Author: therawinformant

If you don’t have the funds required to invest across a large number of different shares in order to maintain a diverse portfolio, then exchange traded funds (ETFs) could be the answer.

This is because ETFs give investors the option to invest in anything from tens to thousands of companies through just a single investment. This includes investing in themes, indices, countries, and industries.

While there are countless ETFs to choose from, two which I would buy are listed below. Here’s why I think they are among the best on offer:

BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA)

One of my favourites ETFs is the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. Given how quickly the Asian economy is expected to grow over the next decade, having exposure to this side of the world seems like a particularly good idea to me. And what better group of shares to invest in than the 50 largest technology and ecommerce companies that have their main area of business in the region. These companies are among the fastest-growing in the region and look exceptionally well-positioned to be market-beaters over the next decade. Among its biggest holdings you’ll find the likes of ecommerce giant Alibaba, search engine Baidu, online retailer JD.com, and WeChat owner Tencent.

BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

Another of my favourite ETFs is the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF. This fund gives investors exposure to the 100 largest non-financial businesses on Wall Street’s technology-focused NASDAQ index. This means that through a single investment, investors will be getting exposure to some of the biggest and well-known companies in the world. This includes the likes of Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Netflix, Tesla, and Zoom. Given the very positive long term outlooks of the majority of shares in the ETF, I believe it has the potential to provide investors with strong returns over the next decade.

More reading

• Should you buy ASX gold shares or FAANG stocks in August?
• I don’t normally buy ETFs, but I would invest in these 2
• 3 ways to play the skyrocketing tech shares
• Top ASX Stock Picks for August 2020
• 1 ASX share to take advantage of the strong FAANG shares

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 BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. 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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With interest rates at their lowest levels in history and unlikely to move higher for some time, I believe dividend shares remain the best place to earn an income.

But which ASX dividend shares should you buy? I think these would be top options right now:

Aventus Group (ASX: AVN)

Aventus is a retail property company which specialises in large format retail parks. It currently has a total of 20 centres which are home to a diverse tenant base of 593 quality tenancies. This includes major retailers such as ALDI, Bunnings, Officeworks, and The Good Guys. I like Aventus due to the way its portfolio is weighted heavily towards everyday needs. I believe this means it is better positioned than many property companies to ride out the pandemic. Goldman Sachs is very positive on the company and has forecast a sizeable ~17.3 cents per unit distribution in FY 2021. Based on the current Aventus share price, this equates to a very generous forward 8.2% distribution yield

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)

Another option to consider buying is Coles. I think the supermarket giant is well-positioned to grow its earnings and dividend at a solid rate over the next decade. This is due to its defensive qualities, positive sales growth outlook, and potential margin expansion from its refreshed strategy. Based on the latest Coles share price, I estimate that it provides investors with a fully franked ~3.4% FY 2021 dividend yield.

Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC)

A final dividend share to consider buying is Lendlease. It hasn’t been a great 12 months for the international property and infrastructure company. However, I’m feeling confident that the worst is behind it. In light of this and its burgeoning global development pipeline, I believe now could be an opportune time to invest. Especially for income investors. I estimate that it will pay a 57 cents per share dividend next year. Based on the current Lendlease share price, this equates to a 5.1% dividend yield.

More reading

• 3 high quality blue chip ASX 200 shares to buy
• Will the Coles share price rocket higher again in August?
• The ASX stocks hit by Victoria’s stage 4 forced shutdowns
• Why I would buy Coles and this ASX dividend share right now
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended AVENTUS RE UNIT. 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 coronavirus situation in Victoria seems to be worsening by the day. With a nightly curfew and even tighter lockdown laws taking effect at midnight tonight, the state appears to be under siege. Some ASX shares are actively playing a part in the fight against the virus and the treatment of patients. As the battle against the pandemic increasingly becomes a war, we take a look at two ASX shares involved in the fight against COVID-19. 

2 ASX shares fighting against coronavirus

Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB)

Mesoblast is a regenerative medicine company seeking to provide treatments for inflammatory illnesses. The company has a portfolio of phase 3 product candidates including remestemcel-L, which is being trialed in the treatment of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to COVID-19 infection. 

Interim analysis of the phase 3 trial of remestemcel-L in COVID-19 patients is set for early September. The trial’s first 90 patients will complete 30-day follow ups in August. After this, the Data Safety Monitoring Board will assess the interim data and determine whether the trial should proceed or stop early. There are currently no approved treatments for ARDS in COVID-19 patients, so if Mesoblast’s treatment is approved it would be a first. With ARDS the primary cause of death in COVID-19 patients, demand for an effective treatment is high. 

Remestemcel-L was originally developed to treat acute graft versus host disease (GVHD). An application for the use of the treatment in children with the disease is being assessed by the United States FDA (Food and Drug Administration). If approved, Mesoblast plans to launch in the US this year with product inventory in place. 

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH) 

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare manufactures products used in respiratory and acute care. In the respiratory market since 1971, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare’s products are now being used in the treatment of coronavirus patients. The company’s respiratory humidifiers and consumables are directly involved in COVID-19 treatment. Fisher & Paykel has seen an increase in demand globally since the start of the pandemic and has ramped up production accordingly. 

A weaker New Zealand dollar also contributed to Fisher & Paykel’s strong result for the year ended 31 March 2020. Operating revenue increased 18% over the previous year to $1.26 billion. This increase was driven by demand for products to treat COVID-19 patients and strong hospital hardware sales throughout the year. Revenue grew 25% in the hospital group, which includes respiratory and acute care products. Sales of consumables were up 23% over the previous year. This added up to a 37% increase in net profit after tax, with a final dividend of 15.5 cents per share declared. 

Foolish takeaway 

These two ASX shares provide products and treatments used to combat the coronavirus in those afflicted. Until a vaccine is found, these ASX shares should see steady demand. 

More reading

• Here’s how to start investing with $5k
• Why this broker thinks Mesoblast shares are a strong buy
• Mesoblast share price pushes higher ahead of the “most significant period in its history”
• Does the second wave of COVID-19 make these ASX 200 healthcare shares a buy?
• 3 junior ASX healthcare shares with explosive growth potential

Motley Fool contributor Kate O’Brien 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.

The post These ASX shares are actively fighting coronavirus appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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ASX dividend shares could be the only way to make good income from your money at the moment.

I’m not talking about some blue chip shares like Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) or Transurban Group (ASX: TCL). Income investors haven’t been able to rely on reliable dividend payments from them in 2020.

I’m talking about ASX dividend shares with reliable business models that continue to increase their income payments to shareholders even through COVID-19.

A business that can increase its dividend during this period is definitely worth considering for an income portfolio:

Dividend share 1: APA Group (ASX: APA)

APA is my preferred infrastructure ASX dividend share. It doesn’t require a certain number of air passengers or cars to generate its earnings.

APA owns a large network of pipelines across Australia, it’s about 15,000 km in size. It actually delivers around half of Australia’s natural gas.

The energy asset giant also owns (or has interests in) gas storage facilities, gas-fired power stations and renewable energy generation (wind and solar).

APA has grown its distribution every year for a decade and a half. It funds that distribution from its annual cashflow, which is regularly growing. As more projects and investments are completed, that cashflow increases and this will fund higher distributions over time.

Based on the FY20 distribution, at the current APA share price, it offers a distribution yield of 4.5%. Not a bad starting yield for an ASX dividend share.

Dividend share 2: Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

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

As a farmer there are commodity risks, just like there are with miners. However, as a landlord Rural Funds isn’t exposed to those sorts of risks. It’s the tenant that takes on the operational risks.

The farms are spread across states and climactic conditions, so Rural Funds is well diversified. It recently announced an $81.1 million sugar cane farm acquisition which it plans to progressively turn into macadamia orchards and the rest will be able to be used for cropping.

The ASX dividend share aims to increase its distribution by 4% per annum, which it has been successful at doing since it first listed and started paying a distribution several years ago.

We all need to keep eating food, so Rural Funds’ rental income should keep flowing from its quality tenants like JBS and Olam. That rental income is steadily growing thanks to contracted rental indexation of either a fixed 2.5% increase or it’s linked to CPI inflation, plus market reviews.

Rural Funds has provided guidance of a FY21 distribution of 11.28 cents per share, which equates to a 5.4% yield at the current Rural Funds share price.  

Dividend share 3: WAM Microcap Limited (ASX: WMI)

WAM Microcap could be one of the best ASX dividend shares on the ASX in my opinion. It’s a listed investment company (LIC) run by Wilson Asset Management which invests in small cap ASX shares. Generally, those targets have market caps under $300 million.

ASX small caps have the potential to make the biggest returns for investors because they’re not followed by many investors, so they’re priced lower. Those small businesses also have a lot of growth potential. It’s much easier growing a company’s market cap from $200 million to $400 million than it is to go from $20 billion to $40 billion.

WAM Microcap can turn the investment returns it generates into a big, growing dividend for its shareholders. The WAM Microcap board have an aim of growing the dividend, assuming it makes sense to do so and it has sufficient profit reserves and franking credits.

Since inception in June 2017, the WAM Microcap portfolio has returned 15.9% per annum before fees, expenses and taxes. That’s a very strong performance and allows it to fund a solid dividend.

The ASX dividend share recently announced a bigger ordinary dividend, a special dividend and a capital raising. I am very likely to participate in that capital raising, even if I just do a fairly small purchase.

At the current WAM Microcap share price, using the FY20 annual ordinary dividend of 6 cents per share, it has an ordinary grossed-up dividend yield of 5.9%.

Foolish takeaway

I really like each of these ASX dividend shares. Right now I think WAM Microcap could be the best pick. It has the highest yield and may it generate the strongest total returns over the long-term. But I think both APA and Rural Funds are likely to deliver very reliable cashflow over the next 12 months and beyond. 

More reading

• Buy these ASX dividend shares if the RBA cuts rates
• ASX 200 edges lower, Melbourne enters stage 4 lockdown
• Is the Wesfarmers or Rural Funds share price a buy for dividend income?
• WAM Microcap share price rises on big special dividend
• 3 of the best ASX dividend shares to buy right now

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of RURALFUNDS STAPLED and WAM MICRO FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended RURALFUNDS STAPLED. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of APA Group and Transurban Group. 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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