That's why exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can be such a powerful starting point, they offer simplicity, instant diversification, and exposure to high-quality companies without the stress of picking individual winners.

If you're new to the share market and want a strong foundation, here are three ASX ETFs that could be perfect for beginner investors.

iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV)

The iShares S&P 500 ETF is one of the most popular choices for new investors, and for good reason. This ASX ETF tracks the S&P 500 Index, giving you exposure to America's largest and most influential businesses.

Among its top holdings are Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), and Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO). These are all major players in their respective industries and key drivers of US market performance.

Eli Lilly is a pharmaceutical giant that has grown into one of the world's most valuable healthcare companies, powered by blockbuster drugs in areas such as diabetes and obesity treatment. Its strong research pipeline and global demand make it one of the most dependable earnings machines in the index.

Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)

If you want broad international diversification for your portfolio, the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF is hard to beat. This fund holds more than 1,200 stocks across major developed markets outside Australia, offering huge exposure with just a single trade.

Some of its largest positions include Nestle (SWX: NESN), Roche (SWX: ROG), and Toyota Motor Corporation (TYO: 7203). These are global leaders in consumer goods, healthcare, and automotive innovation.

Nestle is the Swiss food and beverage giant that owns household brands found in kitchens worldwide. Its global footprint, steady demand, and defensive earnings profile make it an anchor holding that helps smooth portfolio volatility when markets get bumpy.

Overall, the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF could be ideal for beginners who want long-term international growth without having to worry about choosing individual global stocks.

BetaShares Global Quality Leaders ETF (ASX: QLTY)

For those wanting a portfolio tilted toward high-quality, financially strong stocks, the BetaShares Global Quality Leaders ETF could be an excellent option.

This ASX ETF screens for businesses with high returns on equity, stable earnings, and strong balance sheets. These are traits that typically reflect resilient, well-managed businesses. Among its major holdings are Visa (NYSE: V), Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), and Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST).

Costco is the US retail giant that has built a powerful membership-based model that drives recurring revenue and high customer loyalty. Its disciplined operations and steady growth record make it a classic example of the kind of durable business the fund is designed to capture.

The team at BetaShares Global Quality Leaders ETF recently recommended this fund.

The post 3 ASX ETFs that could be perfect for beginner investors appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), the Danish pharmaceutical giant that launched the semaglutide sold under brand names Ozempic (mainly for treatment of diabetes) and Wegovy (mainly for weight loss management), lost over €60 billion (A$100 billion) in market value on Tuesday after cutting its full-year guidance. It now expects 2025 sales growth of just 8–14%, down from 13–21%. Its shares plunged 22%, and are now down 58% over the last year.

The reason? Not demand. Not efficacy. But competition from legitimate rivals like Eli Lilly and a wave of US copycat compounders making knockoff versions of Ozempic and Wegovy.

At first glance, this has nothing to do with ResMed Inc (ASX: RMD), the sleep apnoea giant whose shares were battered in 2023 as investors feared weight-loss drugs would shrink demand for CPAP machines.

But in markets, perception sometimes matters as much as fundamentals (at least in the short term). And Novo Nordisk's unravelling could subtly reshape (for the better) how investors view ResMed.

What is going on?

The real story here is that Novo is losing control of its market, particularly in the US. Eli Lilly's Zepbound has surged past Wegovy in new prescriptions. And despite an FDA ban on compounded GLP-1 drugs, many Americans are still using them.

Novo Nordisk is now in litigation mode, trying to protect its turf. That's not the playbook of a company with an unassailable moat.

What this means for ResMed

Fundamentally, nothing has changed. GLP-1 drugs still work. They still help patients lose weight. And obesity remains a key driver of sleep apnoea.

But the narrative has changed. Investors are perhaps starting to realise that weight loss drugs are not necessarily a silver bullet, nor are they the only treatment option for sleep apnoea and that Resmed is one of many solutions to the sleep apnoea problem.

Meanwhile, ResMed has kept delivering. Revenue is growing, margins are holding up, and the company is expanding into software and digital health. Crucially, it's not pretending to be a one-size-fits-all solution. It's part of a broader, long-term healthcare puzzle.

At the time of writing, ResMed shares are up 1.42% for the day and up 33% over the last year, suggesting sentiment may finally be turning.

Foolish Takeaway

Novo Nordisk's crash wasn't about science. It was about market control and copycats. That's bad news for Novo, but potentially good news for ResMed. Not because the threat is gone, but because the narrative has come back down to earth.

The post Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk plunges 22%. What could this mean for Resmed shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The use of weight-loss drugs is showing no signs of slowing down. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) maker Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) jacked up its full-year profit and sales estimates last week on an insatiable appetite for its slimming medication.

While Morgan Stanley is seeing growth in the weight-loss medication market, other industries have been spotlighted as possible dietary do-aways.

Ozempic threatens high-calorie ASX shares

Newton's Third Law: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If weight-loss drugs reduce appetite, there must be an 'equal and opposite reaction'. Well, it turns out the team at Morgan Stanley thinks so.

A report compiled by the analysts forecasts a base scenario of a US$105 billion category by 2030. The more optimistic 'bull case' estimates that weight-loss drugs could be a market worth more than US$140 billion in six years.

But where's the other part of Newton's equation?

It turns out the implications could be right on our doorstep. Australia is a hotbed for GLP-1s, according to the broker. The country's high obesity rate places it in pole position for highest demand across the Asia Pacific locale.

Food consumption is the most obvious reaction to increased Ozempic uptake. Morgan Stanley names Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) and Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) as shares that could face the Ozempic chomp.

The broker also picks out certain food groups susceptible to calorie suppression, writing:

Our analysis suggests ice cream, cakes, cookies, candy, chocolate, frozen pizzas, chips, and regular sodas could see 4% to 5% reductions in consumption by 2035.

Alcohol faces the most pronounced risk in the beverages category with some GLP-1 patients citing a foregoing of alcohol consumption entirely

Quick service restaurants with a focus on unhealthy food items, including fried chicken and pizza, present with greater risks from a consumption standpoint, and could require menu adaptation.

It's not hard to imagine which listed companies deal in the abovementioned areas. This might suggest that Ozempic threatens ASX shares such as Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP), Endeavour Group Ltd (ASX: EDV), and KFC operator Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF).

Does Resmed make the list?

Despite being the poster child for Ozempic disruption early on, Resmed CDI (ASX: RMD) was not one Morgan Stanley warned of in its report. Neither was it labelled as a beneficiary.

Instead, the broker presented a more balanced outlook for the sleep apnea device maker, stating:

It is conceivable that GLP-1s drive increased awareness and interaction with the healthcare system among patients with obesity, leading to higher rates of diagnosis for obstructive sleep apnoea and ultimately some increased penetration to partially offset the patient losses.

The Resmed share price suffered an unceremonious dumping last year. Fear gripped the ASX healthcare share after a link between obesity and sleep apnea was made. The Ozempic concern sent shares down 36% before it began to recover.

The post Which ASX shares could be next on the menu for Ozempic? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

As such, this drug's potential benefits have already had a big impact on the ASX, with companies that potentially compete with its applications, such as ResMed Inc (ASX: RMD) and CSL Limited (ASX: CSL), recently being sold off.

As such, many ASX investors might be hoping to invest in Ozempic. Or more specifically, in Novo Nordisk A/S (CPH: NOVO-B)(NYSE: NVO) shares. Novo Nordisk is the pharmaceutical company that produces Ozempic.

But there's a problem for ASX investors. Novo Nordisk shares are nowhere to be found on the ASX.

The company is Danish in origin. So it will come as no surprise to hear that Novo Nordisk's primary public listing is on the Nasdaq Copenhagen Stock Exchange. Most ASX investors don't even have access to this stock market, with only a handful of select brokerage firms offering access.

However, Novo Nordisk does have a secondary listing on the US markets. Specifically on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). So ASX investors with the desire and access to invest in US shares can buy Novo Nordisk stock under the ticker code 'NYSE: NVO' if they so wish.

Want to buy this popular US stock? Try an ASX healthcare ETF

But there is another way to invest in this exciting opportunity on the ASX. It's by using exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Now since Novo Nordisk shares can be found on the NYSE, one would be forgiven for assuming that a simple US index fund might do the job.

But sadly, Novo Nordisk shares aren't a constituent of either the iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV) or the BetaShares NASDAQ 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ). Those are two of the most popular US index funds listed on the ASX, but neither holds this company.

But don't despair. There are still ASX ETFs that will allow one to indirectly invest in the Ozempic producer. ASX healthcare ETFs, to be precise.

As we covered back in September, the VanEck Global Healthcare Leaders ETF (ASX: HLTH) is one such fund. Holding 51 healthcare stocks from around the world, this ETF is designed to allow ASX investors access to a range of healthcare companies that aren't listed in Australia. As of 1 November, Novo Nordisk was one such company, commanding a portfolio weighting in HLTH's portfolio of 2.17%.

The BetaShares Global Healthcare ETF (ASX: DRUG) is another similar fund with 69 underlying holdings. However, Novo Nordisk's holdings within DRUG are more than double that of HLTH, with a weighting here of 5.7%.

Finally, let's talk about the iShares Global Healthcare ETF (ASX: IXJ). This fund operates on a larger scale than those other two healthcare ETFs, with approximately 115 holdings. Despite this, IXJ still offers ASX investors a 4.78% weighted exposure to the Ozempic maker's shares in the portfolio.

So if you're desperate to invest in Ozempic through its maker Novo Nordisk, there are certainly a few options on the ASX to consider today. Even if you don't wish to buy the US or Danish-listed shares directly.

The post How can ASX investors buy the US stock the WHOLE world is talking about? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

With analysts forecasting huge growth in demand for drugs like Ozempic over the next decade, there are concerns that ResMed could lose some of its sleep apnoea customer base. That's because research shows that 70% of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) patients are obese.

The good news is that most analysts believe this is an overreaction and that there's still a huge market for ResMed to grow into outside any Ozempic impacts.

But what about Ozempic and other obesity drugs? Should we be investing in them as well?

The team at Morgan Stanley believes it could be a good idea based on its expectations for explosive growth through to 2030.

Morgan Stanley's European Biopharmaceuticals analyst, Mark Purcell, commented:

Social media activity documenting transformative weight loss, together with the establishment of affordable insurance coverage more quickly than anticipated, has helped drive demand for obesity medicines beyond our expectations. While supply constraints have capped sales growth in the near term, the global obesity market could go from a $2.4 billion category in 2022 to reach $77 billion in 2030, up from our previous estimate for a $54 billion.

ASX ETFs to the rescue

The simplest way to invest in Ozempic and other obesity drugs is to go directly to the source.

In the case of Ozempic, this would mean investing in Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), which is listed on Wall Street.

As for Mounjaro, a diabetes treatment being repurposed as an obesity drug, it is owned by US pharmaceutical behemoth Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE: LLY).

However, if you're not keen on going down this route, then you could look at ASX ETFs.

The VanEck Global Healthcare Leaders ETF (ASX: HLTH) gives investors access to 50 of the largest international companies from the global healthcare sector. Its holdings include both Eli Lilly & Co and Novo Nordisk.

Alternatively, the BetaShares Global Healthcare ETF – Currency Hedged (ASX: DRUG) could be another way to do it. It is invested in a touch under 70 global healthcare shares, with Eli Lilly & Co and Novo Nordisk making up a total weighting of 12.9% of the portfolio.

The post 'Beyond our expectations': How to invest in obesity drugs like Ozempic with ASX ETFs appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.