Many investors are avoiding UK shares at the moment. In some cases, this is understandable. The outlook for London-listed stocks is highly uncertain with the coronavirus crisis and Brexit weighing on investor sentiment.
However, the best time to buy stocks is often when other investors are selling. What’s more, not all UK shares are created equal. Some companies, particularly in the technology sector, are world leaders in their respective fields.
So, I think that buying a basket of these shares today could potentially help you retire rich.
UK shares to buy
Credit rating business Experian (LSE: EXPN) is one of the world’s largest data processing businesses. It’s been managing consumer credit information for decades. This gives it a strong competitive advantage over the rest of the industry because, in the world of data, the more you have, the better.
It would be tough for a competitor to replicate Experian’s data set. It’s growing every single day. This is why I think the stock could help you retire rich. Experian is one of the few UK shares that has a truly global footprint and competitive advantage.
These advantages have helped the group produce healthy returns for investors over the past decade. An investment of £10k in the stock 10 years’ ago would be worth £51k today. As the company continues to dominate the global financial data space, I think these returns can continue.
Market leader
There was one clear blue-chip winner from this spring’s lockdown. That was Ocado (LSE: OCDO). While many other UK shares struggled in the first half of the year, this business prospered.
Demand for the retailer’s services was so high that it had to stop taking new customers for a while. Many companies would kill to have this problem.
Ocado’s critical competitive advantage is its technology. The group owns the tech behind its robotic warehouses, which it’s been licensing to other retailers. The pandemic has exposed one significant weakness in supermarkets’ business models — they need humans to prepare orders.
If a large percentage of the workforce is sick, then they may struggle to fill orders. Ocado’s solution removes this issue. Robots can’t get ill, and they can keep going when the rest of the world is shut down.
Therefore, I think the demand for Ocado’s tech will only increase. As well as this growth, the company should also continue to see rising demand for its home delivery service.
Over the past few years, the retailer has defied all expectations. I reckon it could continue to do so. Nothing is stopping its growth from here. The firm has the money, technology and investor support. Another shutdown could even benefit the retailer.
As such, I think it may be worth adding Ocado to a basket of UK shares today. This tech leader’s growth could only just be getting started.