Most ASX shares are hurt by rising interest rates, which is why it’s important to look at the exceptions to this rule.

Australia’s 10-year government bond yield climbed to around 5.19% on Tuesday.

That is its highest level in 15 years.

ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) now expects the Reserve Bank to lift the cash rate to 4.60% in November.

A handful of listed businesses would quietly welcome that outcome.

Why some ASX shares benefit from higher rates

The mechanism is simple and frequently overlooked.

Insurers and financial administrators hold enormous pools of other people’s money between the day it arrives and the day it is paid out.

That money lies in cash and short-dated bonds, earning whatever the prevailing rate happens to be.

When rates rise, the income on those balances rises with them, while almost none of the cost base moves in sympathy.

1. QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE)

QBE is the clearest example on the local market.

The company’s first-half result delivered adjusted net profit after tax of US$1,033 million, up 4%, with gross written premium rising 10% to US$15.1 billion.

The combined operating ratio held steady at 92.8% and return on equity reached 17.7%, comfortably above the company’s medium-term target of 15%.

Management specifically flagged that an improving outlook for interest rates is expected to support investment returns.

The shares closed Monday at $22.48, up 4.51% over twelve months, on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 11.08 and a 5.06% yield.

Franking is only 30%, which matters a great deal for Australian income investors.

The interim dividend rose 6% to 33 cents per share.

2. Computershare Ltd (ASX: CPU)

Computershare earns margin income on the client balances it administers, which is the same mechanism.

FY26 revenue rose 4.6% to US$3,257.5 million and net profit after tax edged up 1.9% to US$618.7 million.

Employee Share Plans revenue grew 18%, Corporate Trust rose 9.6%, and Issuer Services added 7.7%.

The interesting part is in the outlook statement.

Management warned that margin income may be constrained by prevailing lower interest rates.

That guidance assumed rates were heading downward.

If bond yields at 15-year highs are telling us anything, the assumption now looks conservative.

The shares closed at $39.72 and have gained 18.54% so far this calendar year.

3. Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL)

Medibank is the most defensive of the three.

Health insurers hold reserves against future claims, and those reserves earn more as yields rise.

FY26 underlying net profit after tax rose 2.9% to $636.8 million on revenue of $9,115.2 million, up 5.9%.

The fully-franked dividend increased 6.7% to 19.2 cents per share.

Chief executive David Koczkar was direct about the environment his customers are living in:

We continued to deliver value for the 6 million people who trust us with their health and wellbeing, as household budgets remain under pressure. Despite this, people continue to prioritise their health.

The shares closed at $4.81, down 3.61% over the year, on a fully-franked yield of 3.87%.

The risks facing these ASX shares

None of the three is a risk-free bet on interest rates.

QBE is an insurer, and a bad catastrophe season would overwhelm any investment income benefit.

Computershare’s core revenue depends on corporate activity, which tends to slow when rates rise.

Medibank faces regulated premium increases and rising claims costs, and its FY27 guidance is only for margins broadly consistent with FY26.

In each case, higher rates help the investment line while pressuring the customer.

Foolish takeaway

The case for these three ASX shares is not that they escape higher rates.

It is that higher rates arrive on the revenue side of the income statement rather than the cost side.

QBE offers the most direct leverage and the highest yield.

Computershare has the most conservative guidance to beat.

Medibank is the steadiest and the slowest growing of the three.

If the Reserve Bank does move in November, these are the ASX shares I would look to own.

The post Top 3 ASX shares built for higher-for-longer rates appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mark Verhoeven has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The gold price is well down on the highs it hit earlier in the year, but according to the analysts at RBC Capital Markets, the trend from here will be up.

RBC has issued a new research report on the yellow metal and says they remain bullish on its outlook.

Gold in focus as uncertainty reigns supreme

Gold tends to benefit from uncertainty, and with the war in the Middle East dragging on, the war in Ukraine, and US President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade wars, there’s plenty of uncertainty around.

RBC said investors are coming back into the market in a new wave of the “debasement” trade, which refers to a flight to hard assets.

The broker said:

Recent months have seen investors come back in size, which should drive north of 200 tons of inflows this year. Central bank flows in particular, after a pause earlier this year, are back too. We think their reasoning and volume will remain consistent for now, leading to over 700 tons of inflows this year and next.

The broker said President Trump’s popularity, or lack thereof, could also be key.

As they said:

While the macro drivers still cannot explain gold’s current prices on their own, gold’s reputation as a perceived haven, store of value, and non-debaseable real asset are very well suited to the current environment, in our view. Trump’s second term has brought with it numerous gold-positive risks and uncertainties, and we’ve cited a notable negative correlation between gold prices and Trump’s approval rating. We eye the upcoming midterms with anticipation, but at the moment, are focused on gold’s growing contextual appeal.

RBC also said the US national debt is a cause for concern, which helps to drive gold demand.

As they said:

Perhaps the biggest sustainable driver is one that the gold bugs have been holding onto for some time — that a mountain of debt in the US and elsewhere should drive more interest in non-debaseable assets like gold. Likewise, the uncertainty of geopolitics, politics, and headline-driven volatility across assets increases the appeal of a perceived safe haven and preserver or value like gold. That’s why we have stuck with our forecasts from late last year, despite a pause in some of the flows that were key underlying drivers of gold prices, because we still thought that the context of gold was unchanged.

Gold price to grind higher from here

RBC said they believe that US$4500 to US$5000 is the “sweet spot” for gold in the medium term, while “we are beginning to favour our high scenario, grinding towards US$5000/oz before year-end and higher in 2027”.

This compares to the current gold price of US$4485.10.

The post How high will the gold price go this year, according to RBC Capital Markets? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top 3 ASX shares built for higher-for-longer rates
• Betashares just launched 3 new ETFs. Here’s whether you should buy
• How much is needed in superannuation for $1,500 in weekly passive income?
• Down 15%: Is it a good time to buy Wesfarmers shares?
• How to earn $10,000 in passive income a month with these ASX dividend shares

Motley Fool contributor Cameron England has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

New ETFs arrive on the ASX almost every week, and very few of them grab the attention of day-to-day ASX investors.

Betashares has just listed three that might.

They are diversified, multi-asset funds designed to be held entirely on their own.

Amazing, all three charge 0.19% a year.

What the new ETFs actually hold

The three funds are at different points on the risk spectrum.

Betashares Diversified High Growth ETF (ASX: DVHG) runs a 90% growth and 10% defensive allocation.

Betashares Diversified Growth ETF (ASX: DVGR) sits at 75% growth and 25% defensive.

Betashares Diversified Balanced ETF (ASX: DVBA) is the most conservative of the three, at 60% growth and 40% defensive.

Each fund provides exposure to roughly 2,500 Australian and global companies and 12,000 bonds.

DVGR, to take one example, holds 28.8% in Australian equities, 28.3% in United States equities, 10.5% in developed markets outside the US, and 4.5% in emerging markets, with the remaining quarter split between Australian and international bonds.

They join the existing Betashares Diversified All Growth ETF (ASX: DHHF), which holds equities only.

How the new ETFs compare on fees

This is where the launch gets interesting.

Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (ASX: VDHG) has been the default choice for Australians wanting one-trade diversification.

The fund charges 0.27% a year and runs a 90% growth and 10% income allocation.

DVHG offers effectively the same asset allocation for 0.19%.

That number may sound small. On a $100,000 balance, that is a saving of only $80 a year.

However, compounded inside the portfolio over thirty years, the difference becomes quite more meaningful.

Betashares describes the 0.19% figure as the lowest fee among all-in-one diversified funds currently available in Australia.

What the fee comparison does not tell you

Fees are the easiest thing to compare, yet are rarely the most important.

VDHG has a long track record, returning 10.42% over the year to 31 July 2026 and 8.72% a year across five years.

The Betashares funds have no performance history at all, because they only listed this week.

There are two other practical differences worth knowing.

VDHG holds an allocation to hedged international shares, which changes how the fund behaves when the Australian dollar moves.

Liquidity will also be thinner in a brand new fund, so bid-ask spreads may be wider until the funds build scale.

Should you switch?

Probably not, if you already hold VDHG in a taxable account.

Selling to save 0.08% a year would trigger a capital gains tax event that could take many years to recover.

The question is entirely different if you are looking at a new allocation.

If you are starting a portfolio or making your next contribution, the cheaper fund with the same allocation is the rational default.

Foolish takeaway

These new ETFs are an improvement on what was already available, though only marginally so.

The important decision is still which risk profile suits you.

DVHG suits an investor with decades still ahead of them, while DVBA suits someone who needs the ride to be smoother.

All in all, fee competition among diversified funds is unambiguously good news for Australian investors.

The post Betashares just launched 3 new ETFs. Here’s whether you should buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Top 3 ASX shares built for higher-for-longer rates
• How high will the gold price go this year, according to RBC Capital Markets?
• How much is needed in superannuation for $1,500 in weekly passive income?
• Down 15%: Is it a good time to buy Wesfarmers shares?
• How to earn $10,000 in passive income a month with these ASX dividend shares

Motley Fool contributor Mark Verhoeven has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.