This looks like an excellent time to invest in Australian Foundation Investment Co Ltd (ASX: AFI) (AFIC) shares because of the investment returns and stability.
This is a listed investment company (LIC) that owns many of the ASX's largest companies in its portfolio such as Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL), Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), Goodman Group (ASX: GMG), Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) and Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS).
Owning blue-chips can be a positive factor because of how they are generally able to weather broad economic storms better than smaller businesses. Their market position and strong balance sheet can enable them to succeed even in difficult times.
But, there's more to AFIC shares than just its largest holdings, so let's get into those positives.
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Good dividend income
One of the main benefits of a LIC over an exchange-traded fund (ETF) is that they can decide on the level of dividend payment to shareholders, assuming they have the profit reserves to pay it.
That means the dividend can be consistent for shareholders, regardless of how strong the investment performance has been in any given financial year. The company's annual ordinary dividend has been remarkably consistent and resilient over the past two decades.
In FY25, its ordinary annual dividend per share was 26.5 cents, up 1.9% year over year. That translates into a fully franked dividend yield of 3.5% and a grossed-up dividend yield of 5%, including franking credits.
AFIC also declared a special dividend per share of 5 cents with its FY25 result because of the sale of CBA shares. This is a very useful boost for the company's short-term passive income.
Attractive valuation
The LIC has an underlying value because of its portfolio, cash and other assets. The AFIC share price can trade broadly in line with the LIC's net tangible assets (NTA) – sometimes it trades at a premium to the NTA and sometimes it's trading at a discount.
AFIC regularly shares its underlying value with investors. The weekly update for 25 July 2025 showed it had a pre-tax NTA of $8.42. At the current AFIC share price, it's trading at a 10% discount to its underlying value.
I think that makes it an attractive time to buy, particularly with the prospect of further RBA cash rates in the coming months/years.
Diversified portfolio
Diversification is a great tool to lower risks without necessarily lowering rewards.
The business is invested across a variety of sectors including banks, materials, healthcare, industrials, other financials, consumer discretionary, communication services and so on.
Not only does it own dozens of ASX shares, but it also has a small but growing international portfolio too, which adds further diversification for the portfolio.
If investors don't want to be hands-on picking stocks, they can just buy AFIC shares and hold them for the long-term.
