Tag: Motley Fool Australia

Looking to add some growth shares to your portfolio next week? Listed below are three fast-growing companies that I think could be worth considering.

Here’s why I think these ASX growth shares could be top long term investment options:

Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)

Bravura Solutions is a financial technology company best known for the Sonata wealth management platform. This popular wealth management platform allows advisers to connect and engage with clients via computers, tablets, or smartphones. Demand for the platform has been growing very strongly in the past few years and shows no signs of slowing. And together with recent acquisitions that have given Bravura access to new and lucrative markets, I believe it is well-positioned to grow its earnings at a solid rate over the long term.

PolyNovo Ltd (ASX: PNV)

Another growth share to consider buying is PolyNovo. It is the medical device company behind the NovoSorb Biodegradable Temporising Matrix (BTM) product. This product was developed at CSIRO and is a wound dressing intended to treat full-thickness wounds and burns. Its current target market has a massive $1.5 billion addressable opportunity, but management isn’t settling for that. It is busy looking to expand its use into hernia and breast treatment markets. If this is successful, it would add $6 billion to its addressable market.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

This payments company has well and truly broken out of the shadow of Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) in 2020 with very impressive sales, customer, and merchant growth. It also announced its expansion into the massive United States market via the acquisition of QuadPay. If the company can make a success of this expansion, it could be destined for further explosive growth over the coming years. And while the Zip Co share price is certainly not cheap after its incredible rise over the last few months, I would still buy its shares if you plan to make a long term investment.

More reading

• Here are the top 5 ASX tech shares on the All Tech Index
• ASX 200 drops 0.6%, Afterpay hits a new record
• The Openpay share price is surging today. Is it the next Afterpay?
• Ramsay and 2 other ASX shares to buy and hold beyond 2026
• Why Kogan, Netwealth, Silver Lake, & Zip Co shares are storming higher

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 POLYNOVO FPO and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Bravura Solutions Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. 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 growth shares to buy and hold until 2030 appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2W7Lv0R

Interest rates are at record lows and look likely to remain that way for some time to come, possibly even years.

In light of this, I believe investors would be better off putting any excess funds into the share market rather than leaving them to gather only paltry interest in a savings account.

But where should you invest these funds? Here are three top shares I would invest $5,000 into in July:

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

The first ASX share I would invest $5,000 into is Appen. It is a global leader in the development of high-quality, human-annotated training data for machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). I think Appen could be a great long term option due to the expected growth of the AI market. Management estimates that this market will be worth between US$169 billion and US$191 billion per annum by 2025. And with 10% of AI spending expected to be on the data labelling that Appen is a leader in, I believe it bodes very well for its future earnings growth. 

BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

I believe the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF is another great option for a $5,000 investment. This exchange traded fund gives investors access to tech behemoths such as Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Google parent, Alphabet. Given how the majority of the 100 companies in the fund have very positive long term outlooks, I believe there is a high probability of it providing investors with stronger returns than the ASX 200 index over the next decade.

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

A final share to consider investing $5,000 into is Kogan. I think the fast-growing ecommerce company is well-placed to profit from the continued rise in online shopping and the growing popularity of its Kogan-branded products and Marketplace. Its expansion into potentially lucrative verticals such as energy and mobile should also be supportive of its growth. As should the $120 million it recently pulled in from a capital raising. Management intends to use these funds to make value accretive acquisitions in the near term.

More reading

• How I’d build a $100,000 share portfolio with ASX ETFs
• 2 exciting ASX tech shares with enormous potential
• Why Kogan, Netwealth, Silver Lake, & Zip Co shares are storming higher
• A surprise ASX share that’s doubled since March
• Why the Kogan share price soared 38% in June

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 BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS and Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS and Kogan.com 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 Where I would invest $5,000 into ASX shares in July appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3gLUX1P

You may have heard the term ‘dollar cost averaging’ (DCA) used before. Whether you are just starting out or are a seasoned investor, using DCA can help significantly with securing the lowest buy price for your ASX shares.

What is dollar cost averaging?

The goal of DCA is to secure the lowest average buy price for a share over a specific period of time. When used correctly, DCA can reduce the impact of market volatility, provide you with more options and generate a higher, long-term return on your investment.

This can be very useful in uncertain markets, such as the one we are currently in.

Here’s how it works:

Say I plan to purchase $10,000 worth of the (fictional) company, XYZ Co. XYZ shares are currently trading at $10 per share. If I invest all $10,000 today, then I am locked in at today’s prices of $10 and I can purchase 1,000 shares.

However, if I spend $5,000 today and hold $5,000 in reserve, I can create a second buying opportunity, potentially at lower prices. In the example above, if I secure 500 shares today at $10 each and then the share price dips to $8 next week, I can use my $5,000 cash reserves to secure an additional 625 shares. This brings my total to 1,125 shares for my $10,000 spend.

Waiting for a lower price to deploy my cash reserves has meant that I now have an additional 125 shares and that I have now paid an AVERAGE of $8.88 per share.

How can dollar cost averaging help in a volatile market?

Dollar cost averaging can be particularly effective in market crash scenarios and, in this case, it’s hard to beat as an investment strategy.

Referring to the above example again, lets look at what could happen in a market crash, similar to what we have seen with COVID-19. In this scenario, I purchase $5,000 worth of my XYZ Co shares, trading at $10 a share and this gives me a holding of 500 shares. In a severe crash, a share price can drop dramatically. This might mean my XYZ holding falls to $4 a share.

Normally, this would be a test of the nerves of even the most seasoned investors, however, a DCA strategy would mean that you would welcome this kind of volatility in the short term. I now have the opportunity to deploy my remaining $5,000 into XYZ shares at $4 per share, giving me an additional 1,250 shares! My holding is now 1,750 shares (75% more than if I spent all $10,000 in one transaction) and my average price is $5.71. This is a significantly better position to be in as an investor caught in a crash.

As a variation to the above strategy, I could potentially split my $10,000 over 10 monthly purchases of $1,000. Again, this will give me the best average price over this period (10 months).

Risks and costs

Dollar cost averaging is effective in a falling market, however a rising market might mean you miss out on a larger position initially. This needs to be taken into account when you consider the use of DCA.

Transaction costs can also be higher when using a DCA strategy, as you are paying your broker multiple times. For example, if a broker charges a flat rate fee of $10 per trade, you are now doubling (or multiplying) your fees with each subsequent purchase.

Foolish takeaway

Personally, I use dollar cost averaging every time I plan to invest for the long term. This has always provided me with a lower average entry, higher long-term returns and most importantly, peace of mind.

While a market crash can be stressful, if you employ a DCA strategy, you will begin to welcome the short-term volatility, which can be quite a different investing experience!

More reading

• 2 ASX shares for strong retirement income
• 4 ASX shares to buy and hold forever
• Turn $30,000 into $1,000,000 with ASX shares
• Why the P/E ratio is a flawed metric in 2020
• How I’d build a $100,000 share portfolio with ASX ETFs

Motley Fool contributor glennleese 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 Dollar cost averaging and how to use it to invest in ASX shares appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2Dqu70R

Are you currently retired, or perhaps your approaching retirement soon and looking for a way to get some extra income?

Either way, in my view, shares that pay strong dividend yields are a much more rewarding strategy than keeping your money in a savings account or term deposit, particularly given the current low interest rates.

It’s also a good idea to try to build your ASX share portfolio with at least 10 companies to ensure a diversified portfolio. This way you get exposure to a broad spectrum of the market.

So, with that in mind, I don’t think you can go past these 2 ASX shares: Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) and Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG). Both of these companies have strong market positions in their respective industries. They also both have strong product and geographic diversification.

Wesfarmers

Wesfarmers is a highly diversified company with operations in retail segments including general merchandise and office supplies. Wesfarmers also has market positions in industrial segments such as energy and fertilisers, and industrial and safety products. This high level of market diversification provides a strong buffer to any industry-specific challenges that may negatively impact any of its subsidiaries.

Wesfarmers’ online offerings have seen strong demand during the coronavirus crisis as many consumers have stayed away from brick-and-mortar stores. All of Wesfarmers’ retail businesses have seen combined total online sales growth of 89% for the half-year so far till early June.

Based on current earnings, Wesfarmers pays a strong forward dividend yield of 3.4%, fully franked

I am confident that Wesfarmers is well placed for strong growth over the next year or two, particularly driven by rising sales at its Officeworks and Bunnings chains.

Macquarie

Macquarie is a global financial services business. Its strategy centres on international investment banking.

I definitely prefer Macquarie as an investment option in the banking and financial segment to our big four major retail banks: Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ).

In particular, Macquarie has less exposure to the local residential property market, which may come under increasing pressure in the months ahead.

I am also attracted to Macquarie as an ASX share investment because it has become a more balanced and diversified business than it was in the past.

Macquarie currently pays an attractive partially franked forward dividend yield of 3.5%.

More reading

• 3 ASX shares that I’d invest $1,000 into EVERY month
• 3 ASX shares I won’t hesitate to buy in the next market crash
• The Treasury Wine share price and this ASX 200 stock are the latest to be hit by broker downgrades today
• 3 quality ASX dividend shares to buy today
• Broker tips on how to invest for the August ASX reporting season

Motley Fool contributor Phil Harpur owns shares of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers 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 2 ASX shares for strong retirement income appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2Zjealy

There are some ASX shares that could be candidates to buy and hold forever.

It can be hard to find ideas for your portfolio that could be a ultra-long-term investment. Some businesses are in a rapidly changing industry. For example, I’m not sure I could invest in a share like Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) or Servcorp Limited (ASX: SRV) simply due to the unknown demand and profitability of those industries in the future. There will always be unknowns in investing, but there’s too many different outcomes for me.

But I could see myself buying and holding these ASX shares forever:

Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)

Soul Patts could be the best ASX share for a buy-and-hold-forever approach. It’s an investment conglomerate that has been around since the early 1900s. It has already shown that it can stand the test of time.

The investment house owns a diversified portfolio of businesses such as TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG), Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW), Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API) and Clover Corporation Limited (ASX: CLV). It also owns some unlisted businesses outright like swimming schools and resources.

Never needing to sell should also mean never having to cause capital gains tax events.

As a bonus, at the current Soul Patts share price, it offers a grossed-up dividend yield of 4.3%.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

Xero is a cloud accounting software business, one of the biggest and best in the world. It’s growing subscribers at a good rate in Australia, the UK and the US. In the FY20 result, total subscribers rose by 26% to 2.285 million and average revenue per user increased by 2% to NZ$29.93.

There are only two things certain in life, death and taxes. Xero helps businesses operate and organise their financial information. The ASX share offers an array of different automation and time-saving tools. The numbers are also presented in a “beautiful” way.

As long as there are businesses and tax, there will be demand for Xero’s accounting software services. It just needs to keep investing in development so that its product is the best for customers.

However, at the current Xero share price I don’t think it’s a cheap buy right now.

Infratil Ltd (ASX: IFT)

Infratil is a diversified New Zealand business which is invested in a variety of different sectors.

It’s involved with various energy projects, it owns 66% of Wellington Airport, it owns almost half of a data centre business, it owns half of Vodafone New Zealand, it owns a diverse commercial real estate portfolio, it’s involved with Australian Social Infrastructure Partners and it owns half of RetireAustralia which is the largest privately-held pure-play retirement operator in Australia.

All of these divisions are long-term investments and the ASX share can continue to invest where it think will make good long-term returns. I think the company could add a lot of attractive diversification for long-term investors.

At the current Infratil share price it offers a 3.3% dividend yield. COVID-19 has caused a bit of a selloff, so it could be an opportunistic buy.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

Rural Funds is an agricultural real estate investment trust (REIT) which owns farms in a variety of different sectors: cattle, cotton, almonds, macadamias and vineyards.

Farmland has been a useful asset for humanity for many hundreds of years. I don’t think that’s going to change in the next couple of decades.

The ASX share aims to increase its distribution by 4% per annum. I think that’s a solid growth rate considering how low inflation and interest rates are at the moment.

I’m not expecting huge growth from Rural Funds, but it’s the type of investment that can deliver solid compounding returns.

At the current Rural Funds share price it offers a distribution yield of 5.6%.

Foolish takeaway

I’d be happy to own each of these ASX shares for at least a decade. At the current prices I’d probably go for Soul Patts first for its long-term history and diversification, but Infratil is also an interesting idea.

More reading

• Why the P/E ratio is a flawed metric in 2020
• Here are the top 5 ASX tech shares on the All Tech Index
• 3 ASX shares I won’t hesitate to buy in the next market crash
• ASX 200 down 0.2%: Big four banks tumble, Afterpay surges higher again
• 3 ASX shares for growth, income, and value investors to buy today

Tristan Harrison owns shares of RURALFUNDS STAPLED and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Clover Limited and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks, RURALFUNDS STAPLED, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. 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 4 ASX shares to buy and hold forever appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2DnTq3E

ASX shares can be a powerful tool to make your retirement dreams become a reality. Consistent, compounding returns can really add up if you give your portfolio time to grow.

How to turn $30,000 into $1,000,000 with ASX shares

Some investors would look at the above statement and think it just isn’t possible. I think it’s worth considering a few ASX shares in the past that have been able to do just that for their shareholders.

1. CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

CSL is an ASX blue-chip share with a market capitalisation of $128.2 billion today. The CSL share price closed on Friday at $282.37 per share but the Aussie biotech company listed for a stock-split-adjusted $0.767 per share back in June 1994.

That means $30,000 invested in the CSL IPO would have netted an investor 39,113 CSL shares. Multiplied by today’s share price, and assuming a buy and hold strategy, that would be worth an astonishing $11,044,378 today. 

2. A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

A2 Milk is another top Aussie growth share that continues to climb higher. In fact, the ASX dairy share is up 38.4% this year alone. 

If we rewind the clock a little bit, the A2 Milk share price was trading at $0.56 per share in April 2015. A $30,000 investment would, therefore, translate to holding 53,571 A2 Milk shares.

Multiplied by Friday’s closing price of $19.40, that would mean a buy and hold investor’s investment would be worth a tidy $1,039,277 today.

So, what’s the secret?

There are a few things that obviously need to go right to turn $30,000 into $1,000,000 with ASX shares.

The first thing you’ll notice is that both of these examples rely on a large dose of luck. Investing in IPOs is inherently risky and history has shown they tend to underperform.

The other thing is that both examples of rocketing ASX shares required the investors to buy and hold. Behavioural economics tells us that generally, investors have a lopsided risk profile. Loss aversion, where you sell your winners too early and hold your losers too long, can be a real a problem for investors.

It’s best to be patient and get out of your own way. Buy and hold your investments rather than overtrading and losing out in the long-run.

Reinvesting any dividends back into shares can also be a powerful way to turbo-charge portfolio growth in the decades ahead.

Foolish takeaway

If you can choose high-quality ASX shares early in their growth path, you might be the next investor to turn a $30,000 investment into $1,000,000.

More reading

• 3 of the best ASX 50 shares to buy right now
• Brokers name 3 ASX 200 shares to buy today
• 3 ASX dividend shares growing their payouts fast
• Why I would buy a2 Milk Company and these ASX growth shares right now
• Altium and these ASX 200 shares could be quality buy and hold options

Ken Hall has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of A2 Milk. 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 Turn $30,000 into $1,000,000 with ASX shares appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/38ITeaO

As an aspiring investor, one of the first metrics you may come across is the price-to-earnings ratio (P/E ratio). The P/E ratio is often one of the key statistics anyone telling you about an ASX share will quote. But how useful is the P/E ratio in 2020? And how should you use this ratio when evaluating shares today?

What is the P/E ratio?

The P/E ratio is calculated by using a very simple equation: a company’s earnings per share (EPS) divided by its share price. For our purposes, we can assume that a dollar of earnings is  universally consistent. That is, a dollar of earnings is still a dollar, whether it comes from Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) or Xero Limited (ASX: XRO). In this way, the P/E ratio is used to determine how ‘expensive’ companies are relative to each other. If one company’s P/E ratio is 10, it means you are paying $10 today for $1 of earnings. If another company’s ratio is 20, you are effectively paying twice as much for that same dollar. 

Conventionally, companies that are growing revenue and earnings at a relatively fast rate attract a higher P/E ratio than those that are more mature and offer lower growth prospects.

How should ASX investors use the P/E ratio in 2020?

Normally, the P/E ratio is a great place to start when you are evaluating an ASX share as a potential investment. But 2020 has thrown a bit of a spanner in the works. Under ‘normal’ economic circumstances, a good-quality company can be expected to grow its earnings every year. This means that a company’s trailing P/E ratio (encompassing the previous 12 months) will be higher than its forward P/E ratio (which uses a company’s earnings guidance to hypothesise a future earnings ratio with today’s share price).

But, as we know, 2020 has brought massive disruption to the economy in the form of the coronavirus pandemic. The lockdowns that were necessitated by the outbreak have resulted in a huge hit to the earnings of many ASX companies. And since we mostly use trailing P/E ratios, this impact doesn’t translate very effectively to current share prices. If a company has a share price of $20 and brought in $1 of earnings in FY20, then it will have a trailing P/E ratio of 20. But if this same company only brings in 50 cents of EPS in FY21, then its forward P/E ratio will be 40.

Usually, markets are pretty savvy regarding a company’s immediate prospects. So, it’s likely this company’s shares would have been sold off when the impacts of the pandemic became evident. So if our company was sold down to $5 per share, its trailing P/E ratio would become 5 and its forward P/E ratio would become 10.

You can see how these fluctuations could possibly throw an investor off their game.

Foolish takeaway

I think using the P/E ratio to evaluate your investments in 2020 is highly risky. As such, I feel it should only form a small part of your overall valuation process. It’s a useful metric, but also one that can distort reality and induce poor investment decisions. I usually only find this ratio useful when comparing different companies in the same sector at the best of times. As such, I’m not paying it too much attention at all in this most uncertain of years.

More reading

• How I’d build a $100,000 share portfolio with ASX ETFs
• Here are the top 5 ASX tech shares on the All Tech Index
• 3 defensive ASX shares to add to your portfolio
• ASX 200 down 0.2%: Big four banks tumble, Afterpay surges higher again
• Is the Woolworths share price a buy?

Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of 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 Why the P/E ratio is a flawed metric in 2020 appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2Zighq4

Building a $100,000 share portfolio with just ASX exchange-traded funds (ETFs) isn’t as complicated as you might think. ETFs are an easy way to get broad-market diversification using a single ASX investment. As such, it’s relatively simple to build a highly diversified, internationally exposed portfolio with just 4 ASX ETFs. The hardest part is getting the $100,000 sum together! Here’s how I’d build the portfolio:

Start with $30,000 in the iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF (ASX: IOZ)

This ETF simply tracks the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) – which consists of the largest 200 publicly traded companies in Australia. This includes everything from Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) to Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN). Think of it as a ‘slice of Australia’. The ASX 200 is a great index to have as a core of a portfolio as it has a focus on both growth and dividend income.

Add $30,000 to the iShares Global 100 ETF (ASX: IOO)

The ASX 200 is a good start, but now we’re throwing in some international diversification. This ETF tracks the largest 100 companies across the advanced economies of the world, including the United States, Japan, South Korea, Europe, and the United Kingdom. Some of its largest holdings are household names like Apple, Nestle, Samsung, Microsoft and Alphabet (sometimes called Google). These companies are the real movers and shakers in the global economy. As such I think some exposure to them through this ETF is a great addition to our portfolio.

$20,000 for the BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

This ETF tracks the largest 100 companies on the US Nasdaq exchange. The Nasdaq is the second-largest US share market (behind the New York Stock Exchange) and tends to mostly house companies in the technology space. You’ll find all five of the ‘FAANG’ stocks here, being Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet (which, being formerly known as Google, represents the ‘G’). You’ll also find Tesla, NVIDIA, Adobe and PayPal. In my view, there’s no better way to gain exposure to some of the hottest and best tech shares in the world than with this ETF. That’s why it makes our list today.

Finish off with $20,000 for the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA)

Our final ASX ETF for the portfolio is this Asian, tech-focused fund. ASIA is the ’emerging market’s’ answer to the Nasdaq 100. This ETF tracks some of the biggest names in the Asian technology space. The list includes Tencent Holdings, which you may recognise from its recent investment in Afterpay. But there’s also the ‘eBay of China’ in Alibaba, the ‘Netflix of China’ in iQiYi, the ‘Google of China’ in Baidu and the ‘Amazon of China’ in JD.com. Tapping into tech trends in emerging markets like China is a good idea in the 21st century in my view, so this ETF is in our portfolio to make that happen.

More reading

• Why the P/E ratio is a flawed metric in 2020
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Here are the top 5 ASX tech shares on the All Tech Index
• 3 ASX shares I won’t hesitate to buy in the next market crash
• What does COVID-19 and the payment revolution mean for Afterpay and Sezzle?

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Alphabet (A shares) and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares) and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO and Woolworths Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares) and BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. 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 I’d build a $100,000 share portfolio with ASX ETFs appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2ZXGWY7

There aren’t many ASX shares that I’d be happy to invest $1,000 into every month.

There are plenty of shares that are quality businesses like Altium Limited (ASX: ALU), Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) and Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH). But the share prices of those companies have performed so strongly since March I’m not sure I could commit to buying them every month. No business is a ‘buy at any price’.

The ASX shares that I’d be willing to buy every month are ones that usually trade at a reasonable valuation, have good long-term prospects and have a history of producing good returns for shareholders:

Share 1: Magellan Global Trust (ASX: MGG)

Magellan Global Trust is a listed investment trust (LIT) which invests in the best overseas shares.

Quality really shines through during tough economic times. I think you can definitely call this COVID-19 period a tough economic time.

Some of Magellan Global Trust’s biggest positions at the moment include: Alibaba, Alphabet, Atmos Energy, Microsoft, Tencent, Facebook, Visa, Mastercard, Reckitt Benckiser and Novartis.

You may have noticed there’s a focus on technology businesses within its holdings. I think this is good. Technology businesses have changed the world over the past decade and that’s likely to continue. Businesses like Microsoft and Alphabet are important players in the shift to cloud computing. Visa and Mastercard are integral for facilitating the big change to ecommerce (accelerated by COVID-19). And so on.

The ASX share’s net investment performance has been solid since inception in October 2017, returning 11.4% per annum – outperforming its global benchmark by more than 1% per annum.

At the current Magellan Global Trust share price it’s trading at a 4% discount to the net asset value (NAV).

Share 2: BetaShares Global Sustainability Leaders ETF (ASX: ETHI)

Many of the best shares in the world aren’t on the ASX. Indeed, the ASX only makes up 2% of the global share market. There are some great businesses out there in the world that are also doing their best to operate profitably and sustainably with an aim of doing the right thing for the climate.

This exchange-traded fund (ETF) is invested in around 200 businesses. None of them are involved in a number of excluded activities like gambling, tobacco, alcohol, junk food, destroying valuable environments and so on. This ETF particularly excludes businesses with direct involvement with the fossil fuel industry and it also excludes businesses with other bad climate credentials.

So what shares is it actually invested in? Its biggest holdings currently are: Apple, Nvidia, Mastercard, Visa, Adobe, Home Depot, Paypal, Netflix and Toyota.

I think this ETF is a good one to buy every month because it always trades at its net asset value, it’s a quality portfolio and the returns have been strong. Since January 2017 the ETF has returned an average of 20.7% per annum after fees.

Share 3: Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

I think Wesfarmers is one of those ASX shares that you can invest in and leave for many years.

The conglomerate can trace its history back to 1914. It has great staying power. It’s an ASX share that you could have bought at almost any point over the previous decades and done well to date.

I think Wesfarmers’ solid performance can continue for two key reasons.

Its current group of businesses is a strong collection. Bunnings, Officeworks and Kmart are leaders in their respective retail segments. Online retailer Catch is growing at a fast pace, particularly due to the COVID-19 shift to e-commerce.

But I’m confident that I could continue investing in Wesfarmers into the future because it’s constantly evolving. The ASX share will happily invest in new businesses and divest old ones when it doesn’t suit to hold them any more, like its former coal assets.

At the current Wesfarmers share price it’s trading at 27x FY21’s estimated earnings.

Foolish takeaway

Of the three potential ASX share investments it’s hard to choose between Magellan Global Trust and the BetaShares ETF. I like the investment flexibility that the Magellan Trust has, but the ETF’s costs are 0.76% cheaper per year and it has outperformed the Magellan Global Trust.

More reading

• Why the Pushpay share price soared 19% in June
• 2 fantastic ASX growth shares to buy with $2,000
• Fund managers have been buying Costa and this ASX 200 share
• Why buying Altium shares could make you rich
• 3 ASX dividend shares growing their payouts fast

Tristan Harrison owns shares of Altium and MAGLOBTRST UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Altium and PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. 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.

The post 3 ASX shares that I’d invest $1,000 into EVERY month appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2OdrpxV

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was out of form last week and dropped notably lower. The benchmark index fell a disappointing 2.3% to 5,919.2 points.

Not all shares dropped lower with the market last week. Here’s why these ASX 200 shares were flying high:

The Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL) share price was the best performer on the ASX with a 18.4% gain. Investors were buying the investment platform provider’s shares last week following the release of its fourth quarter update. At the end of the quarter, Netwealth’s funds under administration (FUA) had climbed to a sizeable $31.5 billion. This means the company grew its FUA by $8.2 billion or 35% during FY 2020. This includes a negative market movement of $0.9 billion for the 12 months.

The Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU) share price was an impressive performer last week with a 12.3% gain. The catalyst for this strong gain was another rise in the gold price. Traders were fighting to get hold of the precious metal after coronavirus cases spiked globally. Demand was so strong the gold price broke through the US$1,800 an ounce mark and hit a nine-year high. For the same reason, St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) and Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR) shares stormed 10.3% and 9.3% higher, respectively.

The Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB) share price was on form and jumped 8.9% last week. Investors were buying the allogeneic cellular medicines developer’s shares after it provided an update on its allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) product candidate, remestemcel-L. That update revealed that the product has been given an expanded access protocol for compassionate use in the treatment of COVID-19 infected children with cardiovascular and other complications of multisystem inflammatory syndrome.

The Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) share price wasn’t far behind with a gain of 8.4%. This was despite there being no news out of the global leading provider of elastic interconnection services. However, with the pandemic accelerating the shift to the cloud, investors appear confident that Megaport will be experiencing very strong demand for its services.

More reading

• ASX 200 drops 0.6%, Afterpay hits a new record
• 2 exciting ASX tech shares with enormous potential
• The Treasury Wine share price and this ASX 200 stock are the latest to be hit by broker downgrades today
• Fund managers have been buying Costa and this ASX 200 share
• Brokers name 3 ASX 200 shares to buy today

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 MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Netwealth. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MEGAPORT FPO. 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 These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2ZgBxfz