If I had $10,000 to put into S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares today, it wouldn’t be an easy decision. Since the lows we saw in March, the ASX 200 has rallied considerably – rising over 27% on yesterday’s close. That means that ASX 200 shares that I might have considered cheap back then are less so today.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean there are no good opportunities out there. So here are 2 ASX 200 shares that I would invest $10,000 in today.

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

Altium is one of those companies that have rebounded exceptionally well over the last 2 months – rising over 50% from a March low of $23.11 to yesterday’s closing price of $37.15.

Even though it would have been far better to nab Altium shares at March prices, I think this company still has a considerable upside on current prices if one has a long-term mindset.

The printed circuit board software that Altium sells is wildly popular in the electrical engineering space and has plenty of fertile ground to till. Almost every single moderately complex electronic device you can think of has some form of a printed circuit board within it, and these need to be individually designed to fit each application. 

With technology constantly evolving and new applications for electronics ever-growing, I envision this industry being far larger in a decade’s time. I also think Altium will continue to be a market leader, making this a great investment for $10,000 today, in my view.

MFF Capital Investments Ltd (ASX: MFF)

MFF is a listed investment company (LIC) that employs a Warren Buffett-esque long-term, buy-and-hold investing philosophy. It primarily invests in top-quality US companies, including Mastercard, Visa, and Home Depot, as well as Wells Fargo, Microsoft, and JP Morgan Chase, which it has owned for many years. Its portfolio manager is Chris Mackay, one of the co-founders of Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) and one of the most respected fund managers in the country

The fact that MFF is currently holding a considerable cash position (38% as of 30 April) also gives me a lot of confidence that the company will be ready to put cash to work if the markets take a turn for the worse.

The MFF share price has recently come off the boil and is going for $2.80 as of yesterday’s close – a long way away from the highs of $3.88 we saw in February. As such, I think this is a good buying opportunity with $10,000 today, particularly for those investors who might be looking for an easy way to increase US exposure.

More reading

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• Where to invest $5,000 in ASX 200 shares today
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• Tax planning for ASX 200 investors
• Is the BHP share price a buy?

Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Magellan Flagship Fund Ltd, JP Morgan Chase, Mastercard, and Visa. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Mastercard and Visa. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Altium. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Mastercard. 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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The Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH) share price has taken off in early trade, up 9.09% at the time of writing while many other ASX growth shares are in the red.

Why is the PointsBet share price spiking?

This morning, the company announced it had signed an agreement in Australia to become the exclusive wagering partner for Fox Sports AFL (Fox Footy) during the 2020 season. According to PointsBet, this highlights management’s continued deliberate approach to targeting media assets to deliver efficient client acquisition and increased betting volumes.

Additionally, the company also provided a net win trading update for the fourth quarter of FY20. As previously announced in its third-quarter update, PointsBet’s Australian trading business achieved a record net win month in February 2020, and again in March 2020.

PointsBet considers net win as the dollar amount received from clients who placed losing bets less the dollar amount paid to clients who placed winning bets, less client promotional costs such as money-back offers and bonus bets. So in other words, gross profit.

PointsBet revealed this positive trend is continuing in Q4, with the Australian trading business achieving net win of $18.2 million for the period from 1 April to 25 May 2020 (unaudited). And despite the closure of the major sporting leagues, the United States business recorded net win of $0.3 million for the same period.

Group year-to-date net win from 1 July 2019 to 25 May 2020 came in at $67.2 million (unaudited). For context, PointsBet achieved full-year net win of $28.9 million in FY19, up 181% on the prior corresponding period of FY18.

The company attributed the continued strong performance of the Australian trading business to 3 primary factors:

• The shift of gambling spend online due to retail venue closures;
• PointsBet’s year-over-year racing turnover growth outperforming other wagering service platforms – according to Racing Victoria’s 4-week average ending 10 May 2020; and
• The improvement in PointsBet’s overall product offering, leading to a greater share of wallet from existing clients.

What now?

As has already been announced, 2 of the major Australian sporting codes will soon be resuming their respective 2020 seasons – NRL on Thursday, 28 May and AFL on Thursday, 11 June. The resumption of both the NRL and AFL seasons expands PointsBet’s product offerings and is certainly welcome news for the revenue and growth of its Australian business.

As for the US, timing still remains unclear as to the start of the major sporting leagues. However, both the NBA (basketball) and MLB (baseball) are looking to resume their seasons in July. Meanwhile, the PGA (golf) has already announced the commencement of the PGA Tour on 11 June 2020.

According to PointsBet, its US business has continued to keep clients engaged during the shutdown period with the offering of additional wagering contingencies that are not impacted by COVID-19, along with its free to play offering.

In the meantime, the company reported a cash position of $149.4 million and no debt as of 31 March 2020, putting it in a strong position to continue to weather the COVID-19 storm.

More reading

• 5 dark horse ASX shares that have tripled in the last 2 months
• Is the Pointsbet share price poised for future growth?
• ASX gambling shares on watch as sporting codes make plans to resume
• 3 ASX shares I should have bought last month
• Are ASX shares about to surge higher in 2020?

Cathryn Goh has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pointsbet Holdings Ltd. 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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How much money should you have in your emergency fund going forwards?

The typical advice for an emergency fund is to have three to six months of living expenses in a high interest savings account. If you’ve followed that advice then your emergency fund may be coming to your assistance right now if you’ve lost your main source of income due to coronavirus impacts.

An emergency fund equating to six months of expenses would still have plenty of room left.

But is that going to be enough in the future? It’s very hard to say how safe your finances need to be. Someone still employed in a government role has a different level of income security compared to someone in a cyclical industry or say a hospitality job.

Maybe the new normal will be six to nine months of expenses?

A life-changing event like this can completely change people’s outlook on money and risk.

Where should your emergency fund be placed?

My emergency fund is in a high interest savings account in a separate financial institution. For example your transaction account may be with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and then your savings account could be with one of the subsidiaries of Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) or National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB). Most other sizeable banks are good options too. 

I think it’s good to keep your money in separate institutions in-case there’s a technical (or worse) problem with one of the institutions.

By the way, your share portfolio isn’t an emergency fund. You may need to sell shares in a market crash just when you need the cash.

At the moment my household has six months of ‘ramen noodle’ life expenses. In other words, half a year of ultra-low-cost living. In light of the current crisis, I think we’ll aim to increase that to nine months once we’ve bought a house.

The stronger you make your financial foundations with a good emergency fund, the more you can put to investing in difficult times when it comes.

More reading

• Where to invest $5,000 in ASX 200 shares today
• 3 top ASX dividend shares I would buy for income right now
• ASX 200 rallies hard, no longer in bear territory
• Latest spending data could drive the ASX retail sector higher
• Why ANZ, CBA, NAB, and Westpac shares are storming higher today

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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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