With the ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) ending the year quite disappointingly, I think we need to think positively about where returns will come from next year.
Businesses still growing profits should be the first investing checklist to tick. If I were going to invest $10,000 into three quality ASX growth shares, these are the ones I'd invest in today:
REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)
The REA Group share price has fallen nearly 25% over the past six months. But, I think the falling housing market has actually proven what an incredible asset realestate.com.au is, it continues to grow revenue impressively despite a declining number of listings.
Higher prices and more customers paying for the full-package ads show the strength of the offering & economic moat of REA Group.
I think REA Group is a good long-term buy for its property site stakes in the US, India and South East Asia. It's currently trading at 28x FY19's estimated earnings.
Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC)
Costa is one of my favourite food-related businesses on the ASX, it grows avocados, mushrooms, tomatoes, berries and citrus fruit.
Food production and consumption is relatively unrelated to economic cycles, so Costa could prove to be a good option for non-cyclical growth.
Management have predicted that 2019 could be a bumper year, with long-term underlying profit growth likely to be low double digits for the next five years due to its capital expenditures into farm productivity and additional acquisitions.
Costa is currently trading at 26x FY19's estimated earnings.
Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF)
The Challenger share price has fallen by around 25% over the past six months too. The annuity king of Australia continues to impress with annuity sales growth and additional distribution channels.
Rising interest rates have hurt sentiment around Challenger's balance sheet, but Challenger looks as though it can generate long-term growth with the ageing tailwind, growing superannuation balances and supportive government policies.
As long as asset values grow over the long-term then Challenger should be able to fund its liabilities comfortably.
Challenger is trading at 13x FY19's estimated earnings with a grossed-up dividend yield of 5.5%.
Foolish takeaway
All three of these shares are trading at attractive prices in my opinion. They are some of the highest quality shares on the ASX, with long-term growth potential. At the current prices I'm particularly attracted to Challenger and REA Group.
