The world is aging rapidly, and there are more and more ways to speculate on this theme. Shams Afzal, managing director at Carnegie Investment Counsel, noted that 17% of the U.S. population is now over the age of 65, and that proportion is anticipated to grow higher. And the demographics of that age group is changing. There’s been a “marked jump” in education levels — just 5% of those aged above 65 were degree holders in 1950, much lower than the 29% in 2018, Afzal said, citing Population Reference Bureau statistics. The gender gap by way of mortality has also narrowed, from seven years in 1990 to 5 years in 2017, he said. “The aging population discussion lately has mostly revolved around future challenges to labor productivity and its economic growth implications,” he said. “We see meaningful efforts by corporations large and small, working to boost the quality of life for people on this age group,” Afzal, also a portfolio manager at the firm, told CNBC Pro . CNBC Pro asks expert investors in the area what the emerging trends are and the stocks to purchase. AI, robotics and wearables The aging population stands to achieve significantly from breakthroughs in robotics powered by artificial intelligence, in keeping with Afzal. One example could possibly be a robotic personal assistant, he said, flagging one company to observe: Figure, which is developing a robot able to performing household tasks, conversations and industrial applications. Nevertheless, the company is simply at the enterprise capital stage of financing. On the subject of health care, Afzal also flagged the increasing use of robotics in surgery. He cited studies that show that the need for hip, knee and other joint alternative procedures surge when people reach their late 60s and early 70s. Medical devices firm Stryker is one stock to play the theme, he said. “This can be a large tailwind for Stryker. It’s … positioned to profit from an ageing population in the US and EU and from increasing adoption of robotics in surgeries across the remainder of the world,” he said. Stryker’s surgical robots are “gaining momentum” in knee replacements, and its next generation of robots are expected to tackle the spine, in keeping with Afzal. He said the stock is a “regular double-digit earnings grower” and experiencing healthy backlogs for its products that are “necessities in an operating room.” Pacific Asset Management’s Dani Saurymper also highlighted AI as a chance in the aging theme. Examples include robot-assisted surgery, treatment planning software and virtual nursing assistants, the portfolio manager said. Saurymper manages the Pacific Longevity and Social Change Fund. Arelis Agosto, research analyst at Global X ETFs, said wearables technology is one interesting area to speculate in for the aging theme. “Many chronic illnesses require frequent measuring of vitals, where continuous monitoring via wearable sensors could make a noticeable difference,” she said. Continuous glucose monitors are one example, in keeping with her. They are sensors placed under the skin that measure glucose levels and robotically transfer data to a wise device. Insulin pumps are one other example. They are small wearable devices that deliver insulin to diabetic patients. When used along with continuous glucose monitors, the pump adjusts insulin levels based on the patient’s blood glucose readings, Agosto noted. “We view self-sustaining monitoring and therapeutic systems as the way forward for patient care, though it is especially helpful for elderly patients,” Agosto said. Global X ETFs, a fund management company, offers a method to tap the aging theme through its Aging Population ETF. For those on the lookout for individual stocks, Afzal of Carnegie flagged Abbott Laboratories , particularly its continuous glucose monitoring business — which sells the FreeStyle Libre product. He highlighted it as an “area to observe,” noting that Abbott’s vision is to rework the product right into a “lifestyle wearable sports device that becomes a part of one’s tech ecosystem.” Education Education is one “great example of where multiple longevity themes intertwine,” said Saurymper. About 33% of physicians will probably be 65 years or older by 2030, and industry surveys predict there will probably be a shortfall of 140,000 physicians in the U.S. in 10 years’ time, he said. “As society ages, demand for healthcare professionals will only increase,” said Saurymper. He named one stock to think about on this theme of coaching health-care professionals: Adtalem , a medical and health-care education company. It offers a wide range of health-care programs, including nursing and licensed physician degrees, and should profit from the demand-supply imbalance, he said. Screening and prevention Agosto of Global X ETFs highlighted one recent major trend related to the aging population: the push toward preventative medicine. “The GLP-1 category is an ideal example of the success treatments can see in the event that they have broad reaching potential to assist prevent chronic illnesses,” said Agosto. GLP-1 drugs, originally developed as a treatment for diabetes, is now also getting used for weight reduction. Here’s tips on how to put money into this category. She said that obesity accounts for 80% of the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, which one in every 4 elderly patients live with. “We view the broader shift to enhance the care of chronic illnesses and the increased deal with prevention of such diseases as the single most significant growth driver for the aging population theme,” said Agosto. Inside the screening space, Saurymper likes Hologic , which makes and supplies premium diagnostic products and medical imaging systems. The firm has begun to make use of AI-powered algorithms to expedite mammogram reading times and to boost cancer detection in its image analytic products, he said.