Author: therawinformant

Earlier this month, payments platform company Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH) announced it will undertake a four-for-one share split. This means that each share held in the company before the share split will turn into four shares after the split takes place.

This process kicks off today, Tuesday 24 November, so here’s what you need to know.

Why is Pushpay splitting its shares?

Traditionally, share splits have been a way to make share ownership more accessible for smaller investors like you and me. That’s because companies with high share prices can be out of reach for investors if they can only purchase whole shares.

Imagine trying to buy a whole share (or more!) in Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B). The Berkshire Hathaway share price was a phenomenal US$341,000 per share in November 2020. The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price of around $317 per share is certainly more accessible, but even that could be a challenge if you only had $300 to invest.

This is less of a problem with newer investing platforms that offer fractional share investing, where you can invest fixed dollar amounts and buy part-shares. Still, the additional quantity of shares means there are more shares available to change hands as Pushpay noted in its announcement: “The Pushpay Board considers that the share split will assist to enhance liquidity in the market for Pushpay’s ordinary shares.”

Has Pushpay split its shares before?

Yes, this isn’t the first time Pushpay has split its shares. Pushpay previously completed a four-for-one share split in February 2016.

At that time, Pushpay was only listed on the New Zealand stock exchange, but the company says it saw a positive impact from the split. In its most recent November announcement, Pushpay noted that the previous split resulted in “a meaningful increase in both the shareholder base and liquidity that was partly attributable to the share split.”

The other part, of course, is likely to do with the company’s impressive growth profile. Pushpay revenue has rocketed from NZ$15 million in the 2016 financial year to NZ$187 million (US$129.8 million) in the 2020 financial year.

When is the Pushpay share split happening?

Today, Tuesday 24 November, is the last date for trading in Pushpay shares on a pre-share split basis.

What happens then? Well from the start of trading on 25 November until market close on Friday 27 November, Pushpay shares will trade as if the share split has occurred. This means that, all else being equal, the Pushpay share price will drop to around one quarter of the previous day’s closing price.  

However, it’s worth noting that over this period, Pushpay shares will trade on the ASX under the temporary ticker ‘PPHDA’ and trades will be made on a deferred settlement basis, so settlement will occur on Wednesday 2 December 2020.

From Monday 30 November 2020, things will return to normal and the Pushpay share price will be found under the ‘PPH’ ticker with regular settlement times.

Do share splits increase a company’s value?

Share splits have no impact on a company’s fundamental valuation, but when the share price is high, a split can make it easier for individual investors to buy shares in the company.

This was a factor behind big name share splits in the United States this year, with both Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares and Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares splitting into smaller slices. However, with the Pushpay share price trading around $7.64 at the time of the announcement, it’s likely that having more shares outstanding available to buy and sell was a larger driver for Pushpay’s split. 

More reading

• 3 compelling ASX payment shares rated as buys
• 2 great ASX shares to buy
• 5 fantastic ASX shares to buy today
• 2 ASX growth shares predicting big growth this decade
• Down 22% in 3 weeks, is the Pushpay (ASX:PPH) share price a buy?

Regan Pearson has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. You can follow him on Twitter @Regan_Invests.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Apple, Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd. and PUSHPAY FPO NZX and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $200 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), short January 2021 $200 puts on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), and short December 2020 $210 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple, Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), and PUSHPAY FPO NZX. 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.

Regan Pearson has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Apple, Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd. and PUSHPAY FPO NZX and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $200 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), short January 2021 $200 puts on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), and short December 2020 $210 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple, Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), and PUSHPAY FPO NZX. 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 Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW) share price will be on watch this morning after the release of a trading update ahead of its annual general meeting.

How is Brickworks performing in FY 2021?

According to the release, the Building Products Australia business has started FY 2021 strongly and has delivered first quarter earnings well ahead of the prior corresponding period.

Brickworks’ Managing Director, Mr. Lindsay Partridge, commented: “Our home builder customers have a solid pipeline of work for the remainder of the financial year, underpinned by the various government stimulus measures currently in place in each state.”

Mr Partridge revealed that the company was pro-active throughout the pandemic and worked hard to accelerate several important growth initiatives. This includes the introduction of a range of innovative new bricks, roof tiles, and masonry products.

The managing director also provided an update on its significant capital program. He expects this to strengthen its competitive position in a number of key markets. Part of this is the construction of its $75 million Austral Masonry plant in Sydney, which is well on track for commissioning in 2021.

North America.

Over in North America things are not quite as positive due to the pandemic. Management notes that there is short term uncertainty in the region, with the recent surge in infections causing ongoing disruptions to sales activity and manufacturing operations.

However, it is pleased with the underlying performance of the business and the progress achieved against its strategic priorities. Management notes that in August, it opened its new design studio in central Philadelphia. It believes this will further enhance its strong position in the high value architectural segment.

Looking ahead, management is confident that once conditions normalise, its North American operations will deliver improved earnings and growth for many years to come.

Property Trust.

One area which is performing particularly strongly is its Property Trust business with Goodman Group (ASX: GMG).

Since the end of the financial year, the construction of the state-of-the-art Amazon facility at Oakdale West is advancing and due to be complete in September 2021. Major infrastructure works are also proceeding to schedule and will allow construction of the Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) distribution warehouse to commence early in calendar 2021.

Following the completion of these two facilities, net rental distributions will increase by over 25%, and gross assets held within the Property Trust is expected to exceed $3 billion. There is also sufficient remaining land to provide at least a further five-year development pipeline.

Outlook.

Management believes that Brickworks is in a strong position, with a conservative debt level and a diversified portfolio of attractive assets.

Mr Partridge commented: “Within Building Products Australia, we have made an encouraging start to the year and our customers are reporting a strong pipeline of work in place. However, in North America conditions are more challenging, due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19. Of course, until a vaccine becomes widely available, there remains considerable uncertainty in both markets.”

“Another strong half is expected for Property, and WHSP is expected to deliver a stable and growing stream of earnings and dividends over the long term,” he concluded.

More reading

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• Why Afterpay, Goodman, MedAdvisor, & PointsBet shares are dropping lower

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET. 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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Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have not enjoyed a solid reputation as a ‘stable’ asset class, or even as an asset at all. Warren Buffett’s right-hand man Charlie Munger even famously referred to bitcoin as worthless, artificial gold, rat poison and, er.. excrement.

Even though cryptocurrencies have been around for more than a decade (with the past few years pushing them into the mainstream), they remain outside the realm of conventional ASX investing vehicles like managed and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Possibly hindering this elevation is the infamous volatility of the cryptocurrency scene, as well as controversy arising from the decentralised, stateless nature of the assets themselves.

However, we could be seeing a turning point in this orthodoxy.

Bitconnect?

According to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR), the head of bond, income and defensive strategies at ASX fund manager Pendal Group Ltd (ASX: PDL), Vimal Gor, is increasingly bullish on cryptos and bitcoin in particular.

The AFR reports that Mr. Gor now has active positions in bitcoin futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, quoting Mr. Gor on the reasons for this move:

There are over 7000 cryptocurrencies in the world. We are only looking at one, which is bitcoin… It has a futures contract so even though it’s a new asset, the way it trades is like any other asset. To buy bitcoin, you don’t have to be part of the tinfoil hat brigade… All the big hitters in the hedge fund world are coming out to endorse bitcoin now; it is entering the realm of the mainstream.

Bitcoin comes out of the woodwork

But Mr. Gor is not the only fund manager coming out in support of the cryptocurrency. The AFR quotes 2 other fund managers, Stan Druckenmiller and Paul Tudor Jones, on the matter.

Mr. Druckenmiller stated: “I have warmed up to the fact that bitcoin could be an asset class that has a lot of attraction as a store of value to Millennials.”

Mr. Tudor Jones agrees: “I’m not a bitcoin flag bearer but bitcoin has this enormous contingent of really smart, sophisticated people who believe in it. You have a crowd of people who are dedicated to seeing bitcoin succeed in it becoming a store of value”.

But it’s not just the ‘mainstreaming’ of cryptocurrency as a separate asset class that’s attracting Pendal to bitcoin, it’s also the shrinking effectiveness of alternative asset classes thanks to quantitative easing. Mr Gor told the AFR as much:

We think ultimately that government bonds will turn into a dead asset class, so we now have to imagine what it will be like for other assets classes when bonds are no longer relevant to hold in a portfolio… obviously commodities and cryptocurrencies have a part to play in the answer… Bitcoin is a cockroach that exists. They can’t ban it out of existence.

More reading

• How the pandemic is making some investors super-rich
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• Why Domino’s, Estia Health, Pendal, & Treasury Wine shares are dropping lower
• Pendal (ASX:PDL) share price falls 7% on disappointing FY20 result

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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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Yesterday, shares of Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR) surged 10.45% to 37 cents a share, giving the embattled but iconic Aussie retailer a market capitalisation of just over $300 million. You have to go back to early March to find the last time the Myer share price was at this level. Additionally, Myer shares are now up more than 76% since 21 October, when they were asking just 21 cents. So what’s going on here?

What’s driving the Myer share price?

Apart from regular appearances on the ASX’s most shorted stock list (including this week), there has only been one major piece of news out of Myer recently. That was the announcement late last month that Myer’s chair, Gary Hounsell, will be walking the plank.

Mr Hounsell had been under some pressure for some time. It has been well known that Solomon Lew, CEO of Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV), had been pushing for Mr Hounsell’s resignation for a while. Mr. Lew’s Premier is a large investor in Myer, owning a 10.8% stake in the company. And, as we reported at the time last month, Lew got what he came for after fellow major shareholder, Geoff Wilson of Wilson Asset Management, sided with Premier against voting for Mr. Hounsell’s re-election. Mr. Lew has also called on the entire board to step down or be shown the door, and has threatened to call an extraordinary general meeting over the matter.

My-store for much longer?

According to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) yesterday, this is what was behind the massive surge in Myer shares yesterday. The AFR reports that there is building speculation that Mr. Lew, through Premier, is preparing to mount a takeover of Myer. Premier’s retailing businesses like Smiggle, Peter Alexander and Just Jeans have done enormously well during the pandemic, if the company’s stellar FY2020 earnings numbers are anything to go by. It seems plausible at least that Myer shareholders would be excited about the prospects of Mr. Lew running the company.

However, this might not be the whole story. The AFR also quotes Wilson Asset Management fundie, Oscar Oberg, who reckons that Myer is simply benefitting from the goodwill flowing out of the recent coronavirus vaccine announcements:

“If I look into 2022 we’d like to think a vaccine brings back some normality in the business”, the AFR quotes Mr. Oberg as stating. “We think management has been doing a great job, the balance sheet is in great nick and we think they’ll be able to repay their debt when it comes due next year”

It could be one, or a combination of these factors that is pushing the Myer share price to an 8-month high this week.

More reading

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• These are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Premier Investments 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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For a company often labelled Australia’s version of Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), Booktopia Group Limited (ASX: BKG) founder and chief Tony Nash doesn’t see the resemblance.

“Books are not a priority for Amazon anymore,” he told The Motley Fool.

“It’s less than 3% of their revenue now. Sure, it was 100% when they started out, and is a part of their DNA, but it’s not a priority for them.”

But Amazon did start as an online book store, so the comparisons are inevitable.

Booktopia’s initial public offering closes on Tuesday with the shares released on the ASX on Thursday 4 December.

The IPO price is $2.30 per share, giving the retailer a market capitalisation of $315.8 million.

Not the first time at the circus

Booktopia attempted to float 4 years ago, but soon after Amazon announced plans to open Australian operations.

Potential investors became nervous and the IPO was cancelled.

“People needed to see that they weren’t going to annihilate us,” said Nash.

“We’ve gone from $80 million to over $200 million [of revenue] during that time.”

This showed that Amazon was never a threat, according to Nash. It’s too busy with other projects like cloud computing, grocery deliveries, video streaming and audio books.

“They would prefer someone else to sell the book to someone else and they take their 20% clip of the ticket,” he said. 

“Physical books are not what they want to focus on.”

The money raised from this IPO – $43.1 million – is similar to the amount Booktopia sought the first time round in 2016.

Our moat is incumbency: Booktopia CEO

When Nash created Booktopia in 2004, he remembers people calling him crazy for establishing a bookstore against the giant incumbents.

By 2015, the internet upstart was acquiring fallen star Angus & Robertson. The company also bought University Co-op Bookshop last financial year.

Notwithstanding this industry disruption in the past 16 years, Nash said Booktopia’s moat is its sheer market dominance.

“The number 2 online book retailer in Australia is turning over $25 million – a company named Zookal. They do textbooks for university students then it drops away after that,” he told The Motley Fool.

“We don’t have daylight between us and our competitors. We’ve got days and weeks… There’s really no one else.”

When you can’t just hire more people

According to Nash, Booktopia is at a point now where automation and robotics are required to take its operations to the next stage of growth.

“As you grow, you hit certain choke points within your business and you need to invest,” he said. 

“You can’t simply throw more people at it… You just don’t have the hours in the day nor the space to put people in.”

As such, it has gone on a spending spree of $36 million for logistical technology to pick and pack books in its western Sydney warehouse.

The program will upgrade its capacity from 800,000 units of stock to 1.8 million.

Booktopia earlier this year raised $8 million through a private equity round to fund the technology drive. Nash said $25 million of the funds raised in the IPO would also go towards this program.

The company has found a sweet spot in a highly commoditised industry, Nash believes. 

“We don’t necessarily have to be the cheapest. We’ve worked out at that if you’re in the ballpark people will come to us.”

Cycling to Paris

The funding will also allow Booktopia to keep higher stock levels.

“I don’t want to run out of the popular ones. That’s my main issue right now,” Nash said.

“The top 10, 20, 30 thousand titles – we shouldn’t run out of stock… These are the things we’re going to address because we’re well-funded.”

Booktopia wants to take full advantage of people rediscovering reading during the year of COVID-19.

“People are starting to re-evaluate their lives… The value of a book and the value of your time and a value of an enriched life – the pandemic has really helped recalibrate ourselves.”

Despite a long 16-year journey, the ASX listing is not the beginning of the end for Nash. 

“If I was doing the Tour de France, the IPO to me is like on the 10th stage, going through the 40km mark, you have 40km to go, you’ve a big climb up some mountain… Then after the 10th stage there’s another 11 stages to go.”

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• Here are the US shares that CommSec customers are buying

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Tony Yoo owns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Amazon and recommends the following options: short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon and long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. 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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Two fund managers have revealed the stocks they think will perform strongly after a COVID-19 solution comes along.

With growth shares taking off since the coronavirus trough in March, it’s difficult for investors to find companies that haven’t already blown up in value.

But TMS Capital portfolio manager Ben Clark and First Sentier Investors deputy head of Australian growth equities David Wilson each reckon they have found one.

Mining without the mineral price rollercoaster

Clark tipped Deterra Royalties Ltd (ASX: DRR) for a rosy future in the post-virus world.

“One stock we’ve started buying is a company called Deterra, which has just been spun out of Iluka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU),” he said on a Livewire video.

“It owns a mining royalty over some land that BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) mines in, and BHP’s going to almost triple its output from Mining Area C over the next 3 years.”

The advantage of a mining royalty company is that it’s not exposed to wild fluctuations in the global minerals market.

“You’re almost certainly going to see very strong growth in their underlying earnings even if we see quite a significant pullback in the iron ore price,” Clark said.

The company only listed on the ASX a month ago, starting at $4.87 a share and a market capitalisation of $2.57 billion. The stock has since dipped to $4.36 as of Monday afternoon.

The current price is very tempting, according to Clark.

“When you can compare it to the royalty companies that trade in Toronto and in New York, it looks quite cheap,” he said.

“We would argue it’s probably one of the highest quality mining royalty streams anywhere in the world, given the counterparty, the production growth, the length of the asset.”

Pivoting for the future

Wilson’s tip for growth was gaming provider Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL), which made its name in the past for poker machines.

“A little while ago they took the bold step to actually step away from their traditional business and move into the digital space,” Wilson said.

“That digital part of their business is now 40% of their earnings.”

The Aristocrat share price peaked at $37.43 in February before sinking to $17.54 in March during the COVID-19 panic. It is now back at $33.88.

The pivot was “a brave decision”, according to Wilson.

“They said ‘No, we need to step away from our core business, but try and get to where our business is going to be in 10 years’ time’. It’s going to be rough at times, but I think you can’t fault the way that they’ve executed thus far.”

Both fund managers said Australian stocks have excellent prospects compared to their northern hemisphere counterparts.

“We’re lucky we’ve got a great system here. Investors were happy to stump up quite significant amounts of cash in a pretty scary period. It allowed companies to get through,” said Clark.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• Could the Aristocrat (ASX:ALL) share price be a leading ASX 200 growth share?
• Why the Aristocrat Leisure (ASX:ALL) share price can go higher from here
• ASX 200 rises again on Wednesday
• Why Aristocrat Leisure, Chalice Gold, Westpac, & Whitehaven Coal shares are charging higher

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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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There are plenty of food-related ASX shares that are available to invest in.

Here are some of the businesses that the Motley Fool investment team have taken a look at:

Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF)

This company is a large franchisee of KFC restaurants across Australia and Europe (in Germany and the Netherlands).

During FY20 in Australia the company saw revenue growth of 9.5% with same store sales growth of 3.5%. The company has been investing in its digital and delivery systems so that it can continue to serve customers during this COVID-19 period. The company is also expanding in Australia with Taco Bell outlets.

However, in Europe, Collins Foods saw revenue growth of 8.3% with a decline of same store sales of 5.8%.

Overall in FY20, the company generated revenue growth of 8.9%, underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 6.3% and underlying net profit went up 5.1% to $47.3 million.

The food ASX share is focused on expanding its Taco Bell network, whilst expanding its delivery network in Australia.  

Collins Foods is currently rated as a hold by the Motley Fool Dividend Investor service.

Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC)

Costa is the largest horticultural business in Australia. It grows a variety of different produce including tomatoes, avocadoes, mushrooms, citrus fruit and berries.

The company has been affected by drought and other one-off issues such as fruit flies and crumbly berries. Costa said the historical weather conditions should have no material impact in the second half of the year or beyond and there is broad based forward momentum in demand and pricing over its Australian portfolio.

The food ASX share reported growth in its FY20 half-year result which showed revenue growth of 6.8% to $612.4 million, underlying EBITDA grew by 13.7% to $93.7 million and underlying net profit went up 12% to $45.8 million.

Costa’s international segment, which includes Morocco and China, saw underlying EBITDA growth of 98% compared to the prior corresponding period.

The company believes that strong export and domestic demand, together with improved pricing levels, are expected to continue to the end of the season.

Costa continues to invest for growth with better facilities at some of its farms and whilst planting more hectares.

The company now has “excellent” water security and it’s expecting an increase in quality, yield growth and shareholder returns.

Costa is currently rated as a buy by the Motley Fool Share Advisor service.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

Rural Funds is an agricultural real estate investment trust (REIT) which owns a variety of different farm types including cattle, almonds, macadamias, vineyards and cropping (sugar and cotton).

Many of its tenants are large businesses including Olam, Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE), Select Harvests Limited (ASX: SHV) and Australian Agricultural Company Ltd (ASX: AAC).

Rural Funds doesn’t carry the operational risks of the farms, that’s down to the tenants. However, the food ASX share does own a large number of water entitlements for tenants to use if necessary.

The REIT has rental growth built into all of its tenancy agreements which are based either of a fixed 2.5% annual increase, or linked to CPI inflation, with some contracts having market reviews.

The management of Rural Funds aim to increase the distribution to shareholders by 4% per annum. At the current Rural Funds share price it has a FY21 distribution yield of 4.2%.

Rural Funds is currently rated as a buy by the Motley Fool Dividend Investor service.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of RURALFUNDS STAPLED. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended COSTA GRP FPO, RURALFUNDS STAPLED, and Treasury Wine Estates Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Collins Foods 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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There are some growth-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are rated as buys by a Motley Fool investment service.

What are exchange traded funds?

As linked above, ETFs are investment vehicles that allow the investor to buy a whole group of businesses at once. With some of them you can buy a decent number of shares with one investment – 50 to 100 holdings. Other investments give exposure to thousands of businesses at once.

Some ETFs are focused are providing dividend income to investors like Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY) and BetaShares S&P 500 Yield Maximiser (ASX: UMAX).

However, there are other ones that have more of a growth profile:

Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

This ETF gives investors exposure to 100 of the biggest businesses on the NASDAQ, which is a stock exchange in the US.

Many of the world’s biggest technology businesses are listed on the NASDAQ, which is apparent when you look at the ETF’s biggest holding exposures.

On 20 November 2020, its biggest positions were: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook, Tesla, Nvidia and PayPal. There are also some other well-known technology businesses slightly down its holdings list such as Adobe, Netflix, Intel, Qualcomm and Broadcom.

Almost half of the holdings are in the sector ‘information technology’ with another 20% invested in communication services.

However, there are more than just technology shares on the NASDAQ. There are also businesses such as PepsiCo, Costco and Starbucks. Almost 20% of the ETF is invested in consumer discretionary shares.

The ETF has produced returns larger than the ASX in the past few years. Over the past year, the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF’s net return has been 34.6%. Over the past three years it has produced net returns of 25% per annum. In the past five years it has produced net returns of 19.8% per annum. Finally, since inception in May 2015 it has made net returns of 20.8% per annum.

Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF has an annual management fee of 0.48% per annum. According to BetaShares, this ETF’s trailing 12-month distribution yield amounts to 2.6%.

This ETF is still rated as a buy by the Motley Fool Share Advisor service.

Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK)

This ETF is focused on businesses that are looking to provide cybersecurity services to governments, businesses and other organisations.

Its top holdings include companies like Crowdstrike, Okta, Accenture, Zscaler, Cisco Systems, Cloudflare, F5 Networks, Palo Alto Networks, Leidos Holdings and Fireeye.

BetaShares says that with cybercrime on the rise, the demand for cybersecurity services is expected to grow strongly for the foreseeable future. This ETF includes global cybersecurity giants as well as emerging players, from a range of global locations.

More than half of the portfolio is invested to the sector of ‘systems software’, but it’s also invested in businesses focused on internet services and infrastructure, communications equipment, application software and aerospace and defence.

In terms of returns, the net returns haven’t been quite as high as the NASDAQ one, over the past year its net return has been 16.2%, over the past three years it has delivered average returns per annum of 18.3% and since inception in August 2016 it has delivered net returns of 16.8% per annum.

With a country allocation of 89.5% to the USA, the vast majority of the ETF is focused on American companies. However, there is allocation of more than 3% to Israel and the UK, 2% to Japan and 1.4% to France.

Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF has an annual management fee of 0.67%.

This ETF is currently rated as a buy by the Motley Fool Pro service.

More reading

• 2 ETFs that ASX investors need to know about
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• 10 hottest (and coldest) Aussie ETFs right now
• 2 quality ETFs that are popular with ASX investors
• 2 tech ETFs generating big returns

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of BETA CYBER ETF UNITS and BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. 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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There are a lot of dividend shares for investors to choose from on the Australian share market. Which certainly is a blessing in this ultra low interest rate environment that we are living in.

Two ASX dividend shares that provide generous dividend yields are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)

BHP is widely regarded as one of the highest quality miners in the world thanks to its long history, world class and low cost operations, and its significant growth opportunities. At present, the mining giant is benefiting greatly from favourable commodity prices. This is expected to underpin another strong full year result in FY 2021 and allow the company to reward its shareholders with more generous dividends.

According to a recent note out of Macquarie, its analysts have an outperform rating and $44.00 price target on its shares. The broker is also forecasting a ~$2.79 per share fully franked dividend. Based on the current BHP share price, this would mean a sizeable 7.5% dividend yield over the next 12 months.

BWP Trust (ASX: BWP)

BWP Trust is the largest owner of Bunnings Warehouse sites in Australia. At the last count, the company’s portfolio owned 68 stores. In addition to this, seven of the properties have adjacent retail showrooms that are leased to other retailers. Its portfolio currently has a value of approximately $2.5 billion, generates annual rent of $151.4 million, and boasts a 98% occupancy rate.

Bunnings has proven to be a great tenant in 2020. Due to the strength of the hardware retailer’s business, BWP has been able to collect rent as normal at a time when many other landlords have struggled with their collections. This allowed the BWP board to grow its distribution in FY 2020.

Analysts at UBS expect more of the same in FY 2021 and are forecasting an 18.3 cents per share distribution. Based on the current BWP share price, this will mean a yield of 4.3% for investors.

More reading

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• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX continues to climb, despite outage
• How to turn $20,000 into $180,000 in 10 years with ASX shares
• China is a much bigger threat to the ASX bull run than COVID
• Can Magellan (ASX:MFG) prosper in a market dominated by Macquarie (ASX:MQG)?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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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It looks set to be another positive day of trade for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) on Tuesday after a third COVID-19 vaccine candidate was shown to be effective.

At the time of writing, SPI futures are pointing to the ASX opening the day 31 points or 0.5% higher this morning.

What is the new vaccine candidate?

Overnight British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca revealed that data from an interim analysis of clinical trials showed that its vaccine, AZD1222, had an average efficacy of 70% in protecting against COVID-19.

This follows recent updates by both Pfizer and Moderna which showed that their vaccines are 95% effective against the virus.

While 70% might not sound amazing, it is worth noting that the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is being developed in collaboration with Oxford University and is not-for-profit, was assessed over two different dosing regimens.

When trial participants were given a half dose, followed by a full dose at least one month apart, the vaccine showed an effectiveness of 90%. Whereas, when given as two full doses at least one month apart, the vaccine showed just 62% efficacy.

Pleasingly, no hospitalisations or severe cases of the disease were reported from trial participants.

Chief Investigator of the Oxford Vaccine Trial at Oxford, Professor Andrew Pollard, commented: “These findings show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives. Excitingly, we’ve found that one of our dosing regimens may be around 90% effective and if this dosing regime is used, more people could be vaccinated with planned vaccine supply.”

This sentiment was echoed by AstraZeneca’s Chief Executive Officer, Pascal Soriot.

He said: “Today marks an important milestone in our fight against the pandemic. This vaccine’s efficacy and safety confirm that it will be highly effective against COVID-19 and will have an immediate impact on this public health emergency. Furthermore, the vaccine’s simple supply chain and our no-profit pledge and commitment to broad, equitable and timely access means it will be affordable and globally available, supplying hundreds of millions of doses on approval.”

What now?

AstraZeneca will now immediately prepare regulatory submission of the data to authorities around the world that have a framework in place for conditional or early approval. It will also seek an Emergency Use Listing from the World Health Organization for an accelerated pathway to vaccine availability in low-income countries.

Management notes that it is making rapid progress in manufacturing with a capacity of up to 3 billion doses of the vaccine in 2021 on a rolling basis, pending regulatory approval.

Pleasingly, the vaccine can be stored, transported, and handled at normal refrigerated conditions for at least six months and administered within existing healthcare settings. This compares favourably to the Pfizer vaccine which needs to be kept at extremely cold temperatures.

The good news for Australia is that CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) is already manufacturing this vaccine

The biotech giant has separate contracts with AstraZeneca and the Australian Government to manufacture approximately 30 million doses of the AZD1222 vaccine candidate. The first doses are planned for release in the first half of 2021, pending the outcome of clinical trials and regulatory approval.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Is Transurban’s (ASX:TCL) grip on Sydney roads set to tighten?
• ASX 200 rises again on Monday
• Why Morgans just upgraded the Orica (ASX:ORI) share price to “buy”
• Is the US heading for a ‘double-dip’ recession?

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd. 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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