Author: therawinformant

Warren Buffett’s famous No.1 rule is “never lose money”. Clearly this is sage advice, however, I have always tempered this rule with “focus on things that will make you money”. I think Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) shares are one of the ASX companies likely to make you money.

And I’m happy to have a small stake in the company. 

I think Bellevue shares are a great growth opportunity in the gold mining sector as well as one of the best opportunities in mining shares.

Why Bellevue shares?

The company recently announced it has intersected high-grade gold 7.4km north of its Bellevue Gold Project in WA. This is in addition to the already estimated 2.2 Moz gold resources at an average grade of 11.3 grams per tonne. The mine is a proven, gold-rich resource that has been mined for over 100 years.

While 11 grams in a tonne may sound small, it is very large in relation to the grade of many mining sites. It also has existing infrastructure and has reserves at lower depths than comparable gold operations in Australia. All of these factors point to a rich operation with very low operating costs.

A combination of factors that make it likely to earn you money.

Over the past decade, I profited from investing in Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) as it doubled its share price again and again. I have been most impressed that Bellevue has attracted significant talent from Northern Star -people who have already taken a small gold mining company into a major gold company at a global level. 

These include former Northern Star Mine Manager, Mr Craig Jones as the COO of Bellevue. As well as Mr Luke Gleeson as Head of Corporate Development.

Why Gold

Good gold mining companies regularly return good capital growth to their investors. This happens when the gold price is up, down, or flat. Right now the gold price is at historically high levels. When equities are falling or flat the shares in gold miners tend to rise. 

Added to this is the impact of infinite quantitative easing, in particular, in the US  but also in Australia to a lesser extent. In summary, this injects large amounts of liquidity into the markets. The combination of higher amounts of cash, low-interest rates and escalating uncertainty is likely to hold gold prices high.

Foolish takeaway

Bellevue is one of the country’s richest gold resources at a high grade and I think it has a strong chance to make you money. A combination of factors is likely to make this a low-cost operation at a time when the gold price is high. Even if the gold price falls this deposit is still very profitable. 

More reading

• 5 ASX shares that would’ve made you a fortune in 5 years
• Gold mining shares – these are the facts and myths
• ASX winners and losers from last week
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Keep a watch on these 3 ASX trends next week

Motley Fool contributor Daryl Mather owns shares of Bellevue Gold 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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The Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL) share price has seen solid gains over the past 2 days after the company successfully completed its equity raising.  

After returning from its trading halt yesterday morning, the Super Retail share price jumped around 8% higher, and today has continued its upwards trend. At the time of writing, the Super Retail share price is up by another 1.98% to $8.75 per share.

Although the retail sector is struggling, Super Retail has managed to effectively navigate the coronavirus pandemic and could emerge stronger as consumer demand changes.

A closer look at Super Retail

Despite the underwhelming performance of most retailers during the coronavirus pandemic, there have been some bucking the trend. Super Retail serves as an example of a traditional retailer that has found renewed hope during Australia’s lockdown period.

The group – which owns prominent retail outlets such as Supercheap Auto, BCF and Rebel – recently completed a $203 million equity raising to fuel its strategy and growth initiatives. The fresh capital is intended to finance the company’s omni-channel business strategy.

Super Retail’s strategy is focused on growing its core brands and services to match changing consumer demand. Part of this includes investing in online and e-commerce programs, while also simplifying the company’s business model.  

Despite reporting a 26.2% decline in group sales for April, Super Retail reported a strong rebound in May with group sales increasing 26.5% on the prior corresponding period. In addition, the company saw a strong shift to e-commerce, with online sales increasing 126.2% during April and May in comparison to the prior corresponding period.

How is consumer behaviour changing?

Super Retail is also poised to benefit from a range of changing consumer behaviours following the coronavirus lockdown. With elite and community sports returning, the group’s sporting outlets like Rebel Sport could see renewed demand. This segment already experienced a surge in demand during the lockdown period as the shutdown of gyms drove consumers to stock up on home fitness gear.

In addition, with overseas holidays effectively cancelled in the short term, families and travellers could focus on more local activities. As a result, recreational activities like boating, camping and fishing pursuits could see renewed interest. The shift to online and digital commerce could also benefit Super Retail as the company looks to improve its click-and-collect services.  

Should you buy Super Retail shares?

Despite being one of the most shorted shares on the ASX, the Super Retail share price has surged more than 170% from its mid-March lows. Analysts from lead broker Morgans recently upgraded Super Retail to an ‘add’ rating. Analysts cited the group’s resilience during the coronavirus pandemic and changing consumer themes that could benefit the company. As a result, the broker slapped a $9.25 share price target for Super Retail.

Although analysts paint an optimistic outlook for Super Retail, the company is by no means out of the woods as yet. I think a prudent strategy would be to keep Super Retail on a watchlist to see if the company’s strategy plays out.  

More reading

• Top brokers just upgraded these ASX 200 shares today
• Why Afterpay, Super Retail, Uniti, & Viva Energy are charging higher
• ASX 200 jumps 3%: CBA rebounds, Afterpay hits a new record high
• ASX 200 falls 2%, ASX travel shares drop heavily
• ASX 200 down 0.3%: Big four banks mixed & Healius rockets on medical centre sale

Motley Fool contributor Nikhil Gangaram has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Super Retail Group 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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The Zenith Minerals Ltd (ASX: ZNC) share price was a standout performer on the market today after the company revealed strong drilling results at its Red Mountain gold project.

Zenith Minerals shares closed 40.24% higher at 11.5 cents after rallying as much as 58.54% in early trade.

Zenith Minerals is a micro-cap ASX miner focused on advancing its portfolio of lithium, gold and base metals projects. Including today’s gains, Zenith has a market capitalisation of around $28 million.

Why the Zenith Minerals share price surged today

This morning, Zenith reported results from the maiden 10-hole reverse circulation drill program completed at its wholly-owned Red Mountain project. The project is located in Queensland, within 100 kilometres of operating gold mines at Cracow and Mount Rawdon.

The maiden drill program at Red Mountain is part of the company’s strategy to focus on its wholly-owned projects in Australia. The program was designed to test several different geological units and induced polarisation geophysical responses.

According to today’s release, the program has returned “highly encouraging near surface high-grade gold results”, including:

• 14 metres at 5.5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold including 6 metres at 12.3 g/t gold from surface;
• 5 metres at 3.5 g/t gold including 2 metres at 8.0 g/t gold from 64 metres; and
• 12 metres at 1.0 g/t gold from 42 metres including 4 metres at 2.1 g/t gold from 50 metres.

Zenith views the initial drill program a success, with encouraging gold results returned from only a portion of a larger target area. The drilling completed to date tests around 250 metres of strike of a 1,200-metre-long, high-order gold surface anomaly.

Following these strong results, the company noted it has a follow-up drill campaign planned for July.

Commenting on today’s update, managing director Michael Clifford said:

“We are delighted to announce that high-grade near surface gold mineralisation has been intersected in the maiden drill program at Red Mountain.”

“The target generated by Zenith’s exploration team is panning out to have the hallmarks of a significant mineralised system and we are very excited about the project’s upside,” he added.

More reading

• Fund managers have been buying these ASX shares
• 5 ASX shares that would’ve made you a fortune in 5 years
• Why I think Bellevue shares are ‘gold’ for your portfolio
• Why I’m watching the Super Retail share price
• I don’t normally buy ETFs, but I would buy these 2

Motley Fool contributor Cathryn Goh 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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Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can be a great way to grow your wealth by investing in shares without thinking about it too much.

But which ETFs would be good to invest in the current market? COVID-19 has made it very difficult to invest. How long will ultra-low interest rates stay this low? The RBA has already cut Australia’s interest rate to 0.25% and said it’s likely to stay like this for a few years. Japan’s interest rate has been low for a very long time. Is Australia headed for the same fate?

I think exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could be a way to invest across a broad group of businesses. This can limit risk with any particular holding. Diversification may be the best defence to get through this difficult period.

I don’t normally invest in ETFs, but I would buy these two for my portfolio:

BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA)

I think Asia is a region that more Aussie investors could look to benefit from. When people invest outside of Australia they typically go for US shares. But Asia also has plenty of quality businesses to consider.

BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF gives exposure to the 50 largest technology and online retail shares in Asia outside of Japan.

Shares like Tencent, Alibaba, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Samsung and JD.com have plenty of growth potential. Technology is an exciting industry in Asia just like it is in Australia and the US.

China alone has a population of well over 1 billion, that’s a lot of potential customers or users. Asia is a very big addressable market for businesses that have a good service or product. 

Looking at the sector allocation, there are three sectors that have an allocation of more than 20% according to BetaShares. They are: ‘internet and direct marketing retail’, ‘interactive media and services’ and ‘semiconductors’.

Some of the other sectors include ‘technology hardware, storage and peripherals’, ‘interactive home entertainment’, ‘IT consulting and other services’, ‘electronic manufacturing services’ and other allocations that are smaller than 1%.

There is obviously a big exposure to China with this ETF, which may be a positive or a negative depending on your preferences. China makes up 52.8% of the portfolio, Taiwan is allocated the 21.9%, South Korea has an 18.3% allocation, India is allocated 6.5%, Hong Kong has a 0.3% weighting and ‘other’ is 0.2%.

BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF has performed well after fees. Since inception in September 2018 it has returned 17.6% per annum. I think the fees are reasonable at 0.67% per annum.

At the end of May 2020 it had an underlying price/earnings ratio of under 22x. Not bad for how much potential growth there is. 

Betashares FTSE 100 ETF (ASX: F100)

I believe the UK share market is another place that Aussie investors could look at. Despite the rivalries, I think there are a lot of similarities between our two countries and the listed businesses. That makes me more comfortable about investing indirectly in UK shares with Betashares FTSE 100 ETF.

Within this ETF’s top holdings are shares that most readers would be aware of. Even if you don’t know the name of the holding company you probably know the brand or products they sell. Some of the largest holdings are: Astrazeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, HSBC, British American Tobacco, Diageo, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Rio Tinto, Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, BHP, Vodafone, National Grid and the London Stock Exchange Group.

It has been a tough time for UK shares over the past four years with Brexit, trade wars and now the COVID-19 pandemic. But I think UK shares now represent compelling value.

At the end of May 2020 the ETF had an underlying price/earnings ratio of under 19x and a trailing dividend yield of 5.8%.

The current operating costs of this ETF is 0.45% per annum, which isn’t bad for the global exposure offered from many of the big UK shares.

Currency fluctuations between the Australian dollar and UK pound could have short-term effects on returns. But in UK pound terms, I think UK shares could perform quite strongly from here once the worst of the COVID-19 impacts has passed.

Foolish takeaway

I like both of these ETFs for the international diversification they offer and the potential growth. I’d prefer to invest in the Asian technology ETF because of the advantages that software businesses bring, but there are Chinese risks that could become problematic. The UK share market would probably be a safer bet – the big dividend yield is an attractive bonus.

More reading

• If I won the lottery I’d buy these 6 ASX shares
• These ASX shares are the best way to invest overseas
• Where to invest $500 into ASX shares right now
• 3 ASX growth shares that could generate strong long term returns
• ASX shares could be the best way to grow your wealth in 2020

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) is clawing back from earlier losses but there are some ASX stocks that are underperforming after getting slugged with a broker downgrade.

The top 200 stock benchmark jumped 0.5% in the last hour of trade after dipping into the red earlier this afternoon.

But not all shares are keeping their head above water.

Potential earnings disappointer

The Iluka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU) share price tumbled 3% to $8.56 at the time of writing after JP Morgan cut its recommendation on the mineral sands miner to “neutral” from “overweight”.

The broker believes there’s a real risk management could disappoint when it hands in its full year profit report card in August.

“With no company update since it withdrew guidance and reduced zircon production settings from 280kt to 170kt, there remains plenty of risk around the outlook for ILU, in our view,” said JP Morgan.

“Our recent call with minerals sands experts, TZMI, confirmed the weakness in pigment, TiO2 feedstock and zircon markets is likely to keep prices under pressure until late CY21.”

The broker’s 12-month price target on Iluka is $8.90 a share.

More work needed

Another stock to be hit with a downgrade is the Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS) share price. Shares in the medical services group fell 0.8% to $3.08 as Morgans downgraded its rating on the stock to “hold” from “add”.

The move stands in contrast with Credit Suisse’s decision to upgrade the stock to “outperform” yesterday following the group’s announcement that it was selling its medical centres for $500 million.

The deal sounds fair to Morgans and the broker noted that the outlook for Healius’ remaining pathology and diagnostic services divisions is getting better.

“While the operating environment is improving, we believe the transition to a specialist diagnostic and day hospital operator is far from complete, with areas of risk including: GP referrals (c25% of revenue for Pathology and Imaging); cost base optimisation; roll off of government funding; and growth initiatives with supportive capex/opex requirements,” said Morgans.

“We believe there is more work to be done before the platform provides significant clinical, operational and financial benefits to support future growth.”

Morgans price target on Healius is $2.96 a share.

More reading

• What a record rebound in oil demand in 2021 means for ASX energy stocks
• Top brokers name 3 ASX 200 shares to buy today
• ASX 200 down 0.1%: Carsales update impresses, a2 Milk surges higher
• Is $1,000 invested in AGL Energy shares a smart investment?
• 3 reasons to buy ASX 200 shares right now

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Iluka Resources 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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The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price, like basically all other ASX shares, was hit during the early phase of the coronavirus pandemic. However, unlike some other Australian tech shares such WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) and Altium Limited (ASX: ALU), it has since regained nearly all of those share price losses.

Over the past 12 months, the Xero share price has risen from $59.09 to now be trading $88.36. The upward trajectory in the Xero share price began in early 2017 when it was below $20. Since then Xero shares have really taken off.

Xero delivered strong recent financial results for the FY 2020 financial year. However, it did warn of uncertainty regarding the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

So, are Xero shares an attractive buy right now?

Strong recent financial performance

Xero managed to deliver another very strong set of numbers for the 12 months ending 31 March 2020. Revenue increased by 30% to NZ$718.2 million, driven by a 2% increase in average revenue per user. Overall subscribers also grew strongly. They increased by 26% to reach 2.285 million.

Equally important was that Xero’s gross margin market continues to increase. It expanded by 1.6% to a very appealing 85.2%.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew strongly by 52% to reach NZ$139.17 million. Xero also managed to achieve a full-year net profit for the first time in its history.

All regions grew strongly. This includes its main Australian, UK, North American operations as well as other regions including Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa.

Xero is also fast gaining industry recognition. For example, it was recently recognized as a leader in technology research by IDC’s Vendor Assessment study for 2020. The study covered vendors in the worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Small Business Finance and Accounting applications markets for 2020.

Are Xero shares a good long-term buy?

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Xero up to the end of March seemed modest. However, Xero is yet to update the market on its more recent performance. While there is likely to be some recent impact, more favourable market conditions are looking more likely in the months ahead. Business confidence in Australia and New Zealand is now improving. This should see Xero’s growth getting back to more normal levels.

Despite its share price no longer being ‘technically’ cheap, I believe that Xero still has a significant potential to grow further over the next decade. I, therefore, think it is worthy of adding to your share portfolio. In particular, Xero is moving beyond just being a cloud accounting platform. Small businesses are now turning towards Xero to manage their entire business, not just their finances.

More reading

• This is why the Altium share price could be a buy right now
• How to become wealthy by investing $1,000 into ASX shares
• 3 ASX shares to buy and hold for the next decade
• Coles shares and 2 other ASX 200 companies to buy in the current market
• Is the Altium share price the steal of the century?

Phil Harpur owns shares of Altium, WiseTech Global, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Altium, WiseTech Global, and Xero. 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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If you’re currently in the process of building a retirement portfolio, then you might want to take a look at the shares listed below.

I believe they are great options for investors looking for a combination of growth and income. They are as follows:

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)

The first share I would consider for a retirement portfolio is Coles. I think the supermarket giant would be a great fit due to its defensive earnings, strong market position, and its refreshed strategy. This strategy is aiming to deliver $1 billion in cumulative savings by FY 2023 through efficiencies and the use of automation. Combined with expansions and its long track record of same store sales growth, I expect Coles to deliver solid earnings and dividend growth over the next decade.

Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)

I think Ramsay Health Care would be a good option for a retirement portfolio. While I expect its growth over the short term to be challenging, I believe its long term outlook is very positive. This is due to its world class network of private hospitals and their exposure to the growing demand for healthcare services. In addition to this, Ramsay has a penchant for making earnings accretive acquisitions and I wouldn’t be surprised if it were lining up more at present. Overall, I believe it can deliver strong total returns for investors over the long term.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

Another option to consider is this real estate investment trust (REIT). It has a focus on agricultural assets and owns a wide range of properties across several different industries. This includes cattle, wine, and almond production. Given the quality of its assets, its use of rental indexation, and its ultra-long tenancy agreements, I believe the company is well-positioned to deliver solid income growth over the next decade and beyond. This bodes well for its distributions, which management is aiming to grow by at least 4% per annum over the long term. This could make it a top option for a retirement portfolio.

More reading

• 3 exciting small cap ASX healthcare shares to watch
• 2 ASX healthcare shares to buy for long-term growth
• 3 fantastic ASX 200 shares to buy right now
• Coles shares and 2 other ASX 200 companies to buy in the current market
• Ramsay Health Care and 1 other ASX share I would buy for both growth and income

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended RURALFUNDS STAPLED. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Ramsay Health Care 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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The Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price dropped sharply by more than 40% during the initial phase of the coronavirus pandemic from mid-February to mid-March. Since then its share price has regained just over half of those losses.

Altium has continued to perform reasonably well from a business perspective throughout the crisis, despite some short-term challenges.

Is the Altium share price a buy right now?

What is compelling about Altium’s business model?

Altium designs software which enables engineers to produce printed circuit boards for a broad range of electronic devices. These include everything from computers to cars and a growing range of devices that make up the ‘Internet of Things’.

Altium’s software tightly integrates into its customers’ systems and processes. This results in high customer switching costs. It also helps to lift Altium’s pricing power and recurring subscription revenue. In addition, Altium benefits from high product margins and operating leverage.

I feel that all of these factors make Altium an attractive share to invest in.

How has Altium performed recently?

In a May update, Altium informed the market that it may not reach its aspirational goal of US$200 million in total revenue during FY 2020. Altium still anticipates headwinds up to the end of June. Ongoing lockdown restrictions due to COVID-19 are having an impact in particular in the United States and Western Europe.

The company has also recently experienced challenges to sales, particularly at the smaller end of its target market. This includes signs of distress amongst some start-ups and other smaller customers.

However, on a positive note, the wider electronics industry appears to be holding up relatively well during the pandemic. Engineers have been utilising the excess time and capacity due to the slowdown in manufacturing to become more active in prototype designs. This trend is definitely benefiting Altium.

Altium continues to accelerate the rollout of its new Altium 365 cloud platform. It also reported that it remains in a strong financial position with a current cash balance in excess of US$77 million.

Is the Altium share price in the buy zone right now?

With Altium’s share price down significantly from pre-coronavirus levels, I think that this provides investors with a reasonably good buying opportunity. I believe that any further challenges that Altium may face are well factored into its current share price. In fact, I feel that the market may have over-exaggerated Altium’s current issues.

Altium’s long-term growth prospects continue to look attractive. The growing number of smart connected devices is likely to lead to continued demand for Altium’s products over the next decade.

More reading

• Why I think Xero shares are a great long-term buy
• How to become wealthy by investing $1,000 into ASX shares
• 3 ASX shares to buy and hold for the next decade
• Is the Altium share price the steal of the century?
• The most explosive ASX tech shares you can buy today

Phil Harpur owns shares of Altium. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Altium. 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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If I had $500 to invest into my first ASX shares I’d pick one of the two ideas in this article.

Investing in ASX shares is one of the best ways to grow your wealth in my opinion. But it can be difficult to know where to start.

There are thousands of different things you can invest in on the ASX. You could pick an exchange-traded fund (ETF), a managed fund, a listed investment company (LIC) or go straight for individual shares.

I think diversification is important for beginner investors. If you invested your first $500 into Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares then 100% of your portfolio would be in one share.

It could be a wise idea to choose an investment that provides good diversification straight away. Some investments give exposure to a portfolio with the one pick. That’s one of the main reasons why LICs are so attractive.

With that in mind, here are two ASX shares I’d happily buy with my first $500:

Share 1: MFF Capital Investments Ltd (ASX: MFF)

MFF Capital is a great LIC run by Chris Mackay, the co-founder of Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG).

It aims to invest in great businesses listed internationally. Not many ASX shares would count among the best businesses in the world.

It’s invested in shares like Visa and Mastercard. Those two global payment businesses actually make up around a third of the portfolio. I think they have good growth runways with the shift away from physical cash payments to online shopping and contactless payments.

MFF Capital has been a solid ASX share over the past five years. The MFF Capital share price has risen by 54% since June 2015 despite the big selloff caused by COVID-19.

I think MFF Capital is worth owning because it has a diversified portfolio. Some of its other investments include Home Depot, CVS Health, Microsoft and some international banks.

At the end of May 2020 MFF Capital’s portfolio was 46.4% net cash. That means it’s well protected if the market were to fall again. It also means it has a good cash pile to buy beaten-up shares if that opportunity comes.

Share 2: Future Generation Global Invstmnt Co Ltd (ASX: FGG)

Future Generation Global is another overseas-focused LIC. The ASX share invested in a range of funds that invest in overseas shares. The fund managers of those funds work for free so that Future Generation Global can donate 1% of its net assets per year to youth mental health charities.

Some of the fund managers it’s invested with include Magellan, Cooper Investors, Marsico Capital Management, Caledonia and Munro Partners. Each fund manager’s fund comes with its own portfolio of shares. So Future Generation Global’s underlying portfolio is very diversified.

At the end of May 2020, Future Generation Global’s gross investment performance was showing a clear outperformance of the MSCI AC World Index (AUD). Over the past three years, Future Generation Global’s 10.9% per annum portfolio performance outperformed the index by 1.7% per annum. Over the prior six months the index declined 4.2% whilst the Future Generation Global portfolio returned 1.2%.

If you’re looking to buy the shares at a good price then you’re in luck. The May 2020 net tangible assets (NTA) per share was almost $1.48, which compares to today’s share price of $1.16. That’s a 22% discount, which is very large considering the regular outperformance.

Foolish takeaway

I really like both of these ASX shares for the global exposure they provide, the quality investors involved and the attractive valuation on offer. At the current prices it’s hard to pick a favourite, I’d really like to buy both.

More reading

• Got $20,000? These are the ASX shares I’d buy during COVID-19
• Is this the start of a second COVID-19 share market crash?
• These ASX shares are the best way to invest overseas
• 3 ASX shares to buy for the big shift to contactless payments
• How to become a millionaire before your parents with ASX shares

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of Magellan Flagship Fund 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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