Never mind about the huge economic uncertainty that casts a shadow over UK share prices in 2021. There are still plenty of brilliant stocks on both sides of the Atlantic that should make equity investors a fortune in the near term and beyond.
Here are two top shares on my own ISA watchlist today:
#1: An American dream
Video gaming is big business. And recent research show that it’s going to get much, much bigger. Developers are spending more and more money to rake it in from their rapidly-growing audiences, with budgets beginning to dwarf many of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters.
Take the latest title from CD Projekt Red as an example. The Polish games developer spent a colossal $330m to bring its much-awaited Cyberpunk 2077 title to life. By comparison Disney spent $275m to make its most recent Star Wars adventure (Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker) back in 2019.
Getting exposure to this fast-growing home entertainment is a brilliant idea for 2021 and beyond, then. And I personally would play this theme by buying shares in New York-listed Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO). This US share’s packed stable of popular games franchises include the evergreen Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. And the planned takeover of British developer Codemasters would boost its catalogue even further.
Today, Take2 trades on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 48 times. Steep on paper, sure. But this is a fair reflection of the huge profits potential of its fast-growing industry.
#2: A top UK tech share
We all know how important good cybersecurity is in today’s internet-driven world. Companies have been spending more and more on protecting themselves and their customers from the growing legion of hackers and scammers. An explosion in online fraud since the Covid-19 outbreak will lead to higher and higher demand for online security services too.
Cyber attacks aren’t just preserved for businesses and individuals of course. State-sponsored cyberwars are becoming a massive problem for major governments as developments this week perfectly illustrate. News has just emerged that several US government departments such as the Treasury, Commerce, and Homeland Security have been subject to huge security breaches since the spring.
US president-elect Joe Biden has subsequently vowed to “elevate cybersecurity as an imperative across the government, further strengthen partnerships with the private sector, and expand our investment in the infrastructure and people we need to defend against malicious cyberattacks.”
All this means that UK shares like Avast (LSE: AVST) can expect bumper trade in 2021 and beyond. This particular IT services provider is one of the biggest cybersecurity companies on the planet. Consequently, it has the scale to ride this huge market opportunity to its fullest. Today, Avast carries a forward P/E ratio of 18 times, a reading I don’t think reflects its exceptional earnings possibilities. I reckon this tech titan, like Take-Two, could make investors a fortune during the 2020s.