I love investing in ASX shares when they're trading at close to 52-week lows because it could mean they're excellent long-term opportunities.
The lower the entry price, the better chance we give ourselves to produce good returns.
Uncertainty is rising amid higher inflation, rising interest rates, AI and so on. I think this period could be a pleasing time to invest.
Below are two investments that I think could outperform the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over the long-term.
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VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat AUD ETF (ASX: MOAT)
This investment is not specifically an ASX share, it's an exchange-traded fund (ETF) which gives exposure to a portfolio of high-quality US shares. Despite that, it recently reached a 52-week low.
The portfolio continues at least 40 attractively-priced US companies with sustainable competitive advantages according to Morningstar's equity research team.
The idea is that these businesses possess sustainable competitive advantages or "wide economic moats". Competitive advantages can come in a variety of forms including cost advantages, network effects, switching costs and more.
There's another important element to the investment style. It wants to invest in attractive valuations – target companies must be trading at attractive prices relative to Morningstar's estimate of fair value. In other words, these businesses must be good value compared to what analysts think they're worth.
According to VanEck, the MOAT ETF has returned an average of 14.4% per year over the past decade. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance, of course, but I'm optimistic of future returns.
Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO)
Another ASX share I want to highlight is Xero, it recently hit a 52-week low. It's accounting software business Xero, with a major presence in New Zealand, Australia and the UK.
It has fallen 64% in the past year, so it's a lot cheaper than it was. But, the ability of the company to generate revenue continues to improve thanks to its growing subscriber base, even if it's not doing as well as it used to.
In the FY26 result, it reported that its number of customers rose by 11% to 4.92 million, operating revenue jumped 31% to $2.75 billion and its annualised monthly recurring revenue (AMRR) increased by 37% to $3.27 billion. Those are strong year over year growth figures.
Given the operating leverage of software, I expect its profit metrics to steadily increase in the coming years. The FY26 result was impacted by the acquisition of US payments business Melio, but that could be the big break for the company to grow in the US.
Xero is in a more uncertain environment, so it's understandable it's investing in AI tools and driving that next wave of demand for efficiencies.
These may be two great opportunities and I think there are even better ASX share opportunities out there that could also deliver good returns.
