Bank of America: Profit From An Aging Population

A recent report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch looked at investment themes for a changing word. One of the areas that the report identified as a source of change is the increasing modern life expectancy. In fact, the number of living people in the world over the age of 60 is expected to double from 841 million in 2013 to over two billion by 2050.
These aging populations will certainly put pressure on global retirement systems. Bank of America predicts that many countries could see an increase in retirement-related costs of up to 50 percent of 2010 GDP by 2050.
However, there is also a positive side to these aging populations, as this demographic will be contributing heavily to the global economy in the future. In fact, the spending power of the age 60-plus population is expected to reach $15 trillion by 2020.
Analysts see three potential ways to invest in this growing population: healthcare-related stocks (treatment of age-related disease), financial stocks (insurance and asset management), and other age-specific product and service stocks (senior living, travel & leisure, and technology).
The stocks that Bank of America recommends as a means to capitalize on the opportunities that will be created by the expanding over-60 population include the following: Capital Senior Living Corp CSU, which provides senior living communities; Cardiovascular Systems Inc CSII, which produces cutting-edge cardiac disease treatment technology; Boston Scientific Corp BSX, producers of interventional cardiology technology; Prudential Financial Inc PRU, providers of retirement fund management services; UBS AG OUBS, which provides wealth management services; Actavis PLC ACT, makers of generic, over-the-counter, and specialty drugs; Metlife Inc MET, which provides life insurance and annuities; and HCA Holdings Inc HCA, the top for-profit hospital company in the country.
Modern healthcare and nutrition has extended the life expectancy of the modern human by many years, and this trend is sure to continue into the future. Though the increased elderly population will place strains on certain parts of the economy, many businesses (and their shareholders) will see huge spikes in demand from this growing consumer demographic.