Investing in ASX shares is not something we normally view as an addictive behaviour. Smoking, drinking, gambling… these are all things that society recognises as potentially addictive. But investing is not normally on the list. In fact, we Fools spend a lot of time trying to convince more people to invest, and I can tell you it’s not always an easy task. As such, I’m not someone who thought investing (at least good investing practices) could be an addictive type of behaviour.

But reporting from the Australian Financial Review (AFR) suggests otherwise.

According to the AFR, the popular United States brokering app, Robinhood, is behind a surge of mostly young, new investors treating the share market like a giant casino, rather than a place to build long-term wealth. The AFR states that Robinhood has 13 million active users, 3 million (or 26%) of whom signed up in the first four months of 2020.

The ‘Robinhood effect’

According to the AFR, Robinhood embraces the idea that investing should be accessible, but also “thrilling” and “delightful”. It notes how features like congratulating investors on their first trade with a “confetti animation”, providing free options trading, letting investors see the most popular shares others are holding, and offering investors free, randomised shares if they sign up another investor, can lead to gambling-esque behaviour.

“It’s like playing poker – as long as you have a little money, you can sit down and start competing” the AFR quotes Charles Rotblut of the American Association of Individual Investors, as stating.

Indeed, the Robinhood effect has been blamed for several ‘irrationally exuberant’ events in the US share market this year. Perhaps most famous was the case of Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NYSE: HTZ). Hertz is a car-hire company that filed for bankruptcy in May of this year. And yet a frenzy of speculative trading saw Hertz shares rocket nearly 900% between 26 May and 6 June, even though the company was insolvent.

This can be perhaps understood if we look at the comments of Will Sartain, a 19-year old investor who, according to the AFR, used to spend $70 a week on sports match betting. Now, he’s deep into Robinhood:

“I would get a nice rush from sports betting,” the AFR quotes Mr Sartain as stating. “When I started putting the money into Robinhood, then I started feeling that same rush.”

Is investing gambling?

I think the share market is a rare institution where you can either use it for speculative or wealth-building purposes. Yes, you can go and throw darts at the metaphorical dartboard any time you like with shares. You could buy 50 shares tomorrow and aim to sell them the following day for a 50% profit, and no one would stop you. And there’s no doubt that ‘getting lucky’ with a quick winner on the share market would give you a ‘rush’ akin to winning the jackpot.

However, like most forms of gambling, this strategy doesn’t usually work well for long-term wealth creation. Therefore, I think the best solution is showing would-be investors that the share market is a place where “wealth is transferred from the impatient to the patient” over time, to paraphrase the great Warren Buffett.

Yes, betting on shares can be addictive (especially with ‘delightful’ apps like Robinhood), we’ve seen that. But so can the style of long-term investing that Buffett (and we Fools) love. You just have to give the latter more time.

More reading

• Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price on watch after announcing Altura Mining acquisition plan
• 3 great ASX growth shares to buy in November
• Buying these ASX dividend shares could solve your income needs
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Link (ASX:LNK) share price on watch on Thursday following takeover update

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen definitely has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price will be on watch after it announced a conditional agreement to acquire the operations of fellow lithium miner Altura Mining Limited (ASX: AJM).

What was announced?

Altura Mining recently fell into receivership after a collapse in lithium prices weighed on its operations and an attempt to recapitalise failed to gain support. This led to the company appointing KordaMentha as its receiver on 26 October.

After the market close on Wednesday, Pilbara Minerals revealed that it has entered into an implementation deed with the senior secured loan noteholders of Altura, which provides it with a path to potentially acquire the Altura Lithium Project through the purchase of the shares in Altura Lithium Operations for approximately US$175 million. This is subject to completion of the receivership process.

According to the release, loan noteholders have agreed to vote in favour of the Pilbara Minerals sponsored deed of company arrangement should the acquisition proceed.

Furthermore, Pilbara Minerals has the right to match any competing proposal offered for the Altura Project, and has secured payment of a break fee in the event that the receiver accepts a competing proposal, or the loan noteholders fail to vote in favour of the deed.

The upfront cash consideration of US$155 million will be predominantly funded through a future equity capital raising, which is being supported by binding equity funding commitments from both AustralianSuper and Resource Capital Fund of AS$240 million.

What is the Altura Lithium Project?

The Altura Project is a producing hard rock spodumene concentrate operation. It is located on an adjoining tenement package immediately to the west of Pilbara Minerals’ Pilgangoora Lithium-Tantalum Project.

Management notes that the operation is part of the same mineralised system that underpins the Pilgangoora Project and uses similar open-pit mining methods, processing flowsheets, and mining equipment.

It feels the combination of these factors, along with the proximity of both operations, provides a unique opportunity for Pilbara Minerals to realise tangible synergies, both immediately following the acquisition and over time.

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price edges higher on operational update
• 3 reasons why ASX lithium shares can surge in 2021

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. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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I believe there are a number of ASX growth shares that are worth buying in November 2020.

The US election is just around the corner. I believe we’re going to see an uptick in volatility next week and perhaps longer. Particularly if the election result is called into question.

Share prices are always changing, so opportunities are always presenting themselves at different times.

With that in mind, here are three great long-term ASX growth shares I’d buy in November.

City Chic Collective Ltd (ASX: CCX)

City Chic is an ASX retail share that sells clothes, footwear and accessories. It sells through a number of brands including City Chic, CCX, Avenue, Hips & Curves and Fox & Royal.

I really like two things that City Chic is focusing on. It’s trying to significantly expand in the northern hemisphere – both with organic growth as well as acquisitions. In FY20 its northern hemisphere sales increased from 20% in FY19 to 42% in FY20. North America and Europe are obviously much bigger potential markets than Australia and New Zealand.

The tactic by the ASX growth share to try to acquire financially distressed competitors is smart during this difficult period. City Chic can turn those opportunities into online-only offerings and work on margins as well as efficiencies.

Online is the other focus of City Chic. In FY19, before COVID-19, its online sales represented 20% of total sales – which was pretty high for a bricks and mortar retailer. In FY20 it increased its online sales by 113.5%, meaning online sales represented 65% of total FY20 sales. Online sales represents a great opportunity to lower costs and improve profit margins.

Whatever happens with the US election, people are still going to need to buy new clothes.

At the current City Chic share price it’s trading at 21x FY22’s estimated earnings.

Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH)

Pushpay is an ASX tech share that facilitates donations. It specialises in helping large and medium US churches receive electronic donations from people.

Pushpay’s management thinks the opportunity with the US church sector could mean Pushpay can generate $1 billion of annual revenue. That’s one of the main reasons why I think Pushpay is an excting ASX growth share. 

Pushpay’s technology is in high demand during this hard COVID-19 period. Obviously social distancing and other impacts make electronic donations preferable to cash. Pushpay’s app also loves churches to livestream to their congregations.

In FY21, Pushpay is looking to at least double its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and foreign currency (EBITDAF) to US$50 million. In FY20 its EBITDAF margin improved from 17% to 22%.

Whatever happens with the US election, I think people are going to keep donating to their church. So not only does Pushpay offer a lot of growth, but I think its existing earnings are actually quite defensive.

At the current Pushpay share price it’s valued at 42x FY21’s estimated earnings.

A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

I think A2 Milk is one of the highest-quality businesses on the ASX. The infant formula’s share price has been drifting lower in recent months because of disappointing local demand for products (which are usually destined for Asian consumers).

But I think it’s just a shorter-term issue whilst COVID-19 is impacting the world. A2 Milk has a very long-term growth runway in my opinion, with a huge total addressable market in both the US and Asia.

I believe A2 Milk is one of the best ASX growth shares because of its global growth potential and its strong customer loyalty to the brand.

The company has a very large cash balance and this should help A2 Milk get through the next 12 months with no problems, even if local sales remain subdued. The expansion into Canada looks really exciting to me.

Whatever happens with the US election, households will continue to need their supply of infant formula and liquid milk. And anything else families buy from the company which they deem is essential.

At the current A2 Milk share price it’s valued at 23x FY23’s estimated earnings.

More reading

• 2 great value ASX shares I’d buy in a heartbeat
• 3 explosive ASX growth shares to buy with $3,000
• Why these ASX mid cap tech shares could smash the market in the 2020s
• Is the Pushpay (ASX:PPH) share price a buy at today’s levels?
• I think the A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price is strong buy

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 PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended A2 Milk. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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There are a good number of dividend shares for investors to choose from on the Australian share market. Which certainly is good news given the low interest rate environment we’re living in.

Two that I think would be great options right now are listed below. Here’s why I think income investors ought to buy them:

Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)

Due to a sharp pullback in the Bravura share price over the last 12 months, I think it has now become a really good option for income investors. Bravura is a leading wealth management and transfer agency software solution provider. The key product in its portfolio is the Sonata wealth management platform. It is the biggest contributor to earnings, but is being supported by a number of other increasingly popular solutions. This includes the Rufus transfer agency solution, the Garradin back office solution, and the Midwinter financial planning solution.

Although its growth has been stifled by the pandemic, I remain confident that it will accelerate again once it passes. I expect this to result in strong earnings and dividend growth over the 2020s, which could make it a great buy and hold option for income investors. For now, I estimate that it will pay shareholders an 11.5 cents per share dividend in FY 2021. Based on the current Bravura share price, this equates to an attractive 3.75% dividend yield.

BWP Trust (ASX: BWP)

Another option to consider is BWP. It is the largest owner of Bunnings Warehouse sites in Australia, with a portfolio of 68 stores. At the end of FY 2020, the company had an occupancy rate of 98% and a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 4 years. From this, it was generating annual rental income of $151.4 million. 

And while having such a reliance on a single tenant can be a dangerous thing, I see it as a strength on this occasion. This is due to the quality of the Bunnings brand, its positive growth outlook, and the fact that Bunnings’ owner, Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES), is a major BWP shareholder with a ~23.6% stake. I believe this means Wesfarmers is unlikely to do anything that would have a negative impact on its investment. Finally, based on the current BWP share price, I estimate that it offers investors a forward 4.4% yield. 

More reading

• 3 of the best mid cap ASX shares to buy right now
• These could be the next ASX stocks to unlock value by selling assets
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Buy these ASX dividend shares if the RBA cuts rates again
• Is the Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price a buy for growth or dividends?

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 Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Bravura Solutions Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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On Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was back on form and managed to record a small gain. The benchmark index rose 0.1% to 6,057.7 points.

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

ASX 200 expected to crash lower.

The Australian share market looks set to crash notably lower this morning following a terrible night of trade on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 82 points or 1.35% lower. In late trade in the United States, the Dow Jones is down 2.9%. the S&P 500 has dropped 3%, and the Nasdaq is also down 3%. COVID-19 and U.S. stimulus concerns are weighing heavily on investor sentiment.

ANZ full year results.

The Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) share price will be on watch when it releases its full year results this morning. A note out of Goldman Sachs reveals that it expects the bank’s second half cash earnings (from continued operations and pre-one offs) to be down 19.1% to $2,351 million. The broker has also pencilled in a final partially franked dividend of 38 cents per share. Goldman reduced its estimates earlier this week to reflect ANZ’s remediation update.

Oil prices sink to three-week low

COVID-19 concerns have sent oil prices down to a three-week low, which could be bad news for the likes of Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) on Thursday. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 5.3% to US$37.49 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 4.8% to US$39.24 a barrel.

Link takeover update.

The Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK) share price will be one to watch this morning after the release of an update on its takeover approach. The Link board advised that it does not believe the updated proposal ($5.40 per share) represents compelling value for shareholders. It feels further work is required to determine the viability and attractiveness of the separation of the PEXA and Link (ex PEXA) assets. However, it has granted the consortium due diligence.

Gold price drops lower.

Much to the dismay of gold miners such as Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited (ASX: SAR), not even a market selloff on Wall Street could support the safe haven asset overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price has sunk 1.8% lower to US$1,878.0 an ounce after the U.S. dollar strengthened amid the market volatility.

More reading

• Link (ASX:LNK) share price on watch on Thursday following takeover update
• Hayne Commission continues to haunt the Big Four banks
• Today was mixed for the ASX 200, ending 0.1% higher
• These could be the next ASX stocks to unlock value by selling assets
• After sliding 3% this week, is Sydney Airport’s (ASX:SYD) share price a 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 Link Administration Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Link Administration Holdings Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK) share price will be one to watch tomorrow after the release of an after-market update on its takeover approach.

What did Link announce?

Late last week the administrations services provider rejected a non-binding takeover proposal from a consortium comprising Pacific Equity Partners, Carlyle Group, and their affiliates.

After careful consideration and discussions with advisors and shareholders, the Link board decided that the offer of $5.20 cash per share materially undervalued the company and was not in the best interests of shareholders.

It didn’t take long for the consortium to come back with a better offer. On Monday it tabled a non-binding indicative proposal of $5.40 cash per share, up 20 cents from its previous offer. It also gave Link until 5pm today to respond to the approach.

After the market close, Link revealed that its board has carefully considered the revised proposal.

It advised that it does not believe the proposal represents compelling value for shareholders. It feels further work is required to determine the viability and attractiveness of the separation of the PEXA and Link (ex PEXA) assets.

Nevertheless, the board considers that it is appropriate to provide the consortium with due diligence information on a non-exclusive basis. This is so that it can develop a proposal that may be capable of being recommended to shareholders.

The due diligence information will be provided subject to entry into an appropriate confidentiality agreement containing suitable protections for Link, including a standstill clause.

It has warned shareholders that there can be no certainty that such a proposal will eventuate and that they do not need to take any action at this stage.

In addition to this, the board is continuing to examine structural alternatives, including a potential separation and demerger of PEXA.

In the meantime, if there are material developments in the future, Link intends to inform shareholders as required under its continuous disclosure obligations.

More reading

• These could be the next ASX stocks to unlock value by selling assets
• Takeover of Link Administration (ASX:LNK) is looming
• ASX 200 up 0.3%: Coca-Cola Amatil rockets on takeover approach, Westpac’s $1.2bn earnings hit
• Why Coca-Cola Amatil, CSR, Link, & Qantas shares are storming higher
• 5 major ASX 200 events this 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 Link Administration Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Link Administration Holdings Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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As well as checking out the most popular ASX shares Aussies have been buying, we Fools also like to have a periodical look at which US shares have been piquing the interest of ASX investors.

The data is provided by Commonwealth Bank of Australia‘s (ASX: CBA) CommSec platform, which covers 19-23 October.

Most popular US shares on the ASX

The 5 most popular US shares last week were the following:

1.  Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) – representing 9.4% of total trades with a 91%/9% buy-to-sell ratio.
2.  Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) – representing 4.1% of total trades with an 80%/20% buy-to-sell ratio.
3.  Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) – representing 3.1% of total trades with an 85%/15% buy-to-sell ratio.
4.  Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) – representing 2.2% of total trades with an 84%/16% buy-to-sell ratio.
5.  Fastly Inc (NYSE: FSLY) – representing 1.5% of total trades with an 81%/19% buy-to-sell ratio.

The next five most traded shares were these:

      6.  Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)

      7.  Square Inc (NASDAQ: SQ)

      8.  NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA)

      9.  Zoom Video Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM)

      10. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc (NASDAQ: AMD)

What can we learn from these trades?

Tesla once again dominates the most popular US shares list, maintaining the dominant position we have seen virtually all year. Tesla did report its quarterly earnings this week, which seemed to be positively received by investors, despite not much happening in the Tesla share price (it’s up 0.83% over the past month). Still, it helped Aussies hop aboard the Elon Musk train with a 91% buying percentage.

We also see investors’ love of electric vehicle makers spill over into Chinese ‘Tesla-killer’ Nio. Nio has had an incredible year over the past 12 months. This time last year, the company was at an all-time low of US$1.36. Today, it’s trading for US$28.44 – a 1-year return close to 2,000%. Apparently ASX investors think it’s time to hop on this wagon, rather than off it, given the 85%/15% buy-sell ratio.

Amazon is never far from ASX investors’ minds these days, given that (like Tesla) it never seems to be far from the top of the table.

But a rarer entrant is present this week: Fastly. Fastly is a US-based cloud computing services provider which only IPOed last year. Since then, the shares are up 210%, including 229% in the past 6 months. However, they are also down 42% since 13 October, which probably explains why we were seeing some buying pressure last week.

AMD also is a rare entrant and squeaked in last week at the 10th place. AMD manufactures computer chipsets and graphics cards and competes with companies like Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) and NVIDIA. AMD shares are down around 9% since 7 October, but are up an incredible 3,600% over the past 5 years.

More reading

• Hayne Commission continues to haunt the Big Four banks
• Amazon to hire 100,000 seasonal workers as demand is expected to soar
• Cloud computing and gaming boost Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) earnings results
• ASX stock of the day: Strategic Elements (ASX:SOR) surges 170% on new self-charging battery
• A look into Mike Cannon-Brookes’ share portfolio

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Tesla and Intel. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Square, Tesla, and Zoom Video Communications and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $85 calls on Microsoft, short January 2021 $115 calls on Microsoft, short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon, and long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon, Apple, NVIDIA, and Zoom Video Communications. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA) share price gained 5.6% today, outpacing the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) gains of 0.2%.

This follows the company’s quarterly activities report, released this morning.

Today’s gains see the Champion Iron share price well into the green for the year, up 15% since 2 January. That’s despite the shares falling more than 50% from late January through to 24 March. Since then shares are up 119%.

What does Champion Iron do?

Champion Iron is an iron ore exploration and development company. Through its subsidiary, Quebec Iron Ore, the company owns and operates the Bloom Lake Mining Complex. This is located in the southern Labrador Trough in Quebec, Canada’s largest source of iron ore.

Champion Iron also owns the Gullbridge-Powderhorn property in Northern Central Newfoundland. The company sells its iron ore concentrate around the world with customers in China, Japan, the Middle East, Europe, South Korea and India.

Why is the Champion Iron share price up today?

Champion Iron announced record production, net income and net cash flow from its operations in the second quarter of FY21.

Atop revealing that it had suffered no new confirmed cases of COVID-19, the company reported revenue of $311 million for the 3-month period ending 30 September. This is up from $164 million over the same quarter in 2019.

Net income was also up, coming in at $122 million compared to a net loss of $1.7 million for the second quarter in 2019.

This left Champion Iron with a strong balance sheet, reporting cash on hand of $426 million. That compares to cash on hand of $346 million on 30 June. The company said that comes despite a dividend payment of $17 million made during the second quarter, and $97 million in mining taxes and payments.

Cpommenting on the results, Champion Iron CEO David Cataford said:

Our team’s agility in adapting operations is unlocking the full potential of our flagship Bloom Lake Mine, resulting in record quarterly production and financial results for our company.

I am proud to be leading such a highly motivated workforce, dedicated to the success of our company, despite the challenging environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic… With our cash on hand rapidly growing, our company continues to diligently advance the Phase II expansion project, increasing the cumulative budget to $120 million, which is expected to further de-risk the project.

With the iron ore price strong at US$115 per tonne today, and Champion Iron reporting record production, I think the Champion Iron share price will be one to watch.

More reading

• Why the Evans Dixon (ASX:ED1) share price is up 7% as the All Ords slides
• Why the Probiotec (ASX:PBP) share price is trading higher
• Why the Danakali (ASX:DNK) share price is down 7% today
• Why the Adairs (ASX:ADH) share price is swinging lower today
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX snaps winning streak… just

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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In the mid cap space I continue to believe there are a good number of shares that have the potential to grow strongly over the next decade, potentially generating market-beating returns for shareholders.

Three which I think would be great options for long-term focused investors are listed below:

Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)

Bravura is a leading provider of software solutions for the wealth management and funds administration industries. I’m a big fan of the company due to its growing portfolio of solutions that are both high quality and have significant market opportunities. This is particularly the case for the Sonata wealth management platform. This is used by a number of large financial institutions, such as Aware Super. In fact, Australia’s second largest super fund just signed a 7-year agreement for Sonata.

Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF)

Another mid cap share to consider buying is Collins Foods. It is one of the largest quick service restaurant operators in the ANZ region. At the last count, it had 240 KFC stores in Australia, 40 KFC stores in Europe, and 12 Taco Bell across Queensland and Victoria. Although this is a sizeable network, management stills see plenty of room to expand in the coming years. I expect this and the continued popularity of its brands to underpin consistently solid earnings and dividend growth for the foreseeable future. 

Damstra Holdings Ltd (ASX: DTC)

Finally, Damstra is a growing integrated workplace management solutions provider to multiple industry segments. Its cloud-based workplace management platform is used by businesses globally to track, manage and protect their workers and assets. This appears to have left it for well-placed to benefit from changes to working conditions in the post-pandemic world. Particularly given solutions such as fever detection and mobility tracking. The company also recently bolstered its offering with the acquisition of Vault Intelligence. It is a software company offering solutions which combine health, safety, compliance, and risk management.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Why is the Bravura (ASX:BVS) share price dropping today?
• Why the Damstra (ASX:DTC) share price is climbing higher today
• 5 top ASX shares to buy with $5,000
• Beat the rate cuts with these ASX dividend shares

James Mickleboro owns shares of Collins Foods Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Damstra Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Bravura Solutions Ltd and Damstra Holdings Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Collins Foods Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The aftermath of the Banking Royal Commission (also called the Hayne Commission) continues to spill over, almost two years after it concluded.

After much soul-searching and lessons learnt in these last two years, the big four banks are still grappling with various write-down in profits related to the findings from that inquiry. 

Here we take a look at how the inquiry has financially impacted the big four banks over the last two years.

Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ)

ANZ Bank announced yesterday that its second half 2020 cash profit would be impacted by a charge of $528 million as a result of large notable items. 

One of the items includes remediation to customers, which makes up $188 million of the total figure. This charge relates to remediation programs the bank had conducted in response to recommendations made by the commission.

Earlier this year, ANZ had already paid a $10 million penalty for wrongly charging 69,000 customers more than $3 million in fees.

The figures announced yesterday will only add to the misery.

Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)

Earlier this month, the Federal Court ordered Westpac to pay a $1.3 billion penalty for its breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Acts. The penalty was the highest ever civil penalty in Australian history, reflecting the seriousness of internal control failures at Westpac.

The compliance failures were levelled by AUSTRAC, a government financial intelligence agency set up to monitor financial transactions.

In response, Westpac admitted to the court that it failed to report 19.6 million international transactions within 10 days. The bank also admitted to 48 instances where it didn’t perform adequate customer due diligence, and failure to flag 262 customers for making transactions that fitted the pattern of child exploitation.

It remains to be seen whether more write-down will be reported in the future as the bank recently reshuffled its management team. 

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)

Last week, NAB also announced a hit to profits totalling $450 million. This includes payment of refunds to customers of $245 million, and a whopping $128 million in backdated payments to remediate staff underpayment.

This figure is on top of the $297 million in penalties the bank has already paid since 2018.

NAB revealed 12 months ago that it was investigating a payroll mistake responsible for short-changing 730 NAB employees of about AU$850,000. That number had grown to 1,500 staff and $1.3 million by June, but it was a surprise for the market to hear the number had now increased to $128 million. 

NAB was also accused of charging customers fees without providing them with services, as well as providing its wealth clients with non-compliant advice.

The bank recently announced a startling forecast that the cost of compensating customers could eventually be as high as $2.2billion, which it already reported as provisions during the half year reporting.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)

In 2018, the prudential regulator APRA slammed CBA’s board and senior management in a scathing report that chided the bank for its widespread “complacency and excessive complexity and insularity”. The regulator also identified serious failures in the bank’s internal controls to prevent anti-money laundering and terrorism-related activities.

CBA agreed to pay AU$700 million in penalties, as well as agreeing to carry an additional $1 billion in regulatory capital and to undertake a comprehensive review of its operations. 

Earlier this year, CBA denied reports that it was facing fines in the billions of dollars for selling superannuation products through bank tellers. That saga is still ongoing and the bank may still be imposed a fine for that breach.

So what lies ahead for the big four banks?

With all that’s happening, it’s clear that FY20 will not be the best year for banking sector investors. Many banks will be throwing everything but the kitchen sink when they close the books for FY20, by including other write-down charges in a year that’s already lost. Investors may need to be patient and focus on the FY21 results.

More reading

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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price on watch after revealing $528 million earnings hit
• Douugh and Ioupay were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week

Motley Fool contributor dsunarto has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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