ASX stocks are a fantastic place to invest for passive income in retirement. But, I’d only choose investments that I’m confident can provide rewarding and resilient payouts.

Not every business can be reliable, partly because of the industry they operate in. Miners, for example, are heavily exposed to movements in resources prices – this can lead to large rises and large declines of resource prices (and dividend payouts).

There are plenty of great dividend options beyond the large ASX blue-chip shares. I’m going to outline two I’d happily invest $15,000 into.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

I think Rural Funds is one of the leading real estate investment trusts (REITs) for passive income. The business owns a portfolio of farms across the country, including almonds, macadamias, cattle, vineyards, and cropping.

Having this investment gives Aussies diversification because Rural Funds offers something different to most other ASX dividend shares, and its own portfolio is diversified across various food segments.

Rural Funds recently took the responsible decision to sell some of its farms to improve its debt position, and this is also expected to improve its adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) – that’s the net rental profit.

The business’ FY26 payout of 11.73 cents per unit translates into a distribution yield of 5.3%, which I’d describe as a solid starting yield for retirement. It hasn’t ever reduced its cash payout since it started paying more than a decade ago.

The payout can increase in the future thanks to its built-in rental indexation. Most of the farms have rental increases that are fixed, or linked to inflation, plus market reviews.

Future Generation Global (ASX: FGG)

Another ASX stock I want to highlight is the listed investment company (LIC) Future Generation Global, an investment vehicle that gives exposure to the global share market.

All of the fund managers involved in the LIC work for free so that Future Generation Global can donate 1% of its net assets each year to youth mental charities. The LIC is invested in more than a dozen different funds from different fund managers, giving shareholders exposure to more than 3,000 underlying shares – that’s great diversification!

The business is able to provide investors with a solid dividend thanks to all of the investment returns it has already made over previous years and continues to make.

Future Generation Global recently lifted its FY26 interim dividend by 5% year over year, taking its annualised payout to 8.4 cents per share. This translates into a forward grossed-up dividend yield of around 7%, including franking credits, at the time of writing. I think that’s a wonderful yield for people in retirement. The ASX stock has increased its payout each year since FY19, so it has given investors several years of dividend hikes already, and I expect more in the coming years.

The post How to invest $15,000 for passive income in retirement appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Future Generation Global and Rural Funds Group. 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 Rural Funds Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL) share price is in focus after the company reported record funds under administration (FUA) of $135.7 billion, up 20% on last year, and strong quarterly inflows of $8.4 billion.

What did Netwealth report?

• Total FUA grew 20.3% year-on-year to a record $135.7 billion
• June quarter custodial FUA inflows of $8.4 billion, up 11% on the prior period
• Net flows of $3.2 billion for the quarter, supported by new and existing intermediary relationships
• Record Managed Account funds under management (FUM) of $30.5 billion, up 30% on last year
• Number of customer accounts increased by 12.4% year-on-year to 182,276
• EBITDA margin for FY26 expected at approximately 49%

What else do investors need to know?

Netwealth reported market conditions improved in the June quarter, contributing $6.7 billion to FUA. While large outflows from a few ultra-high-net-worth clients affected net flows, these accounts have largely stayed on the platform and continue to contribute to total FUA.

The platform benefited from 75 new intermediary relationships and launched several enhancements, including “Nova”, a generative AI virtual assistant for advisers, new trading features, and upgraded reporting tools. The company also expanded its relationship with Morgan Stanley to provide new platform solutions.

On the regulatory front, Netwealth progressed its RISE governance program, in line with APRA requirements, and kicked off a project to accelerate product development with technology and AI-driven tools.

What’s next for Netwealth?

Netwealth expects to maintain strong profitability and a robust balance sheet. For FY27, the company is targeting FUA net flows between $18 billion and $20 billion—an increase of up to 30%—reflecting ongoing momentum and new growth initiatives.

The company plans continued investment in technology and expects to maintain a solid EBITDA margin of around 47% in FY27, as growth-focused projects ramp up. Netwealth will announce its full-year FY26 results on 26 August 2026.

Netwealth share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Netwealth shares have declined 34%, trailing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which has risen 3% over the same period.

View Original Announcement

The post Netwealth delivers record FUA in June 2026 quarter appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart 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 Netwealth Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Netwealth Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial summary of the company announcement. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.

The oil price shot up again this week as hostilities between the US and Iran intensified, raising the question of which Australian companies are best-placed to benefit in a high-oil-price environment.

Oil price trending higher

RBC Capital Markets has this week issued a new research note to its clients, noting that Brent crude rose 23% quarter on quarter to an average of US$96.60 per barrel in the second quarter of 2026.

Looking further out, the broker has actually downgraded its oil price outlook, now expecting Brent to fetch US$80.07 for 2026, down from US$90.99, and US$75.75 per barrel in 2027.

RBC added:

Our steady state (long-term) Brent oil price remains US$80/bbl, reflecting ongoing collateral damage in the Gulf region and a rising call on barrels globally.

For comparison, Brent was trading in a range of about US$55 to US$66 per barrel in the six months before the Iran conflict began in late February.

Australian oil shares in focus

Looking at Australian producers, RBC said its top pick was Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS), “based on its strong longer-term growth profile, and potential to generate more near-term higher priced gas hub sales and LNG trading volumes due to the Middle East conflict”.

They added:

Woodside’s 2Q sales revenue is expected to be supported by higher crude and … commodity pricing, despite production volumes being affected by the Pluto LNG project scheduled turnaround. We expect the volatile pricing environment to create opportunity for relatively high gas hub sales and LNG trading volumes quarter on quarter. Woodside’s production growth outlook remains highly attractive, with Scarborough (Pluto LNG T-2) on stream by the end of 2026, followed by Trion oil in 2028 and Louisiana LNG in 2029.

RBC has a price target of $34.50 on Woodside shares compared to $29.93 currently.

The broker also expects Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) to outperform, saying the company is poised to deliver meaningful production and free cash flow growth from the second half of 2026, assuming its Pikka and Barossa projects start up well.

They added:

Santos 2Q sales revenue growth is supported by higher production volumes from the ramp up of Pikka (full production target 3Q) and Barossa (delayed) and higher commodity pricing more than offsetting slightly lower production volumes at its Cooper Basin and Western Australia gas assets. We expect GLNG LNG sales volume to decline quarter on quarter, and we continue to see GLNG being most at risk from the Domestic Gas Reservation Scheme. Santos free cash flow (FCF) generation has potential to increase materially from 2H 2026. Santos plans to return at least 60% of its all-in FCF to shareholders from 2027.

RBC has a price target of $8 on Santos shares compared to $7.68 currently.

The post Which ASX oil companies does RBC Capital Markets like amidst more Middle East conflict? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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