I rate these top ASX growth shares as buys in August

The iShares S&P 500 ETF is one idea that looks compelling for the long-term.

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Key points
  • August looks like a good month to go hunting for ASX growth shares
  • One of my picks is iShares S&P 500 ETF because of its tech share holdings
  • Australian Ethical is a fund manager receiving strong net inflows of funds

There are some good-looking ASX growth shares to consider in August, in my opinion.

Share markets have been recovering in recent weeks, but there are plenty of shares with prices still noticeably lower than they were at the start of the year.

We can't turn back time to mid-June to when ASX share prices were generally lower across the board, but it's still possible to invest in quality businesses at attractive prices.

I wish that I could invest in everything at once, but we have to choose what to do with the investment money we have.

While plenty of other ASX growth shares could also be attractive at this level, in this article I'm going to write about these two interesting ideas:

A woman sits at her computer with her chin resting on her hand as she contemplates her next potential investment.

Image source: Getty Images

iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV)

This exchange traded fund (ETF) enables its investors to invest in 500 of the largest and most profitable businesses listed in the US.

Many Australian investors are focused on ASX shares, or perhaps ETFs targeted at the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) or S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO). So, it could be a good thing to add diversification by investing in some of the leading global tech shares.

While there are 500 businesses in this portfolio, there are a few pretty sizeable weightings of the ETF: Apple (7.1%), Microsoft (6%), Alphabet (3.9%), Amazon (3.4%), Tesla (2.2%), and Berkshire Hathaway (1.5%).

At today's lower price – the IVV ETF is down 10% in 2022 – I think being able to buy the underlying group of businesses at this price is attractive.

One of the best things about this ETF is its extremely low management fee of just 0.04%.

Australian Ethical Investment Ltd (ASX: AEF)

This ASX growth share is a leading fund manager which specialises in offering investment products that are meant to align with investors' values and also provide competitive returns.

It is seeing investors add hundreds of millions of dollars into the fund manager each quarter. A key part of that fund flow is superannuation. The business is benefiting from the regular contributions of the mandatory superannuation guarantee.

Over FY22, Australian Ethical saw $0.94 billion of net inflows.

Another positive factor for the business is that its customer numbers keep growing. It revealed that 4,794 new customers joined Australian Ethical during the three months to June 2022. This was an increase of 4% from 31 March 2022.

It has also executed a successor fund transfer deed with Christian Super, where Christian Super members will be transferred into Australian Ethical Super. At 30 June 2022, Christian Super had 30,000 members and $1.96 billion of funds under management (FUM). This could be a boost for the ASX growth share's FUM.

I think that Australian Ethical will be able to grow its FUM as it grows its customer numbers, receives ongoing net inflows, and benefits from scale.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, Australian Ethical Investment Ltd., Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), Microsoft, and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2023 $200 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple, short January 2023 $200 puts on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), short January 2023 $265 calls on Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, Australian Ethical Investment Ltd., Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), and iShares Trust - iShares Core S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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