Looking for profits in eye care will pay off for investors

Vision care may not sound exciting, but it is an enormous market expanding quickly as ageing populations require more – and increasingly sophisticated – treatments, says Matthew Partridge.

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The eyes may be the windows to our soul, but they are also a route to riches. Spectacles have been around since the late 13th century, and there are references to eye surgery in ancient texts. But we now spend more than ever before on seeing better. According to multinational opticians GrandVision, eyewear alone accounts for $130bn in spending, with further billions devoted to surgical devices, drugs and vision aids. With the overall market growing by 5% a year, any firm that can grab a slice of the action should flourish.

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri