significant value in its shares at current levels, even after cutting its valuation. The WiseTech Global share price ended the week at $31.55.

The post Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The ASX dividend stock Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW) could be one of the best opportunities for Australians right now.

The real estate investment trust (REIT) may not be as famous as names like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP). But, in some ways, Charter Hall Long WALE REIT could be more appealing.

For a few different reasons, I think it’s a better buy for the foreseeable future.

Strong dividend yield

I think the Charter Hall Long WALE REIT dividend yield is very attractive compared to many other ASX dividend stock options.

It’s able to deliver such a good dividend yield because it pays out 100% of its operating rental profit each year, making it a very rewarding holding for passive income.

The business can still experience profit and distribution growth while paying out 100% of its operating profit due to contracted rent increases with its tenants.

It increased its FY26 annual payout by 2% to 25.5 cents per security. That translates into a forward distribution yield of 6.7%, at the time of writing. To me, that’s a much more appealing yield than what CBA or BHP have to offer.

Diversification

One of the best things about this ASX dividend stock is its highly diversified portfolio across multiple property sectors. I like that strategy because it reduces the risk of being overly exposed to one area while also giving it the largest investment hunting ground to find the best opportunities.

The business is invested in a number of defensive tenant industries, including government tenants (such as Geoscience Australia), pubs and hotels, grocery and distribution, telecommunications exchanges, data centres, service stations, food manufacturing, waste and recycling management, and so on.

In terms of tenants, some of its key tenants include government tenants, Endeavour Group Ltd (ASX: EDV), Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS), BP, Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL), Metcash Ltd (ASX: MTS), Westpac Banking Corp(ASX: WES) and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES).

Long-term rental income

What links all of the properties in the portfolio together is that they have long-term rental agreements with tenants. As of December 2025, it had a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of more than nine years.

That means it has close to a decade of rental income already signed with tenants, giving the business compelling security for its future distributions.

Its rental income is steadily growing, with the rent either rising at a fixed rate annually or linked to inflation. With that rental income tailwind, the business has a compelling future, barring the short-term headwind of rising interest rates.

It looks like great value to me after reporting net tangible assets (NTA) of $4.68 per security at 31 December 2025, which means it’s trading at a 19% discount to this.

The post Is this the best ASX dividend stock to buy for passive income? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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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 Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BHP Group and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.