I don’t have kids yet, but if and when I do, there is one thing I’m absolutely certain about. I’d want to give them the best possible financial foundation.

And for anyone thinking about building long-term wealth for children or grandchildren, a simple, low-maintenance investment strategy is often the smartest way forward.

That’s where exchange-traded funds (ETFs) come in. With just a few high-quality ETFs, you can create a globally diversified portfolio designed to compound steadily over decades.

If I were building a long-term portfolio for future kids or grandkids, these are three ASX ETFs I would consider choosing.

Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

The Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF offers exposure to the Nasdaq-100 Index, which is home to some of the world’s most innovative businesses. This includes Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). These are companies driving advances in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, semiconductors, and consumer technology.

The Nasdaq has a long track record of outperforming many global indices thanks to its focus on high-growth sectors. Over a 10- to 20-year period, these businesses tend to reinvest heavily, innovate quickly, and grow earnings at a far faster rate than traditional industries.

For a child or grandchild with decades ahead of them, the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF could be a powerful long-term compounding machine.

Betashares India Quality ETF (ASX: IIND)

India is shaping up to be one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies, driven by rapid urbanisation, favourable demographics, and rising disposable incomes.

The Betashares India Quality ETF gives Australian investors a simple way to participate in this growth by owning a basket of high-quality Indian stocks that have been screened for strong profitability and financial strength.

Some of its notable holdings include Reliance Industries (NSEI: RELIANCE), Infosys (NYSE: INFY), and Tata Consultancy Services (NSEI: TCS). These are businesses that play central roles in India’s digital transformation, infrastructure expansion, and economic development.

As India’s middle class continues to grow and consumption accelerates, the country’s long-term investment case looks compelling. This fund was recently recommended by analysts at Betashares.

Betashares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA)

Asia is home to some of the most influential technology companies on the planet, and the Betashares Asia Technology Tigers ETF captures them in a single trade.

This popular ASX ETF invests in giants such as Tencent Holdings (SEHK: 700), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE: TSM), Samsung Electronics, and Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA). These are businesses that dominate gaming, social media, e-commerce, semiconductors, and AI hardware.

The region’s tech sector is expanding rapidly as digital adoption accelerates, cloud usage grows, and AI investment soars. For a child with decades of compounding ahead, exposure to Asia’s innovation engine could be incredibly valuable.

The post The ASX ETFs I’d buy for my kids or grandkids appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How to target China’s AI rush through ASX investing
• NVIDIA stock: You won’t believe how much $10,000 invested 3 years ago is worth today
• 2 reasons to buy the BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (NDQ), and 1 not to
• What are the 5 top artificial intelligence (AI) stocks to buy right now?
• Want to invest in AI? These ASX ETFs give you instant exposure

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF and Betashares Capital – Asia Technology Tigers Etf. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Apple, BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF, Microsoft, Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Tencent. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Alibaba Group and has recommended the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

For much of this year experts and analysts were tipping interest rates to decline throughout the year. But with RBA whispers changing in recent weeks, the team at Macquarie has released updated guidance on what ASX stocks to target should interest rates go up. 

Economists say the next cash rate movement will be higher, after worse than anticipated October inflation has all but killed off the prospect of a further rate cut.

Meanwhile, Westpac has weighed in that it expects the cash rate to hold steady at this month’s RBA meeting. 

As a refresher, the cash rate in Australia is set by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and acts as the benchmark interest rate for the economy. 

Changes in Australia’s cash rate influence ASX stocks by affecting borrowing costs, investor preferences, and economic activity, with rate hikes generally pressuring share prices (but not always). 

Macquarie said we are increasingly closer to the beginning of rate hikes. 

Hikes are a headwind for stocks, as they impact valuations today and earnings tomorrow.

What is Macquarie’s view?

The team at Macquarie said in a report released last week that with rising risk, the next move by the RBA is a hike. It reviewed asset and sector rotation ahead of past hiking cycles.

Just two weeks ago, we suggested the RBA was likely on hold, with hikes possibly starting in 2H CY26 as part of a global pivot due to stronger growth. With the latest core inflation print above the RBA’s target band of 2-3%, the risk of hikes has increased.

Macquarie said this risk is not unique to Australia, as 6 of 10 developed markets it tracks have core inflation of at least 3%. 

It reinforced that it does not see this as a stagflation scenario, as higher inflation is partly due to stronger growth and the unemployment rate is still relatively low (albeit trending up slowly).

Sectors to favour/avoid

Macquarie said late cycle sectors tend to outperform in the lead up to hikes. 

The analysis suggests favouring resources, because they benefit from stronger growth, protect against inflation, and are less hurt by valuation drops when bond yields rise. 

Small resources have performed especially well in past cycles, and basic materials, transport, banks, and financial services also tend to outperform before the first RBA rate hike.

On the flip side, the team at Macquarie said cyclicals like media, retail and discretionary often underperform in the lead up to hikes as the market starts to anticipate the best has passed. 

We prefer US consumer cyclicals given potential for more Fed cuts. REITs and Defensives also tend to underperform ahead of RBA hikes. Defensives usually perform better after hikes actually start.

ASX stocks to target

In the report, Macquarie also listed individual holdings to target in the resources sector, including:

• Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)
• Pilbara Minerals Limited (ASX: PLS)
• South32 Limited (ASX: S32)
• Northern Star Resources Limited (ASX: NST)
• Genesis Minerals Limited (ASX: GMD)
• Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU)

In the financial services sector, the broker named: 

• Challenger Limited (ASX: CGF)
• Australian Finance Group Limited (ASX: AFG)
• Zip Co (ASX: ZIP). 

ASX stocks to avoid

The report from Macquarie also listed the following stocks as ones in sectors that tend to lag ahead of hikes: 

• Wesfarmers Limited (ASX: WES)
• Super Retail Group Limited (ASX: SUL)
• Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV)
• Bapcor Limited (ASX: BAP)
• Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)
• Treasury Wine Estates Limited (ASX: TWE)
• Suncorp Group Limited (ASX: SUN)
• Origin Energy Limited (ASX: ORG)

The post Macquarie names best and worst ASX stocks to buy in a rising interest rate environment appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• 3 things about Wesfarmers stock every smart investor knows
• 70% of institutional investors expect gold price to rise in 2026
• 5 most-traded Australian shares last week
• Why AUB, Titomic, Treasury Wine, and Woodside shares are rising today

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Bell has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Super Retail Group, Treasury Wine Estates, and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Super Retail Group and Treasury Wine Estates. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Challenger, Premier Investments, and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

There aren’t too many ASX stocks on our market that pay out dividends you could set your watch to. Our unique system of franking arguably incentivises companies to pay out as much of their profits as they can during any given year. Whilst this is great for our dividend-loving investors out there, it can result in ebbs and flows in shareholder income, often depending on the economic cycle.

Just go back to the COVID-ravaged years of 2020 and 2021 to see this in action with many of the ASX’s most prominent dividend payers.

But despite this, there are still a handful of ASX 200 shares that dividend investors can indeed set their watches to, or have decades-long streaks of not cutting their shareholder payouts anyway.

The Australian Foundation Investment Co Ltd (ASX: AFI) is one. AFIC is a listed investment company (LIC) that has been around for almost 100 years. Over the past three or four decades, it has built and maintained a reputation as one of the ASX’s most reliable income payers. Indeed, it has been decades since its shareholders endured a dividend cut.

Every six months, a dividend payment that has either been held steady or raised has arrived in shareholders’ bank accounts without fail. That includes during the COVID-induced ASX dividend drought, as well as the tumultuous years of the global financial crisis.

Like most LICs, AFIC owns and manages a portfolio of underlying investments on behalf of its investors. This portfolio consists mostly of blue chip ASX dividend stocks, with some international stocks thrown in.

You can set your watch to this 4.4% ASX dividend stock

Using prudent and conservative stewardship, AFIC’s management team uses the stream of income received from these ASX dividend stocks to fund its own payouts.

The result has been that remarkable decades-long streak of uncut, uninterrupted shareholder payouts.

The most recent of these payouts was the August final dividend worth 14.5 cents per share. Before that, shareholders enjoyed the interim dividend from February worth 12 cents per share. The final dividend also came with a bonus special dividend worth 5 cents per share.

These 2025 dividends give AFIC shares a trailing dividend yield of 4.44% at yesterday’s closing share price of $7.10. Now, we don’t yet know what kind of ordinary payouts AFIC will dole out over 2026. Saying that, this ASX dividend stock’s track record does bode well. However, AFIC has already told shareholders to expect two special dividends, each worth 2.5 cents per share, alongside the ordinary payments when they arrive in 2026.

You’d forgive shareholders for setting their watches for that today.

The post The 4.4% ASX dividend stock you can set your watch to appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 best Australian dividend stocks to buy in December
• Own AFIC shares? There’s a double special dividend coming your way
• Age Pension worries? 7 income stocks to consider for retirement
• The 2 ASX dividend shares perfect for building a retirement around

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. 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 Scott Phillips.

With savings account rates slipping and term deposit returns rolling over, many Australians are starting to realise that parking cash in the bank may no longer be the most rewarding option.

For income investors that are willing to take on a modest level of market risk, several ASX dividend shares currently offer yields that comfortably outpace what the banks are paying.

Here are three ideas that could deliver far better results than leaving your money in cash.

HomeCo Daily Needs REIT (ASX: HDN)

If you want steady, property-backed income, HomeCo Daily Needs REIT continues to stand out. The company owns a nationwide portfolio of essential-service retail assets, including supermarkets, pharmacies, and health clinics. These are businesses that Australians rely on regardless of economic conditions.

Its tenant list reads like a who’s who of defensive retail, with Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW), Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL), and Chemist Warehouse among the largest contributors. These long-term, inflation-linked leases support a level of earnings stability that most savings accounts can only dream of.

The consensus estimate is for HomeCo Daily Needs REIT to increase its dividend to 8.7 cents per share in FY 2026. Based on its current share price, this would mean a dividend yield of 6.2%.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

Rural Funds is a unique income play and one of the few diversified farmland REITs on the ASX. It owns agricultural assets such as cattle properties, vineyards, and cropping land, leasing them to high-quality tenants on long agreements.

Farmland has historically been a resilient asset class with low correlation to equity market volatility. This means that Rural Funds’ rental streams remain stable even through economic downturns, which helps underpin its distribution profile.

Management is guiding to a dividend of 11.73 cents per share in FY 2026. Based on its current share price, this would mean an attractive 5.7% dividend yield.

Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY)

For investors who prefer broad diversification, the Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF is one of the simplest ways to tap into a basket of high-yielding Australian blue chips in a single trade.

The ETF holds ASX dividend shares such as BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), and Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS), all of which have long histories of paying reliable dividends.

The benefit here is instant exposure to dozens of income-producing companies, rather than relying on one or two individual stocks. In addition, the fund distributes quarterly, making it appealing for retirees or investors wanting regular cash flow.

At present, the fund trades with a trailing dividend yield of 4.2%.

The post Forget savings accounts, these ASX dividend stocks pay more appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• I’d buy this ASX dividend stock in any market
• 3 ASX ETFs perfect for retirees seeking peace of mind
• Forget term deposits and buy these ASX dividend shares
• 2 top ASX dividend shares for retirees

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Woolworths Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Rural Funds Group, Telstra Group, and Woolworths Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BHP Group, HomeCo Daily Needs REIT, and Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Passive income is usually one of the best reasons to own large ASX iron ore shares. At the current BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price, it’s definitely worth asking if the ASX mining share is a buy.

As the chart below shows, the company has made a recovery over the past few months. While that’s a good thing for existing shareholders, but it means a lower dividend yield for prospective investors.

For example, if a business has a 5% dividend yield and then the share price rises 10%, the dividend yield becomes around 4.5%. In the last five months, the BHP share price has grown by 15%, which is a headwind for yield hunters.

I’ll run through my views on the positives and negatives of investing for passive income.

Positives

BHP offers investors pleasing commodity diversification across iron ore, copper, steelmaking coal and energy coal. By generating earnings across a variety of sources, it’s able to provide investors with more profit stability than a resource business focused on a single commodity.

A somewhat stable profit means the business can provide fairly stable dividends for owners of BHP shares.

The broker UBS is expecting virtually the same dividend from BHP in FY26, FY27 and FY28. While growth would be preferred, stability could be valuable in the next few years (if that’s what happens). UBS suggests the ASX mining share could pay an annual dividend per share of US$1.13 in FY26.

The projection translates into a potential grossed-up dividend yield of 5.9%, including franking credits.

I like the company’s efforts to expand its copper exposure, although its final attempt to engage a takeover of Anglo American was unsuccessful. It looks like copper has a pleasing long-term outlook with rising demand with expanded electricity grids, more electric vehicles, more smart devices and so on. Supposedly, it’s likely to become harder to find high-quality copper deposits, which could be supportive for copper prices.

The ASX mining share’s efforts to expand into potash – in what’s seen as a greener form of fertiliser for the agriculture sector – could also help diversify and grow earnings.

Negatives

Firstly, whilst it isn’t that much of a negative, the strength of the BHP share price has led to a lower dividend yield than it otherwise would have been if it hadn’t risen by more than 10% in the last six months.

Given how cyclical resource prices can be, it could be wise to wait to buy when valuations are weaker rather than stronger, in my view.

I’m more cautious on the outlook for ASX iron ore shares when the valuations go higher because of how the new Simandou project in Africa could lead to pressure on the iron ore price due to the additional, significant supply it will add. Time will tell how much it weighs on profit, dividends and the BHP share price.

Samarco costs are another headwind for the business as BHP compensates people affected by the dam failure in Brazil. The business is expecting cash outflows in FY26 to be approximately US$2.2 billion and then in FY27 the cash outflow could be US$0.5 billion. These payments are negative for how much money BHP has to pay its dividends.

Foolish takeaway

At the current BHP share price, it could provide investors with solid passive income. However, there could be an even more appealing valuation on offer in the coming months or years.

The post Is the BHP share price a buy for passive income? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s the earnings forecast out to 2030 for BHP shares
• Analysts think BHP and these ASX dividend shares are buys this week
• 3 excellent ASX ETFs for income investors to buy in December
• 2 Australian dividend giants that I think belong in every portfolio
• Top 10 most-traded ASX shares last week

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BHP Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

There was a time when Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG) shares could seemingly do no wrong. Between January 2016 and July 2021, the ASX 200 appliance maker soared a massive 445%, making its long-term investors very wealthy in the process.

But then the company hit a major snag. In the 12 months to June 2022, Breville shares lost almost half of their value and stagnated over the subsequent 12 months as well.

As it stands today ($29.62 at the time of writing), the Breville share price is down 11.3% over the past 12 months, and has lost about 16.5% of its value since December last year. Its five-year gain sits at just under 20%, a rather paltry performance, considering the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained about 30% over that same span.

To be fair, Breville has actually had a fairly successful year, if we ignore its share price performance. Back in August, the company posted revenue growth of 10.9% to $1.7 billion for its full 2025 financial year. That growth hit double-digits across all three global markets that Breville operates in, too.

Net profits after tax were up an even more impressive 14.6% to $135.9 million, which allowed Breville to increase its full-year dividend by 12.1% to a fully franked 37 cents per share.

Given this company’s sagging share price performance of late, but also with its rather rosy-looking FY2025 results, many investors might be wondering where Breville shares are heading next.

Well, fortunately for those investors, analysts at Macquarie have recently run the ruler over this appliance maker.

Does Macquarie rate Breville shares as a buy today?

Macquarie liked what they saw. Analysts gave Breville shares an ‘outperform’ rating, alongside a 12-month share price target of $39.20. If realised, that would see investors enjoy a potential upside of about 32.3%.

Macquarie’s optimism is derived from what it sees as positive trends in sales of coffee, as well as appliances from other manufacturers, mainly De Longhi. One of Breville’s most important product categories is coffee and espresso machines.

As a result of these projections, Macquarie has “forecast for a 10%-plus revenue CAGR [compounded annual growth rate] FY25-FY28E”. Indeed, Macquarie is predicting that Breville shares will be able to grow adjusted earnings per share (EPS) from the 93 cents achieved in FY2025 to 95.3 cents by FY2026, $1.096 by FY2027 and then to $1.246 by FY2028. That would represent growth rates of 2.5%, 15% and 13.7% respectively.

That earnings growth will, at least according to the analysts, support higher dividends too. Macquarie has Breville paying out 39.1 cents per share over FY2026, 44.9 cents by FY2027 and 51.1 cents by FY2028.

No doubt investors and owners of Breville shares will be pleased to hear these impressive numbers. But we’ll have to wait and see to know for sure whether Macquarie is on the money here.

The post Macquarie tips 28% upside for Breville shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX retail shares: 2 to buy and 1 to sell amid rising inflation
• Macquarie says buy this ASX 200 stock for 30%+ return
• What $100 a week in ASX shares could become in 20 years
• How to make yearly passive income of $70,000 from ASX shares
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.