There are certain ASX dividend shares and ASX growth shares I've invested in that I'm very optimistic about.

But, there are a few ASX ETFs that I believe can help fill some investment exposure gaps that some Aussie portfolios, including mine, may have when aiming for (or during) retirement.

So, let's dive in.

VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX:  MOAT)

It'd be understandable for investors to have a lot of exposure to ASX shares and perhaps to an ASX ETF that gives significant allocation to large US shares, such as with the iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV) and Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS).

But, there are plenty of other high-quality businesses in the US – the home of numerous compelling companies – that are worth owning.

The MOAT ETF typically has around 50 holdings (it currently has 57). They're all US-listed businesses, though the underlying earnings are more diversified.

There are some great businesses below the tech giant group in size which have very powerful economic moats, which are also called competitive advantages. An economic moat is what helps a business generate revenue/profit and fend off rivals, with examples such as intellectual property, cost advantages and plenty of others.

The MOAT ETF wants to find businesses that have economic moats that are expected to endure for at least 20 years, which means those businesses have a very attractive, long-term future. In turn, this makes the ASX ETF itself a great option to own for the long-term.

Additionally, the ASX ETF only invests in these great businesses when the price is attractive.

In the ten years to March 2026, it had returned an average of 14.7% per year. Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns, but that level of return is powerful to help build towards a great nest egg.

WCM Quality Global Growth Fund (ASX: WCMQ)

The WCMQ ETF is another option that I think plenty of Australians would benefit from owning.

It invests in a portfolio of global shares that have a couple of key features that California-based fund manager WCM believes can help deliver investment (out) performance.

First, the fund wants to find businesses that have strengthening economic moats. It's the 'direction' of the moat that's more important to the WCM investment team than the size of that moat. A business with improving competitive advantages can become increasingly profitable.

The second element of the investment strategy is to invest in businesses that have a corporate culture that fosters an improvement of the competitive advantages.

The WCMQ ETF has retuned an average of 15.1% per year since inception in August 2018, which is a great level of return, though that's not guaranteed to continue in the next several years.

One of the advantages of this fund is that it aims to pay a distribution yield of at least 5%, so it's able to give investors good passive income. I think some investors may be missing an international shares option that pays a good dividend yield.

The post I'm planning to buy loads of these ASX ETFs for my retirement appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Some Australians may want to find funds that are weighted towards businesses with strong capital growth potential. Other investors may want to own investments that provide a pleasing level of passive income.

There are advantages (and disadvantages) to each type of ETF strategy, so I think it's wise to look at both ideas.

Capital growth

The power of compounding can help capital growth deliver very pleasing wealth-building over time.

Capital growth would suggest that the businesses involved are growing revenue/profit at a useful speed to help send the share price higher over time.

I don't think investors can go too far wrong with an international-focused ASX ETF that provides pleasing exposure to high-quality, growing businesses such as Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) and iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV).

But, I'm a big believer in the idea that higher-quality businesses will outperform average businesses over the long-term, particularly when the market/economy goes through a rough patch.

I like the following international-focused ETFs because of how they build a portfolio based on quality attributes: Global X S&P World Ex Australia GARP ETF (ASX: GARP), VanEck MSCI International Quality ETF (ASX: QUAL), Betashares Global Quality Leaders ETF (ASX: QLTY) and VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT).

I believe the four options above are great to consider for building wealth and they can also be great options for Australians looking to invest in retirement.

For starters, a retiree may still have decades ahead that their portfolio needs to last, so capital growth is a useful feature.

Secondly, when in retirement, Australians can unlock income by selling a portion of their investment holding each year. For example, if they have $100,000 in an ASX ETF, they could sell $4,000 to unlock a 4% cash flow 'yield'. Its long-term capital growth may be strong enough for the portfolio/ETF value to outpace the sales.

For example, if a $100,000 investment grows in value by 10% over a year it becomes $110,000 and a sale of $4,000 would mean $106,000 remaining for the next year. That's a combination of capital growth of $4,000 of income to spend.

ASX ETFs that provide dividends

Some retirees may not want to sell anything. Instead, their preference may be just to hold an investment and receive passive income from it.

A lot of internationally-focused ASX ETFs don't have a large dividend yield because the underlying shares don't have a large yield either, meaning there's not much income for the ETF to pass on.

Some people may like the Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY) because it invests in high-yielding ASX shares, enabling it to give investors a lot of passive income. However, the compound earnings growth of the businesses in this fund are typically low, so I'm not a huge fan.

That's why I like ASX ETFs that have a pleasing targeted distribution yield while still providing investors with a good dividend yield.

One of my favourite ideas in this space is WCM Quality Global Growth Fund (ASX: WCMQ), which targets a distribution yield of 5%. Growth of the fund's net asset value (NAV) can unlock distribution growth for investors.

The post Which ASX ETFs I'd buy for retirement investing appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

I don't have a significant portion of my portfolio invested in ASX ETFs, but there's a particular ASX ETF I'm expecting to build up my exposure to in the coming years: WCM Quality Global Growth Fund (ASX: WCMQ).

There are plenty of ways to invest in international shares, with some options enabling investors to follow an index for a very cheap fee.

For multiple reasons, I think this ASX ETF is an even more appealing investment.

High-quality shares

This fund aims to own a portfolio of between 20 to 40 stocks that primarily come from the high-growth consumer, technology and healthcare sectors.

WCM – the California-based fund manager of this ASX ETF – believes that corporate culture is the biggest influence on a company's ability to grow its competitive advantages, which can also be called an economic moat.

I think it's important to recognise that competitive advantages are key drivers for a business to protect and grow their profit.

For WCM, they want to see that the competitive advantages are improving, which I think is smart, as that suggests improving profitability as time goes on.

Over the long-term, I think high-quality shares are likely to deliver a better performance than the overall share market.

In the 10 years to February 2026, the strategy that this ASX ETF follows has delivered an average net return per year of 16.6%, outperforming the global share market benchmark by an average of approximately 3% per year. Of course, past performance is not a guarantee of future returns.

Global portfolio

One thing I think plenty of Aussie investors may be guilty of is not taking advantage of the great opportunities that are out there on the global share market.

The ASX only accounts for 2% of the global share market – there are lot of opportunities in the other 98% of the world.

But, instead of choosing a portfolio that's weighted to just a few large US tech names, I like that the WCMQ ETF is invested in a variety of names across the world.

In terms of geographic exposure, only 55% of the portfolio was invested in the Americas at the end of February. Not just the US, but the whole of the Americas only had a 55% weighting. Europe with a 26% weighting and Asia Pacific with a 17% weighting are the other two main regions with a sizeable allocation.

Some of its current largest holdings include Siemens Energy, AppLovin, Taiwan Semiconductor, Western Digital and Rolls Royce.

Appealing dividend yield

Not only are the portfolio and returns impressive, but the fund also offers a very solid dividend yield.

The ASX ETF aims to give investors a minimum annualised cash yield of 5%, which I think is a great starting point.

Given how the portfolio has performed (a mid-teen net return), the ETF has been able to comfortably fund the yield and deliver good capital growth. With the investment strategy WCM employs, I'd optimistic the long-term returns can continue to be pleasing.

The post Why I'm planning to make this my biggest ASX ETF holding appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Diversification is a powerful tool, though it's best when it doesn't materially worsen the returns. Investing in too many different types of assets could lead to 'di-worsification' as it has been termed. I prefer sticking to shares for my own wealth-building because of the compounding and how easy it is to invest in shares.

With that in mind, the following two ASX ETFs look very appealing to me.

VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF (ASX: MOAT)

This ASX ETF is one of the most appealing for long-term investing because of its investment style.

Morningstar analysts aim to identify US businesses that have competitive advantages that will allow them to continue making good profits (more likely than not) for at least 20 years. Competitive advantages can also be called an economic moat.

Economic moats can come in many different forms, such as cost advantages, intellectual property, regulatory licenses, brand power, network effects, and so on. It's what keeps businesses ahead of their competitors. Think about the things that make you choose your smartphone, toothpaste, or where you go for your food shopping – that's probably an economic moat in some way.

By only investing in businesses with long-term potential, the MOAT ETF has made itself an appealing long-term investment from day one. Obviously, the holdings do change every so often – it's not forced to hold onto the same names for 20 years, but it'd (hopefully) be a positive result if it did.

The second stage of this investment strategy is that the ASX ETF only invests when these high-quality names are trading at an attractive price.

By using this strategy of owning great businesses at good prices, I think the portfolio is likely to continue its appealing long-term performance, though I'm not expecting any particular level of return.

WCM Quality Global Growth Fund (ASX: WCMQ)

I'm a big believer in the idea that the best businesses tend to win over time, with their culture an important driver of that success, while a lack of a winning culture leads to mediocre results.

The investment team from WCM – an investment outfit based in Laguna Beach, California – is looking for businesses with an improving economic moat and a corporate culture that supports strengthening that moat.

I like owning businesses that are becoming increasingly profitable for each dollar of revenue they earn – rising margins are a great sign.

But many of these great businesses are listed overseas, which is partly why the WCMQ ETF is so appealing to me – it invests across the global share market in search of opportunities. Only 55% of the portfolio is invested in shares from the Americas, providing a pleasing level of global diversification and avoiding concentration in a few US tech giants.

Impressively, over the past 10 years to February 2026, this investment strategy has returned an average of 16.6%, outperforming the global share market by an average of 3%. While past performance is not a guarantee of future returns, I like WCM's style of investing, which I think will help deliver solid returns.

As a bonus, the WCMQ ETF targets a distribution yield of 5% per year, which I like as a useful level of passive income.

The post 2 excellent ASX ETFs I rate as buys in March appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

But, the ASX bank share is not particularly attractive to me at the current valuation. That's because of two key reasons – the relatively low dividend yield and the slow growth rate.

According to the (independent) forecast on Commsec, the business is projected to pay an annual dividend per share of $5.20 on FY26 and then $5.50 per share in FY27.

At the current CBA share price, that translates into a fully franked dividend yield of 3%.

In percentage terms, the business is only expected to grow its payout by 5.7% in FY27. That's not exactly a huge growth rate.

For me, there are other ASX dividend shares that make more sense.

WCM Quality Global Growth Fund – Active ETF (ASX: WCMQ)

CBA essentially makes all of its profit from Australia and New Zealand, which is only a small corner of the global economy. There's not a significant growth runway for CBA because of how large the bank already is.

This exchange-traded fund (ETF) aims to give investors exposure to a global portfolio from across the world. The portfolio is invested in shares from the Americas, Europe, Asia and more. That's excellent diversification, in my book.

The WCMQ aims to find businesses that have strengthening competitive advantages which is helping them become increasingly profitable.

The WCM investment team also want to see that the businesses have a corporate culture that fosters an improving economic moat.

The strategy has helped the fund deliver a net return of 15.1% per year to February 2026 since inception in August 2018. Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns, of course.

The ASX dividend share targets a distribution yield of 5% on the net asset value (NAV), which I think is a solid starting point. The distribution payout in dollar terms can grow in line with the NAV growth.

I'm planning to invest in the WCMQ ETF later this month for a combination of passive income and hopefully capital growth.

Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)

Soul Patts doesn't have a stronger dividend yield than CBA, but it does offer a couple of things that the ASX bank share can't match.

Firstly, the dividend growth record by the ASX dividend share is truly impressive.

CBA has only increased its dividend each year since 2021, following a dividend cut in the COVID-affected year of 2020. Soul Patts has increased its regular annual dividend per share every year since 1998. That's getting close to 30 years in a row of dividend growth!

The other reason to really like the ASX dividend share is that it has a diversified across multiple asset classes including listed businesses, private businesses, industrial property, other property and credit.

CBA is stuck being a bank, while Soul Patts already has a diversified portfolio and it has the flexibility to buy and sell assets as it sees fit to make good long-term returns.

The post Forget CBA shares! Buy these ASX dividend shares instead for passive income appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that is operated by the investment team at WCM Investment Management. WCM is based in Laguna Beach, Southern California. On its choice of location, the fund manager says:

We are conveniently located 2,805 miles from the groupthink of Wall Street.

There are a couple of key reasons why I think this is a compelling ASX dividend stock after its small decline.

Excellent investment strategy

The fund aims to own between 20 and 40 stocks that it views as quality global growth companies.

Its strategy prioritises companies with a durable and improving competitive advantage (meaning a positive trajectory of the economic moat).

The investment team believes that the corporate culture has a critical role in driving shareholder value and ensuring ongoing improvement of the economic moat.  

It aims to maintain a focused portfolio of high-conviction holdings it believes can deliver strong investment returns.

Finally, WCM says that thoughtful portfolio construction "enhances the potential for robust performance in different market backdrops".

By following this strategy, the WCMQ ETF's portfolio has delivered an average net return of 15.9% per year since it started in August 2018, outperforming the global share market by an average of 2.8% per year during that time.

Some of the names in its current portfolio include AppLovin, Taiwan Semiconductor, Amazon, Rolls Royce and Tencent.

Why it's a strong ASX dividend stock pick

I haven't mentioned anything about its passive income potential yet, so let's look at that aspect.

The fund has a specified target of delivering a minimum annualised cash yield of 5% per year.

I'd suggest that this immediately makes the fund attractive as a dividend investment.

Past performance is not a guarantee of future outcomes, in terms of the fund's net returns. However, it does have a good track record of delivering long-term double-digit returns that I think can be continued.

The level of net returns the fund is producing means it can pay a 5% dividend yield and see the capital value of the fund increase over time. A higher unit price means a higher future payout in the coming year.

For example, a 5% dividend yield on a $10 unit price is a 50 cents per unit payout. If the unit price grows to $11 then the next payout would rise to 55 cents per unit.

I'm optimistic that the WCMQ can deliver a good dividend yield, growing payouts and capital growth in the coming years.

The post 1 ASX dividend stock down 4% I'd buy right now! appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

I love how we can build a portfolio piece by piece and create a river of dividends. The investments I'm going highlight offer investors a good dividend yield and I'm confident they can grow their payouts over time.

Let's dive in with what I'd happily buy with $3,000.

Bailador Technology Investments Ltd (ASX: BTI)

I think the last 20 years have shown that technology is one of the best, if not the best, places to invest.

Software businesses are able to deliver great gross profit margins, strong bottom lines and they usually don't have any physical limitations of growth compared to others needing to increase production, open a new store or new warehouse to grow further.

Bailador is a company that invests in private technology businesses whilst they're still in a rapid growth phase. Its current portfolio includes businesses involved in digital healthcare, hotel management, financial advice and investment management, tours and activities, property investment, volunteer management, fitness and wellness, and so on.

The portfolio is growing at a rapid speed – Bailador's portfolio company revenue growth was 47% in FY25, which bodes well for increasing the underlying value of those businesses over time.

The ASX dividend share aims to pay investors a dividend yield of 4% relative to the pre-tax net tangible assets (NTA). But, due to the fact the Bailador share price is at a 36% discount (at the time of writing) to the NTA, it has a dividend yield of 6.3%, or 9% including franking credits.

Future Generation Australia Ltd (ASX: FGX)

This business is a listed investment company (LIC) that invests a portfolio of ASX share-focused funds from various fund managers who work for free so that Future Generation Australia can donate 1% of net assets to youth charities each year.

There are no management fees or performance fees. With the investment/accounting profits the ASX dividend share makes, it's paying a growing dividend that has grown every year for the past decade. Not many ASX businesses can claim to have done that.

This investment can provide Aussies with diversification thanks to the funds giving exposure to hundreds of underlying businesses.

Its latest announced dividends come to a grossed-up dividend yield of 7.7%.

WCM Quality Global Growth Fund (ASX: WCMQ)

This is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) targets a 5% dividend yield, balancing passive income and capital growth.

WCM is looking for global stocks it thinks have expanding competitive advantages (economic moats) and business cultures that help expand the competitive advantage.

With a portfolio of US and non-US shares, the fund is able to provide investors with pleasing exposure to a variety of opportunities around the world.

The strategy is clearly working because the fund has delivered average net returns of 15.9% per year since inception in August 2018. Past performance is not a guarantee of future returns, but I think it can continue to perform well. A rising net asset value (NAV) of the fund helps fund larger distributions.

The post 3 wonderful ASX dividend shares I'd buy with $3,000 right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Many investments available on the ASX (and internationally) pay dividends, as they share profits with shareholders each year. With shares, you don't need to deal with tenants, leasing agents or repairs.

It's easy to take a back seat with shares; that's why I think it's the best form of passive income.

Businesses aren't like term deposits – they can grow earnings, increase dividends, and increase share prices. Some businesses on the stock market can provide a better yield than savings accounts straight away.

The power of a dividend yield

If we put $1,000 into a bank account earning 4% interest, we'd expect to earn $40 in annual income.

Investing in stocks comes with different dividend yields. The higher the dividend yield, the more money investors will get. The highest yields (of 10% or more) aren't necessarily safer, though.

Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) is an example of a good ASX dividend share. Telstra's annual payout last year was 19 cents per share, which translates into a 4% cash dividend yield. Franking credits boost the after-tax effect of receiving the dividend (often leading to tax refunds). Including franking credits, Telstra's FY25 payout equated to a grossed-up dividend yield of 5.75%.

At the current Telstra share price, a $1,000 investment would yield $57.50 in passive income in FY25.

I think there's a good chance Telstra will increase its payout to 20 cents per share in FY26, which would yield just over $60 of grossed-up passive income (including franking credits). That's an increase of around 5%.

Savings in the bank account don't grow like that. You can leave the cash in there (and not utilise the interest), but investors can also reinvest their dividends to accelerate wealth-building.

It also shows how making a $1,000 investment can snowball into more passive income for investors.

There's more to the stock market than just Telstra shares, of course.

The stock market is a money-making machine for passive income

Some ASX-listed businesses have a record of growing their dividends every year for 20 years in a row, like Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) and APA Group (ASX: APA).

There are some investments with very high dividend yields (over 9%) that haven't given any payout reductions (though payout growth is slow), such as Shaver Shop Group Ltd (ASX: SSG) and WAM Microcap Ltd (ASX: WMI).

There are a number of other ASX dividend shares that are appealing as passive income options like MFF Capital Investments Ltd (ASX: MFF), L1 Long Short Fund Ltd (ASX: LSF), Pinnacle Investment Management Group Ltd (ASX: PNI), Universal Store Holdings Ltd (ASX: UNI), Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW), Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP), Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF) and WCM Quality Global Growth Fund (ASX: WCMQ).

Many of the above investments offer a dividend yield of 5% or more, which is appealing in my book.

Receiving $12,000 annually (or $1,000 per month) at a dividend yield of 5% would require a $240,000 portfolio.

That portfolio goal may sound like a lot, but if an investor invested $1,500 per month and their portfolio returned an average of 10% per year (the long-term average of the share market), it would only take around nine years to reach $240,000. It just takes investing in the right stocks.

The post Here's how you could turn the stock market into a $1,000 monthly passive income machine appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.