The coronavirus has caused a bear market for shares since the selloff started in February.
I think the best time to buy shares is when share prices are much cheaper than they were before. When there aren't many buyers in the market some sellers may decide they want to sell out at whatever price they can get. This is the type of environment where it's good to invest. Right now perfectly describes the situation.
It may be hard for you to pick which share to go with. The risks have gone up for most companies. A smart idea could be just to invest in a whole group of businesses like an exchange-traded fund (ETF) to lower the risks.
Here are some two long-term ideas:
iShares S&P Global 100 ETF (ASX: IOO)
The biggest businesses in the world are the ones that are most likely to get through this. They are also the ones that have the best economies of scale and the ones with the most trusted brands, which are important during these times.
Many of the biggest businesses in the world are software businesses that are less likely to be affected during this period. They also have among the best profit margins so it would take a bigger decline of volumes for their profit to go to $0. There are other large holdings within this ETF that have impressively defensive balance sheets.
At the latest disclosure, its largest holdings include: Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, Roche, Novartis, LVMH, 3M, GlaxoSmithKline and so on.
Over the long-term I think the biggest 100 businesses, as a group, will continue to compound strongly over the coming years.
The ETF has an annual management fee of just 0.4% per annum.
BetaShares FTSE 100 ETF (ASX: F100)
The UK share market is full of quality businesses like Astrazeneca, Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, National Grid, Vodafone and so on. I think these types of businesses are going to be resilient during this time.
The UK share market is not as focused on the banking sector and resource sector as the ASX, it has different industries which offer attractive diversification and it has cheap valuations with attractive dividend policies, so the London Stock Exchange is a good source of income.
At the end of February 2020 the ETF offered an underlying trailing dividend yield of 5.36%.
The ETF has annual management costs of 0.45% per annum.
Foolish takeaway
Both of these ETFs are trading at cheaper prices. I already have exposure to the big US tech shares with other investments, so I'd personally prefer to invest in the UK ETF. But if you don't have international share exposure then the iShares Global 100 ETF could be a high-quality diversification option.
