Investing your first $1,000 into the share market is a very exciting event in anyone’s life. But it can also be nerve-racking. Where to put it? There are literally thousands of investments to choose from, just on the ASX alone.

That’s why I’ve found 2 ASX shares that I would be very happy to recommend to a beginner with their first $1,000 to spend. Both shares can be bought and held with very little active management or effort, which I think is a perfect arrangement for anyone wanting to dip their toes into ASX shares for the first time.

Magellan High Conviction Trust (ASX: MHH)

This share is actually a listed investment trust (LIT), which is a collection of underlying shares that is managed on investors’ behalf. In this way, I think it’s a great option for a beginner’s first $1,000 investment. Magellan High Conviction Trust aims to amass a concentrated portfolio of 8–12 of the shares that Magellan’s management team views as the ‘best in the world’. These currently include well-known names like Google-owner Alphabet, Microsoft, Visa and Alibaba.

These companies are world-class and have a truly global presence. As such, I think this is a great investment for your first $1,000 – or for any investor, in truth. MHH also aims to pay out a 3% cash distribution each year, which can either be taken in cash as some passive income, or else re-invested for a discount.

VanEck Australian Equal Weight ETF (ASX: MVW)

One of the criticisms I hear most of your typical S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is regarding their high concentration towards ASX banks and miners.

Whilst this is true of a conventional ASX 200 ETF, this fund from VanEck operates a little differently. That’s because it assigns each company in the ASX 200 an equal investment, rather than giving larger companies a bigger slice of the pie. As such, your larger shares like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) get the same slice of this ETF as your smaller companies like WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC).

Since this ETF’s inception in 2014, it has comfortably outperformed the ASX 200 index, so that’s enough validation for your first $1,000 investment in itself, in my view.

As such, I think this equal-weighted ETF is a great choice for any beginner investor, who wants an equally cut ‘slice of Australia’. Again, it’s managed entirely on your behalf – meaning you can just ‘set and forget’ it if you so wish.

More reading

• 3 cheap ASX 200 shares I’d buy today
• ASX 200 down 1.2%: Westpac tumbles, Appen reaffirms guidance, Costa CEO to retire
• Will the Wesfarmers share price climb higher in 2020?
• 2 ASX 200 tech shares I’d like to buy today
• Why I think the CSL share price is a strong buy today

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Alphabet (A shares), Magellan High Conviction Trust, and Visa. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares) and Visa. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares). 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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Investors in the share market can be sent into a flurry of worry by geopolitical events. Should you worry about them when it comes to investing?

There is growing concern about what’s happening with the two superpowers of the world, China and the US.

Western countries aren’t happy with how things are going in Hong Kong with a new security law passed by China. The Chinese don’t like that Australia was pushing for an inquiry into the coronavirus. The US election could turn out to be a real mess with how things are going with the ongoing spread of the coronavirus.

Geopolitical events can cause big shudders in the share market. Just look what happened during the trade war. Each tweet from President Trump caused the market to react negatively or positively.

Keep geopolitical events in mind

I do think it’s important to be aware of what’s going on. Sometimes an event can cause the earnings and valuation of shares to move dramatically higher or lower. Look what happened with Bellamy’s. Look how changing oil prices have an obvious huge effect on shares like Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO).

Politics can have a big effect on returns. The decisions about the NBN were decided by politicians and this has had a huge effect on Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS).

But don’t give it too much weight

We also need to keep in mind that geopolitical events will keep happening. There probably isn’t going to be a time when we all agree with what the leaders of Australia, the US, China are all doing. 

Geopolitical events have been happening for many centuries. We should expect that things will keep changing. There wouldn’t be any share market volatility if there were no surprises.  

The share market reached an all time high in February 2020 despite all previous (and ongoing) problems. As investors we need to stay optimistic for the long-term or else we’ll end up missing out on gains.

More reading

• 3 cheap ASX 200 shares I’d buy today
• 3 dirt cheap ASX shares to buy before it is too late
• Is the Telstra share price a buy?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Where will the Telstra share price be next year?

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Limited. 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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ASX 200 shares have had a wild ride in 2020 with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) slumping 13.47% lower.

However, it hasn’t been all bad news with some companies surging in value. While I think the ship has sailed on some ASX growth shares like Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), there are still some Aussie companies I’d like to buy.

Here are a few at the top of my watchlist as we head into June 2020.

3 ASX 200 shares I’d like to buy today

I don’t mind a bit of a speculative play in a diversified portfolio and that’s where Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) comes in.

I think the geopolitics and ongoing oil price war will make the Woodside Petroleum share price volatile in 2020. The Aussie oil producer’s shares are down 33.8% this year but where there is risk there is potential reward.

OPEC+ has slashed production in recent months and the global economy is starting to hum back to life. That’s good news for Woodside with higher demand for oil and energy expected over the coming months.

For a less speculative play, I think Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) is worth a look. The ASX 200 bank share has fallen 27.86% lower this year but could be in the buy zone.

We know Westpac has had its fair share of issues over the last 12 to 18 months and I think a share price correction is justified given the uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic. We could also see real estate come under pressure and further writedowns.

Having said that, the share market is inherently forward-looking. Also, Westpac is still churning out billion-dollar profits. I think it will continue to be a strong ASX 200 dividend share if I’m investing for the next decade.

Finally, Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG) is definitely on my list of cheap shares I’d buy today.

Many Aussies are hoping to see a property correction in 2020 before buying into the market. However, I’m not so sure this will happen. There is a lot of support for owner-occupiers and property investors right now. While we might see the market adjust slightly in September, I still think listings will recover which will be good news for this ASX 200 media share.

Foolish takeaway

These are just a few themes that I think are going to impact ASX 200 shares in 2020. That being said, it’s important to be strategic with your investments and make sure you’re looking at the next 10 years rather than the next 10 weeks.

More reading

• Ready to invest your first $1,000? Try these 2 ASX shares
• Should you worry about geopolitical events in investing?
• ASX 200 down 1.2%: Westpac tumbles, Appen reaffirms guidance, Costa CEO to retire
• Why Costa, Freedom Foods, Sonic, & Westpac shares are tumbling lower
• Will the Wesfarmers share price climb higher in 2020?

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. 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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