The Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG) share price was an outstanding performer in 2020.

The appliance manufacturer’s shares surged an impressive 46% higher over the 12 months.

Why did the Breville share price surge higher?

Investors were scrambling to buy the company’s shares for a number of reasons in 2020.

One was its strong performance during the pandemic. A shift to cooking and working at home led to an increase in demand for whitegoods such as cooking equipment and coffee machines.

This underpinned strong revenue and profit growth in FY 2020. For the 12 months ended 30 June, Breville reported a 25.3% increase in revenue to $952.2 million and an 18.2% lift in gross profit to $320.6 million.

Also giving its shares a lift were comments by management in relation to its global expansion. With the company’s Sage brand across Europe yielding strong net sales results, it is now expanding into the Middle East.

Acquisition of Baratza.

Breville’s shares were given another boost in October when the company announced the acquisition of Seattle-based coffee grinding company, Baratza.

The company acquired Baratza on a cash and debt free basis for a total consideration of US$60 million. Approximately US$43 million of this consideration was paid in cash, with US$17 million being paid through the issue of 884,956 shares.

Management believes the acquisition will be complementary to Breville’s existing premium coffee business. It notes that it brings together two of the world’s leading companies in the design and global distribution of coffee products.

FY 2021 guidance.

Also going down well with investors last year was its guidance for FY 2021.

At its annual general meeting in November, Breville revealed that it expects its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to be consistent with the market’s current consensus forecast range of $128 million to $132 million.

This will be up 13.3% to 16.8% on FY 2020’s EBIT of $113 million.

More reading

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• ASX 200 down 0.3%: CSL sinks, Zip’s Facebook deal, IGO rockets

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Aside from a visit from Santa, Christmas 2020 was significantly different than in years past. This was glaringly apparent at your local cinema. Traditionally, the week between Christmas and New Year is considered one of the most important for the movie industry, but lockdowns and fear of contagion have slowed box office receipts to a crawl.

However, two of the most anticipated movies this year found their way to audiences via streaming delivery. Walt Disney Co‘s Soul debuted exclusively on Disney+, and AT&T Inc‘s Warner Bros. studio released Wonder Woman 1984 at the box office and on its HBO MAX streaming service.

It’s easy to make the mistake of thinking that the direct-to-consumer streaming model will end with the pandemic. However, the century-old movie business model is in desperate need of disruption. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is in a unique position to shape this segment of the media industry for years to come, and it could do so by acquiring MGM Holdings, best known for the James Bond films.

MGM is on the selling block

Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that MGM Holdings is prepping itself for a sale. The privately traded company was recently valued at $5.5 billion and is, according to The Guardian, trying to fetch a price of “more than $5 billion.” Per the Journal, Apple has expressed interest before. In 2018, MGM then-CEO Gary Barber was fired for having preliminary sales discussions with Apple without permission from the board.

MGM’s assets include the name recognition of one of Hollywood’s oldest and most respected studios, a library of approximately 4,000 films — most notably, ownership interest in the James Bond franchise — and nearly 20,000 hours of TV programming, primarily through its Epix Network subsidiary.

We don’t know if Apple is interested in buying MGM now, but it would be an interesting move.

Apple the disruptor

Make no mistake: What’s starting to happen with the movie industry is the same as what’s happening with the television industry, and what the music industry went through two decades ago. Delivery methods are changing. Apple was able to take advantage of this in the music industry, essentially becoming the de facto gatekeeper for digital downloads via its iPod — and introducing users to its sticky ecosystem in the process. Buying MGM would allow Apple to quickly scale its movie ambitions and compete against Disney and AT&T, as their movie monetization strategy will continue to depend on wide-scale theater releases.

In the short run, Apple TV+ would get what it’s sorely missing: more streaming content. Since its debut, Apple TV+ has focused on original content, often with smaller-scale studios owned by famous actors. This affords Apple more control but makes it hard to rapidly scale and develop a deep library, particularly for adult scripted content. Earlier this year, the company had reportedly started to engage with Hollywood for licensed content, but nothing concrete has come to fruition thus far.

Simply put, it’s hard to rapidly scale content in the beginning. You might recall that Netflix built out its steaming service by licensing third-party content before networks and studios discovered they were mostly competing with themselves and started to pare back on this front.

A big price tag

Admittedly, this would be an unconventional acquisition for Apple. Before now, its biggest acquisition was the $3 billion it paid for Beats headphones. Additionally, it is well known that CEO Tim Cook weighs in on content, with reports indicating that violence, profanity, drug use, and anything considered portraying China in a negative light are no-gos. Likely a significant percentage of MGM’s host of content would run afoul of guidelines looking to keep content tame. And at $1.5 billion in revenue, a price tag of $5 billion would exceed 3.5 times sales — expensive for the broader industry and likely the reason Apple has balked at the deal thus far.

Still, there are reasons to believe this could be a good acquisition for Apple. First, Wall Street is catching on to the durability of the subscription-based billing model. Disney has seen its valuation multiples significantly increase thanks mostly to Wall Street’s bullishness on its streaming plans.

Apple’s multiples have also expanded based on growth in its services segment, and the company has started to offer its first subscription-based bundle, dubbed One. Making Apple TV+ a stickier product would likely lead to growth in services for years to come and allow the tech giant to be a major player in the evolution of the movie industry.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

More reading

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Jamal Carnette, CFA owns shares of AT&T. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Apple, Netflix, and Walt Disney and recommends the following options: short January 2021 $135 calls on Walt Disney and long January 2021 $60 calls on Walt Disney. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple, Netflix, and Walt Disney. 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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Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can be an effective way to get diversification and exposure to a particular theme.

Some of them look to largely track an entire stock market such as Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) and iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV).

These two options have produced strong returns and offer diversification:

VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT)

The purpose of this ETF is to give investors exposure to a diversified portfolio of attractively priced US companies with sustainable competitive advantages according to Morningstar’s equity research team.

Targets companies have to be trading at attractive prices relative to Morningstar’s estimate of fair value. There is a focus on quality U.S. companies Morningstar believes possess sustainable competitive advantages, or “wide economic moats”.

At the end of December 2020 VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF had 50 holdings. The largest positions were: John Wiley & Sons, Charles Schwab, Corteva, US Bancorp, Wells Fargo, Constellation Brands, Bank of America, Boeing, Yum! Brands, Cheniere Energy, Zimmer Biomet, Raytheon Technologies, Medtronic, Berkshire Hathaway, Compass Minerals International, Aspen Technology, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Philip Morris, Amazon and Intel.

As the name suggests, all of the businesses in this ETF are listed in the US. However, the underlying earnings are generated from many different countries. For example, Amazon has a huge presence in Europe and it’s growing in Australia too.

In terms of sector diversification, there are five industries that have a weighting of more than 10%: information technology (22.2%), healthcare (18.2%), financials (17.1%), industrials (11.3%) and consumer staples (10.1%).

VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF has annual management costs of 0.49% per annum. It has made average net returns of 16% per annum over the last five years, outperforming the return of the S&P 500. The ETF isn’t that old, so looking at the returns of the index that the ETF tracks, the index has returned an average of 19.3% per annum over the last 10 years.

Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

This ETF is about providing investors access to 100 of the largest businesses on the NASDAQ, which has a heavy tech influence.

Indeed, many of the western world’s biggest technology businesses are listed on the NASDAQ.

You may recognise all of Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF’s largest 10 holdings: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla, Facebook, Nvidia, PayPal, Adobe and Netflix.

There are plenty of quality technology names in the ETF like Intel, Broadcom, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Advanced Micro Devices, Intuit, Intuitive Surgical, Zoom and so on.

However, this isn’t purely a ‘tech’ ETF, it’s just the largest businesses on the NASDAQ, so there are some quality non-tech names within such as Costco, Mondelez International and Gilead Sciences. However, almost half of the ETF is officially classified as IT and others within it are largely tech but not classified as IT (for example Alphabet, which includes Google, is classified as ‘communication services’).

Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF has an annual management fee of 0.48% per annum. The returns of this ETF over the shorter-term and long-term have outperformed the ASX. Over the past year its net return has been 34.4%, over the past three years it has delivered average returns per annum of 26.2% and since inception in May 2015 the ETF has returned an average of 21.7% per annum.

BetaShares says that with its strong focus on technology, Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF provides diversified exposure to a high-growth potential sector that is under-represented in the Australian share market.

More reading

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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 BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS and VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat 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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I tend to believe that no one knows the inner workings of a company better than the people who are in it. For that reason, it is interesting to take note from time to time of which ASX shares are being bought, and sold for that matter, by company insiders.

Insider buying can be perceived as a vote of confidence in the company. It doesn’t, however, mean that the shares are an obvious buy: The future is unpredictable, no matter who you are. A company outlook can be bright one day and gloomy the next. But insider buying and selling information can be used in conjunction with other resources to build your own notion about a particular company.

On that note, here are some ASX shares that have seen insider buying over the last few months.

3 ASX shares being bought by insiders

Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK)

The furniture retailer shows a purchase of shares on 2 November by non-executive director William Koeck. Based on the available information, Mr Koeck acquired 5,900 shares at a price of $8.36, totaling $49,324.

As it turned out, the Nick Scali share price dipped to $7.97 on 10 November, before rallying to the current price of $10.51 at the time of writing.

Nick Scali shares have returned 54.12% over the last 12 months.

Tassal Group Limited (ASX: TGR)

The Tasmanian salmon and prawn producer released several ‘change of directors’ interest’ notices during December. These pertained to three instances where the non-executive director, John Watson, purchased shares in the group.

Mr Watson purchased 30,000 Tassal shares, for a combined considered value of $103,171, across the three transactions. The price paid for these shares ranged between $3.32 and $3.51. Shares in Tassal Group are $3.39 at the time of writing.

The Tassal share price has fallen 19.86% over the last 12 months.

Superloop Ltd (ASX: SLC)

Telecommunications infrastructure small-cap Superloop updated the market on 21 October regarding an insider transaction. The founder and former CEO, now non-executive chairman, Bevan Slattery acquired a further 308,385 shares at 89 cents per share. The current Superloop share price now sits at $1.07.

The recent transaction takes Mr Slattery’s stake in the company to 17.58% of shares on offer.

Superloop shares have returned 16.3% over the last 12 months.

More reading

• ASX 200 falls on Tuesday
• Investors caught in crossfire as ASX retailers battle ASX property stocks in 2021
• Why BHP, Cann, Nick Scali, & Ramelius shares are pushing higher
• Why the Nick Scali (ASX:NCK) share price just hit a new, all-time high
• These are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX

Mitchell Lawler owns shares of Tassal Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of SUPERLOOP FPO. 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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It looks set to be a great day of trade for Australian energy producers such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT), Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH), Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) after oil prices surged higher overnight.

This follows the release of a surprise announcement by the world’s second largest oil producer, Saudi Arabia.

What happened?

Oil prices surged higher overnight after Saudi Arabia unexpectedly announced that it would cut its production by approximately 1 million barrels a day.

According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 5.1% to US$50.06 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has stormed 5.1% higher to US$53.70 a barrel. This is the first time that the WTI crude oil price has been above US$50 a barrel since February 2020.

On Tuesday, OPEC and its oil-producing allies, known as OPEC+, agreed to hold their output largely steady in February. Just Russia and Kazakhstan revealed plans to add a combined 75,000 barrels per day to the market in both February and March.

However, according to CNBC, after the meeting, Saudi Arabia held a press conference and announced its surprise production cut for February and March.

Again Capital’s John Kilduff believes that lockdowns may have spooked OPEC and Saudi Arabia, leading to this action.

He said: “WTI oil prices have climbed above $50, for a time, today, on an increasingly likely surprise move by OPEC+ to cut production next month, rather than raising it. The renewed lockdowns in the U.K. Europe has spooked the group.”

Though, not everyone is seeing this production cut news as a positive. CIBC Private Wealth’s senior energy trader, Rebecca Babin, suspects that Saudi Arabia stepped in after failing to get an agreement with the rest of OPEC+. She fears this unwillingness to work together may ultimately be seen as a negative and cause oil prices to pullback.

Babin told CNBC: “I view this type of an ‘agreement’ as an indication that it is getting harder to get OPEC+ members in line and keep production constrained while demand looks threatened by ongoing lockdowns and slow vaccination roll out. WTI traded briefly above $50 following the headlines, but I suspect a more negative interpretation of today’s meeting may cause crude to fail at $50.”

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Why the Santos (ASX:STO) share price is dropping lower
• Why ASX energy stocks are set to be among the worst performers on the ASX today
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia 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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With interest rates at record lows and likely to remain at these levels for some time, it is very difficult for income investors to earn a sufficient income from traditional interest-bearing assets.

The good news is that the Australian share market has come to the rescue with a large number of dividend shares offering attractive yields.

Two ASX dividend shares that are popular with investors are listed below:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

Accent is a leading footwear-focused retailer which owns a number of very popular retail store brands. It also has a thriving online business that has been performing exceptionally well during the pandemic.

A recent trading update reveals that its like for like sales were up 15.7% during the first 20 weeks of FY 2021 (excluding its Auckland and Victorian stores). The company also revealed that its online sales were up 129% over the period.

Accent isn’t resting on its laurels and appears to be wanting to dominate the local market. So much so, it has just launched two new store brands, Australian Stylerunner and Pivot. This is part of its store expansion plan which is aiming to add approximately 80 new stores in FY 2021.

Analysts at Citi are forecasting a 7.5 cents per share dividend from Accent in FY 2021. Based on the current Accent share price, this represents a 3.2% dividend yield.

BWP Trust (ASX: BWP)

The second dividend share to look at today is BWP Trust. It is the owner of 68 Bunnings Warehouse sites across Australia.

Thanks to the strength of the hardware giant’s business, BWP was able to collect its rent largely as normal during the pandemic. Combined with an increase in the fair value of its assets, this led to the company reporting an impressive 24.4% increase in full year profit to $210.6 million in FY 2020.

This positive form meant that BWP was one of the only companies in the real estate sector to grow its dividend in FY 2020. It paid an 18.29 cents per unit distribution to shareholders and advised that a similar distribution is expected this year. Based on the current BWP share price, this represents a 4.1% yield for investors.

More reading

• 2 quality ASX dividend shares to buy next week
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• Smash term deposits with these ASX dividend shares
• Why did the Accent (ASX:AX1) share price defy the odds in 2020?
• ASX 200 down 0.8%: Big four banks and tech shares drag the market lower

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent 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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On Tuesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) recovered from some early weakness to finish the day mostly flat. The benchmark index fell 2.3 points to 6,681.9 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Wednesday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to edge higher.

The Australian share market looks set to edge higher on Wednesday. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 3 points higher this morning. This follows a better night of trade on Wall Street. In late trade the Dow Jones is up 0.7%, the S&P 500 is up 0.7%, and the Nasdaq has risen 0.8%.

Oil prices jump.

It looks set to be a great day for energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) after oil prices jumped higher. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 5.1% to US$50.06 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price has stormed 5.1% higher to US$53.70 a barrel. This follows news that Saudi Arabia will cut production by 1 million barrels a day.

Zip AsiaPay partnership.

The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price will be on watch after it signed a partnership with AsiaPay in the Australian market. AsiaPay is the leading digital payment service and technology player in Asia. The deal will see AsiaPay offer merchants in Australia the ability to accept digital mobile wallet payment via Zip, with a simple, secure, and private way to pay that’s fast and convenient.

Gold price rises again.

Gold miners such as Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) could be on the rise again after the gold price pushed higher again. According to CNBC, the spot gold price has risen 0.35% to US$1,953.70 an ounce. A weaker US dollar helped drive the precious metal higher.

Australian dollar jumps.

The Australian dollar is jumping higher again after the US dollar weakened further overnight. At the time of writing, the Australian dollar is up 1.3% to 77.7 U.S. cents. This could be good news for importers, but a headwind for companies that generate a lot of revenue in US dollars. The latter includes Appen Limited (ASX: APX) and Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE).

More reading

• 2 ASX tech shares to buy in January
• ASX 200 falls on Tuesday
• Citi sees bigger takeover offer coming for Coca-Cola Amatil (ASX:CCL) share price
• Investors caught in crossfire as ASX retailers battle ASX property stocks in 2021
• Why Dacian Gold, Lovisa, MyFiziq, & Zip shares are dropping lower

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 Appen Ltd and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Treasury Wine Estates 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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The Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF) share price has had a solid run in the last 6 months, rising by 35%. This comes after the investment manager lost almost a third of its value in March, when the Challenger share price fell by as much as 65%.

Let’s take a look at the company’s prospects and the challenges it may face this year.

First, what’s been driving the Challenger share price?

Challenger has two main businesses – the annuities business through Challenger Life, and funds management business consisting of Fidante Partners and Challenger Investment Partners.

Challenger Life’s sales amount to roughly 90% of yearly annuity sales in Australia, while its investment fund products are represented on platforms used by more than 70% of Australia’s financial advisors.

The Challenger share price has staged a significant comeback in the second-half of 2020, since plummeting to its 52-week low of $2.82 in March.

In its update for the quarter ending September 2020, the company revealed that assets under management (AUM) for its annuity business increased 4% for the quarter to $89 billion.

In the latest earnings update announced last week, the company also reported that it expected normalised net profit after tax (NPAT) to be within its guidance range of $390 million to $440 million.

Challenges and tailwinds in 2021

The company is still recovering from the disruption to its financial advisor distribution channel due to the Financial Services Royal Commission, historic low interest rates, as well as COVID-19 impacts.

The annuity business in particular, has seen massive pressure from low interest rates, which are likely to stay low for the foreseeable future. Low interest rates normally discourage investors from buying into annuities.

It also faces continuing market risk management challenges in the annuity business. The annuities portfolio has an inherent mismatch risk in that its liabilities are fixed, while its investments are subject to volatile market movements such as the one we saw in 2020. This could impair its obligations to pay to annuitants, considering returns are guaranteed.

However, a strong tailwind might be coming its way in the form a regulatory change. 

The Australian Government is in the process of formulating the comprehensive income product for retirement (CIPR) laws, which will require super fund trustees to develop a retirement product with a stable and regular income stream. This will come into law on 1 July 2022, and will bode well for Challenger’s annuities business.

The company has also said that its focus in 2021 is to capture an increasing portion of the $70 billion in funds shifting into the Australian post-retirement segment each year.

To achieve this, the company said it will focus on expanding its distribution channels that were less scathed by the Royal Commission; such as independent advisors, specialty platforms, as well as expanding overseas.

As an example, it has partnered with MS Primary to sell AUD-denominated and USD-denominated annuities into Japan.

About the Challenger share price

As mentioned, the Challenger share price has gained 35% over the last 6 months, but is down 25% for the year. 

The direction of its share price heading into 2021 may depend on how well it can manage its portfolio through the volatile market. And whether it can execute its expansion platform to reach more investors.

The Challenger share price was down 2.93% at $6.29 at close of trade today.

More reading

• These were the best performers on the ASX 200 last week
• ASX 200 ends 0.7% higher
• Why the Challenger (ASX:CGF) share price is one to watch today
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• How to protect your super fund when you’re approaching retirement

Motley Fool contributor Eddy Sunarto has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Challenger 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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It is worth remembering that all companies start somewhere and don’t become blue chips overnight.

Two ASX shares that are at the start of their journeys and growing fast are listed below. Here’s what has investors watching them closely:

Damstra Holdings Ltd (ASX: DTC)

Damstra is a growing integrated workplace management solutions provider. Its cloud-based workplace management platform is used by businesses across numerous industries to track, manage, and protect their workers and assets.

The company also offers solutions which are proving very appropriate in the current COVID climate such as fever detection and mobility tracking. Management isn’t resting on its laurels, though. It recently strengthened its product portfolio with the acquisition of Vault Intelligence. It provides solutions which combine health, safety, compliance, and risk management. 

Demand for Damstra’s offering has been growing strongly in FY 2021. This led to the company reporting first quarter revenue of $5.2 million, up 34% on the prior corresponding period. Its cash receipts grew even quicker and were up 61% on the prior corresponding period to $7.1 million.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley were pleased with its first quarter performance and reiterated their overweight rating and $2.00 price target.

Whispir (ASX: WSP)

Another growing small cap share is Whispir. It is a software-as-a-service communications workflow platform provider which automates communications between businesses and their workers and customers.

It was a very strong performer in FY 2020. For the 12 months ended 30 June 2020, it posted a 25.5% increase in revenue to $39.1 million and annualised recurring revenue (ARR) growth of 34% to $42.2 million. Pleasingly, its positive form has continued in FY 2021, with the company’s ARR lifting to $43.7 million at the end of September.

The good news for the company and its shareholders is that Whispir still has a significant runway for growth over the next decade.

Management currently estimates that the Workflow Communications platform as a Service market will be worth US$8 billion per year by 2024. This means it currently only has a ~0.5% slice of this market.

More reading

• 2 exciting ASX mid cap tech shares to buy in 2021
• 3 ASX shares to buy for 2021 and beyond
• 3 small cap ASX shares that could have a big 2021
• 5 exciting small cap ASX shares to watch in 2021
• 2 exciting small cap ASX tech shares to buy

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 and recommends Damstra Holdings Ltd and Whispir Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Damstra Holdings Ltd and Whispir 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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Douugh Ltd (ASX: DOU) is reportedly set to announce it will acquire Australian ethical investing app Goodments.

The fintech, which listed on the ASX in October, returned 467% to be crowned the best-performing initial public offer stock of 2020.

The shares sold for 3 cents during the IPO but last traded for 17 cents, after flying as high as 49 cents.

However, the rollercoaster ride for investors came to an abrupt pause on 21 December when the company put a trading halt on its shares. It has since extended the suspension 3 times, making everyone a bit nervous.

The trading halt, Douugh had stated, was regarding the acquisition of an undisclosed company and an enquiry from the ASX.

Now with the shares still suspended, the Australian Financial Review has revealed startup Goodments is Douugh’s acquisition target.

Goodments is a share trading app that allows users to only invest in ethical companies aligned with the user’s personal priorities.

A share trading app for the new generation

The app’s co-founder Tom Culver told the author back in 2017 that the despair he felt about the Tony Abbott federal government convinced him there was a need for such a platform.

“I realised that governments don’t see themselves accountable for the future of our planet and actually it’s corporations who are the most incentivised to behave more sustainably,” he told Business Insider.

The startup then went through the famous H2 Ventures accelerator program, targeting millennials.

Douugh has had a controversial 3 months on the ASX. While its soaring share price has made IPO investors very happy, the uncertainty of its long-term business has seen the value violently fluctuate.

The company scored a major win back in November, revealing a partnership with Humm Group Ltd (ASX: HUM). But it also raised an unannounced $12 million soon after the IPO, which raised questions from the ASX.

The company has also so far refused to divulge customer numbers.

Douugh shares will remain in a trading halt until Friday, unless it is ready to reveal the news earlier.

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Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Humm Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Douugh (ASX:DOU) to acquire Goodments: report appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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