, which makes a range of medical devices and markets generic products such as infant formulas Similac and PediaSure., which has $49-million in AUM and also holds those four companies.U.S. hospital employment statistics show staffing is improving, a trend that began last fall. Mr. Aeta speculates this may be due to better pay, incentives to return and more normal workloads.
Mr. Aerta notes that within the health care space, medtech is the best-performing group this year. The S&P 500 Health Care Equipment & Supplies Industry index is up 4 per cent, while the S&P 500 Health Care index is down 2 per cent. Mr. Aeta says health care is a defensive investment less exposed to the cyclical ups and downs of the business cycle. In good and bad times, people need hip and knee replacements and pacemakers.
For investors, that means steady growth, recession resistance and secular kind tailwinds for an aging demographic. Emerging markets growth is another energizer.