If you’re a fan of buy and hold investing and are on the lookout for a few long term investments, then you might want to take a look at the ASX tech shares listed below.

Especially after a pullback in many of their share prices on Tuesday brought them down to even more attractive levels.

Here’s why I think these ASX tech shares could be top buy and hold options:

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

I think this award-winning printed circuit board (PCB) design software provider could be a great buy and hold option. Altium has been growing at a rapid rate over the last few years thanks to the growing popularity of its software with product designers and the proliferation of electronic devices globally. The good news is that with the Internet of Things market still accelerating and the company recently launching its new Altium 365 product, subscriber numbers look set to continue their impressive rise in the coming years once the pandemic passes. I expect this to drive strong earnings growth as its scales.

IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL)

IDP Education is a leading provider of international student placement services and English language testing services. Although its near term performance is likely to be impacted greatly by the pandemic, I expect it to rebound strongly once the crisis passes. In addition to this, I believe it has a very positive long term outlook due to its sizeable addressable opportunity, strong market position, and growing software-as-a-service business. This could make it worth taking advantage of the IDP Education share price weakness to pick up shares.

NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

A final option to consider buying and holding is NEXTDC. I believe the data centre operator is well-placed to capitalise on the cloud computing boom. According to global technology research firm Gartner, it has forecast that 80% of all organisations will shift their workloads to third-party data centres by 2025. I expect this to lead to increasing demand for its innovative data centre outsourcing solutions, which should support solid earnings growth as the company scales.

More reading

• ASX 200 drops 0.6% today, Afterpay share price down 7%
• Investor in your 30s? Buy these cheap ASX shares
• Pointerra share price soars 77% on $2.5 million placement to tech entrepreneur
• Why Afterpay, Altium, Northern Star, & Pushpay shares are sinking lower
• ASX 200 down 0.5%: Altium sales update, Afterpay tumbles, Breville shoots higher

James Mickleboro owns shares of NEXTDC Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Altium and Idp Education Pty Ltd. 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.

The post 3 exciting ASX tech shares to buy and hold for a decade appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fell by 0.6% today, dropping back to 5,941 points.

Plenty of ASX shares were brought back down to Earth today. The number of COVID-19 cases in the south east of Australia continues to grow.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price falls 7.2%

The ASX 200 buy now, pay later share suffered a heavy selloff today. It finished the day at $66.55. This is still higher than the $66 price than co-founders Anthony Eisen and Nicholas Molnar sold their shares at.

Afterpay recently raised $650 million through a fully underwritten institutional placement to strengthen its balance sheet and accelerate growth.

It’s now undertaking a share purchase plan to raise approximately $150 million.

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price falls 3.6%

The electronic PCB software business announced a revenue update to the market today.

The ASX 200 share announced that in FY20 its worldwide revenue grew by 10% to US$189 million and worldwide sales grew by 10% to US$194 million.

Altium also reported a 14% increased in new Altium Designer seats sold and it also saw record growth of 17% in the subscription base to more than 50,000 subscribers.

The ASX tech share finished FY20 with US$90 million of cash.

Altium CEO Mr Aram Mirkazemi said: “While COVID-19 prevented us from reaching our long standing aspirational goal of $200 million in revenue, conditions surrounding COVID-19 have dramatically accelerated our movement towards market dominance and the implementation of our transformative agenda for the industry.”

The new cloud platform called Altium 365 now has over 2,500 businesses and almost 5,000 active users on the platform.

Altium is also working on its digital sales capabilities and it’s still aiming for 100,000 subscribers by 2025.

Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH) share selloff

The Pushpay share price dropped 10.8% today. There was a selldown of shares by its largest shareholder.

The Huljich family entered into a block trade agreement yesterday with JP Morgan and UBS to sell 25% of their shares. The family is expected to still be the largest shareholder after the sale with a combined stake of 43.2 million shares and Peter Huljich will remain on the Pushpay board with Christopher Huljich continuing to act as his alternate director.

The shares were sold for NZ$8.60 per share. This amounted to NZ$123.85 million.

Peter Huljich said: “The outlook for Pushpay remains positive. We look forward to continuing to support the company as it seeks to deliver upon its strategy of becoming the preferred provider of mission-critical software to the US faith sector. The Huljich family confirms that it does not have any current intention to sell further shares in Pushpay and has provided an undertaking to the underwriters not to sell further shares in Pushpay until after Pushpay’s interim results are announced on the NZX and ASX.”

Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) announces write off

After the market had shut for the day the company announced that it has undertaken a review of the carrying value of its assets as of 30 June 2020.

The ASX 200 resources giant expects to recognise US$3.92 billion of post-tax impairments in its 30 June 2020 half year result.

That total comprises of two elements. The first part is $2.76 billion for oil and gas properties. The second part is $1.16 billion for exploration and evaluation assets.

Woodside also expects to include a post-tax onerous contract provision for the Corpus Christi LNG sale and purchase agreement of US$447 million.

About 80% of the impairments are due to the significant and immediate reduction in oil and natural gas prices assumed up to 2025. There is also increased uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, macroeconomic factors and increased risks of higher carbon pricing.

More reading

• 3 exciting ASX tech shares to buy and hold for a decade
• Is the Coles share price still attractive after it surged to a record high today?
• Investor in your 30s? Buy these cheap ASX shares
• Top brokers pick the latest ASX small cap stocks to buy today
• Which ASX shares will benefit from the second lockdown?

Tristan Harrison owns shares of Altium. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Altium and PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. 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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The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price has risen 11% so far in 2020 which, if I’m honest, is a little surprising given the negative effect the coronavirus is having on small businesses.

However, I think Xero still has excellent long-term prospects as the world turns ever more digital. There are three reasons I’m betting big on Xero today:

1. Xero is a ‘first mover’ in an important, emerging industry

Being a first mover in an important, emerging industry is one of Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner’s six traits of a ‘rule breaker’ investment. Successful first movers have a head start in building a competitive advantage which is essential to long-term success.

Xero was a pioneer of cloud-based accounting software, thanks to founder Rod Drury, and has taken that lead and run with it. The company now dominates in Australia and New Zealand with more than 1.3 million subscribers. I believe Xero’s early learnings about how to adapt and scale to new geographies are strong foundations for its continued growth into new countries.

2. Xero has a strong switching cost moat

A switching cost moat is a competitive advantage that makes it hard for customers to change to a competing product. One way Xero does this is by winning over accountants – the people who look after our tax. If my accountant tells me to subscribe to Xero, because that’s how she manages my tax, then that’s what I’ll use.

In addition, Xero’s software becomes a core part of the daily operations of the businesses it serves. It can be a daunting and time consuming task to shift to a competitor. This creates strong customer retention giving Xero valuable pricing power.

3. I think Xero has a significant growth runway

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that software is eating the world more quickly than ever. Yet it feels like accounting and tax industries have been slow to the dinner table. This will change as countries like the United Kingdom increasingly push to ‘make tax digital’ and I think Xero will be perfectly placed to keep growing.

I do expect subscriber growth to slow in the next 12 months as small companies battle the scourge that is COVID-19. However, I think the Xero share price will continue to compound growth masterfully over the next decade.

Foolish takeaway

My thesis for owning Xero shares centres around it being an early mover with a strong economic moat in an important, emerging industry. The company may hit some speed bumps over the next 12 months, but I think it has excellent long-term prospects.

More reading

• Investor in your 30s? Buy these cheap ASX shares
• ASX 200 down 0.5%: Altium sales update, Afterpay tumbles, Breville shoots higher
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• The difficulty of investing in shares right now
• The rise and rise of ASX SaaS shares

Regan Pearson owns shares of Xero.

You can follow him on Twitter @Regan_Invests.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Xero. 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 Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) rallied to a record high today as it’s one of the lucky few to benefit from the COVID-19 outbreak. But is it too late to buy shares in the supermarket giant?

The Coles share price gained 0.3% to $17.96 on Tuesday while the Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price eased 0.2% to $38.41 and the Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS) ended flat at $2.77.

Triple COVID-19 benefit

Shares in all three stocks held up reasonably well through the coronavirus pandemic as panic buying of groceries amid the lockdown lifted sales.

But there’s two other benefits. Discounts given at the supermarkets started drying up as they didn’t feel the need to tempt customers to shop with price promotions during the frenzy.

This also meant that the market remained rational as the supermarkets didn’t have to aggressively compete against each other.

Grocery price inflation easing

The result is borne out in grocery prices. Inflation at Coles and Woolies jumped around 3.5% year-on-year in the June quarter compared with 1.8% in the previous quarter.

Greater volume and rising prices are great news for supermarket earnings, although UBS warns that the inflation momentum is easing, particularly for dry goods.

“Inflation post-COVID-19 panic buying remains supportive of a rational market; promotional intensity is broadly easing; and range continues to grow as retailers aim to differentiate,” said UBS.

“That said, easing dry-goods inflation into Jun-20 and supplier expectations suggest inflation tailwinds are likely to slow moving forward.

“By retailer, relative inflation at Coles is lower vs. [Woolworths].”

Coles share price vs. Woolworths share price

While the broker is upbeat on the sector, it rates Woolworths and Metcash a “buy”, and Coles as “neutral”.

Industry feedback suggests that Woolies is beating Coles and the broker likes the former for its top-line outperformance and long-term growth opportunities. It also thinks Metcash is cheap.

Foolish takeaway

Given the increasing risk of another COVID-19 outbreak in New South Wales and the second shutdown of the Victorian economy, I too think the sector is an attractive safe harbour and have a slight preference for Woolworths.

This is largely because the Coles share price has outperformed with a 21% gain since the start of calendar 2020 compared to an 11% loss by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO).

In contrast, Woolies only managed a 6% gain even though management has a better track record than Coles, in my view.

Having said that, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to buy both stocks. As I’ve repeated a number of times, valuation alone isn’t the reason to buy or sell ASX shares in this highly unpredictable environment.

More reading

• ASX 200 drops 0.6% today, Afterpay share price down 7%
• Investor in your 30s? Buy these cheap ASX shares
• Top brokers pick the latest ASX small cap stocks to buy today
• Which ASX shares will benefit from the second lockdown?
• 3 ASX shares to buy before earnings season

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Woolworths Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET and Woolworths 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.

The post Is the Coles share price still attractive after it surged to a record high today? appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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ASX healthcare shares have been among the top-performing market sectors over the last 12 months. The demand for healthcare products and services continues to grow higher around the world.

In this article I will take you through two of my top ASX healthcare shares picks: CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) and Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH). Here’s why they are both on my buy list right now:

CSL

CSL has evolved over the past 3 decades to become a global market leader in blood plasma research and disease treatment. The company is now a highly successful global business that provides a broad range of research treatments that are protected by product patents. This is backed by a highly efficient global production and distribution network, reaching more than 60 countries. CSL delivered a very strong 11% increase in revenue to US$4,980 million for the six months to 31 December 2019

This ASX healthcare share has also played a vital role during the coronavirus pandemic.  It recently entered into a new agreement for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

I believe that the CSL growth story is set to continue over the next decade, driven by a strong new product development pipeline. With its share price down by around 18% on its 12-month high in February, I feel that now could be a good time to add CSL shares to your ASX portfolio.

Cochlear

Another company that appeals to me in the ASX healthcare sector right now is Cochlear.

The Cochlear share price fell heavily during the early phase of the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, it has only seen a relatively weak and partial recovery. Cochlear’s shares are still down by around 25% from mid February. There has been a sharp reduction in elective surgeries in is operating markets, particularly in the United States and Western Europe. However, elective surgeries are now beginning again in some markets including Australia. I think that the significant recent reduction in the Cochlear share price provides investors with a good buying opportunity. I remain confident about Cochlear’s long term future, driven by the growing demand for quality hearing products and solutions over the next few decades.

Foolish takeaway

Both CSL and Cochlear are two quality ASX healthcare shares that I think would make good buy and hold options over the next five years. I believe both are well placed to deliver above average shareholder returns during this period. With recent reductions in their share prices since the onset of the pandemic, investors have the opportunity to snap them up at more attractive prices.

More reading

• Which ASX shares will benefit from the second lockdown?
• New investors could invest $1,000 into these top ASX shares
• 2 ASX shares that could be 10-baggers
• 3 high quality blue chip ASX shares Warren Buffett might buy
• Where to invest $10,000 into ASX 200 shares right now

Phil Harpur owns shares of Cochlear Ltd. and CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Cochlear Ltd. and CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cochlear 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.

The post 2 quality ASX healthcare shares to snap up at more attractive prices appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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We Fools sometimes like to check out some of the best fund managers on the ASX for some investing inspiration. It’s also a good (and shameless) chance to have a peek at what some successful investors have their eyes on. So today we’re looking at Mirrabooka Investments Ltd (ASX: MIR), how its fundies have performed in FY2020 and what they are buying going into FY21.

Who is Mirrabooka?

Mirrabooka Investments is a Listed Investment Company (LIC), which is an ASX-listed investment vehicle that allows investors to invest in the fund just as they would an individual company through buying (or selling) shares.

This particular fund primarily invests in the small and mid-cap space on the ASX, eschewing large-cap shares like the big ASX banks or Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW).

Over FY2020, Mirrabooka reported that it has returned 7.1% over the 12 months to 30 June 2020 (which includes the benefits of franking credits). That’s a 9% outperformance against Mirrabooka’s benchmark indices. Over the past 10 years (which is a much better metric to look at in my view), the fund has delivered an average of 13.3% per annum (again including franking) against the benchmark’s 8.3%.

This outperformance tells me that Mirrabooka’s investing picks are at least worth listening to.

What has this ASX LIC been investing in?

Mirrabooka reports that the shares that contributed to the funds’ outperformance last financial year include Macquarie Telecom Group Ltd (ASX: MAQ), Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH), Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG) and Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT).

The fund managers did note that the company has “significantly reduced the number of holdings in its portfolio in recent years”, due to a perceived disconnect between risk and reward in many ASX companies’ pricing as a result of low interest rates and fiscal stimulus.

Over the course of FY20, the company did offload a number of positions, including that in TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), Computershare Limited (ASX: CPU), and Dulux Group (which was acquired by Japan’s Nippon Paint last year).

In their places, new acquisitions include Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH), Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd (ASX: CWY), InvoCare Limited (ASX: IVC), and Auckland International Airport Limited (ASX: AIA).

As of 30 June, the company’s cash position as a percentage of the total portfolio is sitting at 5.2%.

Foolish takeaway

In my view, Mirrabooka is a great fund manager, and I think it has an admirable investing style and methodology. It’s always nice (in my view anyway) to see fund managers pull back from raging bull markets rather than betting the house on jumping on the bandwagon, which is what Mirrabooka’s management has told us they are avoiding.

More reading

• Got $3,000? Here are 3 great ASX shares to buy
• 3 exciting ASX tech shares to buy and hold for a decade
• ASX 200 drops 0.6% today, Afterpay share price down 7%
• 3 reasons I’m betting big on the Xero share price
• Is the Coles share price still attractive after it surged to a record high today?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Woolworths Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended InvoCare 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.

The post Top fundie names ASX share picks for FY21 appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) investors in their 30s have a long time until retirement. They can look to buy cheap ASX shares to build wealth. With that said, many are starting families and getting mortgages. With strong income earning potential, this group of investors is, in theory, in the prime position to continue to invest in growth stocks to outperform the share market.

ASX investors in their 30s

As investors, we’re a motley crew. We all have motley goals, motley resources, and motley risk appetite. Because of this, it is important to understand your own personal circumstances and invest accordingly. Whether you are just starting out investing, or have been investing for over a decade, these stocks could be great long term buy and hold investments for your portfolio.

3 “cheap” ASX 200 shares to buy now

Altium Ltd (ASX: ALU)

None of the stocks in this article are cheap by traditional metrics but I believe they will be in the future. Printed circuit board software company Altium current trades at around 58x earnings and pays a dividend on a yield of just 1.1%.

However, there is a reason that Altium is my top ASX dividend stock for July. Altium has been able to grow earnings at an impressive rate and this has allowed the company to increase its dividend at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 19% per annum since FY15. I expect this strong earnings growth to continue for the medium to long term, allowing for outsized total returns.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

Outside of my Motley Fool writing, I’m a tax accountant. I’ve been using Xero to help my clients for years. It’s a great example of how you can find great investment ideas, within your circle of competence, in your own life. 

I really don’t know why I didn’t buy the stock sooner! Xero has a great product which is predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, but which is growing in the UK and US. Internationally there is a trend towards more timely digital reporting for both tax and accounting. As a result, I feel Xero has a long runway for growth.

Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL)

Aristocrat operates a gaming business made up of both traditional physical poker machines, as well as a growing digital casino and social games business. The company has made some notable acquisitions in recent years, as it has moved more towards the higher-margin online gaming business. Although acquisitions are hard to pull off for either valuation or business reasons, so far Aristocrat has done a decent job.

Although casinos have been closed recently, over the long term I expect Aristocrat to continue to grow steadily in its massive total addressable market. With the Aristocrat share price at a 35% discount to February highs, I think now is a great time to buy.

Foolish bottom line

These ASX 200 growth shares are slowly maturing, having reached profitability. In my view, they are still small enough, in large enough addressable markets, to continue growing (and compounding) for years.

More reading

• 3 exciting ASX tech shares to buy and hold for a decade
• ASX 200 drops 0.6% today, Afterpay share price down 7%
• 3 reasons I’m betting big on the Xero share price
• Is the Coles share price still attractive after it surged to a record high today?
• Top brokers pick the latest ASX small cap stocks to buy today

Lloyd Prout owns shares of Altium, Aristocrat Leisure and Xero Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Altium and Xero. 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.

The post Investor in your 30s? Buy these cheap ASX shares appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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Today is my second work day back from a couple of weeks off (as you’ll likely know if you read last week’s piece about me being, well, let’s just say ‘involuntarily parked’ on the side of a dirt road between White Cliffs and Tilpa).

I have to say I’m happy to be back — though as soon as I can work out a way to combine investing and travelling the country’s backroads, I’ll be making my case to the boss!

And, as an investor, I never truly switch off that part of my brain.

There’s always something to think about: an opportunity, a trend, an observation that takes me back to wealth creation.

Because I was in Outback NSW, though, while my thoughts strayed back to the market sometimes, my access to those markets was often limited for days at a time.

No internet meant no checking my brokerage account, or the movement of the various Australian and global markets.

And I will confess, when I was in range, I checked the ‘price sensitive’ ASX announcements of our recommendations — but I don’t think I checked share prices once.

If I did, it certainly wasn’t twice.

Our members needn’t worry about that, by the way — I work with some wonderful capital-F Fools who were keeping the home fires burning while I was galavanting around the bush (and could get in touch with me, should the need arise).

For me, checking announcements was the extent of my involvement, for both our services and my portfolio.

And it was wonderfully freeing.

I suppose you’re wondering how I set my portfolio up for such a hiatus? Which trades I made, limit orders I entered, and broker instructions I left?

Fair question. Here’s the list:

Yep. Nothing.

But how could I possibly do that?

Anything could have gone wrong while I was gone, right?

Share prices could have moved, COVID cases could have skyrocketed, Donald Trump could have actually worn a mask…

(Apparently the last one happened! I have to say, it was probably the longest odds of the list, but that’s the folly of forecasting!)

But with all of that uncertainty…. especially RIGHT NOW…

How could I be so bloody cavalier???

It’s another fair question.

But I have an answer for this one: because my portfolio isn’t built for daily or weekly success.

(And if you think yours is, either you’re the 0.001% exception, or I have bad news for you.)

See, I have a diversified portfolio.

I have investment theses that I expect will play out over years (maybe even decades).

Sure, there was a chance some diabolically bad news would break that required instant action.

Not a very big chance.

Not even a small chance.

A tiny chance. But, yes, a chance.

So I guess I was taking a risk of sorts in that sense. But the odds were so incredibly small — and, on balance, I reckon I was more likely to make money by staying invested rather than trying to avoid every possible permutation of risk by selling before I went.

I trade so incredibly infrequently that the odds of something happening within that two weeks, that would require me to take action, was tiny.

—

Funnily enough, I intended to write this article on the road last week. But me getting bogged was too good a story not to share (and it had some investing takeaways, too!). 

But in the meantime, I saw this Warren Buffett quote tweeted by my Canadian colleague (and good bloke) Jim Gillies:

“Lethargy bordering on sloth remains the cornerstone of our investment style”

I’m not so pithy, but my preferred approach mirrors that. I have regularly said my style — and the approach I recommend for our members — is:

“Be slow to buy and even slower to sell”

Why?

Because it’s hard to find really great investment opportunities.

And, once you’ve found them (assuming you’re a good judge), it’s often the case that holding such investments through thick and thin is a much better approach than trying to cleverly sell them because of some temporary quality or price issue.

Yes, sometimes there’s a reason to sell. It’s why that quote doesn’t say “… and never sell”.

But not only am I loathe to sell quality companies… but doing so creates another problem: what to buy with the proceeds.

If I have another cracking idea, it’s easier. But selling one company and buying another means you have to be right twice — once for each transaction.

And if you have a winner — a company that’s continuing to succeed in the marketplace — you rarely should want to sell anyway.

Lethargic? Slothful?

Maybe.

It’s certainly not going to form the basis of an online CFD trading ad, is it?

The thing is, in my — and others’ — experience, it works.

And it’s a helluva lot better than the alternative.

If it’s action you’re after, dear Fool, buy a fast car (and drive it within the speed limit, of course!). Buy yourself an XBox. Take up paragliding.

The ASX — and investing in general — isn’t the place for action, activity or trying to be too clever by half.

If that shocks you, good. 

As Pascal wrote:

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone”.

If it’s true in general, it’s even more accurate for investors.

Put down the mobile trading app. Log off your online brokerage account.

Go outside. Garden. Fish. Go shopping. Take a walk around the block. Read a book.

Or, like me, see if you can go for a fortnight without checking your account.

The world won’t end, and you’ll be better for the patience and calmness you learn.

Fool on! 

More reading

• Got $3,000? Here are 3 great ASX shares to buy
• 3 exciting ASX tech shares to buy and hold for a decade
• ASX 200 drops 0.6% today, Afterpay share price down 7%
• 3 reasons I’m betting big on the Xero share price
• Is the Coles share price still attractive after it surged to a record high today?

Motley Fool contributor Scott Phillips 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.

The post My pre-holiday trading strategy appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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I think the mid cap side of the market is a great place to look for investment ideas.

This is because mid cap shares generally carry less risk than their small cap counterparts and offer potentially stronger returns than their large cap peers.

But with so many to choose from, it can be hard to decide which ones to buy. To help you narrow things down, I have picked out two mid cap shares which I think have very bright future ahead of them.

Here’s why I would buy these mid cap ASX shares:

Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)

The first mid cap ASX share to look at is Bravura Solutions. It is a leading provider of software products and services to the wealth management and funds administration industries. I’m a big fan of the financial technology company due to its Sonata wealth management platform. This platform has been a key driver of its strong earnings growth over the last few years and looks set to continue this trend over the coming years thanks to its quality and large global market opportunity.

In addition to Sonata, the company has a number of other popular software products which are being used by large financial institutions. These include the Rufus transfer agency solution, the Garradin back office solution, and the recently acquired Midwinter financial planning software. The latter is a relatively new addition and is expected to give it a new avenue for growth in an industry benefiting from structural tailwinds.

Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA)

Another top mid cap ASX share to consider buying is this aerial imagery technology and location data company. Thanks to increasing demand for its services in both Australia and North America, Nearmap has been growing its sales at a rapid rate over the last few years. And while this positive run will end in FY 2020 because of some large churn events, I believe its growth will accelerate again once the pandemic passes.

Especially given its massive market opportunity in the United States, the launch of several exciting new products (including an AI product), and its potential expansion into new territories. So with the Nearmap share price down over 40% from its 52-week high, now could be an opportune time to make a patient long-term investment.

More reading

• Here are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX
• 3 exciting ASX growth shares to buy and hold until 2030
• Vocus and 1 other ASX share to buy in July
• Ramsay and 2 other ASX shares to buy and hold beyond 2026
• Why PolyNovo and this ASX mid cap share could be future large caps

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 Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Bravura Solutions Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nearmap 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.

The post Why I would buy Nearmap and this mid cap ASX share right now appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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Warren Buffett – chair and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) – has been amongst the world’s richest people for decades now. Buffett built his gargantuan conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway from a failing textile mill in the 1960s into one of the largest companies in the world today. It’s estimated by our Fool colleagues over in the US that Berkshire shares were around US$12.37 when Buffett took over the company in 1966. Today, those shares will set you back a staggering US$276,015 each. That’s a rough annual compounded growth rate of 20.9% and the main reason why Buffett is today the world’s 8th richest person and an investing idol for many.

Buffett’s average year

But 2020 has been a punishing year for Buffett and it’s starting to show. According to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR), which in turn quotes Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, Buffett was briefly overtaken by Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk last week in terms of total net worth.

Although the 2 gentlemen are neck and neck at the time of writing (with Buffett’s net worth at US$69.7 billion and Musk at US$68.6 billion), it still represents a monumental ‘changing of the guard’ moment, in my view. Musk has now added an extraordinary US$41 billion to his fortune since the start of the year, whereas Buffett has lost US$19.5 billion.

Buffett still owns a massive stake in Berkshire Hathaway, but the company has struggled amid the coronavirus pandemic and March market crash. Even though the shares still command a hefty price tag today, they are still down around 20% from the highs of over US$347,000 back in February.

According to the AFR, Buffett also admirably donated roughly US$2.9 billion to charity last week, which obviously pulled down his net worth as well. The AFR also reports that since 2006, Buffett has given away around US$37 billion worth of Berkshire shares.

Enter Elon

Musk is a founding investor of Tesla, an electric vehicle and infrastructure manufacturer whose share price has ballooned from US$430 a share at the start of the year to US$1,497 at the time of writing. Since Musk owns around 38.7 million Tesla shares (around 20% of Tesla’s outstanding share volume), this is where the majority of his wealth is now stored. As a result of this, Musk is now the highest-paid CEO in the USA, having received a healthy US$595 million bonus as a result of Tesla’s exploding market capitalisation earlier this year.

But Tesla isn’t musk’s only gig. He is also CEO of space exploration company SpaceX, as well as CEO of The Boring Company and Neuralink (all private companies). Talk about a full workload!

Foolish takeaway

Despite what you think of Mr. Musk or Mr. Buffett, it is still interesting seeing the net worth of these titans of capitalism fluctuate. It is worth noting that Buffett would still trump Musk if it wasn’t for his generous philanthropy over the past 2 decades.

More reading

• Is Tesla Stock a Buy Right Now?
• 3 Warren Buffett quotes to start your week off right
• How I’d build a $100,000 share portfolio with ASX ETFs
• Short sellers are betting US$20bn against the skyrocketing Tesla share price
• ASX investors have been buying these 5 international shares

Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Berkshire Hathaway (B shares) and Tesla and recommends the following options: long January 2021 $200 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), short January 2021 $200 puts on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), and short September 2020 $200 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). 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.

The post How Elon Musk overtook Warren Buffett’s net worth appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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