Are you looking for your first ASX share to buy? It can be a daunting task. You might have a dozen people telling you their 'hot picks'. You might have no-one giving you advice at all, which would make investing seem even more intimidating.
Luckily, you've come to the right place! Here at The Fool, we love helping beginners out just as much as (perhaps even more than) those who are a little more advanced.
So, here are two ASX shares which I think would make great first investments.
BetaShares Australia 200 ETF (ASX: A200)
This share is actually an Exchange Traded Fund (or ETF) – meaning instead of being one company, it holds a whole bunch of them. Two hundred of the largest companies in Australia to be precise.
That means if you buy shares in the A200 ETF, you are really buying exposure to the likes of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) and Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) alongside 195 others.
Think of it like being sick on the day of a test and just getting 'the average mark'. That's the kind of return an ETF like this offers. It won't make you super rich, but this kind of investment is really a long-term bet on the Australian economy and should continue to give you a decent return over the long run.
A200 is also one of the lowest-cost ETFs available, with a management fee of just 0.07% per annum (or 70 cents for every $100 invested each year) – which is why I think it is a great 'first share' to buy.
Magellan High Conviction Trust (ASX: MHH)
Magellan High Conviction Trust is an ASX Listed Investment Trust (LIT) that invests in mostly US companies that its management team sees as most capable of outperforming in the future.
This trust operates in a similar way to an ETF like A200 but instead of 'buying the whole market', you will only get the companies that management selects as being 'the best in the world' (their words). At the current time, MHH has large positions in names like Microsoft, Facebook, Alphabet and Visa (all companies you've probably heard of already).
These are the companies that shape the world around us in our modern age, and I think Magellan High Conviction Trust is a great way for a beginner to get access to a slice of the action.
