Is it time to invest in people’s $8.5T investment in themselves?

investmentnews.com:

As a new year approaches, people will once again commit to improve their lives and achieve new goals, but is there value for investors beyond the ‘New Year, New You’ bounce?

Two recent reports suggest that people are investing more in themselves with improvements in their wellbeing and their skills, providing a potential avenue to returns for investors.

First, the global wellness economy, which encapsulates everything you would expect – physical activity, mental health, healthy eating – and some less obvious ones such as real estate, workplaces, and tourism.

According to the Global Wellness Institute, based in Florida, this sector is set for exponential growth in the next few years. In 2019 it was a $4.9 trillion market, but it dipped in 2020 due to pandemic disruption (to $4.4 trillion). However, it is estimated to have grown 27% since then to $5.6 and is forecast to rise at an annual pace of 8.6%.to $8.5 trillion by 2027.

“We are surprised by the resiliency of the global wellness economy, and how quickly it has bounced back from the pandemic. It has exceeded our own expectations and forecasts,” said Katherine Johnston, GWI senior research fellow. “If the pandemic disrupted industry momentum in the short term, it has simultaneously created a dramatic shift in the long-term opportunities and trajectory for wellness.”

In North America alone the market is currently worth 123% of its 2019 value and is now a $1.9 trillion market, bigger than Asia Pacific ($1.7 trillion), and Europe ($1.5 trillion).

Personal care and beauty along with healthy eating, nutrition, and weight loss are sub-sectors worth more than $1 trillion in 2022 while physical activity is close behind with a market size of $927 billion.

Among the wellness