There is a lot of change happening in the world with the economy, tariffs and technology. I think it's more important than ever to invest in good quality ASX shares that we can buy and hold for the long-term.
Some industries are going through rapid change, and in this environment, economic moats and competitive advantages are more important than ever.
While no-one can say what will happen, there are some businesses and some sectors that I believe are capable of producing good returns and dividends for the foreseeable future, which is big part of why I own them. Let's take a look.
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Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)
Soul Patts has already proven it has excellent longevity because it has already been listed on the ASX for more than 120 years. There are very few companies on the ASX that are as old as that. The ASX share started as a pharmacy business, but it's now a diversified investment house.
One of the key appealing features of this business is that it has the ability to change its portfolio wherever it sees opportunities, giving it the best chance of finding investments that can give it compelling returns, while also future-proofing itself.
Some of its larger investments include telecommunications, resources, building products, industrial property, energy, swimming schools, agriculture and credit. These are the types of sectors where I don't think technology will disrupt the industry negatively, but it could be a help instead.
Its investments are collectively going up in value over time, and the ASX share is also adding to its portfolio with the occasional new investment.
Impressively, the company has increased its annual ordinary dividend every year since 1998, which is the best record on the ASX.
It currently has a grossed-up dividend yield of 3.5%, including franking credits.
Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)
Rural Funds is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns a diversified portfolio of farms across Australia. It's invested in areas like cattle, vineyards, almonds and macadamias, leased to a variety of blue-chip tenants.
The business hasn't been listed that long, but farmland has been an important asset for thousands of years. We all need to eat food, so this investment is a good way to indirectly gain exposure to that, without the operational risk.
The ASX share is benefiting from ongoing rental income growth, with some agreements having fixed annual increases and others being linked to inflation, plus market reviews. Rural Funds can also invest money to improve the productivity of its farms for tenants (or even change the type of crop) to unlock stronger rental income from that land.
RBA rate cuts could be particularly beneficial for the business as that could help reduce its interest costs, improve the value of the properties and even reduce the discount between the Rural Funds unit price and the net asset value (NAV), which is currently 40%. That's a huge and attractive discount, in my view.
It's expecting to pay a distribution per unit of 11.73 cents in FY26, which translates into a distribution yield of 6.3%.
