My Stocks and Shares ISA is packed with FTSE 100 shares I can’t imagine ever offloading. Here are two I expect to make me exceptional long-term returns.
Unilever
Unilever (LSE: ULVR) is the first FTSE index stock I plan to hold until I die. The company owns 400 consumer goods brands that it sells in more than 190 countries. It’s therefore well-placed to capitalise on the world’s growing population.
Take a look at the brand images below. It illustrates the breadth and the unrivalled power of the firm’s product portfolio. This makes the firm a reliable profits generator in good times and bad.
Some 13 of the company’s heavyweight labels generated global revenues north of €1bn in 2021. And some of its established brands continue to grow at rapid paces (sales of Dove soap barged through the €5bn marker last year).
I consider Unilever to be one of the best ‘peace of mind’ stocks out there. The company’s focus on essential food, personal care and household products provides it with excellent earnings visibility, whatever the economic climate.
The business also has massive budgets dedicated to product innovation and marketing. This is what billionaire investor Warren Buffett would describe as an ‘economic moat’. Very few competitors have the balance sheet strength to build their brands on this scale.
And this quality is worth its weight in gold. It allows Unilever to hike prices to boost or defend margins without suffering a significant fall in volumes.
Unfortunately, Unilever is one of the biggest plastic polluters on the planet. But, pleasingly, it is taking steps to improve its eco credentials (it’s aiming for zero emissions from operations by 2030).
As an investor, I must remember that this transition will weigh on profits (and thus its share price) growth. But this isn’t enough to tempt me to sell my shares.
Bunzl
Bunzl (LSE: BNZL) is a FTSE 100 share I can rely on to grow annual earnings nine times out of 10. This explains the company’s exceptional record of dividend growth (they have risen for 29 straight years).
Put simply, Bunzl’s products make the world go around. It sells medical gowns, hard hats, disinfectants, food packaging and disposable cutlery, to name just a few of its wares. And it sells them across 31 countries in sectors including foodservice, healthcare and grocery.
This broad diversification by geography and by sector provides earnings with extra strength. And it gives the company many ways to capitalise on long-term growth in the global economy.
I’m also a fan of Bunzl because of its successful acquisition strategy. It’s made almost 200 bolt-on buys since 2004 and has plenty of financial firepower to continue enlarging the group.
However, an acquisition-led growth strategy can erode shareholder value if it goes wrong. An asset may fail to deliver expected revenues, or costs may shoot past expectations.
But Bunzl’s strong track record of success here helps to soothe my fears. So I plan to always hold this FTSE 100 stock in my portfolio too.
