I regularly invest in ASX shares that help grow my income and portfolio value.
Companies that can provide a mixture of capital growth and dividends are the most appealing, so I made a few investments in precisely these types of ASX shares during November.
I already own positions in these businesses in my portfolio, and despite their higher share prices, I'm more optimistic about these stocks than ever.
Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)
Soul Patts is one of the largest positions in my portfolio, and I wanted to buy more.
I really like the diversification this company offers. It's an investment conglomerate that owns assets in telecommunications, resources, building products, property, swimming schools, agriculture, financial services, and more.
Its very flexible investment mandate has allowed it to build a portfolio of defensive assets with strong cash flows. The company's existing portfolio is growing, and it regularly reinvests some of its profit into more opportunities to help grow it further. This is the sort of compounding I like to see.
Soul Patts has grown its dividend every year since 2000. I like seeing dividend growth because it rewards shareholders and gives me more cash to spend or reinvest.
Using the latest dividends paid, the ASX share has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of around 4%, including franking credits. I think that's a good starting point for a dividend investor.
MFF Capital Investments Ltd (ASX: MFF)
MFF built its reputation as a listed investment company (LIC) that invests in the global share market.
I think every Aussie could benefit from exposure to stocks like Visa, Mastercard, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta Platforms. MFF owns all of these stocks, with large allocations. I like that I could buy MFF shares at a good price, getting exposure to these stocks at an approximate 10% discount to the underlying value, called the net tangible assets (NTA), pre-tax.
LICs have the flexibility to change their investments, and MFF can invest anywhere in the global share market. With a wide investment universe, I think its portfolio can continue delivering double-digit returns.
MFF has grown its ordinary dividend in each of the last seven years, which is a pleasing record. It intends to keep that growth streak going. Its payout guidance suggests it's expecting to pay a grossed-up dividend yield of 5.1% in FY25, including franking credits.
With the addition of the investment team from the fund manager Montaka through acquisition, I think MFF has a compelling outlook, and I expect to make more investments in this ASX share in the coming months.
