The silver economy: five sectors poised to prosper 

By Joss Murphy on 27 August 2026 in Specialist investing

People are living far longer these days. One in six will be at least 60 years old by 2030, while the number aged 80-plus will triple to reach 426 million within 25 years*.

Global life expectancy has increased dramatically due to improvements in sanitation, nutrition and medicine, although many spend their last decade in relatively poor health. But what do changing population statistics mean for investors? Here are five sectors expected to make bumper returns from an ageing world.

Healthcare

This is the most obvious beneficiary. Trillions of dollars are spent every year on global healthcare, including hospital stays, medical services and pharmaceuticals. The US leads the way with an average annual spend of $14,775 per person (£10,830), followed by Switzerland at $9,963 (£7,302) and Germany’s $9,365 (£6,864). The UK spends around £4,966 per person**.

Of course, healthcare is a very broad area with numerous sub-sectors. One of the most attractive is the pharmaceutical industry, which discovers, develops, and sells drugs and vaccines. A great way to access this area is the Polar Capital Global Healthcare Trust. It’s a unique portfolio that focuses on pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical tech and other healthcare services. Its holdings include drug giants such as Eli Lilly, known for treating diabetes and obesity; Roche, a specialist in oncology and infectious diseases; and Argenx, which is involved in immunology***.

You can also get pure exposure to biotech. One to consider is the International Biotechnology Trust, which focuses on companiesdeveloping innovative medicines and therapies. Its managers invest in companies of various sizes, from established global leaders to smaller firms with promising drug pipelines.

Property

There’s increased demand for hospitals, care facilities and housing. According to UBS, senior living stands out as a “scalable, resilient, and socially impactful” investment opportunity****.

This is great news for providers such as Welltower. It is an S&P 500-listed company that focuses on rental housing for seniors in the US, UK and Canada. The stock is held by the Cohen & Steers Diversified Real Assets fund^. This combines attractive returns with a degree of inflation protection. The portfolio invests in global real estate, global natural resources, global listed infrastructure and commodities through equities and other investments.

There’s also the TM Gravis UK Listed Property fund. Its manager, Matthew Norris, has just over 15% allocated to the ageing population trend^^. These holdings include Target Healthcare REIT, which leases buildings to care home operators, and Primary Health Properties, which has large exposure to GP surgeries and medical centres^^. We really like this fund and remain confident that the experienced, high-quality team at the helm will help deliver long-term outperformance.

Wealth management

Living longer means people need their assets to work harder. This means getting advice on pensions, investments, insurance, and tax planning. For example, Americans aged 55 and older control an estimated $124 trillion. That accounts for a remarkable 73% of total wealth in the US^^^. There’s plenty of scope for asset and wealth managers to expand with tailored products and services for this growing demographic, according to Morgan Stanley.

Financials is the largest sector weighting (27%) in Fidelity Special Values. Its largest holdings include pension provider Aviva^, which alongside Age UK recently launched a scheme to help savings last a lifetime^^^^. The trust, which aims for capital growth from unloved UK companies, also holds banks such as Standard Chartered, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest and AIB Group^.

Silver technology

Technology firms are booming – and they haven’t overlooked so-called ‘AgeTech’, which encompasses digital products, software and hardware designed for older adults. The 50+ demographic is expected to spend more than $120 billion on technology by 2030*^, so it makes sense that companies will be tailoring products for them. This includes wearables that track vital signs and remote care systems that can monitor daily habits and sound the alarm if they spot any changes.

Unsurprisingly, US giant Apple is a major player in this area. Their Apple Watch features a fall-detection feature that can connect users to emergency services. The company is one of the largest holdings in the Allianz Global Hi-Tech Growth fund^^. This fund invests in high-growth companies with proven business models.

Samsung is another player. The South Korean company is embedding AI across its products to support safety, health and security. It’s one of the biggest holdings in the Federated Hermes Asia ex Japan Equity fund^. Its manager, Jonathan Pines, actively invests in out-of-favour stocks with the potential to outperform.

Leisure time

Not every person of advancing years is in poor health. Many want adventure in later life, and there are plenty of companies to meet their needs. Cruises have long been popular among the older generation. Carnival and Royal Caribbean Cruises are two of the largest operators in this sector.

Carnival has been a holding in the IFSL Marlborough Multi-Cap Growth fund**^, which takes an unconstrained approach to investing in small, medium and larger companies. Royal Caribbean, meanwhile, has been held by Capital Group New Perspective***^. This fund invests in multinationals that can benefit from transformational changes in the global economy.

It’s not just cruising. International Consolidated Airlines, which operates British Airways and Iberia, among others, can provide access to the world for older travellers The company is one of the largest holdings in the Artemis UK Select fund^, a high-conviction, multi-cap UK equity fund managed by the experienced Ed Leggett. We believe this fund, which embraces a high-conviction approach, stands out as one of the premier UK equity funds due to its impressive track record.

*Source: World Health Organisation, 1 October 2025
**Source: Health Tracker System, data to end of 2024, currency conversion at 24 August 2026
***Source: full holdings at 30 June 2026
****Source: UBS Asset Management, 17 September 2025
^Source: fund factsheet, 31 July 2026
^^Source: fund factsheet, 30 June 2026
^^^Source: Morgan Stanley, 26 November 2025
^^^^Source: Aviva, 15 July 2026
*^Source: World Economic Forum, 5 May 2025
**^Source: interim report, 20 September 2025
***^Source: interim reroot, 31 March 2026