The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is home to 200 of the largest listed companies in Australia.
While I don't think all shares on the benchmark index are buys, there certainly are a good number of quality options for investors to choose from.
Two top ASX 200 shares that I would buy are listed below:
Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)
The first ASX 200 share to buy is Ramsay Health Care. Although trading conditions are likely to remain tough because of the pandemic and its impact on elective surgeries, I expect it to return to form once the crisis finally passes. After which, I believe Ramsay is well-positioned for growth over the long term due to increasing demand for healthcare services because of ageing populations and increased chronic disease burden.
In addition to this, Ramsay's management team has a track record of making value accretive acquisitions. I suspect there will be further acquisitions in the coming years that expand its footprint into new markets and drive further growth.
Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)
A second ASX 200 share to buy is this cloud-based business and accounting software platform provider. Over the last few years Xero has evolved from being an accounting solution to a full service small business solution allowing users to run their businesses more smoothly and efficiently. This has supported strong subscriber growth over the last few years, leading to Xero finishing FY 2020 with 2.285 million subscribers. This was up 26% year on year.
Pleasingly, despite the pandemic's impact on small businesses, Xero's subscriber numbers have continued to grow in FY 2021 and stood at 2.38 million in August. The good news is that this is still only scratching at the surface of its overall market opportunity. In light of this and the quality of its software, I believe it still has a very long runway for growth over the next decade.
