It’s getting close to Christmas and we’ve already seen a large Santa rally this year since November. These two ASX shares I’d want to buy before the end of the year.
Hearts and Minds Investments Ltd (ASX: HM1)
This business is actually a listed investment company (LIC), which aims to invest in different shares for shareholders.
Hearts and Minds holds an investment conference each year where fund managers will pitch their best idea. All of these ideas are put together in a portfolio. Some fund managers are also part of a core portfolio manager group, which provide consistent investment choices. These fund managers work for free, so that the LIC can make a significant donation to medical research each year.
The last 12 months have been good for the company, with the Hearts and Minds share price up by 35% thanks to a strong performance from its portfolio. It also pays a pleasing dividend, which comes to an overall dividend yield of 6.8% when we also include the franking credits in the yield.
Some of the holdings in the portfolio include Amazon, Airbus, Microsoft, Eli Lilly and Estee Lauder. The ASX share is currently valued on the market at a 16% discount to its net tangible asset (NTA) backing of $3.78 at 6 December 2024.
VanEck Morningstar International Wide Moat ETF (ASX: GOAT)
The GOAT ETF, on paper, seems like a very appealing exchange-traded fund (ETF).
It offers investors exposure to a global portfolio of businesses that are seen as high-quality, and the valuations make sense.
This fund has a total of 62 holdings from across the world. These businesses are from a variety of sectors and countries – only 46% of the fund is invested in US shares. Japan and the UK both have weightings of more than 10%, which I think means it offers good diversification.
For a business to enter into the portfolio, it needs to be an international company that Morningstar believes possess sustainable competitive advantages, which can also be described as wide economic moats.
These companies need to trade at “attractive prices relative to Morningstar’s estimate of fair value”.
So, these are great companies trading at good prices. I think that could lead to good returns over the long-term.
In the past ten years, the index this fund tracks has delivered an average return per year of 12.7%.