We’re less than three weeks away from exiting the Brexit transition period. Yet UK and EU lawmakers remain at loggerheads over how to avoid an economically damaging no-deal Brexit. UK share prices slumped on Friday as talks continued to flounder.
There’s absolutely no reason to stop investing, however. There are plenty of UK shares out there that should, irrespective of how the Brexit saga resolves itself, deliver exceptional shareholder returns in 2021. A huge number of stocks with high exposure to British and European economies — such as those involved in fast-growing markets like e-commerce or cloud computing — should thrive in the near term and beyond, too.
7 top UK shares for a no-deal Brexit
I, for one, plan to keep investing even if a Hard Brexit occurs. Here are seven top FTSE 100 shares I’d buy in my Stocks and Shares ISA to weather a no-deal Brexit:
1) Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser Group
Fast-moving consumer goods (or FMCG) manufacturers like Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser Group are brilliant buys in times like these. Their profits remain stable even during tough economic periods, a quality built on the essential nature of their personal care and household goods products. These particular FTSE 100 shares also benefit from the brilliant brand power of goods like Magnum ice cream and Nurofen painkillers. Customers are prepared to stretch their shopping budgets even during tough economic periods keep loading much-loved labels like these into their trolleys.
2) AstraZeneca and Vodafone Group
The pound had a shocking day on Friday as markets absorbed the possibility of a no-deal Brexit. More weakness can be expected should the UK indeed slip off a cliff-edge on 1 January. Many analysts are tipping sterling to even hit parity against the US dollar in the months ahead. UK share investors can protect themselves from this danger by buying stocks that report in foreign currencies. FTSE 100 pharma stock AstraZeneca reports in dollars, for example, while fellow blue chip and telecoms titan Vodafone Group does its accounting in euros. Companies like this actually receive a boost to profits when the pound sinks on favourable exchange rate movements. This makes them brilliant buys for Brexit Britain.
3) Ashtead Group, Ferguson, and Standard Chartered
The possibility of a prolonged and painful exit from the European Union means that buying UK shares that generate either none, or a small percentage, of overall profits from these shores is a good idea. Fortunately the FTSE 100 is replete with stocks like this. Along with those companies I’ve mentioned above, I’d also choose to buy Ashtead Group. The rental equipment specialist generates 95% of sales from North America with the remainder coming from the UK. Plumbing and heating equipment supplier Ferguson, meanwhile, sources just 1% of profits from British customers. And Standard Chartered creates more than nine-tenths of profit from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.