Tag: Motley Fool

If you’re wanting to take your portfolio to the next level, then buying these quality ASX shares could be one way to do it.

Here’s why these ASX shares are highly rated and could be strong buys right now:

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

Altium is an electronic design software provider that is best-known for its Altium Designer and Altium 365 platforms. But it doesn’t stop there, it also has the Octopart search engine and the NEXUS collaboration platform supporting its growth.

Altium’s platforms are widely regarded as the best in the industry and used by many of the world’s largest companies. One of those is electric vehicle giant Tesla. 

Thanks to favourable technology trends such as artificial intelligence and the internet of things, demand for its software is expected to grow strongly over the next decade. So much so, management is aiming to grow its revenue to US$500 million and its subscriber base to 100,000 by 2025/26. This compares to subscribers of 52,157 at the end of December and its FY 2021 revenue guidance of US$190 million to US$195 million. 

One broker that is a fan is Morgan Stanley. It currently has an overweight rating with a $37.00 price target on its shares.

REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)

REA Group is the dominant player in real estate listings in the Australian market. After several years of growth despite battling a housing market downturn and COVID-19, REA Group looks well-placed to go into overdrive now. 

After cutting costs materially and introducing new revenue streams, the company looks set to reap the rewards as demand for listings jumps thanks to the thriving housing market. This should be supported by its international operations, which have large opportunities as well.

Macquarie is very positive on REA Group. Its analysts currently have an outperform rating and $171.70 price target on its shares.

More reading

• How you can become rich buying and holding ASX shares
• 2 investing approaches to help get you started on the ASX
• 2 of the best ASX growth shares to buy now
• Why the REA (ASX:REA) share price is surging in April
• These oversold ASX tech shares are ripe for the picking

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Altium. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Altium. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA Group 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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up by 0.04% to 6,977 points.

These are some of the highlights of the ASX from today:

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

The Zip share price went up by around 17% today in reaction to the buy now, pay later company’s FY21 third quarter update.

Zip revealed record group quarterly revenue of $114.4 million – up 80% year on year. It also saw quarterly transaction volume growth of 114% to $1.6 billion. Zip experienced record transaction numbers of 12.4 million, up 195%.

Customer numbers increased by 88% to 6.4 million, whilst merchant numbers rose 81% to 45,300.

Zip US (Quadpay) was the standout, according to management. Transaction volume grew by 234% to $762 million, revenue grew 188% to $54.4 million and customers went up 153% to 3.8 million.

Zip ANZ saw transaction volume growth of 61% to $837.3 million and revenue growth of 37% to $57.9 million.

Net bad debts fell to 1.78%, down from 1.93% for Australian receivables. Zip said this was a very strong result, further validating the strength of Zip’s proprietary credit decision technology and ability to manage risk.

Zip managing director and CEO Larry Diamond said:

We are extremely pleased with the strong growth and momentum in the business, delivering another exceptional set of numbers…Our focus on unit economics continues to provide a point of difference and points to a strong bottom line at scale. We continue to innovate and deliver new features to our customers in line with our mission to become the first payment choice everywhere, every day.

Fitch rating agency increases outlook for major ASX banks

Fitch has revised its credit rating outlook for the big ASX 200 banks including Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC).

Commenting on the ANZ outlook, Fitch said:

The outlook revision reflects Australia’s improved economic prospects and increased certainty, which gives Fitch greater confidence that ANZ’s financial profile is likely to remain consistent with its current ratings over the next two years.

The stable outlook reflects our view that ANZ has sufficient headroom in its financial metrics to maintain the current rating, even in a scenario that is moderately weaker than our base case. Australia’s good handling of the health aspects of the coronavirus pandemic has allowed the economy to rebound strongly; we now expect GDP to expand by 4.7% in 2021. Downside to this forecast remains, particularly until the vaccination programme is completed, but has reduced significantly since early 2020.

The ANZ share price fell 0.2% today, the Westpac share price dropped 0.2% and the NAB share price declined 0.4%.

Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL)

Regis announced that it has entered into a conditional binding asset sale agreement with IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) to acquire a 30% interest in the Tropicana gold mine, which is located in Western Australia.

In FY21, Tropicana is expected to produce 380,000 ounces to 430,000 ounces of gold. The mine has an expected life of more than 10 years and there are multiple growth opportunities near the mine with attractive regional targets for longer-term upside.

The ASX 200 gold miner is happy with the acquisition because the mine is a high quality, low cost, high margin gold asset.

The CEO and managing director of Regis, Jim Beyer, said:

This is genuinely a transformational transaction for Regis and one that delivers on our strategic objectives to grow as a safe, responsible, reliable, long life, low cost gold producer, generating strong financial returns. Diversifying the company’s robust portfolio through the acquisition of a 30% interest in the Tropicana operation will deliver significant improvements in the company’s resources, reserves and annual production, along with providing additional immediate cashflows, all of which adds to the strength of our platform for undertaking further organic and inorganic growth activities.

Regis intends to fund the acquisition with a capital raising of up to $650 million, as well as a $300 million new loan facility.

More reading

• Why ASX 200 tech shares are vital to manufacturers’ reshoring plans
• What’s lifting the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price today?
• Afterpay and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• Why Westpac (ASX:WBC) could be about to deliver a dividend surge
• Why the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price could push higher from here

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. 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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If you’re looking for growth shares to buy, then the tech sector could be a great place to start.

At this side of the market, there are a number of companies with the potential to grow materially over the next decade.

With that in mind, I have picked out two top tech shares which have been rated as buys. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

It wasn’t that long ago that Afterpay was a small cap share flying under the radar of the majority of investors. Today, the payments company has become a dominant force in the buy now pay later (BNPL) market and its name is a verb for consumers around the world.

While Afterpay’s growth has been meteoric over the last few years, it is far from over. Thanks to its international expansion, its massive US opportunity, and new product launches, Afterpay still has a very long runway for growth. This could make it a great long term option for investors.

One broker that is very positive on its outlook is Wilsons. The broker has a buy rating and $160.20 price target on its shares. Its analysts see significant opportunities for Afterpay in mainland Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

Another ASX tech share to consider is Kogan. Like Afterpay, it has been a very strong performer so far in FY 2021.

For example, during the first half the ecommerce company reported a 97.4% increase in gross sales to $638.2 million and a 250.2% lift in adjusted net profit after tax to $36.5 million. This strong result was driven by a 76.8% increase in Kogan active customers to 3 million, its acquisition of Mighty Ape, and growth in the Kogan Marketplace and Exclusive Brands segments.

And while the surge in demand that it received at the height of the pandemic may not be repeated this year, its long term growth outlook remains extremely bright. This could make it a good long term investment option, especially after a sharp pullback in its share price recently.

Credit Suisse is positive on the company. It has an outperform rating and $20.85 price target on its shares.

More reading

• What’s lifting the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price today?
• Afterpay and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price races 11% higher on record Q3 performance
• Got money to invest for income? Here are 2 ASX dividend shares
• Are you buying the companies of the past, or the future?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. 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 Seven West Media Ltd (ASX: SWM) share price has lifted today. That’s despite revelations in The Age newspaper that the media company provided its executive Ben Roberts-Smith with a $1.87 million loan without informing shareholders or the market.

Roberts-Smith, a former special forces soldier and decorated war hero, has been the subject of an inquiry into alleged war crimes and this week faced a fresh investigation into an alleged conspiracy to silence witnesses.

At the time of writing, the Seven West share price is trading at 51.5 cents each, up 3%. By comparison, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is 0.06% higher.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s exposé and their potential impact on the Seven share price.

Seven’s loan to Ben Roberts-Smith

According to the report, the loan was signed by Seven West Media director Ryan Stokes (son of major shareholder and chair Kerry Stokes) and was used to pay for Roberts-Smith’s private legal expenses.

These expenses include his defence against the war crime allegations and defamation proceedings against The Age and 60 Minutes – both owned by media rival Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC).

Previously, the Australian Financial Review reported Kerry Stokes had provided Roberts-Smith with a loan in a personal capacity. It was also reported Mr Stokes was holding Roberts-Smith’s Victoria Cross medal as collateral. According to the report in the Nine paper, the loan was transferred from Seven West to the Stokes’ private business.

The revelation that company funds were used without disclosure to the ASX or possibly even other directors is not negatively impacting the Seven share price today.

The loan reports come after 60 Minutes aired allegations Roberts-Smith may have hidden evidence from investigators in his backyard.

What did Seven say?

In a statement to The Age, a Seven spokesperson said the loan was “repaid to Seven, and this is no longer a Seven issue. This is a private matter regarding an employee that Seven will not engage in.”

Seven West Media’s legal team is allegedly advising Roberts-Smith and his lawyers during this process.

According to the report, it is unclear why the loan was transferred from Seven West Media to Stokes’ business. It was taken off the company’s books at the same time as the COVID-19 crisis, which saw the Seven share price crash.

Seven share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Seven share price has appreciated 722.58%. The company’s value hit a 52-week high of 59 cents a share after posting its half-year results for FY21.

For the six months ending 31 December, the company recorded a $116.4 million net profit, compared to a $48.6 million loss during the prior corresponding period (pcp). Revenue, however, was down 9.8% over the pcp to equal $644.2 million.

Seven West reported underlying group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) up 24.4% to $165.7 million. Group EBIT climbed 29.0% to $152 million, with underlying earnings per share (EPS) of 5.6 cents.

More reading

• Prime Media (ASX:PRT) share price unmoved as ACM tightens grip
• ASX banks are facing millions of cyber attacks each day
• Could this ASX ETF be in a perfect storm in 2021 and beyond?
• Why the Nine (ASX:NEC) share price is falling today
• 3 ASX shares this top fund managers thinks are buys

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous 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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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) tech shares have garnered a lot of media and investor attention since the onset of the global pandemic.

And for good reason.

As Aussies transitioned to working, playing and shopping from home during viral lockdowns and social distancing, many of the ASX 200 companies providing these services saw their share prices surge.

But COVID-19 did more than roil up consumer and work habits.

Coming atop of trade conflicts with China, the pandemic also shone the spotlight on the growing deficiency in manufacturing capabilities on Australian soil.

Among other issues, the coronavirus saw supply chains disrupted as overseas manufacturing facilities were forced to shut down. Or when governments opted to supply their own citizens before greenlighting exports.

Australian manufacturers rush to reshore operations

Looking to avoid a repeat of these disruptions, or worse, it’s little wonder that fully 55% of Aussie manufacturers are planning to return their operations to Australia inside the next 3 years.

That’s according to the Australian Manufacturing Outlook survey, recently released by PROS Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PRO), a software as a service solutions (SaaS) provider working to optimise shopping and selling experiences.

The survey, conducted by OnePoll in December, was put to 500 senior manufacturing employees across Australia.

Aside from revealing that 55% of respondents intend to reshore their manufacturing to domestic facilities, 22% said they had already reshored their operations.

And while a lack of skilled domestic workers is often touted in the media, the surveyed Aussie manufacturers largely disagreed. In fact, 78% said Australia has “the technology, people and economy to support the industry boom”.

On a regional level, respondents in Western Australia, Northern Territory and South Australia were the most likely to be planning a return of their manufacturing operations to home soil. Their focus is largely on “creating local jobs and growing priority sectors such as lithium batteries, defence and space”.

A potential fly in the ointment, though, is a lack of digital acumen.

According to PROS’ survey, 82% of Australian manufacturers said they are “underprepared to compete in a digital economy and believe they must fast-track eCommerce channels to overcome competition from imports and online sources”.

A crucial step to global competitiveness

Haley Glasgow is the APAC Head of Strategic Consulting and Alliances at PROS.

Addressing the manufacturing sector’s preparedness to bring back their operations to Australia, she said:

The economic recovery is well underway, but Australian manufacturers must equip themselves with eCommerce and dynamic pricing capabilities, otherwise we risk not only stalling the economic growth already achieved but missing the right moment in history to reclaim our manufacturing heritage.

Australia is incredibly well-placed to leverage smart technologies like artificial intelligence and digital selling channels to overcome the competition challenges from imports and online sources. But to reinvent themselves, investment must be made by the government, industry and companies themselves.

Glasgow added that by making the right tech investments, companies can “improve the buying experience, order accuracy and accelerate business growth as the economy recovers”.

“As Australian manufacturers seek to reshore,” she said, “it is vital they lead with a digital strategy and mindset if they are to achieve local and global competitiveness.”

Three leading ASX 200 tech shares

There are a growing range of high-growth ASX 200 tech shares for investors to research.

For the purposes of this article, we’ll look at three of these, which are directly involved in helping companies and investors navigate the digital economy.

First up, WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC). WiseTech provides cloud-based software solutions for the international and domestic logistics industries. WiseTech has a market cap of $10.1 billion and pays a small dividend of 0.14%, fully franked.

The WiseTech share price is up 99% over the past 12 months, compared to a gain of 27% on the ASX 200. So far in 2021, WiseTech shares are up just over 3%.

Next up is Computershare Ltd (ASX: CPU), the largest share registry business in the world. Computershare has a market cap of $7.9 billion and pays a dividend yield of 3.06%, fully franked.

The Computershare share price is up 34% over the past full year and has gained 4% so far in 2021.

Finally, we have Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT), which operates a network of data centres across Australia. NextDC has a market cap of $5.3 billion.

NextDC shares have gained 25% over the past 12 months. Year-to-date the NextDC share price is 7%.

More reading

• ASX 200 flat: Zip rockets, Cleanaway higher, Regis-IGO announce Tropicana deal
• The Orocobre (ASX:ORE) share price is climbing. Here’s why.
• 2 ASX 200 shares to buy for dividends
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Why the Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price outperformed today

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of WiseTech Global. 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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Most weeks, Commonwealth Bank of Australia‘s (ASX: CBA) CommSec brokering platform tells us the ASX and international shares (usually just US shares) that are the most popular with its ASX investor base.

Since CommSec is one of the most used brokerage platforms in Australia, this data gives us a glimpse of what the average Aussie investor is doing on the international stage.

My Fool colleague, James, has already looked at the most popular ASX shares last week today. So here are the top 10 US shares CommSec users were buying last week. This week’s data covers 5-8 April. 

GameStop shares among most traded US shares on the ASX

1. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) – representing 6.2% of total trades with a 79%/21% buy-to-sell ratio.
2. Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) – representing 2.5% of total trades with a 71%/29% buy-to-sell ratio.
3. GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) – representing 2.3% of total trades with an 83%/17% buy-to-sell ratio.
4. Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE: PLTR) – representing 1.7% of total trades with a 73%/27% buy-to-sell ratio
5. Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) – representing 1.5% of total trades with a 76%/24% buy-to-sell ratio.
6. ARK Space Exploration & Innovation ETF (BATS: ARKX)
7. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)
8. Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN)
9. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA)
10. Alphabet Inc Class C (NASDAQ: GOOG)

What can we learn from these trades?

Well, this is a very interesting set of results. Strangely, this list is almost identical to last week’s list, which doesn’t usually happen. The first 7 stocks here occupy the same positions as last week.

Tesla continues to dominate, naturally, and the only new additions were Google-owner Alphabet’s Class C shares and the Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba.

Even the percentage of total trades and the buy-sell ratios are eerily similar. For example, last week Tesla made up 6.3% of total trades with a buy-sell ratio of 80/20. It’s almost exactly the same this week.

The only real departure in the top 5 stocks here is Palantir. Last week, investors were far more bullish on this data-mining company with 86% of investors buying. This week, it’s a little more evenly split.

GameStop continues to evidently weigh heavily on the minds of ASX investors seeing as 83% of trades were ‘buys’. The FOMO is strong with this one it seems, despite GameStop shedding almost 36% of its value over the past month, as well as almost 24% since last week. 

It’s interesting to see that ARK’s new ARKX Space Exploration exchange-traded fund (ETF) is still popular, even displacing the old ARK Innovation ETF (NYSE: ARKK) that had proven popular in previous weeks. 

It will be interesting to see if these patterns hold so similarly next week.

More reading

• What’s lifting the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price today?
• Why Westpac (ASX:WBC) could be about to deliver a dividend surge
• Here’s why Microsoft just spent $19.7 billion to acquire nuance communications
• Why the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price could push higher from here
• Why the Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price could soar 15%

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Alphabet (A shares) and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, NIO Inc., and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Palantir Technologies Inc and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon, short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple, short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon, and long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, and Apple. 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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If you don’t have the funds to build a truly diverse portfolio, then exchange traded funds (ETFs) could be worth considering.

This is because ETFs give investors access to a large number of different shares through just a single investment.

With that in mind, I have picked out three ETFs that trade on the ASX that could be good options. They are as follows:

BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA)

The BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF gives investors exposure to a number of the most promising tech shares in the Asian market. This means you’ll be buying a slice of well-known companies such as ecommerce giant Alibaba, search engine company Baidu, and WeChat owner Tencent. In addition to those, there are a number of other lesser known but high quality companies included in the fund. This includes the likes of Netease and Pinduoduo.

BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

The BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF gives you exposure to the 100 largest non-financial shares on the NASDAQ index. Among the 100 companies included in the fund are household names such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft. While the fund has a high weighting to the tech sector, there are also a number of outstanding non-tech shares as well. These include Mondelez, Moderna, Pepsico, Starbucks, and Tesla.

Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)

A final ETF to consider is the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF. This ETF provides investors with exposure to a whopping 1,530 of the world’s largest listed companies from major developed countries. This means that investors are able to participate in the long-term growth potential of international economies outside Australia. If you buy this ETF, you’ll be buying a slice of companies such as Apple, Johnson & Johnson, JP Morgan, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, and Visa.

More reading

• Is Vanguard International Shares ETF (ASX:VGS) the best on the ASX?
• Afterpay and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• 2 investing approaches to help get you started on the ASX
• 2 highly rated ASX tech shares to buy this month
• 2 of the top ETFs for diversification

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. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS and 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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The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is making a serious comeback in April, up almost 25% this month and up 3.02% to $124.86 at the time of writing. 

What’s driving the Afterpay share price? 

The Afterpay share price could be benefiting from rival Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) and its quarterly update. 

In this update, Zip highlighted an 80% increase in group quarterly revenue to $114.4 million. This growth was driven by a 195% increase in transaction numbers to 12.4 million. Additionally, there was a 144% increase in transaction volume to $1.6 billion. 

Zip’s US-based QuadPay business was a key driver of growth, with transaction volume growing 234% to $762 million. This translates to a 188% increase in revenue to $54.4 million. 

The US and its $5 trillion retail market represents an integral part of many ASX-listed buy now pay later (BNPL) growth stories. In the case of Zip, the US has contributed an increasing percentage of group revenue. In 1H20, the US represented 28.50% of revenue. This increased to 43.36% in 1H21 and 47.55% in today’s Q3 update.

Afterpay retains a similar narrative where its US and UK businesses are playing a greater role in its earnings. In the company half-year results, the US contributed approximately 42.8% of its sales, up from 38% in 1Q21. 

Good for Zip and great for Afterpay

Zip’s triple-digit growth across key reporting metrics in the US signals continued momentum in the world’s largest economy. 

With Afterpay more than doubling Zip in active customers in the US, good news for Zip spells great news for Afterpay. 

Delivering strong growth figures is also important in addressing the recent concerns of rising competition in the BNPL sector.

If Zip’s results were to miss expectations, then it could signal the BNPL sector is getting too crowded or new competitors such as Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and PayPal are winning out. 

Why it might be worth watching Affirm 

The Zip and Afterpay share price have bounced strongly in April after a sharp selloff in early February. However, it’s been a different story for leading US-listed BNPL, Affirm Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: AFRM). 

The Affirm share price topped out in line with the broader tech and BNPL sell-off in early February. Its shares slumped more than 50% from US$146.90 on 10 February to a low of US$65.65 on 30 March. Despite strength coming back into the tech sector and BNPL shares, the Affirm share price closed almost 4% lower to US$67.93 on Monday night.

More reading

• Afterpay and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• Why Westpac (ASX:WBC) could be about to deliver a dividend surge
• Why the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price could push higher from here
• Why the Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price could soar 15%
• ASX 200 flat: Zip rockets, Cleanaway higher, Regis-IGO announce Tropicana deal

Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. 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 Vanguard Msci Index International Shares Etf (ASX: VGS) is one of the most popular exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the ASX today. In fact, outside the iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV), this ETF was the most popular choice for ASX investors wanting to get exposure to international shares. As of September last year anyway. Today, it has $2.75 billion in assets under management.

But is this ETF still a good choice today? Let’s see how it measures up.

So the Vanguard International Shares ETF tracks the MSCI World ex-Australia. This index follows most of the world’s largest companies that are listed in major advanced economies around the world. 

If you’re after diversification, this ETF brings it to the table in spades. It holds 1,530 individual companies within it, spanning more than 20 different countries. The United States dominates these holdings naturally, with almost 68% of the total share. But other markets that are well represented include Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and Hong Kong. 

Breaking the Vanguard down

It’s also reasonably spread out over a range of sectors. Information technology dominates with 22.3% of the fund’s holdings, reflecting the size of the US FAANG stocks that sit atop the American markets. We can see this if we look at VGS’s largest individual holdings. These are (in order) Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Facebook, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ: FB).

But the financial, health care and consumer discretionary sectors are also well covered with 13.1%, 12.6% and 12.2% of holdings respectively.

But let’s turn to the meat and potatoes – this fund’s performance.

So the Vanguard International Shares ETF has returned an average of 12.62% per annum since its inception in 2014. It has also returned an average of 13.16% per annum over the past 3 years. And an average of 13.76% over the past 5. Over the past 12 months, it has given its investors a return of 23.6%. That reflects the bounceback in global markets from the pandemic. 

In terms of fees, this ETF isn’t quite as cheap as some other index ETFs like the iShares S&P 500 ETF at 0.04% or the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS)  at 0.1%. However, its fee is still relatively low at 0.18% per annum. That represents a cost of $18 a year for every $10,000 invested.

With $2.75 billion inside this fund, it’s clear that ASX investors find VGS a popular choice for international shares exposure.

More reading

• 2 of the top ETFs for diversification
• Got cash to invest? Here are 2 ASX shares to buy
• 2 quality international ETFs for ASX investors to buy
• 2 top ETFs to buy in April 2021
• Which is the better investment: An ASX share portfolio or an index fund?

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Alphabet (A shares) and Facebook. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon, short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple, short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon, and long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Amazon, Apple, Facebook, iShares Trust – iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, and 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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Investors who bought these S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares this time last year will be rejoicing today.

Each of these companies has seen its share price more than double since 12 April 2020. 

Let’s look at what’s been driving these top-performing ASX 200 shares.

3 ASX 200 shares outperforming

News Corporation (ASX: NWS)

This time last year, the News Corporation share price closed at $15.16. Today this ASX 200 share is trading for $32.45, an increase of around 114% over the last 12 months.

News Corp has battled through the last year, arguably coming out the other side stronger.

Through the coronavirus pandemic, the media giant continued to post generally sturdy results.

It weathered a Facebook-induced storm when the platform blocked all Australian news. News Corp quickly struck a deal with the social media giant to protect its ability to publish news on the platform.

It even managed to pay its shareholders the same dividend as it did in 2020.

News Corp has a market capitalisation of around $1.1 billion, with approximately 590 million shares outstanding. 

Virgin Money UK (ASX: VUK)

A year ago today, this ASX 200 share was trading for $1.67. While the Virgin Money share price has seen its share of volatility since, it’s come out fighting. Today, Virgin Money shares are swapping hands for $3.49. That represents a 110% gain over the last 12 months.

Virgin Money shares have been driven higher by the company’s strong results over the past year. Each quarter, Virgin Money released stable, predictable results. This may well have been a welcome relief to ASX investors through what has been a pretty unpredictable period. 

Virgin Money has a market capitalisation of around $3.1 billion, with approximately 1.4 billion shares outstanding.

EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) 

This time 12 months ago, EML shares were trading at $2.64. Since then, this ASX 200 share has gained 118% and is now trading for $5.78 at the time of writing.

EML offers a wide variety of payment services, including salary packaging cards, commission payouts, gift cards and rewards programs.

It posted strong results throughout the 2020 financial year, as well as completing a number of acquisitions.

EML has a market capitalisation of around $2 billion, with approximately 361 billion shares outstanding.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX sees 7,000 points once more
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• 3 ASX shares brokers have rated a buy today
• Why the EML (ASX:EML) share price keeps getting more attractive

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Facebook. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Facebook. 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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