If I had a spare $1,000, I would look to put it to work in ASX shares.
After all, although savings accounts are offering improved interest rates, this still doesn't come close to the potential returns on offer in the stock market.
But which ASX shares would be good options for this $1,000? Two that I would seriously consider are listed below:
Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)
I think Altium could be a great ASX share to buy. It is a software company that focuses on electronics design systems for 3D PCB design and embedded system development.
The Altium Designer software is regarded as the best in the industry and is used by leading electronic design teams from companies and organisations such as BAE Systems, Dell, Microsoft, NASA, and Tesla.
The company also has a number of businesses that complement its core offering. These are the NEXUS collaboration platform and the Octopart electronic parts search engine. Business has been booming for the latter recently because of parts shortages.
Altium certainly has come a long way over the last decade, but it still has plenty of growth ahead. For example, in the near term, the company is aiming to achieve US$500 million in revenue by 2026. This is more than double FY 2022's revenue of US$220.8 million. Furthermore, with management aiming to improve its margins over the same period, there's potential for its earnings to grow at an even quicker rate.
And while Altium's shares are not cheap at 68 times trailing earnings, and therefore carry a lot of risk, I still believe they represent good value relative to its growth outlook.
Universal Store Holdings Ltd (ASX: UNI)
Another ASX share that I would invest $1,000 into is Universal Store. It is the fashion retail company behind the eponymous Universal Store brand. It also has the Perfect Stranger brand in its portfolio and recently completed the acquisition of Byron Bay-based fashion brand Thrills.
I think Universal Store is one of the best options in the retail sector right now. Not only are its shares attractively priced at 13 times estimated forward earnings, but the company appears better positioned than most for growth in the current environment.
This is thanks to its target market being younger consumers, which are expected to continue spending in 2023 due to increases in the minimum wage and their lack of exposure to rising interest rates.
