The 3 Investments on the MFM Team's Radar

In this segment from Motley Fool Money, host Chris Hill asks Fool senior analysts Andy Cross, Matt Argersinger, and Ron Gross to give us the lowdown on some companies that caught their attention recently. But only two picked were individual equities this time around: CME Group (NASDAQ: CME), operator of the world's largest futures and options exchange; and creative software publisher Adobe Systems (NASDAQ: ADBE). The third Fool had his interest piqued by an ETF -- namely, the iShares MSCI China (NASDAQ: MCHI) Index Fund.

A full transcript follows the video.

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This video was recorded on Sept. 7, 2018.

Chris Hill: All right, let's get to the stocks on our radar. Our man behind the glass is going to hit you with a question. Ron, you're up first. What are you looking at this week?

Ron Gross: I got CME Group, ticker CME. Operates the world's largest futures and options exchange. They're in a great position to either innovate or acquire assets to grow. They take a little toll for every transaction that goes across their platform. Institutions managing risk, derivatives are more important than ever, which is good for their business. They pay a 3.6% yield, including a special dividend that they typically pay on an annual basis. Trading volumes are skyrocketing. The business is strong.

Hill: Steve, question about CME Group?

Steve Broido: Your biggest options fail whale and your biggest win, Ron?

Gross: Wow! I haven't traded options in a long time, but I have, in the old days, rode options all the way to zero and lost a ton of money on some healthcare stocks. And then, I believe, back in the day, I made my most money on Pepsi Cola call options.

Hill: Andy Cross, what are you looking at this week?

Andy Cross: Adobe reports earnings next week. The stock's been on fire. It's up almost 50% this year. The maker of software solutions for really creative types -- writers, artists, illustrators, photographers. They make Photoshop and Acrobat, Illustrator. They're really doing really well across all their businesses, especially as they've pushed aggressively to the cloud. It's been a massive win for them. I want to see if they can continue to grow all of their businesses north of 20%, or at least close to it.

Hill: And the ticker symbol?

Cross: ADBE.

Hill: Steve, question about Adobe?

Broido: Who's their biggest competitor currently?

Cross: You think about different software providers they may have, they compete against the big ones, Google and the likes. But as far as owning that space, when you think about who they are serving with the creators, there's not very many. They've done a really good job locking up that space.

Hill: Matt Argersinger, what are you looking at?

Matt Argersinger: I'm going with not a stock but an ETF.

Gross: Is that allowed?

Argersinger: Ron. This is the iShares MSCI China ETF. Ticker MCHI. We talked about JD.com earlier in the show. I know there's some very specific problems for that company. But really, across the board, Chinese stocks have just been clobbered. If you look at the main Chinese stock indexes, like the Shanghai and the Shenzhen, they're down more than 25%. Definitely in a bear market.

I like this ETF. It's a simple way, I think, to play a rebound in China. You've got Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu actually make up 30% the ETF, which is high. But I look at all three of those companies, and I think they're very cheap, given the growth in the platform. But also, the rest of the 70% is nicely diversified across China. An easy, diversified way to play a rebound in China.

Hill: MCHI, Steve.

Broido: When I look at ETFs, how many stocks need to be in a basket that is an ETF? Roughly.

Argersinger: It really varies, Steve. You can have an ETF that can have as little as 15 stocks in it, or some ETFs have hundreds. I think, once you get to 15 or 20, you're pretty well diversified, and that should be just fine for investing in a basket.

Hill: Steve, three tickers. Do you have one you want to add to your watch list?

Broido: We use a ton of Adobe products here. I'm a shareholder, as well. I go with Adobe.

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Andy Cross owns shares of PEP. Chris Hill has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Matthew Argersinger owns shares of GOOG and BIDU. Ron Gross owns shares of GOOG and BIDU. Steve Broido owns shares of Adobe Systems, GOOGL, and GOOG. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Adobe Systems, GOOGL, GOOG, BIDU, CME Group, and TCEHY. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.