By
Gary Scott

International Investing and Spotting Trends are two proven ways to enhance wealth. On way to spot trends is to look at demographic patterns. For example a January 16, 2006 USA TODAY article quotes Deloitte Touche Consultants as saying that retailers need to quickly change their ways to better capture some of the $1.7 trillion people over 50 spend on goods and services. "Americans older than 65 are the richest of any age segment and have multiple sources of income such as pensions, social security and investments."

Another article, "The New Power Generation-How you'll know when the boomers have lost control of the media" helps understand the power of the Baby Boomer demographics.

This article shows how by sheer force of numbers, boomers quickly forced their cultural references upon the GIU Generation and overwhelmed the post-boomers including Generations X, Y, and Z-from taking cultural control.

To this day the cultural frame of reference in most marketing and product creations remain distinctly boomer.

The article outlines how demographics dictate how long boomer control should remain. While still the largest single generation, the boomers are steadily dying off-or at least going to pasture. They peaked as a percentage of the population in 1980 at 35 percent and currently stand at about 27 percent, or 77 million (the article says self-absorbed) individuals. "But sooner or later, the post-boomers will give them the necessary nudge, push, and shove to sweep their rotting culture (remember I am a Boomer so I did not say this!) from the scene, and references to Beatles tracks will become as irrelevant as references to Mills Brothers songs."

This shift has many investing and business implications so we want to keep our eye on how things change. For example the article points out that boomers don't get and don't particularly care to get video games and rap music.

So watch the media for references to this type of thing. This will be a clue that Boomers are losing their hold over the market place.

The article says "Such references will be a slap at all boomers, who will grab their walkers and storm out en masse for a Don McLean concert." I do not think we Boomers are quite ready for walkers yet, but if we accept that our influence will wane, spot the trends that this shift brings and invest in them, however we walk it will be to our bankers and brokers to pick up some extra profits. Some things to watch for are shifts in headline references. For example many white post-boomers consider the Beastie Boys the Beatles of their generation. If you see a major daily newspaper title a story about a Hollywood star's entourage "Posse in Effect? or see an ad campaign based on the Beasties' song "She's Crafty", then start preparing for the shift! You can read the entire article

We don't have many clues as to what exact changes these demographic shifts will bring to the marketplace. But if we know the shifts are coming and if we remain alert, we?ll pick up on the trends ahead of the pack. This is how to succeed.

Good investing to you!

Gary

P.S. One change from the demographic shift will be that many Boomers will move abroad to a lower cost, higher quality of life. Join us in sunny Ecuador this winter and find out how and where.

Join Merri, Thomas Fischer and me for International Business and Investing Made EZ and learn more about the MultiCurrency Sandwich.

Continue on to the High Andes. For DETAILS on a real estate tour.

Here is a brand new but Adobe rustic style house many of our Boomer readers are buying in Ecuador for $59,000.

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