If I had $5,000 to invest today, my first choice would be ASX shares. And my 3 best picks would be Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) shares.
Why? Well, I'm not really in the mood to buy gold or bitcoin, and $5,000 won't get me much in the way of property. Plus, with interest rates near zero, the money isn't going anywhere but backwards sitting in the bank.
That leaves ASX shares as the best option. So here's why I would pick these shares for a $5,000 investment this week.
Macquarie shares
With the big 4 ASX banks demonstrating high volatility and minimal income potential these days, I think a better bet is the ASX's 'fifth bank', Macquarie. Although this ASX financial does offer conventional banking products like loans and bank accounts, its real business lies in asset management and investment banking.
That gives Macquarie a lot less direct exposure to the economy than a bank like Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), which I think is a useful characteristic to have in these uncertain times. It also sets up Macquarie for a lot of growth in the years ahead, as its performance over the past decade can attest to.
On current prices, Macquarie shares are offering a trailing dividend yield of 3.7%.
Zip Co shares
This ASX share is a little more speculative but has been making investors very happy of late. Zip Co is the 'underdog' of the buy now, pay later movement which always seems to be in the shadow of its arch-rival Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT). However, this company is growing rapidly in its own right and its share price is up more than 400% since mid-March.
Zip Co is in the middle of a powerful tailwind towards cashless payments and has been making all the right moves of late. I would happily invest $5,000 in this company today on the confidence that it will be a lot bigger in a few years' time.
Wesfarmers shares
In my opinion, Wesfarmers is one of the steadiest and safest shares on the ASX. It owns a staggering portfolio of some of Australia's most well-known retail brands, including Kmart, Bunnings, Officeworks, and Target. It also owns a ~5% stake in Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) as well as various other industrial side-hustles.
Wesfarmers might not be as cheap today as they have been in the not-too-distant past, but I still think this company offers a solid long-term investment case at current prices. You can expect a trailing dividend yield of 3.69% from Wesfarmers shares today, which also comes fully franked.
