The deadline by which ISA investors must use this tax year’s allowance is fast approaching. I’m on the hunt for some top UK shares to buy before the 5 April finishing date. Some of them are attractive penny stocks, too, companies whose prices I think could surge during the new bull market.
I don’t know when the new bull market will begin. But history shows that stock markets have always risen strongly as the economic cycle moves from recession and back into growth. I’m confident that the following penny stocks could soar in value during the 2020s. I think buying them today could end up making me a fortune.
#1: The Russian e-revolution
Getting exposure to the e-commerce explosion is a brilliant investment idea in my opinion. I’ve chosen to do this is by buying shares which provide logistics and warehouses services in Britain like Clipper Logistics. I’ve tipped Tritax Eurobox as a buy, too, a property giant which offers the same services on mainland Europe.
I believe that buying Raven Property Group (LSE: RAV) is another great way to play the e-retail boom. This is a penny stock which owns and operates a string of warehousing assets in Russia.
On the one hand, investing in companies operating in Russia can be risky. The country’s economic fortunes are tied very closely to energy prices. And this could be a problem for Raven investors as the world moves towards renewable power sources and away from fossil fuels. Still, I think the rate at which the Russian online retail market is expected to rise over the next few years (at least) still makes this UK property share worthy of serious attention.
The experts at Statista, for example, describe Russia as “one of the major emerging online commerce markets worldwide.” As a result they think e-retail there will more than treble in size between 2020 and 2024, to 7.2trn roubles. It’s a theme which Raven, whose properties are concentrated on the metropolitan areas of St Petersburg and Moscow, is well placed to exploit. Of course, investing in emerging markets brings its own risks, including less stringent regulations, foreign exchange considerations, and political risk.
#2: Another top penny stock
I also think the Nanoco Group (LSE: NANO) share price could soar during the new bull market.
This penny stock manufactures cadmium-free quantum dots and other nano-materials. These are used in the production of displays, advanced electronics, lighting, and biological imaging. Nanoco has well over 700 patents in the fast-growing nano-materials industry, a market which will looks bound to pick up further during the eventual economic upturn.
I also think the new agreement Nanoco signed with microchips giant STMicroelectronics last May is encouraging. The five-year framework agreement will see the penny stock company develop and supply nano-materials for a variety of infra-red sensing applications. Bear in mind, though, that Nanoco is reliant upon a small number of key customers to drive revenues. The loss of a critical US customer a year ago took a huge bite out of billings last year. Losing another client could be bad news for the share price.