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Along with our Top ASX Stock Picks for October, we also asked our Foolish writers to pick their favourite ASX tech shares to buy this month.

Here is what the team have come up with…

Chris Chitty: Envirosuite Ltd (ASX: EVS)

My tech share for October is Envirosuite Ltd. Envirosuite is an environmental consulting company that helps its clients to manage their effect on the environment. This company provides software as a service (SaaS) which assists companies to measure and control their environmental outputs.

Motley Fool Contributor Chris Chitty does not own shares of Envirosuite Ltd.

Glenn Leese: ELMO Software Ltd (ASX: ELO)

More reading

• 3 ASX tech shares that pay dividends
• 3 exciting small cap ASX shares that ought to be on your watchlist
• 3 hot ASX shares to buy when you’re young
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Why the Xtek (ASX:XTE) share price is shooting 9% higher today

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Elmo Software and Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of AUDINATEGL FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended AUDINATEGL FPO, carsales.com Limited, Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Limited, Elmo Software, and Pro Medicus 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.

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When it comes to ASX dividend shares, the mind usually doesn’t jump to the tech space. Tech shares have long been associated with high-growth, high-octane investors. If you ask a typical ASX investor to name ten top dividend shares, I would wager that there wouldn’t be one tech share on the list.

Tech shares and dividends have long had an interesting relationship in the investing world. Over in the United States, dividend-paying companies even have a certain stigma attached to them. Probably due to a lack of a ‘franking’ system, US companies are considered ‘mature’ or ‘tired’ if they start paying a dividend. Even today, US tech titans like Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL), Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) still don’t pay dividends, despite their mountains of free cash flow and (in some cases) trillion-dollar market capitalisations.

One tech titan that does pay a dividend is Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL). But when it announced a new dividend program in 2012, some investors were dismayed that Apple was ‘no longer cool’. What a funny old world!

But that’s the US, and we’re here to talk about ASX tech shares. Many ASX tech shares, such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) and Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) do not currently pay dividends. But others do.

3 ASX tech shares offering dividends

One such example is Appen Ltd (ASX: APX). Appen works with tech companies to help computer and artificial intelligence programs communicate better with humans. Appen has paid two dividends in 2020 – a 5 cents per share payout in February and a 4.5 cents per share dividend last month. 9.5 cents per share in total dividends for 2020 gives Appen a trailing dividend yield of 0.26% on current prices. That’s not too exciting, but it’s better than nothing!

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) is another tech high-flyer that pays out a dividend. Its last two payouts came in at 19 and 20 cents per share respectively, which gives Altium a trailing yield of 1.06% on current prices. Again, that’s not enormously impressive, but it’s better than Appen. What’s more, Altium has been rapidly increasing its dividend every year for a while now (including in 2020, the year of the pandemic). In 2016, Altium gave shareholders 20 cents per share in dividends. In 2020, the company had ramped this payout up to 39 cents per share. This could be a fantastic dividend growth stock if this pattern continues. 

A final option to consider is Computershare Limited (ASX: CPU). Computershare isn’t normally lumped in with the ‘exciting’ tech stocks like Altium and Appen, probably because it’s been around for a couple of decades now. But it’s still one of the best tech shares to buy for dividend income. Computershare’s last two dividends both came in at 23 cents per share. That gives Computershare a trailing dividend yield of 3.46%, which also comes partially franked.

Foolish takeaway

Although ASX tech shares are still not a sector with market-beating dividend yields on offer, there is still income potential if you know where to look. As tech companies become more and more dominant on the ASX, I expect this trend to continue growing as well. So watch this space, income investors!

More reading

• Top ASX tech shares to buy in October 2020
• Is Alphabet thinking of its ‘other bets’ all wrong?
• 2 unstoppable ASX shares to buy with $2,000
• Apple Announces the iPhone 12: What You Need to Know
• Is Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock overvalued?

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. 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), Alphabet (C shares), Altium, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Netflix. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Xero and ZIPCOLTD FPO and recommends the following options: short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon and long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO and Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Netflix. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF) share price will be one to watch on Wednesday following the release of its first quarter update.

How did Challenger perform in the first quarter?

For the three months ended 30 September, Challenger reported a 4% increase in assets under management to $89 billion.

This was driven by a 4% lift in Life investment assets, which benefited from positive investment experience and a 46% increase in annuity sales compared to the prior corresponding period to $1,233 million. The latter was the result of strong growth in both Australian and Japanese (MS Primary) sales.

Also growing during the first quarter was the company’s funds under management (FUM). Challenger’s FUM increased 5% for the quarter, including $3.6 billion of net inflows.

Successful strategy.

Challenger’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Richard Howes, commented: “Challenger’s performance in the first quarter demonstrates the success of our strategy to diversify our business geographically and across customer segments. Our record annuity sales reflect strong growth in the contribution from Japan as well as domestic institutional and retail annuity sales.”

“Our Funds Management business further solidified its spot as the fastest growing asset manager in Australia. Total funds under management rose 5% during the quarter, driven by exceptional net flows across both Fidante Partners and CIP Asset Management,” he added.

Mr Howes also revealed that the company has taken advantage of market conditions to generate strong investment returns.

“We have maintained our strong capital position and prudent portfolio settings, while taking advantage of market conditions to redeploy almost $1 billion of Life’s cash and liquids into investments generating attractive returns in excess of 20%,” he explained.

Outlook.

The company has reaffirmed its guidance for FY 2021.

It continues to expect FY 2021 normalised net profit before tax in the range of $390 million and $440 million.

However, its earnings are expected to be weighted toward the second half of FY 2021. Management advised that this reflects the majority of rental abatements supporting Life’s property tenants recognised in the first half and the progressive deployment of Life’s cash and liquids over the year.

More reading

• Why Austal, Challenger, Orocobre, & Whitehaven Coal are dropping lower
• ASX 200 down 1.2%: Westpac hit with $1.3bn penalty, Brickworks disappoints, tech shares lower
• Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price slides lower after investing in Barrenjoey
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy right now
• Brokers upgraded JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) share price and this other ASX stock to “buy” today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Challenger 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.

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Blue chip ASX shares have been a staple of the Aussie share portfolio for decades. Companies like BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) are often found in the ‘Mum and Dad’ investor’s portfolio.

There are a few good reasons to invest in blue chips at the best of times, but I think the investment thesis is even more compelling right now. Here are a few of my main reasons for investing in ASX blue chip shares in the current market.

A ‘two-speed’ economy is good for blue chips

The coronavirus pandemic has certainly thrown investors a curve ball. After a strong recovery from the March bear market, we’re continuing to see volatility persist.

ASX blue chip shares like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) haven’t been immune. However, some sectors like retail and technology have really outperformed.

I think significant size is a big factor here. Those companies with multi-billion-dollar market capitalisations can go on the attack as the economy stabilises to snap up smaller competitors for a nice price.

Not all investors love acquisitions, but I think everyone can agree that buying underperforming assets for a cheap price is good for investors’ returns.

ASX blue chip shares have strong institutional backing

By virtue of their size, these top Aussie companies have strong institutional investor backing. That’s good news if they need to raise more debt or equity, where their smaller peers may not see the same demand.

That should give the average ‘retail’ investor confidence in Aussie blue chips right now. We’ve seen it recently with some monster capital raisings from the likes of Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) and Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH).

If fund managers and insiders are putting their money where their mouths are, I’m more likely to consider buying into these ASX blue chip shares as well.

Strong cash generation is good for dividends

If there’s one thing ASX blue chip shares can do well, it’s generate some serious cash.

For instance, Telstra posted free cash flow of $3.4 billion despite a 14.4% drop in its full-year net profit after tax.

That means we could see blue chip dividends maintained in FY21 if these large companies can continue to operate strongly.

Foolish takeaway

These are just a few of the reasons I like ASX blue chip shares right now. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has slumped 7.4% in 2020 but I think these large-cap companies could provide some strong income in 2021.

More reading

• Is the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price a buy for 2021?
• Why I would buy Telstra (ASX:TLS) and this ASX dividend share right now
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price soared 4% today
• ASX 200 jumps more than 1%, big ASX banks rise

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 Cochlear Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cochlear Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Why it’s always a good time to buy blue chip ASX shares appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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Is the Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price a buy for 2021?

I think it’s important to be an investor for the long-term. What happens over the next few weeks or months isn’t as important as what happens in the coming years.

Telstra has been going through a lot of change. The shift to the NBN has caused a decline in margins and profit. Management believe that by FY23 the negative earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) impact of the NBN will have been fully absorbed and all the one-off payments for the NBN disconnections will have been received.

The change to the NBN has cost Telstra around $3.5 billion in recurring EBITDA when it is complete.

That’s a big hit to profit. It’s no wonder that the Telstra share price is down 47% over the past five years. It has also lost revenue from voice revenues, SMS revenue, global roaming and due to low-cost competition.

But that can’t be changed.

What the company has been working on over the past few years is its T22 strategy to become more efficient and lower costs. A kay part is a reduction of costs by $2.5 billion. Telstra is aiming to be one of the top quartile global telcos when it comes to cost efficiency.

Telstra’s AGM

The telco held its AGM this week. One of the disappointing points covered in the AGM was that its return on invested capital (ROIC) target of more than 10% by the end of FY22 won’t be achieved. The new target is ROIC of more than 7%.

Recent accounting changes reduce how ROIC is reported, so the original 10% target becomes 9%. Even so, Telstra said the goal still can’t be achieved in the original timeframe because of competition and COVID-19. But it’s aiming to increase the ROIC over time.

There were a few interesting, more positive points from Telstra from the AGM. Telstra Chair John Mullen was personally very excited by the potential of Telstra Health which is “growing fast”. It’s his personal view that one day Telstra Health will “be a real success story and a very significant contributor to the size and success of Telstra overall.”

The company also seemingly reaffirmed its annual $0.16 dividend per share for shareholders.

Telstra has said that to maintain the dividend it needs to achieve underlying EBITDA in the order of $7.5 billion to $8.5 billion, which the company is working hard to achieve.

But remember that the Telstra share price, dividend and earnings are coming under pressure from NBN, competition and COVID.

Telstra’s board said that it’s acutely aware of the importance of dividends to shareholders and, if necessary, is prepared to temporarily exceed its capital management framework principle of paying an ordinary dividend of 70% to 90% of underlying earnings to maintain a 16 cent per share dividend.

Does that make the Telstra share price a buy for dividend investors?

That dividend commitment is dependent on three factors. The first is whether an underlying EBITDA of $7.5 billion to $8.5 billion after the rollout of the NBN is achievable. The second is whether the free cashflow dividend payout ratio remains supportive and the company can retain a strong financial position. The final factor is whether there are other factors that would make the payment of the $0.16 dividend imprudent.

The dividend is not a guaranteed payment, though Telstra said it will do what it can to maintain the dividend and eventually increase it over time.

At the moment I just don’t see how 5G can generate a lot more profit for Telstra over the next couple of years. It may need to wait until more services come out that require additional connections like automated cars (which I think are at least a few years away). 

I can understand why dividend investors are attracted to Telstra. The dividends of other popular ASX blue chips like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) have been cut.

Telstra doesn’t offer much earnings growth at the moment, so I don’t think the Telstra share price can grow much either. A flat, at best, dividend isn’t that compelling in my opinion. There are other businesses that offer better dividend growth prospects like WAM Leaders Ltd (ASX: WLE) and Pacific Current Group Ltd (ASX: PAC) over the next few years.

More reading

• Why I would buy Telstra (ASX:TLS) and this ASX dividend share right now
• Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price soared 4% today
• ASX 200 jumps more than 1%, big ASX banks rise
• ASX 200 up 0.9%: Telstra dividend update, Afterpay & Xero hit record highs
• Why Afterpay, HUB24, NEXTDC, & Telstra shares are storming higher

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra 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.

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Financial services company Thorn Group Ltd (ASX: TGA) announced on Monday it would pay a special 7.5 cents per share dividend on 3 November. At Tuesday’s closing share price of 25 cents, that represents a dividend yield of 30%. The Thorn share price goes ex-dividend on Friday. This means investors buying the share at or near 25 cents before Friday will get a payment of up to 30% in less than 3 weeks.

On publication of the company’s quarterly report, it stated that Thorn held $54.1 million of free cash. As this is excess to requirements, the directors have decided to return $24.2 million to shareholders, thus producing the high dividend yield payment. 

Investors seeking to capitalise on this yield would need to act fast. The Thorn share price already spiked by 19.05% yesterday. A payment of this magnitude is going to attract attention.

Performance of Thorn Group

Thorn Group is a company with two main lines of business. First, it is the owner of Radio Rentals, a consumer leasing company. Second, it owns Thorn Business Finance, which provides a range of tax effective credit options for small to medium enterprises (SMEs). 

The company has had a difficult couple of years. However, FY20 has been a turning point for Thorn Group, sparked by the pandemic crisis. By the end of the year, it had changed several substantial shareholders, appointed a new board of directors, installed a new CEO, changed several members of senior management, settled a class action, and completed a capital raising. 

Nonetheless, this is the third time this year that Thorn Group has seen its share price rally. Yesterday, of course, it rose in anticipation of the large dividend yield. The first time it rose by 60% on news it would permanently close all Radio Rentals stores, changing it to a digital only business. The second time it rallied by 30% on the release of its June quarter report, in which it announced a boost to free cash of $54.1 million. 

Strategies for the dividend yield

Investors interested in securing this payment would need to buy quickly to ensure a dividend yield as close as possible to 30%. They would then need to hold onto the shares past the ex-dividend date. Unfortunately, I am pretty confident the Thorn Group share price will collapse on Friday. This is because share prices often fall by the approximate value of a dividend payment after the ex-dividend date has passed. So, investors buying shares only for the dividend, and not trading out of them on Thursday afternoon to lock in share price gains, would need to be prepared to hold onto them until they rise again.

Nonetheless, I believe this company is truly at the beginning of a disciplined turnaround. We’re entering a period where SME finance is likely going to be very important to the country, so I believe the Thorn Group share price will continue to rise gradually over time.

More reading

• Is Alphabet thinking of its ‘other bets’ all wrong?
• 2 unstoppable ASX shares to buy with $2,000
• Grow your wealth with these quality ASX healthcare shares
• Apple Announces the iPhone 12: What You Need to Know
• Why I would buy Telstra (ASX:TLS) and this ASX dividend share right now

Motley Fool contributor Daryl Mather 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.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

When Google officially changed its name to Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) in 2015, it was a clever play on words. The company could better be described as ‘Alpha’ (the most powerful) and ‘Bet’ (wager).

Google had already become synonymous with search. The advertising revenue it brought in made it a cash machine – earning the company a place in the now-famous FAANG group. But management – at the time led by co-founder Larry Page – wasn’t willing to stop there. It wanted to take that extra cash and do good for the world by taking lots of small bets.

Thus, it started focusing on moonshot projects, like self-driving unit Waymo, smart home device Nest, and health-focused Calico, to name just a few. A tech titan trying to do great things for the world. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

But maybe the company has been going about it all wrong.

Trying to ‘change the world’ as harmful goal

In 2017, Ryan Holiday – author of several best-selling books focused on stoic philosophy – wrote about something called the ‘narrative fallacy’. Specifically, he noted that too many entrepreneurs want to go out and ‘change the world’.

They do this because they look at business people who have already done so – Reed Hastings of Netflix or Tobi Lutke of Shopify, for instance. They want to be held in the same regard, and make such success their aim. In doing so, they create a narrative in their head: Those people set out to change the world, so will I.

That, said Holiday, is a recipe for disaster:

It’s both an inspired way to look at things and also a clichéd trope. It also happens to be rather delusional … Trying to ‘change the world’ was not the mission with which most great or successful things started out with. It’s only our ego, afterwards, that creates these stories. And it blinds us to the traits which actually create success.

There’s a conceit inherent in trying to ‘change the world’. We assume our vision of a ‘better world’ is more or less the same as what everyone else’s vision is. We might have a hard enough time reaching consensus on what this means in our own household. Throw different countries and cultures into the mix and it quickly becomes clear how difficult such a feat is. In this vein, setting out to change the world is not just silly, but dangerous. 

Holiday later goes on to talk about how YouTube was started by people trying to share funny video clips. Netflix? Hastings got the idea because he was worried about getting in trouble with his wife for the Blockbuster late fees he was racking up. And Shopify? Lutke made snowboards but couldn’t find a way to sell them on the internet – so he created his own platform.

What does this have to do with Alphabet? 

Here’s the other tidbit from Holiday’s piece that made me think:

A few years ago, at a private event, Google founder Larry Page told a rapt audience that the way he evaluates prospective companies and entrepreneurs is by a single metric – asking them if what they’re working on was something that could ‘change the world’.

Prior to reading this, I considered such a mission inspired. But now? I’m starting to wonder. Perhaps Page and Sergey Brin were just two people who stumbled upon a brilliant way to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible – more or less the company’s mission – but the ‘narrative’ ends there.

I’ve long thought Alphabet to be a company with incredible optionality: a wide-moat advertising business on one side, with lots of high-risk, high-reward ventures (like the three mentioned above) on the other side. For years it has looked like Waymo would be the first ‘big hit’ to come from these other bets. Some estimates pegged the unit’s value at more than $100 billion. But recent private investments make it seem like the number is far less: $30 billion.

That’s still not bad. But on the whole, these other bets have been around for a long time. Over the past six years alone, Alphabet has lost a combined $20 billion on them.

Could part of the problem with these high-risk, high-reward investments simply be that they’re looking for companies that think they can change the world? Perhaps they should just be looking for individuals who are solving a simple problem in their own lives.

I’m not sure how to find those people, but if anyone does, it should be Google.

My takeaway

Over the years, Alphabet has become a smaller and smaller part of my portfolio. It’s not because I’ve been selling shares, it’s simply because the rest of my holdings have grown to dwarf it. This is clearly still a high-quality organisation that I want to own. It has nine different products with more than 1 billion users – and they’re uber-helpful in my own life.

But my hopes for those high-risk, high-reward projects are fading. That doesn’t mean I’ll be selling shares, but I’ll certainly be resetting my expectations. I think other Alphabet investors should – if they haven’t yet – do the same.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

More reading

• How to position yourself for the next big surge in technology shares
• Is the Nearmap share price a buy after the tech sell-off?
• Will ASX media stocks get a $1.4 bn Google boost?
• ASX investors were buying Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares last week
• ASX investors were buying Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW) shares last week

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Brian Stoffel owns shares of Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Shopify. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares) and Alphabet (C shares). The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares) and Alphabet (C shares). We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Is Alphabet thinking of its ‘other bets’ all wrong? appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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If I had $2,000 to spend on ASX shares today, I would look for a company that I feel is ‘unstoppable’. Some ASX companies just seem to thrive no matter the environment. 2020 has brought its fair share of challenges, but some companies have shown the ability to thrive amidst the chaos. These are the kind of businesses I like to see in my portfolio. So here are 2 ‘unstoppable’  ASX shares that I would happily spend $2,000 on today.

2 unstoppable ASX shares for $2,000 today

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

Iron miner Fortescue is the first ASX share I believe is unstoppable. Fortescue has grown tremendously over the past decade to become one of the ASX’s largest companies. Today, the Fortescue share price stands at $16.62 (at the time of writing). That’s not quite at the company’s 52-week (and all-time) high of $19.56, but that just means we can pick up the shares for a cheaper price.

Although Fortescue is inherently a cyclical company due to its mining nature, I think its efficiency and lean operational structure mean it is a worthy investment today. Yes, iron ore prices are historically high right now (at roughly US$123 per tonne at the time of writing). But since it costs Fortescue between US$12 to $13 to extract and process one tonne of ore, there is plenty of padding here to absorb an iron ore pricing collapse, if that eventuates. Thus, the ‘unstoppable’ moniker applies well here in my view.

On current prices, Fortescue shares also offer a whopping trailing dividend yield of 10.59%, which also comes fully franked. Weighing all these factors up, I think Fortescue is a great buy today with $2,000.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

If there is one company on the ASX we could apply the ‘unstoppable’ tag to, it’s this one. Afterpay is truly one of the most gravity-defying shares I’ve ever come across. Anyone who’s ever bet against this company, or held off from buying shares, is probably regretting their decision today. At the time of writing, Afterpay is going for $94.46 a pop. That’s just a touch below the company’s all-time high of $96.08, which was also recorded just yesterday.

That means anyone who picked up Afterpay for around $8 back in March (read it and weep) is looking at gains of more than 1,000% today. 

Despite this incredible run up, I think Afterpay is another ASX share worthy of consideration for a $2,000 investment today. This company simply can’t be put in the corner. It managed to grow its earnings by 74% in FY2020, and will probably throw up an equally-impressive number in FY2021 in my view. Although the Afterpay share price looks expensive today, I would still consider this company one of the most unstoppable shares on the ASX, and would thus be willing to look past today’s share price. 

More reading

• 3 hot ASX shares to buy when you’re young
• 3 reasons I don’t use stop-loss orders for ASX shares
• Why the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price has hit a new record high
• Zip and Estrella Resources were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week
• ASX 200 up 0.9%: Telstra dividend update, Afterpay & Xero hit record highs

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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.

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With populations around the world getting older and chronic disease burden increasing, demand for healthcare services is expected to rise strongly over the coming decades.

In light of this, I think the healthcare sector could be a great place to look for long term investments.

But which healthcare shares should you buy? Three that I feel could be long-term market beaters are listed below. Here’s why I like them:

PolyNovo Ltd (ASX: PNV)

The first ASX healthcare share to buy is PolyNovo. It is the medical device company behind the NovoSorb Biodegradable Temporising Matrix (BTM) product. This wound dressing product is designed to treat full-thickness wounds and burns and has a sizeable $1.5 billion addressable market. However, management isn’t resting on its laurels. It is looking to expand its usage into other markets. If this is successful, it would add a further $6 billion to its addressable market.

Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME)

Another ASX healthcare share that I think would be a top option is Pro Medicus. It is a leading provider of radiology IT software and services to hospitals, imaging centres, and healthcare companies. Due to increasing demand for its software from leading healthcare institutions, Pro Medicus has been growing its earnings at a rapid rate in recent years. This even continued in FY 2020 despite the pandemic. Over the 12 months, the company’s underlying profit before tax increased 33.4% to $30.24 million. Pleasingly, due to its high quality software, sizeable market opportunity, and burgeoning sales pipeline, I believe Pro Medicus can continue its positive form for some time to come.

Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)

A final healthcare share to buy is Ramsay Health Care. Although trading conditions remain tough in the private hospital sector because of the pandemic’s impact on elective surgeries, I expect a swift rebound once the crisis passes. Looking further ahead, I believe Ramsay’s long term outlook is very positive. This is due to the aforementioned ageing global population and increased chronic disease burden. I expect this to lead to a sustained increase in demand for its services over the 2020s and beyond. Together with potential earnings accretive acquisitions, I believe Ramsay is well-placed for long term growth.

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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 and recommends Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of POLYNOVO FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pro Medicus Ltd. and Ramsay Health Care 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 Grow your wealth with these quality ASX healthcare shares appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

It’s iPhone Day 2020, and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) just showed off its latest flagship iPhone and a new affordable smart speaker. There was no mention of the AirTags accessory that could help people locate lost items, or any updates around Arm-based Macs or how many Apple Music subscribers there are now.

Here’s everything that Apple showed off today.

iPhone 12

As expected, the next iPhone will feature 5G cellular technology across all new models. Apple has overhauled the lineup’s design, resembling the boxier iPad Pro and some older iPhones. The standard iPhone 12 will have the same 6.1-inch display as last year’s iPhone 11, but the smartphone is — you guessed it — thinner and lighter. However, the display has a higher resolution with twice as many pixels.

Apple has collaborated with Corning to develop a new cover glass material that it’s calling Ceramic Shield, which should improve durability and minimize damage from drops. There is an updated dual-camera system, and Apple is adding a magnetic system, repurposing its old MagSafe branding. Those magnets will make it easier to properly align a wireless charger and can also be used for other accessories.

The company is adding a smaller iPhone 12 Mini to the lineup with a 5.4-inch display. That model has essentially all of the same features as the standard iPhone 12 but in a smaller form factor.

The Pro models use the same design but swap out aluminum for stainless steel as the chassis material. iPhone 12 Pro is getting a larger 6.1-inch display, up from last year’s 5.8-inch screen, while iPhone 12 Pro Max will get a 6.7-inch display.

The triple-camera system is similarly getting a revamp with improved photo and video performance. The Pro models also include a lidar sensor in the camera system, which was expected after Apple added that sensor to the iPad Pro earlier this year. The inclusion of lidar will allow the iPhones to better understand their environments, which will be useful for augmented reality (AR) applications, as well as contribute to photo quality.

Here’s what the new lineup looks like.

Model	Display Size	Starting Price
iPhone 12 Mini	5.4 inches	$699
iPhone 12	6.1 inches	$799
iPhone 12 Pro	6.1 inches	$999
iPhone 12 Pro Max	6.7 inches	$1,099

Data source: Apple.

The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro can be pre-ordered on Friday and will ship a week later, while the Mini and Max models will ship in early November.

HomePod Mini

Years after launching the overpriced HomePod, Apple has finally announced its oft-rumored HomePod Mini, priced at $99. The new speaker is smaller, has a spherical design, and features a backlit touch surface on the top that displays visualizations. HomePod Mini looks like an upside-down version of Amazon‘s new Echo Dot, except it costs twice as much.

The original HomePod, which was initially priced at $350, was never a strong seller and failed to make a dent in the booming smart-speaker market. Apple is still touting superior audio quality, pointing to an S5 chip that powers computational audio that optimizes the speaker’s acoustics. HomePod Mini will include Apple’s U1 Ultra Wideband chip for short-range communications with other Apple gadgets that have the chip.

One of the main criticisms of the original HomePod was that it only directly supported integration with Apple Music, limiting the appeal to consumers that might use another streaming service. Apple will add support for SiriusXM‘s Pandora and Amazon Music — but not Spotify, the most popular paid music-streaming service in the world. That omission will not help dispel the ongoing antitrust scrutiny.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Evan Niu, CFA owns shares of Amazon, Apple, and Spotify Technology. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple. 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 Apple Announces the iPhone 12: What You Need to Know appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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