I've been focusing my investment dollars on the ASX stock MFF Capital Investments Ltd (ASX: MFF) in the last couple of months.
MFF built its reputation as a listed investment company (LIC), but it recently announced the acquisition of a fund manager called Montaka to add an operational element to the business.
The business is led by Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) co-founder Chris Mackay, but the addition of the Montaka investment team will broaden MFF's research team, expand its research capabilities and potentially unlock additional investment opportunities.
Montaka will continue to operate as a funds management business, and MFF Capital expects to add to Montaka's administration teams to help free up some of the investment professionals' time. I think this is a good move and could unlock significant value for MFF shareholders over time.
But, while appealing, Montaka is not why I invested in MFF shares.
I'd also called MFF an ASX dividend share because it is expecting to pay an annualised grossed-up dividend yield of 5.25%, including franking credits, in FY25. Plus, it has grown its annual dividend every year since 2018.
However, while I like receiving passive income, the dividend is not the main reason why I invested in this ASX stock either.
Exposure to major US stocks with investment flexibility
It's understandable that a lot of Aussies have a bias towards investing in the ASX share market.
However, the ASX only accounts for around 2% of the global share market and many of the world's best businesses can be found on stock markets in the northern hemisphere.
I believe that Aussies, including myself, would benefit from having a portion of their portfolio allocated to names like Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Meta Platforms, and others like them. These are among the world's best and strongest businesses with incredibly strong balance sheets.
We can get direct or indirect exposure to the US-listed global giants through our brokers. We don't necessarily need to buy shares of those businesses ourselves, instead we can get exposure through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or listed investment companies (LICs).
I believe a number of ASX ETFs out there are some of the best investments that Aussies can buy.
However, one drawback is that index-based ASX ETFs don't have the flexibility to change their investments if a holding company is weakening because the ETF portfolios must match the index. LIC investment teams can respond to conditions by changing the portfolio and selling or buying.
As a globally-focused LIC, I like that MFF can choose to invest anywhere it wants to.
Currently, almost 60% of the MFF portfolio is spread across Amazon, MasterCard, Visa, Meta Platforms, Alphabet and Microsoft.
I like that the ASX stock provides a lot of exposure to those great businesses, but I also appreciate that MFF can sell and move on, if it makes sense too. For me, the ASX stock's grossed-up dividend yield of more than 5% is a bonus.
