JOHANNESBURG -
At the rate in which the GDP growth of many major emerging markets is being driven by household spending, the transition from investment-led to consumption-driven economies is increasing rapidly.
The advancement of technology has presented investors with opportunities to capitalise on. Big business is expected to benefit from long-term gains in efficiency, productivity as well as connectivity; commonly referred to as the Industrial revolution. Reports suggest that by 2020 the world will have over 26 billion connected devices – more than three connected devices per person on the planet.
Incremental grown in India and China is anticipated to equate to a market roughly the size of Japan within the next five years.
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Financial advisors at Marriott, a mutlinational company, identified a couple of macro global trends which could amass significant opportunities for the sharp investor. The advisors identified certain stocks which they believe investors should buy and hold onto over the course of the next decade.
P&G, Unilever, Reckitts Benkiser and Nestle own brands like Pampers, Dove, Dettol & Nescafe which are some of the world's sought-after consumer brands. Demands for these products is set to increase substantially over the coming years, considering the rapid growth of household spending within the consuming class.
The world's leading pharmaceutical companies, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi own a significant percentage of the globe’s essential medicines, from cancer treatments to vaccines. The four companies are billed to be major beneficiaries of vast populations globally.
Bitcoin, the worldwide cryptocurrency and digital payment system broke the $8 000 barrier amid speculation over spin-off. This essentially means that one unit of Bitcoin is now valued at more than six times an ounce of gold after tenfold rise since start of 2017.
On the local front, Sibanye Gold, the largest individual producer of gold from South Africa is one of the 10 largest gold producers globally. Goldman sachs, a global investment banking, securities and investment management firm has a buy and hold rating on the mine. Sibanye Gold stocks shot up 20% last week.