Thursday, August 20, 2009

Investing for the really long-term (or, profiting from baby boomers)

I was checking my portfolio today, and, other than rejoicing that I am back in the green overall, I noticed that my best single investment was in Sunrise Senior Living Inc. (SRZ), with a gain of 500 %!

This, of course, is by no means average, and you should not be able to reproduce it (I bought it at 37 cents per share). However, the basic principle, of investing in companies or indices that will benefit from the ageing baby boomers, is, I believe, a sound long-term strategy.

What other broad sector indices could you buy:

- Powershares Dynamic Leisure ETF (PEJ)
- iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index Fund (IBB)
- iShares Dow Jones US Healthcare Sector Index Fund (IYH) (although, in the short term, might show some volatility based on the health sector reform plans).
- Dow Jones US Healthcare Providers Index Fund (IHF)
- Market Vectors Gaming ETF (BJK) (can't quite figure out why seniors love casinos so much).

This CNBC article picks up on the topic, recommending, for example "Ventas [VTR] and Senior Housing Properties Trust [SNH], both of which are real estate investment trusts weighted toward nursing homes". They also recommend Starbucks and Barnes and Noble, as "Baby boomers also will seek out casual leisure places".

1 comment: