Thematic Investing: The World Is Not Enough

Commodities have had their best start to a year since WWI on the back of continued supply chain disruptions and the ingoing war in Ukraine amongst other drivers. But if you thought this ere of scarcity was only being driven by these issues you’d be sorely mistaken as a recent Bank of America research report points out. Did you know that the weight of human-made stuff exceeded that of natural biomass? That we produce enough plastic to cover the entire Earth’s surface? That if you live in the West you use 57kg of newly mined mineral every day? And Did you know that we will run into some key metals’ deficit in three to four years and reach peak phosphate by the end of the decade? Run out of fresh water in 18 years? Fish and seafood in approximately 25 years? All we have done is mine more, produce and buy more. But a recent research note on the age of scarcity was released by bank of America, which identified 50 companies worth $8tn in market cap, across all regions, that could provide the answers to helping solving some of these resource constraint questions. Michael Avery talks to Martyn Briggs, Director of Thematic Investing and Bank of America Securities