ASX Shares If you were only allowed to choose 4 ASX holdings - what would you choose, and why?

Hypothetical - in the interest of investigating the concept of simplification (which is often discussed in here...)

If 'the trading system' was altered, and each person (or trading entity) was only allowed to hold a maximum of 4 separate holdings, and you were only permitted to buy/sell a couple of times per year, what would you hold, and why?

I'm sure that people in different phases of their lives will have different responses (eg. retirees may be after income, where as some may be more inclined to look for growth etc). But, if you had to select a small set of holdings that you couldn't tinker with too frequently, what would you hold? How would you arrive at your decision?

I'm expecting to see a lot of LICs and ETFs in the mix - but how would you decide which ones to choose?....

 

These are mine bought for growth, each are about 10% of my portfolio , Up to twice a year I take out my original capital (200%) so I don't get too overweight in one or the other. WTC - Strong revenue growth, high retention rates, incredible margins, rapid and long runway for growth, ambitious growth orientated founder with lots of skin in the game ALU & APX- solid balance sheet, strong growing dividend , tail wind from low $A. ALU winner take all and large cash reserve. XRO- High retention, loyal customers, gaining dominance in ANZ and UK making inroads in the USA. Strong growth. Bugger forgot NEA reason mentioned in another thread. NDQ for an ETF because you get 100 of the greatest companies ran by the best people in the world.

 

So, it looks like you can’t cut it down to ‘only 4’, huh? It’s a real challenge

 

So what would your 4 be, @geoffw? I’m really interested to see what people pick, and why. While we’ve got such a diverse range of contributors here on PC, I’ll be interested to see if there are any trends or overlaps.

 

VAS
VGS
VGE/VAE

These are all that I would probably ever hold. If an ETF comes out with global or aus small cap value I would probably consider it as well.

 

If I go back to using the basis of when I first started buying the shares it would be SOL, A2M, NDQ and CSL.
And I wouldn't hardly sell.
Why? Share price growth
SOL is diversified, CSL is a worldwide leader, A2M seems to have a captive market (I'm lactose intolerant... Not "lack toes" thank you very much)
NDQ for Nasdaq market leaders.

But... I suppose the question of "are they overvalued currently" is a worry as I am still in an accumulation phase and I'd be limited to these 4 stocks only in your hypothetical scenario... So I suppose a basic market ETF should be in the picture. Reckon I'd have to swap out CSL in that case.

 

Any concerns about the fact that Vanguard is the only star? I know some people think that diversification also extends to ensuring that different companies have control of the funds, too.

 

I actually hold all 4 that you've included. I wonder if I would continue to hold them if I had to cut down to 4.... I think it probably depends on whether I was wanting to chase income, or growth. SOL, CSL and A2M are all growing nicely - pity there's nothing happening with them increasing (or, in A2M's case, starting to pay) nice dividends.

 

No concerns at all - I find diversifying to other fund companies more risky in the long term as they are more likely not to survive. Don't want to be paying that CGT when some of those ETF with low FUM closes. I trust Vanguard to always be there due to its ownership structure in the USA. If it falls...I doubt any other ETF providers will still be there as well.

 

I used to hold APT and A2M but I sold all of them this year due to loss of interest in monitoring individual stocks. Good companies they were though, but anything can happen and all companies eventually disappear - don't want to be spending everyday tracking their news.

 

There was a similar thread recently
The 10 share challenge [ASX Shares]
Some good discussion there2

 

RIO CBA TLS MTD

 

Surprised you never queried MTD as its not a listed code. It stands for Mt Druitt and it should be listed

And who said I don't trade the four you mentioned lol.

 

VAS
VGS
AFI
MLT

 

Would there be any demand for MTD? You might as well list:

STD
DUI
B&E
McD