If I were lucky enough to be given $10,000 to invest into solid ASX shares today, these are the ones I would pick:
Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) – $3,500
The Altium share price is down around 15% since the end of July, so I think the share price looks much more attractive today.
It certainly is better value and I think this share price – which we haven't seen for a couple of months – is now actually cheaper than it was before when you consider that RBA and US Federal Reserve have reduced interest rates since then, which theoretically increases asset values.
Altium has good potential with the steady growth of the Internet of Things and other technological developments going on around the world. If it manages to hit 100,000 Altium Designer seats and the revenue targets by 2025 then it could deliver strong profit growth and margin improvement between now and then, but those targets are not guaranteed to be hit and Altium is still valued at quite an expensive price/earnings ratio.
But, I do think it's important to be invested in some of the best growth shares on the ASX, even if they're a bit expensive.
MFF Capital Investments Ltd (ASX: MFF) – $4,000
In terms of its investment universe options, its costs and its historical investment returns, there may not be a better listed investment company (LIC) than MFF Capital on the ASX in my opinion.
I like that MFF Capital can invest anywhere in the world if it wishes. It has a fixed management cost, so as its net assets get bigger the fees get smaller as a percentage. And portfolio manager Chris Mackay's investment selections have delivered excellent returns.
Whilst there will be volatility in the shorter-term, I think MFF Capital is set up for more good returns over the long-term and it's trading at an attractive discount to its pre-tax net tangible assets (NTA).
Vanguard FTSE Asia ex Japan Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAE) – $2,500
The trade war has seen the value of this exchange-traded fund (ETF) fall back a few percent again, leaving it at an attractive price in my opinion.
Whilst there are China issues that can't be ignored with this ETF, I think its cheap price/earnings ratio and the underlying growth rate provides enough margin of safety for it to be a relatively smart part of a portfolio with impressive businesses like Tencent, Samsung and Alibaba helping increase its value over time.
Foolish takeaway
Each of these investment ideas is at a decent price and I'd be happy to buy any of them today, although choosing Altium is somewhat of a bet that interest rates stay low for a long period of time.
