![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/8529982422c36aa0fcb5e47792ef0816.jpeg\")
Image source: Getty Images <\/p>\n Image source: Getty Images <\/p>\n
By consistently investing in the best stocks to buy, investors will almost always outperform a savings account over the long run. Yet according to the latest data from Raisin UK, the average British adult still has \u00a39,633.30 sitting in the bank, quietly being eroded by inflation year after year.<\/p>\n
Using a Cash ISA to build up an emergency fund isn\u2019t a bad strategy. But trying to build real wealth this way creates a meaningful and unnecessary opportunity cost. Even the very best ISAs offering up to 5% interest today still fall short of the stock market\u2019s 8% long-term average.<\/p>\n
So, with that in mind, which UK stocks are the experts buying right now?<\/p>\n
AstraZeneca \u2013 the UK\u2019s crown jewel <\/p>\n
Few companies on the London Stock Exchange attract as much institutional conviction as AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN).<\/p>\n
The pharmaceutical giant has transformed itself into a global oncology powerhouse, with blockbuster medicines like Enhertu, Tagrisso, and Calquence driving revenues toward an ambitious $80bn target by 2030.<\/p>\n
Even in 2025, the top line expanded by another 9% to a record $58.7bn. And with 20 Phase 3 trials currently under way, the pipeline powering AstraZeneca\u2019s future growth remains pretty impressive.<\/p>\n
But risks are real. President Trump\u2019s Most Favoured Nation drug pricing push, which aims to tie US prices to cheaper international rates, could meaningfully squeeze AstraZeneca\u2019s most profitable market.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the company is also navigating through an ongoing anti-corruption investigation in China\u2019s pharmaceutical sector. And combined, the group\u2019s position in both of these crucial markets could soon come under pressure.<\/p>\n
Unilever \u2013 the unsung stalwart <\/p>\n
Another top pick from the pros in 2026 is Unilever (LSE:ULVR), which seemingly combines robust growth with solid defensive traits that could help reduce portfolio volatility in an uncertain market environment.<\/p>\n
Under CEO Fernando Fern\u00e1ndez, Unilever is in the middle of its most dramatic transformation in decades.<\/p>\n
Having already spun off its ice cream business in late 2025, the group announced in March 2026 that it would combine its entire food division, which contains brands like Hellmann\u2019s, Knorr, and Marmite, with US spice giant McCormick in a $44.8bn deal.<\/p>\n
What remains will be a pureplay beauty, personal care, and home products business built around Power Brands like Dove, Axe, and Domestos \u2013 categories that carry higher margins and faster structural growth than food.<\/p>\n
However, it\u2019s important to highlight that the McCormick deal hasn\u2019t gone down particularly well with shareholders of both companies. Large-scale mergers are complex and have a habit of incurring lots of unexpected costs. And since Unilever will still retain a 65% equity stake in the newly formed business, weak performance in the future could have knock-on effects.<\/p>\n
Even if the deal goes through as planned, there remains the challenge of consumers potentially trading down to cheaper non-branded alternatives to Unilever\u2019s products, limiting the group\u2019s pricing power \u2013 a key risk to be aware of.<\/p>\n
The bottom line <\/p>\n
No stock is ever without risk, even FTSE 100 titans like AstraZeneca and Unilever and I can\u2019t say they\u2019re \u2018the best\u2019 to buy today. Yet when weighed against their potential long-term rewards, both companies look like potentially top stocks for investors seeking a more defensive way to grow their wealth that could still outperform a savings account in the long run.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why I think both companies deserve a closer look.<\/p>\n
The post With \u00a39,633.30 to invest, are these the best UK stocks to buy now?<\/a> appeared first on The Motley Fool UK<\/a>.<\/p>\n More reading<\/p>\n Zaven Boyrazian has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended AstraZeneca Plc and Unilever. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.<\/a><\/p>\n Motley Fool UK 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Image source: Getty Images By consistently investing in the best stocks to buy, investors will almost always outperform…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6396,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[11153,321,12212,5,12213,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-27522","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"tag-astrazeneca","9":"tag-london-stock-exchange","10":"tag-raisin-uk","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-unilever","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116509523620879429","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27522"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27522\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}