Who wouldn’t welcome the opportunity to invest in risk-free stocks? Regrettably there isn’t a single company whose stock is completely safe; even the most well-established companies can fall prey to the volatility of the market. However, what can be said with certainty is that some stocks are a lot safer than others. If a company’s numbers are in good shape and it manages to keep its business going even during tumultuous times such as those encountered during a recession, then odds are it’s a safer investment. With all this in mind, let us now take a glance at 6 safer stocks in which you can invest.
1. The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is the very definition of ‘conglomerate’. If there’s a company that’s really consolidated its power, it’s Disney. Theme parks, characters, movie franchises – this is generally what they’re known for. Disney also owns Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar, ESPN, ABC and the following streaming services: Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu. Despite the challenges of the past year and a half, Disney has maintained a healthy share price thanks to Disney+ and its shift in focus to a direct-to-the-consumer strategy.
2. Proctor & Gamble
The company that gave us the best crisps in the world – Pringles – is a multinational consumer goods corporations. P&G has had its fingers in almost every pie and is the parent company to household staples like Gillette, Old Spice and Pampers. The company likely has one of the most diverse portfolios having even gone as far as producing popular television shows. P&G are so consistent that they’ve increased their dividends for 64 years in a row.
3. AstraZeneca
It would be hard to talk about safer stocks without talking about big pharma. AstraZeneca PLC develops and makes commercial prescription medication in the fields of neuroscience, infection, metabolism and oncology to name but some. This British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company is one the major stocks to buy on FTSE100 indices found on the London Stock Exchange.
4. Starbucks
Who hasn’t heard of Starbucks. It’s on every corner, in the movies we watch and it even makes coffee capsules. Due to the broad scale of its global operations, it’s got a pricing power over its rivals, meaning it can charge more for its coffee while paying less for its raw materials. Despite the hardships of the past year and a half, the company’s global footprint marches on.
5. Apple
Outside of making tech products that are high in quality and lovely to behold, Apple’s most enduring strength is its loyal customer base which it’s nurtured by encapsulating all its products into an Apple ecosystem. This means that Apple products work best with each other and that once customers have converted to Macs and iPhones, they remain faithful. Throw in the fact that Apple continues to ship millions of units and command premium prices and you have a company’s whose stock is consistent and a safer bet than most.
6. Berkshire Hathaway
Non-cyclical businesses tend to do well in most economic climates as their performance is not strongly tied to the fluctuations that most economies are prone to. Berkshire Hathaway is a conglomerate consisting of roughly 60 subsidiaries including a number of non-cyclical businesses like battery manufacturer Duracell. Berkshire also has an impressive stock investment portfolio consisting of fellow-safer-stock holders like Coca-Cola, Bank of America and Apple to name but some.