With so many shares to choose from on the ASX, not to mention exchange traded funds (ETFs) and listed investment companies, it can be very difficult to just bite the bullet and put your hard-earned cash into some ASX shares. After all, opportunity cost is a big factor in investing.
So, for inspiration, here are some of my ideas for how to deploy a $10,000 lump sum investment today.
Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MCQ)
Rather than going for one of the big four banks, I think Macquarie is a better fit in today's low interest rate world. Although Macquarie offers banking services, most of its earnings come from its highly successful asset management and investments services. This company is now in the top 50 global asset managers and has over $540 billion in funds under management, making it a great place to get some ASX financials exposure outside the other banks.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS)
From where I'm standing, Telstra shares are looking pretty cheap today – going for $3.58 at the time of writing, a fair way off the 52-week high of $4.01 reached in early August. At these prices, Telstra is offering a 4.5% dividend yield, making Telstra shares a great buy even just for income. I think that once the NBN dust settles around Telstra, its brand moat and investments in 5G will make it a great company to hold for the long term.
Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)
Another company that's really come off the boil lately is Appen. Appen shares were going for $32 at the end of July, but will only set you back $23.25 today (at the time of writing). I still think this WAAAX stock will be a formidable growth company for many years to come. Its work on human annotated datasets is a highly lucrative business and demand from big tech names like Apple and Alphabet (Google) is likely to continue for some time, given these companies investment in their virtual assistants like Siri and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Foolish takeaway
I think these three stocks would be a great place to start if you have $10,000 burning a hole in your pocket. Not only do I think all three have potentially significant upsides in their shares right now, Telstra and Macquarie also offer starting yields over 4%, which is a lot better than any term deposit out there right now.
