With hundreds of shares to choose from on the ASX share market, building an ASX share portfolio with confidence is a hard thing for many investors to do. We can do our own research until the cows come home, but it sure helps to get a headstart by considering ASX 200 shares named by other experts to get started.
So with this in mind, it's time to check out five ASX 200 shares that brokers at Macquarie have just recommended to their clients as buys.
Brokers like Macquarie can run 'model portfolios' of shares to help guide clients in building a portfolio. According to reporting in The Australian this week, Macquarie has just dramatically rejigged its model portfolios in light of the broker's belief that next year will see the US economy go into recession.
As such, Macquarie's team has "swung to backing defensive stocks, arguing risks are too high for a range of stocks that did well from the first phase of the rate rises this year".
The ASX 200 shares that Macquarie has decided to ditch in this light include Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ), Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN), Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT), and Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (ASX: TAH).
The broker has also put a few more shares on its 'reduction' list. These include National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS).
So which ASX 200 shares does Macquarie actually like right now?
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Macquarie names 5 ASX 200 shares for clients' portfolios
Well, the broker names five.
There is Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), for starters. Macquarie likes CBA as a "quality choice within the banking sector" and a better alternative to ANZ.
Then there's ASX 200 toll road operator Transurban Group (ASX: TCL), viewed as a defensive share and 'bond proxy' with a reliable income stream.
APA Group (ASX: APA), an owner of gas pipelines, is the third ASX 200 share, selected for similar reasons to Transurban.
Next, we have ASX Ltd (ASX: ASX), the operator of the Australian Securities Exchange. This is despite the recent woes with the company's failed blockchain alternative to the CHESS system.
Finally, Macquarie has named Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA), an ASX 200 packaging company that specialises in bottling and canning.
So those are the ASX 200 shares that Macquarie is currently recommending its clients build an ASX share portfolio around. Make of them what you will.
