The ASX is full of wonderful shares – businesses that will, in all likelihood, provide investors with meaningful returns for years to come. However, even the most dominant businesses can be disrupted. Just ask Blockbuster, Kodak, or BlackBerry.
That's why, in my view, the best businesses to invest in are those that move with the times and seek not to build or sell the next hot thing, but invest in the companies that do.
The two businesses that we shall discuss today, I think, fill those shoes well. So here are two ASX shares that I'd hold forever.
Two ASX shares I'd hold forever
Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL)
Investing house Washington H. Soul Pattinson, or Soul Patts for short, has long been one of my largest and most beloved investments. This ASX share has been around for more than a century, and over that time, it has built up a reputation for prudent investing and skilful management of capital.
Buying Soul Patts shares essentially means you are buying a stake in this company's investment portfolio. This portfolio is highly diversified, containing a massive portfolio of other ASX shares, as well as private credit investments, venture capital, and other unlisted assets. Thanks to its recent acquisition of Brickworks, it also includes building materials manufacturing and property.
Thanks to this diversified collection of high-performing assets, I believe Soul Patts will continue to be a high-returning investment and extend its 27-year streak of annual dividend increases for many decades yet.
MFF Capital Investments Ltd (ASX: MFF)
Given Warren Buffett has been successfully investing for more than six decades, we know that his modus operandi of finding dominant, moat-protected companies, buying them at bargain prices and holding them for decades is effective across market cycles. Although Buffett is irreplaceable, this listed investment company (LIC) and ASX share follows his teachings in building its own portfolio of top-tier shares.
MFF doesn't tend to go for ASX shares for its own investing portfolio, though. Instead, it tends to stick to Buffett's own home turf of the US markets. Some of its largest holdings, which have been in MFF's portfolio for years, include Amazon, Alphabet, Mastercard, and Bank of America.
Like Soul Patts, MFF has delivered some impressive returns in recent years, as well as a rapidly rising dividend. As long as this ASX share continues to follow its Buffett-inspired playbook, I won't be selling it.
