Outliving our money is a very real concern for most retired persons here in the U.S. but not for most of the world. A big part of the world has life expectancies are half of the USA.
Thirty-six of the 37 lowest ranked countries are in Africa, and the numbers are numbing. Take a look at the chart on your screen now.
A 49-year life expectancy in Chad! That’s incredible! We are over 80.
This is scary stuff, and almost all of it is attributable to food quality, availability and disease. And, as ghoulish as it may sound, these numbers present a huge opportunity for investment, especially for retired persons.
The solutions for these problems lie with the companies that produce food and cure or prevent diseases. We have talked about all of these at one time or another: Merck (NYSE: MRK), Monsanto (NYSE: MON) and Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD).
Gilead has the most effective HIV drugs in the world. HIV is a leading killer in Sub-Saharan Africa and one of the reasons life expectancy is so short.
Merck has one of the only effective tuberculosis vaccines and TB is a major killer in Africa as well.
And, my favorite, Monanto. One of the few companies in the world with an answer for the monstrous food challenges Africa faces. Genetically modified seeds!
The huge challenges Africa and other parts of the world face, and the demands these challenges will place on the companies with the answers, presents one of the best investment opportunities of the next 20 years.
Hunger and disease: they aren’t nice to think about, but an investment in any will make money long term and may just help with the solutions.