We have now passed the halfway mark of 2021. There are two (at least) ASX shares that I’ve got my eyes on for July 2021 if I had $4,000 to invest.
I believe that increasing volatility provides an opportunity for better buys at lower prices. A return to a little higher interest rates might be painful for asset prices in the shorter term, but it’s a positive sign that the current situation no longer needs emergency settings.
Overall, economies are recovering from the difficulties of the COVID-19 crash. But I think these two are opportunities:
MFF Capital Investments Ltd (ASX: MFF)
MFF Capital is a leading listed investment company (LIC) that is focused on global shares, some of them are the best in the world in their respective industries.
You’ll probably recognise plenty of MFF’s larger holdings from May 2021: Visa, MasterCard, Amazon, Home Depot, Facebook, Alphabet, CVS Health, Bank of America, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Morgan Stanley and L’Oreal.
I believe that this portfolio should be able to do well with whatever happens next with the global economy and COVID-19. Chris Mackay is a very good investor in my opinion and has guided MFF to good returns over the last decade.
The MFF Capital is currently valued at a 12% discount at the latest weekly net tangible assets (NTA) per share. The ASX share is also committed to growing the dividend over the next couple of years.
The low costs of the LIC are very attractive in my opinion.
VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT)
This is one of my favourite exchange-traded funds (ETFs). I think it has the potential to produce solid returns in different markets.
It has an ‘active’ investing element because the portfolio of shares is chosen by Morningstar analysts, those shares only make it into the portfolio when Morningstar thinks a competitively-strong business is valued at a good price.
But that investing is also at an attractive management cost of 0.49%, which is less than half of what many active fund managers charge.
It’s diversified across many sectors – it isn’t tech heavy. Yet, despite the lack of heavy focus on tech (where a lot of returns have come from in recent years), the MOAT ETF has produced net returns of an average of 17.1% per year over the last five years.
Some of the 48 holdings right now include Servicenow, Facebook, Microsoft, Alphabet, Guidewire, Salesforce, Tyler Technologies, Cheniere Energy and Amazon.
If I had some more money to invest, I’d be considering some of the ASX growth shares on my watchlist.
