Australia’s big four banks are still likely to pay out strong dividends even in an economic downturn, and Commonwealth Bank’s share price deserves to trade way above its rivals, says the boss of $7 billion listed investment group Argo.

Managing director Jason Beddow also says that big oil and gas stocks such as Santos and Woodside Energy should be able to deliver strong returns to shareholders over the next 10 to 20 years because policymakers are throttling new investment, which means existing players will be highly profitable in a lengthy energy transition.