March 8: This Week's Thematic Reads
Ripped from the headlines confirmation for our models and strategies
Aging Population
Senior housing—the spectrum of residential solutions aimed at people over age 65—is a sector associated with many needs. By 2050, the world is expected to have 1.6 billion people in this age cohort, more than double the number in 2021. Read more here
The number of people with Parkinson’s disease will more than double by 2050, driven by the aging of the global population, a new study suggests. In all, 25.2 million people will be living with Parkinson’s by 2050… Read more here
Artificial Intelligence
McDonald’s is the latest fast-food restaurant to use artificial intelligence to step up its game. The fast-food giant is overhauling all 43,000 restaurants with an AI makeover in an attempt to cut wait times and make a better experience for both customers and employees. Read more here
According to a December survey of restaurant operators and financiers by TD Bank, 42% said AI and automation will have the greatest impact on the restaurant industry in 2025. That’s second only to lower interest rates, at 46%. Read more here
GenAI is delivering impressive returns for CFOs. The report showed that as of December, nearly 90% of surveyed CFOs reported a “very positive” ROI from the technology, a sharp increase from just 26% in March 2024. This dramatic shift underscores the growing confidence in GenAI’s ability to deliver measurable value. As CFOs see tangible improvements, the use of GenAI has expanded across a broader range of business functions. Read more here
Cash-Strapped Consumer
Two of America’s largest retailers, Target and Best Buy, warned Tuesday that prices will increase following President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported goods from Mexico, Canada and China. Target’s CEO said the price increases could happen a lot sooner than you think. Read more here
Looking ahead, firms expect both cost and price increases to move higher in 2025. Moreover, year-ahead inflation expectations have risen from 3 percent last year at this time to 3.5 among manufacturing firms and 4 percent among service firms… Read more here
Ongoing tariff threats from Washington and potentially sweeping government job cuts have darkened consumers’ mood and may be weighing on an otherwise mostly healthy economy. Data released Wednesday showed that consumers slashed their spending by the most since February 2021, even as their incomes rose. Read more here
Cybersecurity
Japanese telecommunication services provider NTT Communications Corporation (NTT) is warning almost 18,000 corporate customers that their information was compromised during a cybersecurity incident. The data breach was discovered in early February 2025, but the exact date when the hackers gained initial access to NTT's systems hasn't been determined. Read more here
Microsoft has taken down an undisclosed number of GitHub repositories used in a massive malvertising campaign that impacted almost one million devices worldwide… After analyzing the campaign, they discovered that the attackers injected ads into videos on illegal pirated streaming websites that redirect potential victims to malicious GitHub repositories under their control. Read more here
Data Privacy & Digital Identity
Deputies of Elon Musk have sought access to massive amounts of information across the federal government, much of it personal and highly revelatory in its insights into the lives of everyday Americans. They justify their work for the U.S. DOGE Service as a dogged quest for government efficiency. But people with deep knowledge of federal data systems and cybersecurity say they’re skirting guardrails meant to protect sensitive data from misuse. Read more here
Taiwan is set to launch a national digital wallet that will hold its citizens’ digital ID, certificates, licenses and other personally identifiable information by the end of 2025. Read more here
Identity has become fragmented, and customers are increasingly interested in unified platforms that deliver integrated security outcomes before, during, and after authentication. Identity investments have become more strategic with the security buyer front and center. Read more here
Digital Infrastructure
According to a recently published report from Dell'Oro Group, the trusted source for market information about the telecommunications, networks, and data center industries, worldwide data center capex is projected to surpass $1 trillion by 2029. Read more here
Based on market research from Bloomberg Intelligence, total spending on AI inference/fine-tuning, AI workload monitoring, and training infrastructure, including AI servers, AI storage, training compute, cloud workloads, and networking, will reach approximately $399 billion by 2028. Read more here
Luxury Buying Boom
The Prada Group on Tuesday posted double-digit growth for the fourth consecutive year, bucking the luxury sector slide amid talk of a possible Versace acquisition. The group, which owns the Prada and Miu Miu fashion brands along with Church’s footwear, reported a 17% boost in revenues to €5.4 billion last year - from €4.7bn in 2023. Read more here
Louis Vuitton — no longer content to produce merely handbags, clothes, watches, jewellery, shoes, perfumes and chocolate — will soon introduce a new category, or “métier”: cosmetics. Luxury’s largest brand by revenues, which reached an estimated €21.9bn last year, has tapped British make-up artist Pat McGrath as creative director of the new venture, which will launch this autumn in 116 Louis Vuitton stores with 55 lipsticks (for the Roman numeral LV), 10 lip balms and eight eye shadow palettes. Read more here
Nuclear Energy & Uranium
The nation’s first new reactors in three decades were completed last year in Georgia. Plans are in the works to reopen closed reactors in Michigan, Iowa, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. And President Trump has pledged to fast-track permits for new kinds of small modular nuclear reactors that are still being developed. Read more here
Recent shifts in policy, technology, and geopolitics have set the stage for unprecedented demand for nuclear energy—energy that’s abundant, reliable, clean, economical, and secure. With 31 countries across the world now signatories to a declaration to triple nuclear capacity by 2050, demand for nuclear power has never been greater. Nuclear’s resurgence has been best exemplified over the past two years by its emergence as the chosen technology for companies looking to power large artificial intelligence (AI) data centres. These tech companies—large energy users that are committed to climate action—have come to see nuclear energy as the most credible answer to their need for continuous clean electricity. Read more here
Safety & Security
European leaders agreed to significantly boost defense spending to ensure Europe’s security and voiced near-unanimous support for Ukraine at an extraordinary meeting on Thursday, after the United States dramatically pulled back its assistance to the continent in a historic upending of transatlantic relations. Read more here
China on Wednesday increased its defense spending by 7.2% this year, the same growth rate as in the prior two years, as Beijing seeks to “firmly safeguard” its national security. In an official government report due to be released in parliament, China proposed a national defense budget of 1.78 trillion yuan ($244.99 billion) for the 2025 fiscal year. Read more here
The Strategies Behind Our Thematic Models
Aging of the Population - Capturing the demographic wave of the aging population and the changing demands it brings with it.
Artificial Intelligence – Software, chips, and related companies that facilitate the collection and analysis of large data sets and autonomous generation of solutions given non-machine language prompts.
Cash Strapped Consumers - Companies poised to benefit as consumers stretch the disposable spending dollars they do have.
CHIPs Act – Capturing the reshoring of the US semiconductor industry and the $52.7 billion poised to be spent on semiconductor manufacturing.
Cloud Computing – Companies that provide hardware and services that enhance the cloud computing experience for users, such as co-location, security, and edge computing.
Core Holdings – Companies that reflect economic activity and are large enough to not get pushed around by day-to-day market trends. Low-beta, large-cap names able to better withstand economic turmoil.
Cybersecurity - Companies that focus on protecting against the penetration of digital networks and the theft, ransom, corruption, or destruction of data.
Data Privacy & Digital Identity - Companies providing the tools and services that verify authorized users and safeguard personal data privacy.
Digital Infrastructure & Connectivity - Companies that are integral to the development and the buildout of the infrastructure that supports our increasingly connected world.
Digital Lifestyle - The companies behind our increasingly connected lives.
EPS Diplomats - Profitable large capitalization companies proven to produce above-average EPS growth and provide investors with the benefit of multiple expansion.
EV Transition - Capturing the transition to EVs and related infrastructure from combustion engine vehicles.
Guilty Pleasure – Companies that produce/provide food and drink products that consumers tend to enjoy regardless of the economic environment and potential long-term health hazards associated with excessive consumption.
Homebuilding & Materials – Ranging from homebuilders to key building product companies that serve the housing market, this model looks to capture the rising demand for housing, one that should benefit as the Fed returns monetary policy to more normalized levels.
Market Hedge Model – This basket of daily reset swap-based broad market inverse ETFs protects in the face of market pullbacks, overbought market technicals, and other drivers of market volatility.
Nuclear Energy & Uranium – Companies that either build and maintain nuclear power plants or are involved in the production of uranium.
Luxury Buying Boom - Tapping into aspirational buying and affluent buyers amid rising global wealth.
Rebuilding America - Turning the focused spending on rebuilding US infrastructure into revenue and profits.
Safety & Security – Targeted exposure to companies that provide goods and services primarily to the Defense and security sectors of the economy.
Space Economy – Companies that focus on the launch and operation of satellite networks.
The Strategies Behind Our Dividend Income Models
Monthly Dividend Model – Pretty much what the name indicates – this model invests in companies that pay monthly dividends to shareholders.
ETF Dividend Model – High-yielding ETFs that provide a range of exposures from domestic equities, international equities, emerging market equities, MLPS, and REITs.
ETF Enhanced Dividend Model – A group of high-yielding ETFs that utilize options to enhance yield through collecting option income.
Don’t be a stranger
Thanks for reading and if you have a suggestion for an article or book we should read, or a stream we should catch, email us at info@tematicaresearch.com. The same email works if you want to know more about our thematic and targeted exposure models listed below.