Investing in the future: three megatrends that will shape the markets

If something is clear, it is that investing intelligently requires looking beyond the short term. Investing with a long-term perspective makes it possible to move beyond short-term market noise and focus on the structural forces that truly transform the economy. For this reason, focusing on the key megatrends can be a crucial exercise for our portfolios.

What are megatrends?

Megatrends are sectors expected to drive structural change over the next 10 to 20 years. In other words, they encompass major technological, demographic, social or environmental shifts that unfold over decades and present particularly compelling opportunities for investors.

Identifying them in time and maintaining the investment throughout the cycle can allow participation in the growth of sectors that are redefining entire industries, from artificial intelligence to the energy transition or global digitalization.

Therefore, integrating these underlying trends into our investment strategy not only helps to build more diversified portfolios, but it can also become a source of sustained profitability over time.

What are the main megatrends of the decade?

• Technological revolution and digitalization

Digitalization remains one of the most powerful drivers of economic transformation. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data analytics, or automation are changing the way companies and entire sectors operate.

The adoption of these technologies is accelerating in areas such as healthcare, industry, commerce, and finance, creating opportunities in technology companies and also in traditional companies that are leading their digital transformation.

Artificial intelligence, in particular, is shaping up to be one of the main drivers of technological growth during the next decade. Generative AI continues to attract massive investment; moreover, companies linked to semiconductors, cloud infrastructure, and AI applications have been the main players in the stock market for months.

Considering the importance of this megatrend, the investment fund of Mapfre AM, Fondmapfre Global, has a clear exposure to technology with 21.4% (02/28/2026) of its asset allocation dedicated to this sector.

In 2025, it achieved a return of 12.11%, and when focusing on the medium term, over three years, it obtained an annualized return of 14.67%.

• Energy transition and climate change

The fight against climate change is driving a profound transformation of the global energy system. The electrification of the economy, the development of renewable energies, new storage technologies, and green hydrogen are some of the pillars of this transition.

This trend affects multiple sectors: from energy companies and renewable equipment manufacturers to companies linked to electricity grids, energy storage, or energy efficiency solutions.

For investors, it represents an opportunity to participate in one of the largest industrial investment cycles of the coming decades.

Sustainable investment has consolidated itself as one of the main trends in the financial sector. More and more investors are integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria into their decisions. This involves analyzing factors such as the environmental impact of companies, their labor policies, or the quality of their corporate governance.

In addition to the ethical component, many investors believe that these variables can help identify companies better prepared to face regulatory risks, reputation risks, or energy transition risks.

Aligned with this megatrend, Mapfre AM has two funds: Mapfre AM Good Governance FI and Mapfre AM Responsible Inclusion FI. The first achieved a return of 12.29% in 2025 and a three-year annualized return of 12%. For its part, Mapfre AM Inclusión Responsable FI achieved a return of 7.33% in 2025 and a three-year annualized return of 4.40%.

• Health and biotechnologies

An aging population in major developed economies is generating new needs in areas such as healthcare, healthcare services, or biotechnology.

It's no longer just about living many years, but doing it well as long as possible. Preventive healthcare is also gaining prominence here. It involves the use of technology to identify which segments of the population are more prone to specific types of diseases.

At the same time, rising healthcare spending in many countries and increasing demand for medical services are creating opportunities for pharmaceutical companies, medical technology firms, diagnostic laboratories, and healthcare service providers.

This set of factors positions the health sector as one of the most relevant drivers of structural growth for the markets in the long term.