We'd all like to use ASX shares to turn $10,000 into $1 million. But most of us would struggle to pull off a gain of that magnitude. At least in any reasonable sort of time frame. So who better to turn to in this endeavour than the legendary Warren Buffett?
Hailed as one of, if not the, greatest investors of all time, Warren Buffett knows a thing or two about building wealth. After all, this is a man who is today worth more than US$100 billion.
He pulled this extraordinary feat off by harnessing the power of compound interest over decades of investing in top stocks through his company Berkshire Hathaway. Some estimates put Buffett's overall return on investment at over 20% per annum.
While that kind of return is sadly out of the reach of most of us, especially over multiple decades, there is a way you can potentially invest in some Buffett-like stocks and bag some attractive rates of return.
It's by using the VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT).
Last week, we discussed Warren Buffett's investing style and how it helps him find companies that can deliver top returns. One of the central tenets of this style is finding businesses that display what's known as an economic moat.
This moat is an invaluable asset a company can possess which helps protect its profits from competitors. This could be a strong and trusted brand, a low-cost advantage, or offering a product or service that customers have no choice but to pay for.
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Looking for Buffett stocks on the ASX
Looking at Buffett's stock picks within Berkshire Hathaway's investment portfolio, it becomes obvious that most of his top holdings have some kind of powerful moat. Coca-Cola, American Express, Kraft Heinz and Apple own some of the best brands in the world.
Amazon is one of the cheapest places to shop in America (and increasingly in Australia). And it's pretty hard to find a debit card that isn't operated by Mastercard or Visa these days.
The VanEck Wide Moat exchange-traded fund (ETF) specialises in only investing in companies that indicate the presence of one or more of these moats. That's why you'll find names like Disney, Kellanova (Kellogg's), Microsoft, Nike, Pfizer and Campbell Soup in its current portfolio. Not to mention Buffett's holdings like Bank of America, Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway itself.
Now investing in this ETF doesn't guarantee a Buffett-like return (or any return for that matter). However, this ETF has managed to return an average of 15.52% per annum since its ASX inception in 2015.
If we assume this stellar rate of return can continue indefinitely (which we shouldn't), it would take around 30 years to turn a $10,000 investment into $1 million. That may not be enough to get rich overnight, but it's certainly enough to fund an early retirement. Especially if you can invest a little extra along the way.
Remember, it's taken Buffett more than 90 years to get where he is today.
