If you’re a fan of growth shares, then you might want to take a look at the exchange traded funds (ETFs) listed below.

These ETFs give investors access to a collection of some of the highest quality growth shares in the world. Here’s why they could be top options for investors:

BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK)

The first ASX ETF to consider is the BetaShares Global Cybersecurity ETF. This popular ETF gives investors exposure to the leading companies in the global cybersecurity sector. 

The cybersecurity sector has been growing rapidly in recent years and has been tipped to continue doing so in the years to come. This is due to increasing demand for cybersecurity services because of the growing threat of cyber attacks.

BetaShares notes that the portfolio includes global cybersecurity giants, as well as emerging players, from a range of global locations. Among the companies you’ll be buying a slice of are the likes of Accenture, Cisco, Cloudflare, Crowdstrike, Okta, and Splunk.

In respect to Okta, it provides businesses with workforce identity solutions. This ensures that access to information is given only to those that are meant to have it. Given the importance of data protection, this is unsurprisingly in demand with businesses right now.

Whereas the latter, Splunk, is the world’s first Data-to-Everything Platform. It allows users to modernise their security operations with a portfolio of advanced data, analytics and operations solutions that help them defend against the latest threats.

VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF (ASX: ESPO)

Another ETF to look at is the VanEck Vectors Video Gaming and eSports ETF. It gives investors exposure to a portfolio of the largest companies involved in video game development, hardware, and esports.

This certainly is a large market. VanEck notes that there are 2.7 billion active gamers in the world. This is more than Netflix subscriptions and active Apple devices. VanEck also points out that the game industry is disrupting traditional sports and media and experiencing a period of transformative growth, which has been accelerating in the COVID-19 world.

Among the companies included in the fund are giants such as graphics processing unit developer Nvidia and gaming giants Take-Two and Electronic Arts.

Take-Two is the company behind the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead franchises, among many other games. Whereas Electronic Arts is the games company responsible for the FIFA and Madden NFL series and countless other popular games. 

More reading

• Got money to invest? Here are 2 ASX shares that could be buys
• 2 exciting ASX tech shares that could be buys
• 3 ETFs for ASX investors to check out
• Why this ASX ETF is trouncing the index today
• 2 high quality ASX ETFs to buy

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Iron mining magnate Gina Rinehart has once again affirmed her place at the top of the Australian wealth pile.

That’s according to the Australian Financial Review (AFR) Rich List, which is published annually.

The AFR has released a ‘sneak peek’ at the top 10 list before the entire thing is released on Friday.

It shows Rinehart coming in as the richest Aussie for a second year in a row, with a fortune of $31.06 billion. That’s up a casual few billion from the $28.89 billion she was worth in the 2020 list.

Even more interesting is the fact Rinehart would have been worth more than $40 billion – three times the $13.8 billion she was worth in 2019 – if the analysis has been done earlier this month when iron ore was fetching a record high of US$240 per tonne. It’s asking US$172 a tonne today.

Rinehart is the head of Hancock Prospecting, one of the few privately owned iron ore miners in the country.

Iron ore remains the best route to the top of the Rich List, it seems.

Taking the number 2 spot is Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) boss Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest, with an estimated net worth of $27.25 billion.

That’s also up substantially from the $23 billion he was worth in 2020.

Outside iron ore, the richest Aussies are…

Atlassian Corporation PLC (NASDAQ: TEAM) founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar take the third and fifth spots, with net worths of $20.18 billion and $20 billion, respectively.

Anthony Pratt and the Pratt family are at number 4 with $10.09 billion. Pratt is head of the private packaging company Visy, which was founded by his late father Richard.

Property magnate Harry Triguboff, of Meriton, takes the sixth spot with an estimated net worth of $17.27 billion.

Clive Palmer is also featured at number 7. His net wealth is estimated at $13.01 billion, up substantially from 2020’s $9.18 billion.

Hui Wing Mau, a Hong Kong property developer, is the only Rich Lister in the top 10 to see their net wealth fall in 2021.

He is still one of the richest Aussies in the country, worth $11.7 billion. But that’s a hefty backwards step from the $18.06 billion he was worth in 2020.

Frank Lowy remains a top-10 fixture, long after his family’s exit from the old Westfield family business. This is currently represented by both Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (ASX: URW) on the ASX.

Finally, we have Canva founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht taking out the 10th spot. These billionaires are worth a collective $7.98 billion in 2021, well up from 2020’s $3.43 billion.

Something to aspire to for the rest of us!

More reading

• 4 ASX 200 resource shares poised to deliver: AMP Capital
• The Champion Iron (ASX:CIA) share price lifts on 419% profit news
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• The ASX dividend party’s here: how to get yours
• Up then down, what’s with the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price?

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“It’s been a wild ride,” said Matt Hopkins.

Matt’s the Senior Portfolio Manager of the AMP Capital Income Generator. In case you’re wondering, he was commenting on the share market performance over the past year.

Matt was speaking at AMP Capital’s Webinar, ‘The Hunt for Yield in 2021’. He was joined by Dermot Ryan, Co-Portfolio Manager of the AMP Capital Equity Income Generator.

Below we take a look at some key outtakes from the webinar.

Where is the Aussie economy heading?

AMP Capital revealed an overall bullish outlook for the Australian economy.

“There’s a lot of momentum in reopening the economy and a few bottlenecks as well,” Matt said. He pointed to PMIs (purchasing managers indexes) as rebounding rapidly in both the United States and Australia.

“The Aussie economic growth has been at the top end of expectations from where we were a year ago,” Matt added. Australians have the incredible amount of stimulus – both monetary in terms of low interest rates, and fiscal in terms of the massive new budget – to thank for that. The level of stimulus we’re seeing, Matt said, is really only “comparable to wartime”.

The 2 biggest risks to Australia’s continued economic growth in his view are how the vaccinations work out and inflation.

On the inflation front, Matt cited “a lot of bottlenecks where the demand for labour is higher than the supply… The expectation is that a lot of these bottlenecks will ease over the year. But if they don’t and inflation gets unanchored that could potentially cause a problem.”

Are growth shares overpriced?

Looking at where investors may get some of the best returns in the year ahead, Matt said we’ve seen “a lot of earnings momentum into a market that is already quite rich. But we can differentiate that expensiveness”.

He said that most of the overpricing is in the growth parts of the market, fuelled by low interest rates. But AMP expects rates will start ticking higher, perhaps sooner than the RBA has indicated. “Certainly, you’d expect interest rates to be higher in a year’s time than where they are now,” Matt said.

Broadly, AMP Capital believes that will assist value shares over growth shares, helping sectors like banks and materials, and more cyclical areas. They also expect a continuing rotation from pandemic shares, like healthcare and IT, to recovery shares, like resources, industrials, travel shares and financials.

Dermot agreed that “Growth stocks are really coming under pressure now.”

He explained that when you try to value tech companies, “It’s what the value of the cash flow is over 10 years’ time. If interest rates stay low, then maybe that cash flow is worth more… But as interest rates rise, the cost of not getting paid in those 10-year periods goes up.”

Dermot added, “Growth has been the big outperformer in the market versus income or value stocks.”

Indeed, growth shares have largely outperformed since 2015 until around November last year, when the vaccines came through.

A record year ahead for ASX dividend shares?

AMP Capital is particularly bullish on its outlook for ASX dividend shares.

“If we get a traditional cyclical rebound with inflation and an overheating economy, we think this will be very good for income stocks,” Dermot said. “They’re cheap relative to history, and at almost their cheapest level against growth stocks for a very long time. A lot of them have good balance sheets but have really just not had the opportunity to grow well in a lacklustre recovery over the last couple of years.”

Addressing the high dividend yielding parts of the market, Matt added, “Those valuations are actually lower than they were a couple of years ago. There’s a lot of bifurcation in different parts of the market.”

Consensus dividend growth forecasts are at 4%. AMP Capital believes the ASX could be shaping up to deliver a record year for dividends.

According to Dermot, “We think this may culminate with next year being a record year for dividends in the market. We’re also seeing a lot of franking credits being accumulated.” He added that available franking credits are at “highly attractive levels”.

Expanding on that, Dermot said, “At the moment in Australia, we’re seeing somewhat of a triple boom. The first being resources, the second being housing, and the third being corporate profitability.”

All of this has played through into a “very overstimulated market. The RBA has overcommitted to the zero interest rate, and we’re also getting a lot of fiscal stimulus coming through.

“This means there’s going to be a lot of domestic profits… and that means there’s a good chance we’re going to see a lot of franking credits coming through into the hands of shareholders over the next year… The current area where we’re finding good opportunities is in the mid-cap space.”

4 ASX 200 resource shares poised to deliver

Dermot pointed that the big S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) listed iron ore miners are well placed to deliver to shareholders.

“We really like resources because we think that the short-term cash flows are going to start coming through on ungeared balance sheets for the likes of the large iron ore miners,” he said.

He listed BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO), Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) as shares in a strong position.

“We see the potential across all the iron ore miners for buybacks… So we think there’s some really big opportunities there,” he said.

AMP Capital notes that there are risks around the sustainability for iron ore dividends. Nonetheless the analysts believe the outlook for dividend growth in the sector is as strong as it’s been for years.

Dermot also pointed to growth stories around the lithium space:

It’s very interesting. You can buy a lot of the assets and mines that were built in the last boom, then almost went bust, and you can basically participate on a cashflow basis… It’s the second mouse eats the cheese analogy. The people that originally bought it didn’t see the benefits, but now with the latest boom in lithium you can basically buy those assets at less than replacement costs.

More reading

• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now
• ANZ and BHP among ASX 200 shares aiming for 40% female leadership
• The Champion Iron (ASX:CIA) share price lifts on 419% profit news
• The ASX dividend party’s here: how to get yours
• Up then down, what’s with the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price?

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The Dragontail Systems Ltd (ASX: DTS) share price has delivered an outstanding performance for shareholders today.

At the market close, the restaurant-focused technology company’s shares were up 24.3% trading at 23 cents.

Tantalising offer ignites Dragontail share price

Investors have really sunk their teeth into the Dragontail share price today after notifying the market of its entry into a scheme implementation agreement.

The agreement is with Yum! Connect Australia, which is an entity controlled by Yum! Brands Inc (NYSE: YUM). The real spicy part of the agreement is Yum! Brands will acquire 100% of the ASX-listed small-cap for $93.5 million.

Based on the agreed terms, shareholders will be entitled to receive 23.5 cents per share once all conditions are satisfied. The offer represents a 30.5% premium over Dragontail’s closing price on Wednesday.

If you’re unaware, Yum! Brands operates fast food brands globally – including KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Its market capitalisation is in excess of US$35 billion, which roughly equates to the same size as five Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP).

Will Dominos burn Dragontail?

Dragontail being acquired might have been good for its share price, but it could make partnerships messy. The company’s quality control system is used by Dominos, known as the pizza checker.

As you might know, Dominos and Pizza Hut (operated by Yum! Brands) are in competition with each other… Awkward! At this stage, it is unknown what Dominos will do now that its quality control system might be owned by a rival.

Where to next?

If the buyout is approved, the company intends to dispatch a scheme booklet to shareholders around July 2021 to vote on approving the proposal.

Dragontail shareholders must be pleased with their investment over the past year. Accounting for today’s gain, the Dragontail share price has returned 109% in the last year. Far exceeding the 23% from the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

More reading

• Here’s why the Domino’s (ASX:DMP) share price is sizzling hot today
• Why Corp Travel, Domino’s, Kogan, & Zip shares are storming higher
• The Domino’s (ASX:DMP) share price is up 22% this year
• 2 top ASX growth shares rated as buys in May
• 2 quality ASX shares that could be fantastic buy and hold options

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The Emerge Gaming Ltd (ASX: EM1) share price closed up a very healthy 33.33% today at 4 cents a share. That comes after Emerge shares closed at 3.1 cents a share yesterday and opened at 3.6 cents this morning.

This latest move somewhat reverses a downward trend that Emerge shares have been in over the past 7 months or so.

The company spiked in value last October, shooting from around 4 cents a share on 9 October to a high of 19 cents by 23 October. That was a gain of roughly 250%.

But a run of poorly-received developments in the months since cramped investors’ enthusiasm for this gaming company. Despite today’s share price move, Emerge Gaming is now down around 70% from those highs.

Back in early December 2020, the company crashed close to 50% in one day after just 25,000 gamers signed up for its Miggster platform. The was despite the company recording more than 6 million pre-registrations for the platform. Last Friday, Emerge incidentally announced that Miggster was now up to 500,000 subscribers.

So what’s going on with Emerge today?

In a before market release this morning, Emerge announced that it can now boast more than one million subscribers in its overall “community”, a number it has previously told investors (last month) it was aiming for.  

Here’s some of what Emerge CEO Gregory stevens said of this milestone:

Emerge Gaming (EM1) is pursuing a growth strategy to increase subscribers, revenue and shareholder value, after proving out our Competitive Social Gaming product. We are delighted to achieve the milestone of a 1 million subscriber community in 10 months. The competitive social gaming platforms operated by Emerge continue to demonstrate growth in new subscribers daily. As we drive growth in new subscribers through the current scaling phase of our growth strategy, we are developing exciting new products, features and Go-to-Market channels.

Additionally, Emerge Gaming also announced a new “social gaming show” called ‘Social Gaming & Coconuts’.

The show will reportedly debut on 2 June on the GINX Esports TV channel in Europe. It will be a weekly show, with episodes consisting of 24 minutes.

The partnership between Emerge and GINX Esports is for 6 months. It will result in Emerge providing the show to GINX in a license-free capacity, whilst Emerge can “commercialise the show’s content” for revenue generation.

Investors seem to approve of these announcements today. On today’s share price, Emerge Gaming has a market capitalisation of $42.91 million.

More reading

• 4 ASX 200 resource shares poised to deliver: AMP Capital
• Dragontail Systems (ASX:DTS) share price soars on Yum! Brands buyout
• Why the EcoGraf (ASX:EGR) share price powered ahead today
• 2 growing small cap ASX shares to watch closely
• Is the Telstra (ASX:TLS) dividend still safe from a cut?

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The EcoGraf Ltd (ASX: EGR) share price rose today after the company announced progress on its upcoming battery anode material facility.

At market close, the graphite producer’s shares finished the day at 63.5 cents, up 0.79%. It’s worth noting that at one point, the company’s shares reached an intraday high of 66 cents, up 7%, before investors took profit off the table.

Quick take on EcoGraf

Based in Australia, EcoGraf is engaged in the exploration and development of graphite and nickel projects in Tanzania. The company uses innovative technologies to recover graphite from recycled batteries, thus reducing waste and environmental impact.

EcoGraf’s battery facility update

According to its release, EcoGraf reported that pre-construction locked-cycle testing has been completed by GR Engineering Services Ltd (ASX: GNG). The program aimed to provide data for detailed engineering design of EcoGraf’s new battery graphite facility in Western Australia.

The state-of-the-art processing facility, when constructed, will produce battery anode material products that will be treated through the company’s patented purification technology, which eliminates the use of toxic hydrofluoric acid (HF).

EcoGraf’s eco-friendly process comes at a time when world governments have adopted new environmental, social and governance frameworks to help transition into cleaner energy.

EcoGraf stated that a total of six cycles were completed, processing spherical graphite through its HFfree purification flowsheet. This was conducted to mimic operational conditions and obtain final data for construction of the facility.

The company reported the testing achieved purities of 99.97% for the carbon product, highlighting the effectiveness of its HFfree purification process. However, the company is aiming to exceed carbon purity targets, which will lead to lower production costs.

GR Engineering Services manager of engineering Ryan Kriedemann commented:

The results of the locked-cycle testing were very encouraging and confirmed that the EcoGraf HFfree process effectively removes impurities from flake graphite feedstock to deliver high purity battery anode material. Mass balance analysis data was also very good and so we’ll evaluate the potential to reduce the level of reagent used in the EcoGraf process, which will deliver operational efficiency benefits for the new facility.

The EcoGraf share price has accelerated by more than 650% over the past 12 months.

More reading

• 3 ASX shares that could benefit from Biden’s Aussie electric vehicle swing
• Here’s why the EcoGraf (ASX:EGR) share price is storming 11% higher

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Because I’m a fan of small cap shares, I feel quite lucky to have a large number to choose from on the Australian share market.

Two small cap ASX shares that could have bright futures are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Booktopia Group Ltd (ASX: BKG)

The first small cap to watch is Booktopia. It is an online book retailer which has impressed since its IPO late last year. Booktopia was supposed to struggle when Amazon launched in Australia, but that simply hasn’t been the case.

For example, during the first half of FY 2021, the company shipped a total of 4.2 million units for the six months. This was up 40% on the prior corresponding period and led to Booktopia reporting a 51.1% increase in revenue to $112.6 million and a 502.3% jump in underlying EBITDA to $8 million.

Analysts at Morgans appear confident there will be more of the same in the future. Morgans is tipping further market share gains and scale benefits. In light of this, it has an add rating and $3.53 price target on its shares.

Doctor Care Anywhere Ltd (ASX: DOC)

Another small cap to watch is Doctor Care Anywhere. It is a growing UK-based telehealth company that is aiming to deliver high-quality, effective, and efficient care to its patients.

Due partly to the pandemic accelerating the adoption of telehealth services, Doctor Care Anywhere is another company growing quickly.

For example, last month Doctor Care Anywhere released its first quarter update and revealed a 16.5% increase in unaudited underlying revenue to 4.4 million pounds (A$6.87 million). The company also reported a 14.7% increase in sign-ups to the platform to 500,000 and a 21.9% increase in consultations delivered to 90,500.

Bell Potter is positive on its prospects. The broker currently has a buy rating and $1.95 price target on the company’s shares.

More reading

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• 3 exciting small cap ASX shares to watch in 2021
• 3 stellar small cap ASX shares to watch
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week

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Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) shareholders might be forgiven for being a little nervous about their dividends. After all, Telstra used to be regarded as one of, if not the best, ASX dividend shares on the market. That’s the reputation a couple of decades offering a fully franked, ~7% dividend yield can build.

However, that all came crashing down in 2017. That’s when the ASX telco slashed its annual dividend from 31 cents per share to 22 cents per share. It hit investors again in 2019, reducing the 22 cents per year to 16 cents. That remains the annual payout Telstra shareholders have been receiving to date.

Last October, Telstra promised to keep this dividend steady at 16 cents in 2021 and perhaps beyond. Here’s some of what Telstra CEO John Mullen said at the time:

The board is acutely aware of the importance of the dividend to shareholders, and we understand the nervousness from some that COVID and other pressures may force Telstra to again cut its dividend… The board clearly understands the importance of the dividend and if necessary is prepared to temporarily exceed our capital management framework principle of paying an ordinary dividend of 70-90% of underlying earnings to maintain a 16c dividend.

Well, so far so good. In March, Telstra paid out another dividend of 8 cents per share, keeping to this commitment.

Does AT&T spell trouble for Telstra shares?

But a piece of news out of the United States might be getting investors worried about Telstra’s dividend of late. AT&T Inc (NYSE: T) is one of the largest telcos in the US. It bears many semblances to Telstra, given its old role as a monopolistic telephony service provider.

Recently, AT&T announced a big restructuring, which will include a large dividend cut. It will end AT&T’s dividend aristocrat status on US markets. Until now, the company had raised its dividend every single year for 36 years.

Could this be a canary in the coalmine for Telstra?

Well, the company doesn’t think so. In February, Telstra delivered its results for the first half of FY2021. It discussed its dividend further at that time. Here’s some of what the company said:

Our aspiration [is] for mid to high single digit growth in Underlying EBITDA for FY22 and for Underlying EBITDA to be in the range of $7.5–8.5b in FY23. This range is important to support a 16c dividend inside our dividend payout ratio and to deliver a ROIC of around 8%. We know how important this dividend is to our shareholders and that is why and the board expects to pay a total dividend for FY21 of 16c per share including an interim dividend of 8c per share. 

So, in other words, Telstra remains committed to its current dividend, which it thinks it can afford if sufficient earnings growth is achieved (which the company evidently thinks it can hit). If this proves to be the case, it’s good news for Telstra’s dividend-conscious investors.

On the current share price of $3.45, Telstra’s dividend is worth a yield of 4.64%. Or 6.63% grossed-up with Telstra’s full franking.

More reading

• 2 blue chip ASX shares for a retirement portfolio
• An ASX investor’s guide to ESG-focused ETFs
• Could the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price be worth looking at for its FY21 dividend yield?
• ASX shares in this sector are pushing towards 52-week highs
• TPG (ASX:TPG) shares whacked by cyberattack

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Having recently been beaten, battered and bruised, smaller tech shares had a well deserved day in the sun on Thursday, with the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) handily out-pacing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

Could the resurgence have anything to do with the latest COVID-19 outbreak in Melbourne, with  ‘stay at home’ shares being beneficiaries again? 

Market movers

The Alcidion Group Ltd (ASX: ALC) share price hit an all-time high on Thursday, jumping 4 cents or 9.8% higher to 45 cents at the time of writing, and is now up an impressive 242% for Motley Fool Hidden Gems members since it was first recommended as a buy in May 2019.

In late April the provider of healthcare analytics software reported continued strong organic sales growth in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, with revenue for the first three quarters of FY21 surpassing revenue for the full year of FY20. 

The Hidden Gems team recently reiterated Alcidion as a buy, saying the company has “proven technology and product that is increasingly appealing to hospitals and allied health professionals, and still has a lot of market share to claim.”

The Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC) share price slumped 23% to $3.39 after the horticulture company warned that growth for the first half of 2021 is expected to be only marginally ahead of the comparable period. 

Costa is seeing mixed performances from its domestic operations, with berries looking strong, but mushrooms, citrus and tomato operations facing near term production and/or pricing pressures. When it comes to agriculture, as the old saying goes, it never rains but it pours.

Perhaps pre-empting such an event, the team at Motley Fool Share Advisor recently downgraded Costa to a hold, citing concerns about valuation and the volatility of its growing products. 

Having recently fallen to a 10-month low, the Whispir Ltd (ASX: WSP) share price jumped 9% higher on Wednesday and another 6.6% today after an article in The Australian mentioned a potential partnership with Chemist Warehouse. According to The Australian, Chemist Warehouse is reportedly set to link with Whispir as it looks to roll out an e-prescription service.

Whispir is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) communications workflow platform provider. As with many similar companies, its share price has been on the nose in recent times as tech shares across the board have taken a beating. 

Shaken but not stirred, Whispir remains an active buy recommendation across six different Motley Fool services. 

Stock of the Week

Our newest feature continues apace, with Motley Fool Chief Investment Officer Scott Phillips joined by Director of Research Kevin Gandiya to deep dive into our Stock of the Week, Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL).

Netwealth is a leading specialist platform provider and one of Australia’s fastest growing wealth management businesses. Senior Motley Fool Analyst Ryan Newman recently added it to the real money Motley Fool Pro 2.0 portfolio, saying its solid management team is overseeing strong and consistent market share growth. Click here to see Scott and Kevin’s take on Netwealth. 

Thought of the day

Shares can ‘only’ fall 100%. But they can rise 300%, 1,000% or 5,000%, gains that will absolutely wipe out many losers in your portfolio. The catch is such astronomical returns will take many years, require you holding on during periods of extreme volatility, and need you to avoid the urge to sell a great company simply to lock in a profit.  

More reading

• The Costa Group (ASX:CGC) share price is down 22%. Could it be a buy?
• Why ALS, Costa, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, & Ramsay shares are falling
• ASX 200 flat: Costa crashes & Fisher & Paykel Healthcare tumbles
• Costa (ASX:CGC) share price crashes 23% on AGM update
• Could this be why the Whispir (ASX:WSP) share price is up 9% today?

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If you’re looking for blue chip ASX 200 shares to buy, then you might want to look at the ones listed below.

These shares have strong market positions, robust business models, and positive long term growth potential. Here’s why they have been rated as buys:

ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD)

The first blue chip ASX 200 share to look at is ResMed. It is one of the world’s leading medical device companies with a focus on the sleep treatment market.

ResMed’s digital health technologies and cloud-connected medical devices transform care for people with sleep apnoea, COPD, and other chronic diseases. In addition to this, its comprehensive out-of-hospital software platforms support caregivers who help people stay healthy in the home or care setting of their choice.

Combined, this is improving the quality of life of sufferers, reducing the impact of chronic disease, and lowering costs for consumers and healthcare systems.

With education around sleep disorders increasing, more and more sufferers are seeking treatment options. This puts ResMed in a great position to benefit, which should be supported by the structural shift to home healthcare.

Credit Suisse is positive on the company and currently has an outperform rating and $29.50 price target on its shares.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

Wesfarmers is the conglomerate that owns and operates a diverse group of businesses across several sectors. This includes Bunnings, Catch, Covalent Lithium, Kmart, Officeworks, and Target. Collectively, these businesses are in fine form in FY 2021, supporting strong sales, profit, and dividend growth.

The company is also generating strong free cash flow, which is adding to its acquisition firepower.

In respect to that, according to a recent note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts believe Wesfarmers has over $8 billion in excess of credit requirements, prior to the Mt Holland development. It feels this gives it a lot of options when it comes to making value accretive acquisitions.

It is partly because of this that Goldman currently has a buy rating and $59.70 price target on the company’s shares.

More reading

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