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The exchange-traded fund (ETF) Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) is one of the most popular ways to invest in the global share market on the ASX.

At the end of December 2021, the VGS ETF was $4.1 billion in size, though this may have dropped a bit in recent weeks as volatility has picked up.

What is the VGS ETF?

It’s an investment fund which investors can purchase via the ASX stock exchange, rather than going to directly to a fund manager.

This particular option is provided by Vanguard, one of the world’s leading asset managers which prides itself on providing funds at very cheap prices.

The Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF gives Aussies exposure to many of the world’s largest companies that are listed in major developed markets like the US, Japan, the UK, Canada, France, Switzerland, Germany and so on.

What businesses are in the holdings?

At the end of December 2021, there was a grand total of 1,490 positions. That means there are almost 1,500 different businesses in the portfolio. Compared to most other ETFs on the ASX, that is a lot of diversification.

Not only are there lots of different holdings, but they also come from a broad range of industries including technology, financials, healthcare, consumer discretionary, industrials, communication services, consumer staples, resources, energy, utilities and so on.

In terms of the actual largest positions in the VGS ETF portfolio, we’re talking about some of the world’s most recognisable brands that have remarkably strong market positions. At the end of December, these were the biggest holdings: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Alphabet, Tesla, Facebook, NVIDIA, UnitedHealth, JPMorgan Chase, Johnson & Johnson, Home Depot, Procter & Gamble and Berkshire Hathaway.

What is the VGS ETF annual management fee?

A (low) cost of an ETF can be a key selling point. The lower the fee, the more of the returns that remain in the investor’s hands, which can then keep compounding wealth over the long-term.

Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF has an annual fee of 0.18%. This is a fraction of what many active, globally-focused fund managers charge (and then there’s usually performance fees on top of that).

Returns

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. However, it might be informative to know how the ETF has performed over the longer-term. Remember, an ETF’s performance is simply the combined returns of the underlying businesses.

Over the prior five years to December 2021, the VGS ETF had returned an average of 15.2% per annum. This isn’t the highest return of all the ETFs on the ASX, but it has been comfortably higher than the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

Future performance will also depend on the returns of the constituents like Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet and so on.

The post Is Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX:VGS) an excellent investment for the long-term? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 compelling ASX 200 shares that keep growing their dividends
• 3 exciting ETFs for ASX investors next week
• Down 24% in 2022: Is the Xero (ASX:XRO) share price a strong buy?
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 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. owns and has recommended Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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There are a handful of S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dividend shares that continue to grow payouts to shareholders every year.

Some of them increased the payment during the difficult COVID-hit year of 2020. A few have been increasing the dividend every year for a decade or more in a row, like the two in this article.

Whilst plenty of investors know about the dividends offered by companies like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), there are others that some investors may not know about as income options.

Here are two to learn about with long dividend growth records:

Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL)

Sonic Healthcare is one of the world’s leading companies in the healthcare pathology industry.

It’s geographically diverse. In FY21, it made at least $500 million of revenue in each of these segments: the USA, Germany, Australia, the UK and Ireland, and Switzerland. It also has operations in Belgium and New Zealand, though these are considerably smaller than the other segments. Sonic also has a growing imaging division.

A key part of its earnings story over the last two years has been COVID testing. At the company’s AGM, it noted that it had done 36 million COVID PCR tests in 60 Sonic laboratories globally. Keep in mind, the AGM was before the huge deluge of Omicron cases.

In FY21, the ASX 200 dividend share made a net profit of $1.32 billion, which was an increase of 149%. The company is using some of the cash flow to buy businesses which will help grow its earnings over time. Two of the latest acquisitions have been Propath and Canberra Medical Imaging.

Sonic has stated that it has a progressive dividend policy. The FY21 total dividend was increased by 7.1%. This means the trailing partially franked dividend yield is 2.5%.

APA Group (ASX: APA)

APA is one of the largest infrastructure businesses on the ASX. It is the biggest gas pipeline owner in Australia with interests in 15,000 km of natural gas pipeline infrastructure across Australia, as well as wind farms, gas-fired power generation and gas storage facilities.

It’s such a key part of the Australian economy that it supplies half of the nation’s natural gas usage.

Those energy assets generate annual cash flow for APA each year, which pays for the growing distribution to investors. The cash flow grows organically from the existing assets but it is also regularly investing in new assets to build its asset base. New and extended pipelines are a big focus at the moment. APA is also looking to electricity transmission and generation both in Australia and the US as future opportunities.

Plus, the ASX 200 dividend share is working on future-proofing its pipelines by considering how its pipelines can be used to transport hydrogen in the future.

In FY22, APA is planning to grow its distribution by almost 4% to 53 cents per share. At the current APA share price, that translates into a FY22 yield of 5.4%.

The post 2 compelling ASX 200 shares that keep growing their dividends appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Sweet dreams: ASX 200 shares that have provided big returns without the worry
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• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today

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 owns and has recommended APA Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sonic Healthcare Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Last week saw a number of broker notes hitting the wires once again. Three buy ratings that investors might want to be aware of are summarised below.

Here’s why brokers think investors ought to buy them next week:

IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL)

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts have retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on this language testing and student placement company’s shares. The broker was pleased with its first half performance and is expecting a stronger than usual second half. This is due to the emerging recovery in Australian student placements, continued strength in multi-destination placements, and greater than initially forecast synergies in the Indian IELTS operations. Outside this, Goldman notes that IDP is a structural grower with risks diminishing. The IDP share price ended the week at $28.53.

Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)

A note out of Morgans reveals that its analysts have retained their add rating but trimmed their price target on this infection prevention company’s shares to $5.97. This follows news that its long-standing sales agreement with GE Healthcare has come to an abrupt end. Morgans has downgraded its forecasts but remains positive on the long term. The Nanosonics share price was fetching $4.68 at the end of the week.

National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)

Analysts at Macquarie have retained their outperform rating and increased their price target on this banking giant’s shares to $32.50. This follows the release of a first quarter update which was better than the broker was expecting thanks to growth well-ahead of system. This has led to the broker upgrading its estimates and valuation accordingly. The NAB share price ended the week at $29.84.

The post Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Is the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price a buy for the 7% dividend yield?
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Top brokers say there are still ASX 200 growth shares with massive upside in 2022
• Brokers tip NAB (ASX:NAB) share price to storm to a new 52-week high

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Idp Education Pty Ltd and Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Looking for dividends shares for your income portfolio? If you are, you may want to get better acquainted with the two listed below.

Here’s what you need to know about these ASX dividend shares:

National Storage REIT (ASX: NSR)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is National Storage. It is a leading self-storage operator with a portfolio of over 210 centres across Australia. From these centres, National Storage provides tailored storage solutions to over 85,000 residential and commercial customers.

While the company’s units are predominantly used by customers for traditional storage uses, there’s a lot more on offer than just that. Some small businesses are using its units to run their operations. This is achievable thanks to WiFi and power connectivity options.

The good news is that the ownership of self storage centres remains highly fragmented. This provides the company with plenty of acquisition opportunities in the future to bolster its growth.

As for dividends, management is guiding to earnings per share growth of 10% in FY 2022. If its distribution grows in line with this, it will mean a 9.02 cents per share distribution. Based on the current National Storage share price of $2.45, this would mean a yield of 3.7%.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

Another ASX dividend share to look at is Rural Funds. It is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns a diversified portfolio of Australian agricultural assets.

These high quality assets are leased to many of the sector’s leading players such as Australia’s largest meat processor, JBS Australia, and wine giant Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) on very long leases. Combined with periodic rent increases, this gives management great visibility on its future earnings and allows it to target distribution growth of 4% per annum.

Speaking of distributions, in FY 2022 management plans to increase its distribution by its target rate to 11.73 cents per share. Based on the current Rural Funds share price of $2.96, this represents an attractive yield of 4%.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares with attractive yields appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 owns and has recommended RURALFUNDS STAPLED. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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After recently reporting its quarterly update, is the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price a buy for the projected grossed-up dividend yield of 7% in 2022?

NAB is one of the big four ASX banks along with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: WBC), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC).

Based on the dividend estimate on CommSec, the big four bank is expected to pay an annual dividend of $1.42 in FY22, which translates into the projected yield of 7%.

But there’s more to considering a business, even an ASX bank, than just the dividend. Other factors including the attractiveness of the valuation, the growth momentum and business plans should be taken into account.

Share prices are constantly moving, but investors get a real insight into a business when it releases a quarterly or half-yearly result.

NAB recently released its performance for the three months to 31 December 2021.

FY22 first quarter performance

The big four ASX bank said that it made $1.8 billion of statutory net profit, with $1.8 billion of cash earnings. Almost $2 billion of net profit in three months would be a significant number for most Aussie businesses. But how much growth did that represent?

NAB said that its cash earnings grew by 9.1% compared to the prior corresponding period. Before tax and credit impairment charges, the cash earnings rose 6%. Compared to the FY21 second half quarterly average, cash earnings rose 12%. Earnings growth can be a key driver of the NAB share price over time.

A key part of the profit growth was that revenue increased 8%, reflecting higher volumes across housing and business lending, increased fees and commissions and a recovery in markets & treasury income.

NAB’s net interest margin (NIM) declined by 5 basis points to 1.64%, which included competitive pressures and a negative impact from the housing lending mix.

One of the things that the bank was pleased to tell investors about was its net promoter score (NPS) – a measure of customer satisfaction – which continued to improve and was up to +1 in the latest quarter, ranking it first of the big four ASX banks. The business NPS was 0, ranking it second of the major banks.

NAB said that its credit impairment charge was a write-back of $35 million, reflecting the impact of higher house prices and improving asset quality across both housing and business lending with continued low specific charges. The ratio of loans being more than 90 days past due continued to decline.

Is the NAB share price a buy?

There is a mixture of views on NAB at the moment. Some brokers think it’s a buy, like Macquarie and UBS. However, others, like Morgans and Citi, currently have a ‘hold’ rating on the bank.

Citi thinks that the NAB performance is improving and it will be able to achieve stronger profitability in the coming periods, but the price target is just $30.50. Morgans is wary about the potential of a future penalty from AUSTRAC.

Macquarie thinks that NAB is growing its lending volumes nicely and winning market position. That’s why it has raised its price target to $32.50. The UBS price target is only $30.50, but noted that NAB did better than the broker was expecting in this quarter.

The post Is the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price a buy for the 7% dividend yield? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Brokers tip NAB (ASX:NAB) share price to storm to a new 52-week high
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Why AMP, AVZ, Megaport, and NAB shares are pushing higher
• NAB (ASX:NAB) share price jumps after scintillating quarter
• Shareholders are happy with the NAB (ASX:NAB) earnings beat. But what do analysts say?

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 Westpac Banking Corporation. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Many investors want massive returns without the rollercoaster ride along the way. Although, sometimes we succumb to the enticement of fast-moving shares — often on the more speculative side — in an attempt to outperform the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

For some people, volatility is part of the allure of investing in shares. For others, it’s a nightmare that keeps them up at night.

Fortunately, for the latter category of investors, there are a number of quiet-achieving companies, allowing shareholders to enjoy the best of both worlds.

Here’s a look at a handful of companies inside the ASX 200 that have demonstrated it is possible to make exceptional returns with less of the gut-wrenching, sleep-robbing, heart-throbbing volatility along the way.

More money and less stress inside the ASX 200

Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL)

It may not be a rapidly growing tech company, but Medibank Private has managed to deliver solid returns for its shareholders over the years. Most notably, the past 12 months have seen the private health insurance provider exceed the returns from the broader index.

Investment	1-year return	3-year return	5-year return
Medibank Private (with dividends)	14.2%	26.6%	44.7%
ASX 200 (with dividends)	9.4%	31.7%	49.2%

Furthermore, Medibank Private shareholders have enjoyed relatively low volatility over the past year. The average weekly volatility during this time is 3.6%. Comparatively, the average movement of the broader market has been 8.8%.

Medibank Private currently offers a dividend yield of 3.98%.

APA Group (ASX: APA)

Another company avoiding nasty surprises for shareholders over the years is APA Group. The energy infrastructure operator has steadily grown its revenue and rewarded investors in the process. As shown below, this ASX 200 share has outperformed the index on a one-year and five-year comparison.

Investment	1-year return	3-year return	5-year return
APA Group (with dividends)	11.6%	25.7%	50.7%
ASX 200 (with dividends)	9.4%	31.7%	49.2%

Impressively, APA Group’s average weekly volatility is 3.1% over the last year — making it less than half as volatile as the broader market. As such, investors have likely had no trouble getting some shuteye while hanging onto the utility company.

APA Group is boasting a 5.2% dividend yield based on its current share price.

Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA)

Last, but not least, is a company that has provided solid returns without much fuss over the years. Packaging product and solutions specialist, Orora, is an ASX 200 company that has far surpassed the returns of the index in the last year while making little noise in doing so.

Investment	1-year return	3-year return	5-year return
Orora (with dividends)	30.1%	19.7%	37.9%
ASX 200 (with dividends)	9.4%	31.7%	49.2%

For those playing at home, Orora has provided the largest returns — from those on this list — in the last year. Additionally, the company is the least volatile, moving only 2.4% each week on average.

Based on the current share price, Orora is offering a dividend yield of 4%.

The post Sweet dreams: ASX 200 shares that have provided big returns without the worry appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Could this give Medibank (ASX:MPL) shares a boost during earnings season?
• The APA (ASX:APA) dividend has grown every year for 18 years. What’s next?
• When might Medibank (ASX:MPL) shareholders ‘feel better’?
• How do Medibank (ASX:MPL) dividends compare to NIB?
• Dividend investors should put these 2 top ASX shares on the watchlist

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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 owns and has recommended APA Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW) share price has dropped by 24% since the start of the year. It’s down 44% from the end of August 2021.

However, if investors didn’t look at the share price and just read the latest business result, they would see a business that continues to grow quickly.

Multiple brokers think that Temple & Webster shares are worth considerably more than they’re currently trading.

Taking into account the current Temple & Webster share price as well as the report it just released, brokers like Credit Suisse, UBS and Morgan Stanley all rate it as a buy with price targets that imply potential upsides of at least 40% over the next 12 months.

What’s to like about the e-commerce ASX share? Here are three reasons:

Fast sales growth

All of the brokers recognise that the retailer’s sales continue to grow year after year at a good double-digit pace.

In the first six months of FY22, revenue increased 46% year on year. It was up 218% compared to FY20. Revenue per active customer increased by 10%, which was the sixth consecutive quarter of growth. The trade and commercial division grew revenue by 49%.

Part of the strategy to grow revenue is to spend heavily on marketing to drive both sales and brand awareness. The brand awareness increased to 61%, with the marketing return on investment (ROI) holding above the company’s target levels.

Management noted that strong supply chain diversity (both drop-ship by suppliers and private label) has enabled a consistent trading performance through this COVID era.

Growth has continued into the second half of FY22. For the period of 1 January 2022 to 6 February 2022, revenue was up 26% year on year and showed a rise of 161% against FY20.

Growing revenue and scale can help in a number of ways including more money for re-investment, better unit economics and improving the consumer proposition. This could be key for helping the Temple & Webster share price over the long-term.

Management say that they are confident that the Temple & Webster strategy is resonating with the next generation of shopper and that it’s well placed to continue to take share in the markets it’s operating in.

Exposed to strong tailwinds

Temple & Webster says that its core business-to-consumer (B2C) furniture and homewares category is a market worth $16 billion, undergoing a structural shift towards online.

The company points out that the Australian percentage of online penetration of the furniture and homewares market increased from 5.1% in 2019 to between 7% to 9% in 2020. In the US, the online percentage of the category has reached around 25.3% (which rose from 15.2% in 2019). Temple & Webster is suggesting that in the medium-term, Australia is heading towards that level of adoption.

Less than 5% of the ‘home improvement’ market is online. The types of products in this category are tools and equipment, garden and landscaping, paint and supplies, window furnishings, flooring, plumbing fixtures and so on. Temple & Webster has expanded into this area recently.

The company wants to have the biggest and best range. Technology (like AI and 3D/augmented reality) and strong customer service are helping increase the conversion rate.

Good value

Analysts and brokers will often estimate what they think is a fair value for a business, or where they think the Temple & Webster share price will be in a year from now (called a price target).

As mentioned at the start of the article, a few brokers have significantly higher target prices.

UBS has a price target of $11.80. Credit Suisse has a price target of $13.54. Morgan Stanley has a price target of $14.

Morgan Stanley thinks that Temple & Webster can continue to benefit from the adoption of e-commerce and that in the next four or five years it can reach $1 billion of revenue.

The post 3 reasons why the Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) share price is a buy after its plunge: experts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Brokers give their verdict on the Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) share price
• Why AnteoTech, ASX, CIMIC, and Temple & Webster shares are dropping
• Why CBA, Computershare, Dicker Data, and Temple & Webster shares are on fire today
• Cha-ching! Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) share price soars 12% on record half revenues
• Why Appen, Nanosonics, Nearmap, and Temple & Webster are sinking

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. owns and has recommended Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Once again, a large number of broker notes hit the wires last week. Some of these notes were positive and some were bearish.

Three sell ratings that investors might want to hear about are summarised below. Here’s why top brokers think investors ought to sell these shares next week:

AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP)

According to a note out of UBS, its analysts have retained their sell rating and 90 cents price target on this financial services company’s shares. Although AMP delivered a full year result that was better than it was expecting, it isn’t enough for a more positive rating. This is due to concerns over the core AMP business and its doubts that the demerger of its private markets business will unlock value for investors. The AMP share price ended the week at $1.02.

Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)

A note out of Morgan Stanley reveals that its analysts have retained their underweight rating and $18.11 price target on this fund manager’s shares. This follows news that its Chief Investment Officer, Hamish Douglass, is taking indefinite medical leave. Morgan Stanley notes that this comes at a time of poor investment performance from its funds. Together with the prospects of lumpy outflows from institutional clients and margin pressures, the broker isn’t in a rush to change its rating. The Magellan share price was fetching $18.11 at the end of the week.

Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN)

Analysts at Ord Minnett have retained their sell rating and cut their price target on this mining and mining services company’s shares to $45.00. According to the note, Mineral Resources’ half year result fell well short of broker’s expectations. Looking ahead, the broker warns that iron ore prices could weaken in the coming months and weigh on its performance. All in all, it continues to believe that the company’s shares are overvalued. The Mineral Resources share price ended the week at $53.20.

The post Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell next week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Why AGL, Magellan, Xero, and Zip shares are sinking
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: IAG upgrades guidance, Magellan sinks again
• Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price slides 6% as FUM bloodbath continues
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 Bruce Jackson.

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ASX travel shares may be on the rise this year, but it hasn’t been smooth sailing for all companies in the sector.

The Alliance Aviation Services Ltd (ASX: AQZ) share price is down nearly 9% since market close on 31 December. In the same time frame, Apollo Tourism & Leisure Ltd (ASX: ATL) also fell nearly 9% and Experience Co Ltd (ASX: EXP) descended nearly 3%.

In comparison Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) has soared nearly 8% since 31 December, Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) has surged nearly 18% and Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) has also climbed 18%.

Omicron variant woes

Alliance Aviation is a Queensland airline operating both domestic and international flights in the mining, government, tourism, corporate, and private sectors.

In its HY 1FY22 results released after the market closed on Wednesday, this ASX travel share reported COVID-19 had caused a “significant ongoing delay” to its wet lease deployment. Alliance Aviation reported an underlying profit before tax of $20.7 million, a $6 million decline. The Alliance Aviation share price fell by 5% the following day.

Commenting on the results, Alliance managing director Scott McMillan said:

It is well known that there have been numerous impacts on the national economy brought about by COVID-19 and various government responses. As a result, the company has suffered a delay on wet lease flying activity.

Alliance maintains a very confident outlook and is of the view that significant additional flying will commence in April this year.

Alliance will continue to invest in fleet, equipment, spare parts and personnel to ensure the company has the required capacity to satisfy its contracted wet lease routes and other future growth post COVID-19.

Apollo and Experience have not released any price-sensitive news to the market this year. However, COVID-19 Omicron travel disruptions appear to have impacted investor sentiment.

Apollo is an Australian tourism leisure company operating in New Zealand, North America, Germany, the UK, and Ireland. Meanwhile, Experience is an adventure tourism and leisure company offering fun activities including sky-diving, reef and rainforest tours and island day trips.

Could better days be ahead?

Despite the tough start to the year, Experience and Apollo have made major gains this week on the back of the international borders opening. The Experience Co share price has surged 6% since the market closed on 4 February, while Apollo has gained nearly 11%.

As Motley Fool Australia reported this week, Australia’s international borders will open to tourists on February 21 which could benefit ASX travel shares.

Forager Funds management analyst Alex Shevelev said tourism operators will now have more confidence to prepare for international arrivals. He added:

Companies like skydive and Great Barrier Reef tour operator Experience Co and recreational vehicle owners Tourism Holdings (NZE: THL) and Apollo have struggled through the COVID travel decimation for two years while working to improve their businesses.

When tourists return they will be well positioned to finally benefit.

While the recovery will be gradual, the industry will be hoping that the initial trickle of tourists will be followed by a torrent of arrivals. Importantly, many operators have lowered their cost bases and will be more profitable when arrivals approach pre-COVID levels.

ASX travel shares summary

The Alliance Aviation share price has slipped 14% over the past year while Apollo has skyrocketed 69%. Meanwhile, Experience has surged 82% in the last 52 weeks.

For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned 5% over the past year.

The post Why are some ASX travel shares recovering slower than others? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Morgans names 3 of the best ASX shares to buy today
• 2 ASX shares primed for Australia’s reopening: fund manager

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Alliance Aviation Services Ltd. and EXPERNCECO FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended Alliance Aviation Services Ltd. and EXPERNCECO FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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When I find myself in times of investing trouble, Warren Buffett often comes to me. Speaking his words of wisdom, he says, let your portfolio be…

Warren Buffett is an inspiration to many an investor. But his wisdom is often bandied around most in times of market turmoil. Due to his famous penchant for making his largest investments in times of market turmoil, Buffett is perhaps the most opportunistic famous investor out there.

Thus, it would be interesting to check out how Buffett, and his company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B), has fared over the past couple of months. We’ve recently covered how Buffett was the only top ten billionaire not to lose money over January. That fits rather nicely into his famous ‘two rules of investing’.

But a new report sheds another interesting light into the workings of Buffett’s share portfolio at Berkshire. According to the report in The Age newspaper, Berkshire’s best performing share over 2021 was none other than the US bank Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE: WFC). Wells Fargo gave its investors, Buffett included, a 2021 performance of 61%.

That was far better than Berkshire’s two largest holdings, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) and another bank in Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC). However, unfortunately for Buffett, his bet didn’t pay out as much as it could have. According to the report, Wells Fargo was once Berkshire’s largest holding, and “routinely praised by the billionaire himself”.

Buffett’s Berkshire unloads a winner

However, a series of scandals reportedly led Buffett to whittle down Berkshire’s Wells Fargo position over the past few years. Berkshire reportedly only had 675,000 Wells Fargo shares as of 30 September, which was well below the 2019 peak of 323 million shares. As such, we can conclude that Buffett and Berkshire have had something of a missed opportunity with their Wells Fargo holdings.

According to The Age Article, Buffett, who has a famously high bar when it comes to a business’ integrity, wasn’t too impressed with the selection of Wall Street insider Charlie Scharf as CEO in 2019 after Buffett advised to pick someone outside of Wall Street. Charlie Munger, Buffett’s right-hand man at Berkshire, apparently criticised Scharf for planning to run the San Francisco-based bank from New York.

But that all seems a little immaterial now that Buffett has missed out on some potentially massive gains from Berkshire’s Wells Fargo position.

It just goes to show that even the best investors can miss out sometimes. But what is perhaps more important is how Buffett sticks to his investing principles. Even in the face of losing some face. It’s not all bad though. Bank of America shares, while not quite at the same performance level as Wells Fargo, still gave investors a near-50% return over 2021. Apple shares rose almost 34%. It certainly could be worse for Berkshire, and Buffett!

The post Can ASX investors learn from how Warren Buffett is responding to the market downturn? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Wells Fargo is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Bank of America is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. 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 recommended Apple and Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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