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 £9,633.30 sitting in the bank, quietly being eroded by inflation year after year.
Using a Cash ISA to build up an emergency fund isn’t 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’s 8% long-term average.
So, with that in mind, which UK stocks are the experts buying right now?
AstraZeneca – the UK’s crown jewel
Few companies on the London Stock Exchange attract as much institutional conviction as AstraZeneca (LSE:AZN).
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.
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’s future growth remains pretty impressive.
But risks are real. President Trump’s Most Favoured Nation drug pricing push, which aims to tie US prices to cheaper international rates, could meaningfully squeeze AstraZeneca’s most profitable market.
At the same time, the company is also navigating through an ongoing anti-corruption investigation in China’s pharmaceutical sector. And combined, the group’s position in both of these crucial markets could soon come under pressure.
Unilever – the unsung stalwart
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.
Under CEO Fernando Fernández, Unilever is in the middle of its most dramatic transformation in decades.
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’s, Knorr, and Marmite, with US spice giant McCormick in a $44.8bn deal.
What remains will be a pureplay beauty, personal care, and home products business built around Power Brands like Dove, Axe, and Domestos – categories that carry higher margins and faster structural growth than food.
However, it’s important to highlight that the McCormick deal hasn’t 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.
Even if the deal goes through as planned, there remains the challenge of consumers potentially trading down to cheaper non-branded alternatives to Unilever’s products, limiting the group’s pricing power – a key risk to be aware of.
The bottom line
No stock is ever without risk, even FTSE 100 titans like AstraZeneca and Unilever and I can’t say they’re ‘the best’ 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.
That’s why I think both companies deserve a closer look.
