Australian stocks are a great asset class to build wealth with. I like how easy it is to buy shares and how streamlined it is managing our investments. Property can cost a lot more to buy and manage as an investor.
If I were just starting out as an ASX investor, I'd want to choose shares that look they can deliver good long-term capital growth, provide a bit of cash flow for my bank account and they can compound for me without any effort.
There are a lot of compelling investment choices out there, so it may be hard to narrow down which one to start with. I'll run through a few ideas.
Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS)
Telstra is one of the most appealing ASX blue-chip shares, in my view. It's one of the most known companies in Australia. It's not reliant on the iron ore price for its profit and it's not exposed to the extremely competitive banking sector.
The company has the leading 5G network in Australia, which is appealing for customers wanting a reliable network that covers the widest area. It regularly reports subscriber growth, boosting the company's operating leverage. Plus, it has periodically increased mobile prices, helping profit margins.
With technology being widespread and increasingly advanced in Australia, I believe Telstra's importance to the economy will increase. This could help the Australian stock's net profit, share price and dividend in the years ahead, making it a compelling investment today.
Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)
This is one of my favourite ASX shares for long-term returns and diversification.
It owns an investment portfolio spread across a number of sectors including telecommunications, resources, building products, industrial properties, financial services, electrification, swimming pools, agriculture and plenty more.
Soul Patts has a long-term track record of delivering investment returns thanks to its focus on defensive assets with long-term potential that can provide good cash flow, enabling Soul Patts to pay a reliable dividend, which has grown every year since 1998.
The Australian stock regularly invests in new opportunities expanding its growth avenues and unlocking further potential for the business to deliver for shareholders.
Global X S&P World Ex Australia GARP ETF (ASX: GARP)
This is one of my favourite exchange-traded fund (ETF) ideas right now – it aims to provide investors with access to global businesses that are trading at strong earnings growth, solid financial strength and trading at reasonable valuations.
The investing strategy is called GARP – growth at a reasonable price.
While past performance is definitely not a guarantee of future performance, the strategy has clearly worked well so far – the index this fund tracks has delivered an average return per year of 21.2% over the five years to 31 July 2025, compared to an average return of 16.3% per year for the global share market.
It's possible that volatility could occur, but over the long-term I believe this fund can outperform the global share market.
