In this article, we will take a look at 14 safe stocks to buy now for a starter stock portfolio.
Global stock markets have continued to struggle as oil prices surged to their highest weekly spike in six years, with no signs of an imminent end to the Middle East conflict. The declines were made worse by steep drops on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes falling roughly 1.1% after European markets closed on March 6.
Nonfarm payrolls unexpectedly declined by 92,000 in February, falling far short of projections for the US to generate 55,000 jobs for the month. The unemployment rate also increased to 4.4%. Notably, this weakening job market and rising oil costs linked to the Middle East unrest have once again sparked concerns about stagflation.
Lauren Goodwin, economist and portfolio strategist at New York Life Investments, described these numbers as challenging. She also added the following:
“With a market that has been digesting risks related to stagflation, higher energy prices, and inflation risks related to the war in Iran, certainly concerns about where the labor market may be going with respect to AI … this is only going to reinforce those positions.”
The overall market sentiment remains cautious, with investors keeping an eye on shifting events in the current conflict and their possible implications for international trade, supply chains, inflation, and monetary policy projections.
Source:unsplash
Our Methodology
For this list, we sifted through ETFs, such as the iShares S&P 500 ETF, and picked blue-chip stocks with low beta (<1) and robust businesses, making them ideal for a starter stock portfolio. These stocks are also popular among analysts and elite hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
14. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) ranks among the 14 safe stocks to buy now for a starter stock portfolio. On March 6, Tigress Financial Partners boosted its price target for McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) to $385 while upholding a Buy rating on the company’s shares. The firm referenced the company’s multi-year growth strategy, which uses its global brand, unit scaling, digital and loyalty framework, AI-driven efficiency, and franchise model to increase sales and income.
McDonald’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 statistics indicate value-driven traffic and franchise development, while the Caviar campaign boosts brand engagement. The company announced EPS of $3.12 for the quarter, exceeding the forecast of $3.03 by 2.97%. Revenue also surpassed forecasts, coming in at $7.01 billion versus $6.81 billion, representing a 2.94% surprise.
Tigress Financial added that McDonald’s Accelerating the Arches growth driver is powered by its digital creativity and loyalty scale.
McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) operates one of the largest foodservice networks in the world. Its business is divided into the US, International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets & Corporate segments.
