Digitalization has already disrupted many industries such as retail and financials. Healthcare so far has been lagging as inertia of crucial players, and data security concerns have held back swift implementations. There is no doubt, however, that digitalization will have a similarly disruptive impact on healthcare. As a market sector which accounts for about 10% of global GDP or roughly USD 7 trillion, the opportunities for improvements and better efficiency in healthcare are numerous and substantial in size.

A central driver of the healthy living trend is the increasing general health awareness of what is beneficial for health and what is not and the changing consumer preferences that result. For example, with better lifestyle choices, 80 % of cardiovascular diseases and 30% of cancers could be avoided.

“This broad trend presents interesting investment opportunities linked to health promotion, disease prevention and effective treatment of chronic illness”, says Robeco portfolio manager David Kägi.