The ASX is full of shares that one could charitably describe as of 'middling' quality. There are far fewer Australian stocks that could be called high-quality companies. The thing about a high-quality Australian stock is that investors usually know them when they see them. That can mean those shares rarely trade at a bargain price. It's for this reason that you'll sometimes hear the phrase 'millionaires are made in market crashes'.
Here's one Australian stock that is first on my watchlist to buy on any dip. It is none other than Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co Ltd (ASX: SOL).
Washington H. Soul Pattinson, or Soul Patts for short, is a rather unique ASX share. Rather than producing products for consumption, it functions as an investment vehicle itself, owning and managing an underlying portfolio of investments on behalf of its shareholders.
This portfolio is both vast and diversified. It contains a range of investments, spanning from large stakes in individual ASX shares to property, venture capital, and private credit.
This inherent diversification, which not too many other Australian stocks offer, is one of the reasons that this company is one of my largest single ASX investments.
But it is not the only one. Diversification doesn't mean much if it doesn't come with real returns. Fortunately, Soul Patts has a long history of delivering some of the best returns that the ASX has seen in its long history.
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An Australian stock and a bona fide market beater
Back in September of last year, this Australian stock informed the markets that its investors had enjoyed an average return of 13.7% per annum (that's share price growth plus dividend returns) over the 25 years to 23 September 2025. That's 5.1% higher per annum than what the broader market delivered over the same period.
Past performance is never a guarantee of future returns, of course. But I think this track record proves that Soul Patts' investing philosophy is a sound one. Particularly when we consider that this Australian stock also possesses the ASX's best dividend streak. Yep, Soul Patts has rewarded its shareholders with an annual dividend increase every single year since 1998. Between FY 1998 and FY 2025, the average rate of annual dividend increases came in at 10.5% per annum.
Putting all of this together, we have an Australian stock that I would love to buy, if not load the boat with, on any share price dip.
