It seems the simplest advice in the world, but bears repeating: Australian investors looking to outperform the overall market over the long term should be sure to buy companies with sustainable competitive advantages. Here are four such ideas that could help boost your portfolio's returns in the long run.
Telstra (ASX: TLS), as a virtual monopoly in the Australian telecom space, comes to mind, and with shares trading for a reasonable 17 times earnings – not to mention the hefty, fully franked dividend – could make for an excellent starting point.
There's also Coca-Cola Amatil (ASX: CCL), the Australian bottler and distributor, which enjoys tremendous brand recognition and long-term pricing power; sustainable competitive advantages just don't get much stronger. It's no wonder CCL shares have outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) over the last five years and over the last 10 years as well.
Additionally, Australia's top conglomerates Washington H. Soul Pattinson (ASX: SOL) and Wesfarmers (ASX: WES) enjoy diversified business models that allow them to perform well through different business cycles. As importantly, both have excellent management teams oriented to the long term. Each management team is also concerned with making sure shareholders receive a good portion of profits. Soul Patts shares pay a fully franked dividend with a yield over 3%, while Wesfarmers shares pay a fully franked dividend with a yield over 4%. Over the long term, it's a recipe for market outperformance.
Looking for another promising ASX stock to add to your portfolio? Discover The Motley Fool's favourite income idea for 2013-2014 in our brand-new, FREE research report, including a full investment analysis! Simply click here for your FREE copy of "The Motley Fool's Top Dividend Stock for 2013-2014."
More reading
- 3 dividend stocks you can buy now
- For growth and dividends, you can't beat this stock
- Don't overlook this promising retail stock
- 3 better buys than Realestate.com or Carsales.com
Motley Fool writer/analyst Catherine Baab-Muguira owns no shares in any company mentioned in this article.
