Little Green Pharma Ltd (ASX: LGP) shares will be on watch this morning after the company announced its first exports of cannabis flower medicines to Germany late Friday. The Little Green Pharma share price closed last Thursday’s session at 93.5 cents prior to entering a trading halt pending this announcement. 

How will the Little Green Pharma share price respond?

The Little Green Pharma share price will be in focus this morning after the company updated the ASX with this positive announcement shortly after market close on Friday.

According to its release, the company advised that it has shipped its first commercial shipment of cannabis flower medicines to Berlin-based Demecan.

Demecan is a company focused on the cultivation, importation and wholesale of medicinal cannabis in Germany.

The delivery, due to be completed some time this week, comprises 500 x 15g units of high-THC cannabis flower medicines. When the shipment arrives, the cannabis medicine will undergo ‘batch-testing’ before being released to the German public.

Previously, both companies conducted a 12-month audit and qualification process to ensure compliance with European and German regulations.

The purchase agreement in detail

Under the agreement, Little Green Pharma will supply Demecan with up to 1,000 kilos of cultivated dried cannabis flowers or 48,000 units of medicinal cannabis oil products per year. Either of the units can be combined during the course of the arrangement.

The 3-year deal, which begins on receipt of the first shipment delivery, excludes any minimum purchase quantities from Demecan.

Little Green Pharma noted that it does not consider the value of its initial shipment to be material.

Success on the horizon?

Little Green Pharma joins an exclusive group of international cannabis producers which can supply cannabis flower medicines to the German market. The company highlighted that it is only the second producer not requiring its cannabis flower medicines to be further treated upon delivery.

As published by ‘The Germany Cannabis Report’, Germany is Europe’s largest medical-grade cannabis market. It’s estimated that the sector will grow to 7.7 billion euros by 2028, with flower sales accounting around 21% in Germany.

Little Green Pharma plans to expand its revenue streams by offering cannabis flower medicines to Australian prescribers and patients this year.

Management commentary

Little Green Pharma managing director Fleta Solomon hailed the company’s progress, saying:

Our partnership with DEMECAN represents a significant foundation on which to build LGP’s access to the German market. For the past year, we have worked closely with DEMECAN through a highly rigorous audit and qualification process, to ensure LGP’s cannabis flower medicines meet all applicable EU GMP and German quality requirements.

In a particularly pleasing achievement, our cannabis flower medicines passed all microbiological testing without requiring irradiation; a testament to LGP’s ability to successfully cultivate and manufacture consistently high-quality cannabis flower medicines under indoor GACP and GMP conditions.

Share price snapshot

The Little Green Pharma share price has surged nearly 170% since its initial public offering (IPO) in February 2020. This is despite the company’s shares falling as low as 17 cents during the March 2020 crash. 

Based on the current Little Green Pharma share price, the company has a market capitalisation of around $77 million.

More reading

• Little Green Pharma (ASX:LGP) share price whiskers near all-time high
• What does the Biden administration mean for ASX shares? 

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 Bruce Jackson.

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There are some S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dividend shares that are very interesting ideas for dividend income including:

APA Group (ASX: APA)

This ASX dividend share is one of the largest ASX 200 shares, it’s focused on energy infrastructure investments.

APA owns a large network of 15,000km of natural gas pipelines around Australia with a presence in every mainland state and the Northern Territory. It also owns or has interests in gas storage facilities, gas-fired power stations and renewable energy generation (wind and solar farms). APA owns, or manages and operates, a portfolio of assets and delivers half the nation’s natural gas usage.

The business has increased its distribution to investors every year in a row for a decade and a half. At the current APA share price, it has a distribution yield of 9.25%.

In FY20 it reported growth across the business. It said that total revenue increased by 4.8% to $2.13 billion, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 5.1% to $1.65 billion, operating cashflow went up 8.3% to $1.1 billion and net profit after tax (NPAT) grew by 10.1% to $317.1 million. APA decided to increase the FY20 distribution by 6.4% to 50 cents.

In December the company announced an estimated FY21 interim distribution of 24 cents per share for the six-months to 31 December 2020, which was an increase of 4.3%.

The ASX 200 dividend share funds its distributions from its operating cashflow. APA has announced new projects in recent months which could lead to higher distributions.

In November it announced that it’s investing up to $460 million to construct a new 580km pipeline in Western Australia to connect emerging gas fields in the Perth Basin to the Goldfields region, forming an interconnected WA gas grid. This is expected to be operational around the middle of the 2022 calendar year.

Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV)

This ASX 200 dividend share owns a number of different retail brands including Smiggle, Peter Alexander, Portmans, Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Jacqui E and Dotti. It also owns around 28% of Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG).

Using the FY20 annual dividend of $0.70 per share, it has a grossed-up dividend yield of 4.5%.

COVID-19 was disruptive for the company’s retail store network, particularly overseas. However, the online sales and the operating leverage that brings, has more than made up for the bricks and mortar stores.

In a trading update for the first 24 weeks of the first half of FY21, online sales were up 60% to $146.2 million and contributed 20.4% of total group sales (up from 13.4% last year). Premier said that its online sales deliver a significantly higher earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin.

In the same 24-week period, total global sales were only up 5% to $716.9 million.

Premier said that there was exceptional growth of gross profit across the business, with a particular good performance by Peter Alexander, Just Jeans and Jay Jays.

The ASX 200 dividend share now expects Premier Retail EBIT for the first half of FY21 will be in a range of $221 million to $233 million, up between 75% to 85%.

Premier Investments said that it has and continues to maintain a strong balance sheet.

At the current Premier Investments share price, it’s trading at 15x FY21’s estimated earnings.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: RBA unleashes ASX’s inner animal
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Why ASX miners will get a double tailwind from Biden’s US$1.9tn stimulus
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 next week
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Premier Investments Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of APA Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has just capped off its best week since November 2020 and risen to its highest level in 11 months.

The index surged a significant 3.5% last week, propelling the ASX 200 to 6,840 points. That’s its highest level since the coronavirus-induced market crash in March last year. It also puts the index within a whisker of the psychologically-important 7,000 point mark, which was briefly crossed in 2020 before the pandemic struck.

The almost-singular reason for last week’s dramatic surge in value? The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

RBA lights ASX’s fire

The RBA held its monthly meeting on Tuesday last week, as it does on the first Tuesday of every month. No one was expecting the RBA to announce a change in interest rates, given the Bank has previously flagged that rates will be ‘lower for longer’. And, as predicted, it didn’t.

However, what did come as a surprise was a doubling down of the Bank’s quantitative easing (QE) program, with another $100 billion of government bonds to be purchased by the RBA. Also unexpected was the news the RBA is not ‘expecting’ to increase interest rates until 2024. Yet that’s precisely the update investors received on Tuesday.

This unexpectedly dovish outlook on monetary policy was more than enough to get investors hot under the collar. This is because they know low interest rates and QE is generally a recipe for higher share prices, and such a long-barrelled commitment from the RBA essentially means this powerful tailwind isn’t going away any time soon.

The result was a party all round for ASX shares. ASX 200 blue chip shares, particularly the ASX banks, had a fantastic week, with National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) topping the big four with a 7.18% rise over the week. Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) was also a strong blue chip performer, reaching a new record high on Friday.

ASX growth shares, especially in the tech space, did even better. Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) rose 12% over the week to close on Friday at a new record high of $151.30. That helped push the entire S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) to its highest level ever.

How did the markets end the week?

We’ve already established that the ASX 200 had a phenomenal week, but let’s dig a little deeper.

Monday started the week off with a rise of 0.84%. Tuesday backed this up with a hefty 1.5% rise on the back of the RBA announcement. Then Wednesday saw investors pile on with another 0.92% gain. Thursday saw the only red day of the week with a 0.87% fall, but this was quickly forgotten on Friday when the index delivered another 1.11% rise. Since the ASX 200 started the week at 6,607.4 points and finished up at 6,840.5, it recorded a vigorous 3.53% gain for the week.

Meanwhile, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) also finished up strong (and back well over 7,000 points), starting at 6,870.9 points and finishing up at 7,112.9 points, up 3.52% for the week.

Which ASX 200 shares were the biggest winners and losers?

Time for our most salacious segment, where we gossip over last week’s biggest winners and losers. So put the kettle on and fetch the biscuits while we start with the losers:

More reading

• Should short selling be banned?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• 2 super ASX 200 shares to buy for your retirement portfolio
• Could these exciting small cap ASX shares be the next big thing?
• 2 strong blue chip ASX shares rated as buys by brokers

Sebastian Bowen owns shares of National Australia Bank Limited, Newcrest Mining Limited, and Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO, CSL Ltd., and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited and Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET, Transurban Group, Wesfarmers Limited, and Woolworths Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Service Stream Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Very few things get people fired up more than short selling.

To many investors, it’s a mechanism available only to elite professionals that profit from the misery of others.

And it’s not just retail investors that feel this way.

“Every company has a team of people working hard to make it a success,” Frazis Capital Partners portfolio manager Michael Frazis told The Motley Fool.

“It’s infinitely more rewarding to spend your days being positive and supportive of other people.”

The angst against short selling really climaxed the past week as the GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) saga came to a head in the United States.

That chaos was triggered by a group of retail investors who mobilised to wreck hedge funds that were financially rooting for the retailer to sink.

u can’t sell houses u don’t own
u can’t sell cars u don’t own
but
u *can* sell stock u don’t own!?
this is bs – shorting is a scam
legal only for vestigial reasons

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2021

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Those that are running publicly listed companies also understandably hate shorting.

“Short selling should be illegal,” said Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) boss Elon Musk on Twitter in 2019.

Then as the GameStop frenzy took place last week, he reiterated his disdain.

“U can’t sell houses u don’t own. u can’t sell cars u don’t own. But u *can* sell stock u don’t own!?” he tweeted.

“This is bs – shorting is a scam. Legal only for vestigial reasons.”

In Australia, tech companies like Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR) and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) have had their problems too with short sellers.

If it’s so bad, should short selling simply be banned?

The defence for short selling

According to UNSW Business School associate professor Mark Humphery-Jenner, shorting has an important function in a free and open market.

“Short selling is fundamental to ensuring correct market prices,” he said. 

“Short sellers make market prices more efficient and incorporate more information more quickly into market prices so that prices reflect firms’ true values.”

Shorting ensures what’s labelled “market efficiency”, Humphery-Jenner added. It assists companies to raise capital by providing confidence to investors that they’re not outrageously overpaying for shares.

“Short selling is not manipulative per se, because the costs involved in manipulating prices through shorts are often prohibitive, and regulatory scrutiny is ample enough to prevent it.”

Frazis and his fund used to short until they shifted to long-only a couple of years ago. He agreed that shorting is an expensive activity. 

“It costs a fortune to run a short book. Shorts can cost 2% to 4% to hold a year, and sometimes a lot more,” he said.

“We plan to be in business for 30 years, so that adds up to a staggering amount. The real money in life is made by owning successful businesses for extended periods of time.”

But doesn’t shorting hurt companies and workers?

Shorting and short reports can certainly be stressful to the target business and its shareholders.

But Humphery-Jenner pointed out the act of shorting itself doesn’t hurt the business or people.

“Short sellers do not impact corporate fundamentals. Short sellers do not cause company bankruptcies. Short sellers do not cause lower earnings. Short sellers do not cause unemployment,” he said.

“Indeed, it is not even clear that the presence of short-sellers is per se related to lower returns.”

He added short selling doesn’t “generally place long term downward pressure on [stock] prices”.

“Rather, it is plausible that because short sellers can be active, people have more confidence in prices, causing more pricing accuracy and higher returns.”

Even if it has no long term financial impact, there’s no doubt short selling can feel icky to many.

Frazis told The Motley Fool that it’s not a sustainable investment strategy anyway.

“We’ve noted before that when bearish investment professionals heavily short a widely loved company, the love tends to win out,” he said.

“Shorting changes your mindset. It brings out your cynicism. You do well when others do not.”

More reading

• To short or not to short? GameStop (NYSE:GME) ripple effect endures
• Short sellers doubling down on these ASX stocks despite the GameStop saga
• GameStop, AMC trades temporarily blocked on Square’s Cash App
• RBA stimulus to fuel ‘raging bull market’ in ASX shares. Should you go all in?
• Did Robinhood lose its investor base forever?

Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Tyro Payments. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Are you planning on adding some growth shares to your portfolio? Before you make your purchases, you might want to take a look at these shares.

All three have been named as buys and tipped to deliver strong growth over the long term:

Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)

Bravura Solution is a provider of software and services to the wealth management and funds administration industries. It has a growing portfolio of products being used by financial institutions across the world. These include the Sonata wealth management platform and the Midwinter financial planning software. And while COVID-19 and Brexit are weighing on its performance this year, its long term outlook remains very positive. Goldman Sachs remains positive and has a buy rating and $4.20 price target on its shares.

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

This ecommerce company is another growth share to consider. Kogan’s growth has gone into overdrive during the last 12 months after the pandemic accelerated the shift to online shopping. This led to significant customer, sales, and earnings growth during this time. The company has also bolstered its growth through a couple of bolt-on acquisitions. The most notable being its $122 million acquisition of online retailer Mighty Ape. Credit Suisse is very positive on its outlook and believes Kogan is well-placed for growth in the coming years thanks to an increase in online spending and its expanding product range. The broker has an outperform rating and $21.08 price target on its shares.

Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)

Nearmap is a leading aerial imagery technology and location data company with operations in the ANZ and North American markets. Management appears confident that Nearmap is well-positioned for growth over the 2020s and is aiming to deliver annualised contract value (ACV) growth of 20% to 40% per annum over the period. It expects this to be driven by new growth initiatives, geographic expansion, and the launch of its latest AI product. Last week analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded Nearmap’s shares to a buy rating with a $2.75 price target. Goldman believes its technology is market-leading and expects the company to benefit from a sharp economic recovery in the US market after COVID headwinds ease.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• ASX 200 rises 1%, Zip soars, REA reports
• Goldman Sachs names 2 growing ASX dividend shares to buy
• 2 explosive ASX growth shares to buy immediately
• 2 compelling ASX shares to buy in February 2021

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 Bravura Solutions Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com ltd and Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Bravura Solutions Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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There are some quality ASX shares that could be worth owning for the long-term.

Here they are:

Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)

This is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). One of the advantages of an ETF is that it allows investors to buy a large group of businesses through a single investment. They can also be very cheap in terms of the annual management fee. 

The purpose of this ETF is to provide exposure to many of the world’s largest companies listed in major developed countries. Vanguard says that it offers low-cost access to a broadly diversified range of shares that allow investors to participate in the long-term growth potential of international economies outside Australia.

This is a truly global ETF. Countries that have an allocation of more than 0.3% include: the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Hong Kong, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Singapore, Finland and Belgium. The US gets the bulk of the allocation, with a weighting of just over two thirds of the ETF.

This ASX share provides exposure to a number of different sectors. Industries with a weighting of more than 5% include: information technology (22.5%), health care (13%), financials (12.3%), consumer discretionary (12.3%), industrials (10.6%), communication services (9%) and consumer staples (7.7%).

In terms of the actual positions that it owns, its biggest 10 holdings at the end of December 2020 were: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook, Tesla, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, Visa and Procter & Gamble.

There are plenty of recognisable names further down the portfolio list like Walt Disney, Berkshire Hathaway, Nvidia, Mastercard, PayPal, Adobe, Netflix, Coca Cola, PepsiCo, Walmart, Salesforce.com, Nike, LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy), Costco and so on.

The ETF has an annual management fee of 0.18% per annum. The net returns over the longer-term has been fairly consistent. Over the last three years the net return per annum has been 11.3%, over the last five years the net return has been 11% per annum and since inception in November 2014 it has returned and average of 12% per annum.

Australian Ethical Investment Limited (ASX: AEF)

Australian Ethical describes itself as Australia’s leading ethical investment manager. It says that it provides investors with investment management products that align with their values and provide competitive returns. Investments are guided by the ‘Australian Ethical Charter’ which shapes its ethical approach and underpins both its culture and its vision.

The ASX share has been steadily growing its funds under management (FUM) over time, which is helping the financials.

In FY20 it grew its revenue by 22% to $49.9 million and underlying profit after tax (UPAT) went up 42% to $9.3 million. Excluding the impact of its performance fees, revenue and UPAT grew by 15%.

The group’s FUM went up 19% to $4.05 billion over the year, helped by net inflows of $660 million (up 100%). Customer numbers increased by 20%.

In the three months to 30 September 2020, the company saw a 6.5% increase of FUM to $4.32 billion.

The ASX share’s management has advised that for the six months to 31 December 2020, UPAT is expected to between $4.6 million to $5.1 million, which would be a mid-point increase off 11% compared to the prior corresponding period. Strong FUM growth was offset by the impact of superannuation fee reductions.

The latest update from Australian Ethical has been the quarterly update for the three months to 31 December 2020. FUM increased by another 16.9% to $5.05 billion.

More reading

• Looking for diversification? Try this ASX ETF
• 2 ETFs to buy for strong diversification
• These top ETFs could be great options for ASX investors right now
• 2 high quality ETFs for ASX investors to buy today
• ASX 200 rises 0.4%

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Australian Ethical Investment Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Australian Ethical Investment Ltd. and Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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If you’re fed up with the low interest rates, you’re not alone. The good news is that the Australian share market is home to a large number of shares with attractive dividend yields.

Two that have yields above 4.5% and could be worth looking closely at are listed below:

Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT (ASX: CQE)

Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT is a real estate investment trust that invests in social infrastructure properties. 

At present the company owns a total of 371 properties across the ANZ region worth $1.3 billion and has a sky high 99.5% occupancy rate. These properties include childcare centres and government buildings such as bus terminals, emergency services command centres, and council properties.

Management believes that targeting these types of assets will result in high tenant retention rates over the long term and ongoing capital growth.

One broker that is a fan of the company is Goldman Sachs. It has a conviction buy rating and $3.35 price target on its shares. Goldman is also forecasting a 15 cents per share dividend in FY 2021.

Based on the current Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT share price, this represents a 4.85% yield.

Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL)

Another dividend share to consider is Super Retail. It is the company behind popular retail store brands BCF, Macpac, Rebel, and Super Cheap Auto.

With international borders closed, Super Retail has been one of the retailers to benefit most from a redirection of consumer spending. So much so, it is expecting to report a 23% increase in half year sales this month.

And thanks to margin expansion, management expects its half year profits to more than double. It is forecasting normalised net profit after tax in the range of $174 million to $177 million. This will be a 135% to 139% increase on the prior corresponding period.

Goldman Sachs is also positive on Super Retail. It has a buy rating and $14.80 price target on its shares. In addition, its analysts are expecting the company to pay a fully franked dividend of 78 cents per share in FY 2021. Based on the latest Super Retail share price, this represents an enormous 6.8% dividend yield.

More reading

• 2 ASX dividend shares with very attractive yields
• The ASX small cap with the best global expansion potential may not be tech
• 3 ASX dividend shares rated as strong buys by brokers
• 2 quality ASX dividend shares with attractive yields
• Leading broker tips Super Retail (ASX:SUL) share price to rocket higher

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Super Retail Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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On Friday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished a very positive week with a strong gain. The benchmark index rose 1.1% to 6,840.5 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Monday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to rise

The ASX 200 is expected to open the week slightly higher. According to the latest SPI futures, the benchmark index is poised to rise 5 points at the open. This follows a positive end to the week on Wall Street, which saw the Dow Jones rise 0.3%, the S&P 500 climb 0.4%, and the Nasdaq push 0.6% higher. The S&P 500 climbed 4.7% over the five days, which was its best weekly performance since November.

Oil prices climb

Energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could start the week with a gain after oil prices pushed higher. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price rose 1.1% to US$56.85 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price climbed 0.9% to US$59.34 a barrel. Oil prices hit their highest levels in a year after rising ~6% for the week.

REA Group shares given buy rating

The REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) share price will be on watch this morning after analysts at Goldman Sachs retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on the real estate listings company’s shares to $159.00. This follows the release REA Group’s half year update last week. Goldman’s analysts “continue to believe the FY22 outlook remains extremely robust, forecasting +17% EBITDA growth”

Gold price pushes higher

It could be a positive day for gold miners such as Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) after the gold price pushed higher on Friday. According to CNBC, the spot gold price rose 1.2% to US$1,813.00 an ounce. This couldn’t stop the precious metal from recording a 2% decline for the week.

Zip to list in the US?

The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price will be one to watch amid speculation the company could be considering a secondary listing in the United States. This is expected to give the company greater access to US capital markets. According to the AFR, management will spend the next few days in front of US investors

More reading

• Could these exciting small cap ASX shares be the next big thing?
• Why ASX miners will get a double tailwind from Biden’s US$1.9tn stimulus
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 next week
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week

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 ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Earlier today I had a look at a couple of shares that might be suitable for investors with a high risk tolerance. You can read about them here.

On this occasion, I’m going to move down to the opposite end of the risk scale, to companies which would be suitable for those in retirement with a lower tolerance for risk.

Here’s why these ASX shares could be suitable for a well-balanced retirement portfolio:

Transurban Group (ASX: TCL)

The first option to consider is Transurban. It is one of the world’s leading toll road operators and the owner of a collection of important roads in Australia and North America.

Due to the quality of these assets, the time savings they offer, and their strong pricing power (in non-COVID times), Transurban appears to be well-placed to increase its dividend at a solid rate over the next decade once the pandemic passes.

Analysts at Ord Minnett think now could be a good time to invest. Late last month the broker upgraded Transurban’s shares to an add rating with a price target of $16.50. The broker is forecasting a 42.8 cents per share dividend in FY 2021 and then a 56.9 cents per share dividend in FY 2022. 

Based on the latest Transurban share price of $13.69, this will mean forward yields of 3.1% and 4.15%, respectively.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

Another ASX 200 share that could be a good option for a retirement portfolio is Wesfarmers.

Thanks to the quality of its portfolio, which includes brands such as Bunnings, Catch, and Kmart, Wesfarmers appears well-positioned for growth over the long term. Also boosting its growth should be its industrial businesses, which have positive outlooks as well. This is certainly the case with its Kidman Resources business, which is exposed to the lithium boom.

In addition to this, Wesfarmers has a proud history of making successful earnings accretive acquisitions. Given its strong balance sheet, it has the capacity to make more of these in the future.

Last week analysts at Macquarie upgraded the company’s shares to an outperform rating with a $60.00 price target. The broker has pencilled in dividends of 150.3 cents per share and 155.9 cents per share for the next two years. Based on the current Wesfarmers share price, this represents fully franked forward yields of 2.7% and 2.8%, respectively.

More reading

• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy right now
• Why the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price has soared 24% in a year
• 2 ASX dividend shares with very attractive yields
• 4 most trusted ASX companies (and the 4 least trusted)
• 2 ASX 200 shares to buy for growth

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Transurban Group and Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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If you’re looking for an easy way to invest in international shares for diversification, then exchange traded funds (ETFs) could be just what you need.

But which ETFs should you look at? One to consider is the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA).

Why the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF?

The BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF could be a great option for investors that are looking for exposure to international tech shares.

This is because this fund gives investors exposure to a number of the most exciting tech shares in the Asia market (excluding Japan).

Among the fund’s holdings you will find the likes of, Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com, Meituan Dianping, Pinduoduo, Samsung, and Tencent.

What do these companies do?

To give you an idea of what you are investing in, I thought I would give you a little summary of what these companies do.

The first one I’m going to look at is Baidu. It is often referred to as China’s version of Google.

As you may be aware, much to the delight of Baidu, Google is not able to operate in China. This has allowed it to become the dominant search engine in the country by some margin.

In addition to this, the company is responsible for the iQIYI video streaming service, which is China’s equivalent of Netflix. At the end of September, iQIYI’s paid subscribers reached 104.8 million. This compares to 203.7 million Netflix subscribers globally.

Another company included in the ETF is Alibaba. It is the Amazon of China and at the end of September had 757 million annual active customers. The company is estimated to control a sizeable 56% of China’s e-commerce market across its numerous brands.

Finally, another company in the fund is Meituan Dianping. Through its app, it connects consumers with local businesses for food deliveries, hotel bookings, and movie tickets, among many other services. At the end of the second quarter of FY 2020, Meituan Dianping was making 24.5 million food deliveries per day and had a total of 476.5 million users.

Given the quality in this fund and their strong growth, it will come as no surprise to learn that the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF has vastly outperformed the ASX 200 over the last 12 months.

Since this time in 2020, the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF share price has charged X% higher.

More reading

• 2 great ETFs to buy for growth potential
• 2 outstanding ASX tech shares to buy
• 2 outstanding ETFs for ASX investors to buy in February
• 2 ETFs to buy for strong diversification
• 2 excellent ETFs for ASX investors in February

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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