If I were thinking about the best presents I could receive or give someone, ASX shares would be near the top of my wish list.
Shares may not be the most exciting thing to open on Christmas morning, but they could be a great long-term gift thanks to the power of compounding and what they could do over five, ten or twenty years.
If I were giving shares or buying them on behalf of my child, I’d want to consider what they would be proud to own today or in the coming years.
Future Generation Global Ltd (ASX: FGG)
This is a listed investment company (LIC) that is aiming to do good for both shareholders and Australian youth. It is invested in a portfolio of funds provided by fund managers that are working for free so that Future Generation Global can donate 1% of the value of its net assets each year to charities focused on youth mental health.
The portfolio of fund managers means diversification and exposure to a variety of strategies, with names like Cooper Investors, Yarra Capital Management, Antipodes, Munro Partners, Vinva, WCM, Langdon and Franklin Templeton.
Since the LIC’s start in September 2015, its portfolio has provided an average return per year of 10%, allowing it to pay some of that return out as a pleasing and growing dividend.
Its 2025 dividend yield is 7.4%, including the benefit of franking credits. The Future Generation Global share price is also trading at a discount of more than 10% to the ASX share’s net tangible assets (NTA) as of November 2025 – that’s attractive value to me!
BetaShares Global Sustainability Leaders ETF (ASX: ETHI)
This is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) which aims to the largest businesses in the world that are seen as climate leaders or not involved in a number of ‘unethical’ industries.
The fund has very adequate diversification, in my eyes, because it’s invested in 200 businesses (a lot) which are from various markets and industries. That’s plenty of diversification in my view.
The ETHI ETF has excluded ownership of some businesses involved in certain activities including fossil fuels, gambling, tobacco, uranium and nuclear energy, armaments and militarism, animal cruelty, chemicals of concern, alcohol production, payday lending, pornography or destruction of valuable environments.
Currently, its biggest holdings include Broadcom, Nvidia, Apple, Mastercard, Visa, Home Depot, Toyota and ASML. These are all massive businesses, much bigger than any ASX share.
The portfolio has done very well – since inception in January 2017 it has returned an average of more than 16%, though I’m not expecting that high return in the future.
