Most Popular
1. It’s a New Macro, the Gold Market Knows It, But Dead Men Walking Do Not (yet)- Gary_Tanashian
2.Stock Market Presidential Election Cycle Seasonal Trend Analysis - Nadeem_Walayat
3. Bitcoin S&P Pattern - Nadeem_Walayat
4.Nvidia Blow Off Top - Flying High like the Phoenix too Close to the Sun - Nadeem_Walayat
4.U.S. financial market’s “Weimar phase” impact to your fiat and digital assets - Raymond_Matison
5. How to Profit from the Global Warming ClImate Change Mega Death Trend - Part1 - Nadeem_Walayat
7.Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast 2024 - - Nadeem_Walayat
8.The Bond Trade and Interest Rates - Nadeem_Walayat
9.It’s Easy to Scream Stocks Bubble! - Stephen_McBride
10.Fed’s Next Intertest Rate Move might not align with popular consensus - Richard_Mills
Last 7 days
Stock Market Brief in Count Down to US Election Result 2024 - 3rd Nov 24
Gold Stocks’ Winter Rally 2024 - 3rd Nov 24
Why Countdown to U.S. Recession is Underway - 3rd Nov 24
Stock Market Trend Forecast to Jan 2025 - 2nd Nov 24
President Donald PUMP Forecast to Win US Presidential Election 2024 - 1st Nov 24
At These Levels, Buying Silver Is Like Getting It At $5 In 2003 - 28th Oct 24
Nvidia Numero Uno Selling Shovels in the AI Gold Rush - 28th Oct 24
The Future of Online Casinos - 28th Oct 24
Panic in the Air As Stock Market Correction Delivers Deep Opps in AI Tech Stocks - 27th Oct 24
Stocks, Bitcoin, Crypto's Counting Down to President Donald Pump! - 27th Oct 24
UK Budget 2024 - What to do Before 30th Oct - Pensions and ISA's - 27th Oct 24
7 Days of Crypto Opportunities Starts NOW - 27th Oct 24
The Power Law in Venture Capital: How Visionary Investors Like Yuri Milner Have Shaped the Future - 27th Oct 24
This Points To Significantly Higher Silver Prices - 27th Oct 24
US House Prices Trend Forecast 2024 to 2026 - 11th Oct 24
US Housing Market Analysis - Immigration Drives House Prices Higher - 30th Sep 24
Stock Market October Correction - 30th Sep 24
The Folly of Tariffs and Trade Wars - 30th Sep 24
Gold: 5 principles to help you stay ahead of price turns - 30th Sep 24
The Everything Rally will Spark multi year Bull Market - 30th Sep 24
US FIXED MORTGAGES LIMITING SUPPLY - 23rd Sep 24
US Housing Market Free Equity - 23rd Sep 24
US Rate Cut FOMO In Stock Market Correction Window - 22nd Sep 24
US State Demographics - 22nd Sep 24
Gold and Silver Shine as the Fed Cuts Rates: What’s Next? - 22nd Sep 24
Stock Market Sentiment Speaks:Nothing Can Topple This Market - 22nd Sep 24
US Population Growth Rate - 17th Sep 24
Are Stocks Overheating? - 17th Sep 24
Sentiment Speaks: Silver Is At A Major Turning Point - 17th Sep 24
If The Stock Market Turn Quickly, How Bad Can Things Get? - 17th Sep 24
IMMIGRATION DRIVES HOUSE PRICES HIGHER - 12th Sep 24
Global Debt Bubble - 12th Sep 24
Gold’s Outlook CPI Data - 12th Sep 24

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

How to Protect your Wealth by Investing in AI Tech Stocks

The Biggest Investment Trends of Our Lives

Companies / Investing 2013 Apr 07, 2013 - 06:23 PM GMT

By: Investment_U

Companies

Jason Jenkins writes: Have you heard the news? The ever-evolving world of science, scarce resources and population explosion will alter the world we live in by 2030. In 18 years there will also be a shift in the balance of global power.

This new landscape will be the catalyst for an unprecedented acceleration of political and economic change – so says the U.S. intelligence community. But the question is: Should we change the way we invest in the future?


Alternative Worlds
The National Intelligence Council (NIC) released a report in December titled “Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds.”The study reflects the combined findings of all the U.S. intelligence agencies, plus input from noted scholars, institutions, politicians and other countries.

The report presents four possible scenarios for “rapid and vast geopolitical changes” and four “megatrends” that will steer these scenarios.

Here are those megatrends:

•The end of a single-polar world characterized by U.S. global dominance.
•The rising power of individuals versus state power.
•The rise of the middle class that will challenge governments.
•A growing scarcity of water, food and energy.

If you look at our history, such things as technological advances, wars and exploration have shaped our civilization’s development and advancement. But according to NIC Counselor Mathew Burrows – who was the main author of the report – the next 25 years will see us shaped by the following: “the growth of the middle class, wider access to new technologies, shifting economic power, aging populations, urbanization, growing demand for food and water and U.S. energy independence.”

The Major Findings?
An older population

In a lot of developed countries, the combination of people living longer and the decline in fertility rates has resulted in populations in which a growing number of citizens are over the age of 65.

There is an expectation that these “older” countries will see slower GDP growth rate. Basically, developed countries will find themselves dealing more with the burden of increased funding for programs similar to Social Security and/or pensions.

A rapidly growing global middle class

Burrows writes about a new demographic phenomenon called the “youth bulge.” The 2030 report deals a lot with what happens when this explosion of youth – as The Jeffersons‘ theme song would say – starts moving on up.

Currently the middle class consists of about 1 billion people across the globe. By 2030, that number could double or even triple. The most rapid growth will occur in India, China and other Asian countries.

An expansion of the middle class of this scale translates into a never-before-seen world of extraordinary consumption. This in turn will put a lot of pressure on our natural resources. Burrows warns the global demand for food, water and energy will increase by 35% over the next two decades.

The rise of urban areas… again

It seems this game changer has happened many times over our recorded history. However, the phenomenon has never happened so quickly and with as much consequence. There will be internal migrations from rural areas to the cities – especially with this rising middle class. So much so that the report says by 2030, 60% of the Earth’s inhabitants will live in urban areas.

If we add mass urbanization to population growth, we put a real strain on real estate (the availability of housing and construction materials for the growing populace) and energy.

The East and other players making their moves

The report also forecasts that there will be a power shift from the United States and Europe to Asia.

The East’s gross domestic product, military spending and investment dollars in technology will surpass the West’s. Even before 2030, it is projected China will surpass the U.S. economically.

Also, look for more traditional regional players like Colombia, Nigeria and Turkey to become more of a force internationally.

How Should This Report Affect My Portfolio?
Be careful how you implement the ideas in the report. The study is based on a good foundation, but remember… things happen.

Mr. Burrows many times warns against “black swan” events that could debilitate the world economy, like “the collapse of the euro and the European Union, a pandemic, a Chinese economic collapse, a nuclear war or a massive cyberattack.”

So throwing your entire portfolio into Asia just because the report says Asia is going to make a run is not a prudent investment strategy.

But it seems there will be some problems that the entire world will have to address going forward – and here lies the opportunities.

Water
Water may be the next super commodity. The myriad of issues surrounding the notion of getting water to a growing population is not just a problem for the folks abroad. We have issues here at home.

One of our problems is we’ve had water infrastructure for a long time. But we haven’t done a good job of maintaining it.

The American Society for Civil Engineers reports there are somewhere around 700,000 to 800,000 miles of public sewer mains in the United States. On top of that maze, there are over a million miles of drinking water systems – and many of those pipes date back over a century ago.

It’s also been recently noted that pipes account for about 80% to 85% of all wastewater system investment requirements here in the States.

And, of course, the problem is becoming more critical around the globe. Let’s go back to the report. It is believed that annual global water requirements will reach 6.9 trillion cubic meters in 2030. That number is 40% above what is now considered sustainable water supplies.

And leaders around the globe are starting to realize something needs to be done.

Last year, the Saudis announced they would invest $133 billion into water and power projects. Keep in mind that water means more than just sewage and clean drinking water. Industry is ahead of the residential and agricultural sectors when it comes to water usage.

The problem takes on new light when you see the need for water in the shale-gas production process in dry areas like West Texas and the Middle East.

If you want to dabble in one of the great “global trends” of the next two decades, here are some focused water ETFs. These funds give investors exposure to drinkable water, treatment and filtration processes, and equipment and new technologies:

•First Trust ISE Water Index Fund (NYSE: FIW)
•Guggenheim S&P Global Water Index ETF (NYSE: CGW)
•PowerShares Water Resources Portfolio (NYSE: PHO)

Good Investing,

Jason

Source : http://www.investmentu.com/2013/April/the-biggest-investment-trends-of-our-lives.html

by , Investment U Research

http://www.investmentu.com

Copyright © 1999 - 2013 by The Oxford Club, L.L.C All Rights Reserved. Protected by copyright laws of the United States and international treaties. Any reproduction, copying, or redistribution (electronic or otherwise, including on the world wide web), of content from this website, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of Investment U, Attn: Member Services , 105 West Monument Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 Email: CustomerService@InvestmentU.com

Disclaimer: Investment U Disclaimer: Nothing published by Investment U should be considered personalized investment advice. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized investment advice. We expressly forbid our writers from having a financial interest in any security recommended to our readers. All of our employees and agents must wait 24 hours after on-line publication or 72 hours after the mailing of printed-only publication prior to following an initial recommendation. Any investments recommended by Investment U should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

Investment U Archive

© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.


Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in