The world’s population is getting older and will continue to do so over the coming decades.

According to data from the United Nation’s World Population Prospects: the 2019 Revision, by 2050, one in six people will be over the age of 65 globally.

In addition to this, the number of people aged 80 years or over is projected to triple from 143 million in 2019 to 426 million in 2050.

Given these huge shifts in demographics, demand for healthcare services is expected to increase materially over the next three decades.

In light of this, I think that investing in the healthcare sector is a smart move.

But which shares should you buy? Sticking with quality seems like the best move in my eyes, which means these three healthcare stars could be the ones to buy today:

Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH)

The first healthcare share to look at buying is Cochlear. I think the hearing solutions company has a very positive long term outlook thanks to its exposure to the aforementioned ageing populations tailwind. This is because as people age, their hearing will generally fade and require some form of assistance. I expect this to lead to increasing demand for hearing solutions products over the next couple of decades.

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

My favourite healthcare share is this biotherapeutics giant. I believe that both its CSL Behring and Seqirus businesses are well-placed to deliver strong sales and earnings growth over the next decade. This is thanks to their in-demand therapies and vaccines and their lucrative research and development pipelines. Within CSL’s current pipeline are therapies that have the potential to generate billions of dollars in sales over the next decade.

Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)

A final healthcare share to consider buying is Ramsay Health Care. It is a leading private healthcare company with a total of 480 facilities across 11 countries. Given its global footprint, I believe Ramsay’s network is well-placed to benefit greatly from the expected increase in demand for healthcare services in the future. This could make it worth looking beyond the short term headwinds it is facing and focusing on its positive long term outlook.

More reading

• How to turn $20,000 into $250,000 in 10 years with ASX shares
• Why I’m desperate to add CSL and 2 other ASX shares to my portfolio in 2020
• Is the Cochlear share price in the buy zone now that it’s down 23%?
• I would buy and hold Kogan and these ASX shares until 2030
• 3 undervalued ASX growth companies to add to your portfolio

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Cochlear Ltd. and CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cochlear Ltd. and Ramsay Health Care Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The likes of Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) weren’t always multi-billion dollar tech companies.

At one stage they were small cap tech shares flying under the radar, just like the ones listed below.

Whether these three shares will follow in their footsteps, only time will tell, but I think they are well worth keeping a very close eye on. Here’s why I like them:

ELMO Software Ltd (ASX: ELO)

The first small cap ASX tech share to watch is this cloud-based human resources and payroll software company. ELMO provides users with a unified platform that streamlines processes such as recruitment, on-boarding, learning, and payroll. It has a sizeable market opportunity in the ANZ market and the potential to expand globally in the future. This is thanks to its platform being jurisdiction agnostic.

Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT)

Another small cap ASX tech share to watch is this healthcare technology company. Volpara’s software uses artificial intelligence imaging algorithms to assist with the early detection of breast cancer. Demand for its software has been growing strongly, leading to the company recently delivering a 172% increase in annual recurring revenue (ARR) to NZ$18 million in FY 2020. This is still only scratching at the surface of an estimated US$750 million ARR opportunity in breast cancer screening.

Whispir (ASX: WSP)

A final small cap ASX tech share to watch is this software-as-a-service communications workflow platform company. It provides an industry-leading software platform that allows users to deliver actionable two-way interactions at scale using automated multi-channel communication workflows. During the first half of FY 2020, its annualised recurring revenue increased 22% to $36.7 million. Pleasingly, the second half looks set to be even stronger thanks to the work from home initiative.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX 200 shares to buy next week
• Where to invest $10,000 into ASX shares next week
• Which shares to buy if the ASX tumbles
• How to become a millionaire in 25 years with $20 a day
• These were the best performers on the ASX 200 last week

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of VOLPARA FPO NZ and Whispir Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Elmo Software. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Elmo Software. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO and Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended VOLPARA FPO NZ and Whispir Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Are these small cap ASX tech shares the next Afterpay or Appen? appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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Unfortunately for income investors, it looks likely to be some time until interest rates return to normal levels again.

In light of this, I continue to believe the share market is the best place to earn a passive income.

But which ASX dividend shares should you buy out of the hundreds on offer? Three that I would buy are listed below:

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)

The first dividend share to look at buying right now is Coles. I think the supermarket giant is a top option due to my belief that it is well-placed to grow both its earnings and dividend at a solid rate during the 2020s. This is thanks to the positive industry outlook, its long track record of delivering same store sales growth, and its cost cutting and automation plans. At present I estimate that Coles’ shares offer investors a fully franked 3.7% FY 2021 dividend.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

Another dividend share that I would be buying is Rural Funds. This property group owns a diversified portfolio of high quality Australian agricultural assets which include cattle properties, vineyards, and orchards. One of the main attractions to the company for me is its long tenancy agreements. With a weighted average lease expiry of over a decade and rental increases built into contracts, Rural Funds appears perfectly positioned to consistently increase its distribution on a yearly basis. This will be the case in FY 2021, with management intending to lift its distribution by 4% to 11.28 cents per share. This represents a 5.4% yield.

Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY)

A final dividend share for income investors to look at is the Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF. I think this exchange traded fund is a great option because it gives investors exposure to a diverse group of high yielding ASX dividend shares through a single investment. This could make it ideal for investors that don’t have enough funds to maintain a truly diverse portfolio. At present I estimate that its units provide a forward dividend yield of at least 4.5%.

More reading

• These 3 ASX ETFs are yet to recover from the market crash
• Australian retail sales up 16.3% in May
• Why the Wesfarmers share is beating the ASX 200
• 3 high quality ASX shares to bolster your retirement portfolio
• 3 high yield ASX dividend shares for income investors

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended RURALFUNDS STAPLED. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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This isn’t a typo. The Brent crude oil price could rocket to as much as US$190 a barrel in 2025, according to JPMorgan Chase.

This might sound like an outlandish call but it will be sweet music to the ears of the shareholders of ASX energy stocks.

While the sector heavyweights have bounced strongly with the rest of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) since hitting the bottom of the bear market three months ago, they are still trading substantially below their pre COVID-19 levels.

ASX oil stocks on cusp of supercycle?

This includes sector heavyweights like the Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price, Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price and Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) share price.

This could be the time to be jumping back into the sector if JPMorgan’s prediction comes through.

The investment bank issued a report back in March saying we were on the cusp of an oil super cycle – but that was before the COVID-19 meltdown, reported CNN.

Probability of surging oil price is rising

But the pandemic, which was one of the key factors that sent the oil price crushing, isn’t putting off JPMorgan. If anything, its analysts are doubling down on its call.

“The reality is the chances of oil going toward $100 at this point are higher than three months ago,” CNN quoted Christyan Malek, JPMorgan’s head of Europe, Middle East and Africa oil and gas research as saying.

That view stands in stark contrast to what’s happened in the oil market. A big drop in demand for crude as the world curtailed activity to stem the coronavirus outbreak is only one factor.

Crude oil price on slippery slope

A price war between major oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia exacerbated the worsening situation and sent the WTI into negative territory for the first time ever in April.

While the oil glut seems to be easing, most do not expect the oil price to move much higher from here. The Brent oil price last traded at US$42.19 a barrel while the WTI price is at US$39.75 a barrel.

But JPMorgan thinks there’s a real chance Brent could surge five-fold in a “bull case” scenario as it sees the oversupplied market swinging into undersupply scenario starting in 2022.

Why oil could surge higher

This isn’t seen as the most probable outcome by the investment bank. All the stars will need to align for oil before it can head towards the US$200 mark and JPMorgan’s base case scenario is for Brent to hit US$60 a barrel instead.

But Malek told CNN that he thinks it’s even more likely now than before COVID-19 that the bull case outcome becomes a reality.

He was bearish on oil since 2013 but is now predicting that a very large supply-demand deficit will emerge in 2022 that could reach 6.8 million barrels a day by 2025.

“The deficit speaks for itself. That implies oil prices will go through the roof,” he said. “Do we think it’s sustainable? No. But could it get to those levels? Yes.”

Investors in oil-exposed ASX stocks will be cheering him on.

More reading

• 3 long-term ASX 200 shares I’d buy right now
• Top brokers name 3 ASX 200 shares to sell next week
• Top brokers name 3 ASX 200 shares to buy next week
• Why the ultra-rich are hoarding gold
• 2 blue chip ASX 200 dividend shares to buy next week

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Chance of oil surging to US$190 is higher now than before COVID-19: JPMorgan appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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Investing for the long-term is the right way to go with S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares.

We just don’t know what the share market is going to do next week, next month or even for the rest of the year. We can hope it’s going to go up in the short-term, but over the long-term share prices are more likely to do well if earnings rise.

So which ASX 200 shares will produce good returns? The bigger the business is, the harder it is to grow at a good pace. The law of big numbers makes it difficult to keep up the growth rate. That’s partly why I don’t want to invest in blue chip shares like Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS).

But you can still find opportunities which are ASX 200 shares which are market leaders in their respective industries with good growth prospects. Here are three ideas:

Share 1: Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP)

Bapcor is the leader in automotive parts in Australia. It provides car parts and it also has a growing truck parts division. Burson and Autobarn are two of the biggest divisions. 

The Bapcor share price was severely sold off during the COVID-19 selloff. It fell 52% between 21 February 2020 and 23 March 2020. Bapcor decided to do a capital raising to strengthen the balance sheet. The ASX 200 share is in a well-capitalised position now.

FY20 year to date revenue to the end of February 2020 was strong with growth of 12.7% compared to the prior corresponding period. However, Bapcor said the trading performance in March was below expectations with revenue growth of 11.5% which includes the benefit of acquisitions but it was offset by the impact of COVID-19 restrictions.

The ASX 200 company’s share price has come storming back as restrictions lift. More people are driving again and this should benefit Bapcor as parts in cars fail in more normal numbers again.

Indeed, Bapcor could actually see more activity as people avoid public transport, using their cars to get around. New car sales are also down heavily, people are more likely to replace car parts than just buy a new car altogether.  

I’m also very excited by the prospect of growth in Asia as more outlets are opened there.

Share 2: Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF)

Challenger is the market-leader of annuities in the country, it turns a retiree’s capital into a guaranteed source of income.

The ageing demographics of Australia is a strong tailwind for the ASX 200 share. The number of Australians over 65 is expected to increase by 32% over the next 10 years and 56% over the next 20 years.

Australia’s superannuation system is also a very powerful factor that should drive Challenger’s future growth. Most employees get a mandatory 9.5% contribution of their wage paid into their superannuation and the long-term tax benefits encourages everyone to add to their super funds.

Challenger currently has a grossed-up dividend yield of 9.5%. The dividend alone should produce decent returns if it’s maintained.

Low interest rates are a problem for Challenger, but hopefully interest rates will go back up again in a few years to a more normal level.

Share 3: Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)

Soul Patts is one of the best long-term ASX 200 shares in my opinion. It’s an investment conglomerate that invests in a variety of different businesses. It has already been going for over a century.

Some of the shares that it’s currently invested are TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM), Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW), Clover Corporation Limited (ASX: CLV), Milton Corporation Limited (ASX: MLT) and Bki Investment Co Ltd (ASX: BKI).

The Soul Patts management team take a long-term, contrarian approach with the investments. I think that means it’s a lot easier to be long-term with this ASX 200 share too.

It’s always looking out for new opportunities to invest in. It recently invested in some agriculture assets and it’s now looking to invest in regional data centres. I think these are two attractive industries. 

Foolish takeaway

Each of these ASX 200 shares looks good value to me. I think they have good prospects over the next five years. In 2020 Bapcor may prove to be the best investment pick at today’s prices. But for the long-term I’d prefer Soul Patts with its diversification and defensive nature.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX 200 shares to sell next week
• Top brokers name 3 ASX 200 shares to buy next week
• Why the ultra-rich are hoarding gold
• 2 blue chip ASX 200 dividend shares to buy next week
• These were the best performers on the ASX 200 last week

Tristan Harrison owns shares of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Clover Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Bapcor, Brickworks, Challenger Limited, Telstra Limited, and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post 3 long-term ASX 200 shares I’d buy right now appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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