February 2025 could be a great month to invest in ASX shares amid the tariff war volatility.
We shouldn’t pay too much attention to what’s happening in world news – the event shouldn’t necessarily dictate our investment decisions. But, lower share prices due to the news can be appealing.
Let’s look at two ASX shares I think seem good right now.
WCM Global Growth Ltd (ASX: WQG)
At times like this, it could be a good idea to focus on direct or indirect exposure to high-quality businesses that can succeed whether there’s a trade war going on or not, whether there’s an economic downturn or not.
Fund manager WCM’s investment process is based on the belief that corporate culture is the biggest influence on a company’s ability to grow its competitive advantage or ‘moat’.
By focusing on businesses with a great corporate culture and expanding economic moats, this listed investment company (LIC) has done and could do very well, in my opinion.
In the five years to December 2024, the WQG investment portfolio delivered an average return per year of 16.3% per year, outperforming the global share market by an average of close to 3% per year. This is pleasingly allowing the ASX share to pay a growing dividend and it’s trading at a 15% discount to its underlying value of 24 January 2025. Of course, future returns may not be (as) good.
VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT)
The MOAT exchange-traded fund (ETF) is also focused on high-quality businesses, but it particularly looks for businesses that have competitive advantages that are expected to endure for many years to come.
It only looks at US-listed businesses, but there are plenty of companies to choose from on the American stock exchanges.
Some of the current biggest positions in this exciting portfolio include Alphabet, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Corteva and Walt Disney. The analysts who decide on investments only buy these great businesses if they’re at a good price.
In the past five years, the MOAT ETF has returned an average of 15.1% per year.
We can’t know how strongly these portfolios will perform in the next 12 months or the longer-term, but I believe they’ll be able to produce pleasing returns compared to many ASX shares.
