More than a third of Americans have nothing at all saved for retirement, according to a recent Bankrate.com poll. And the median amount in 401(k) plans is a paltry $18,433, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Fortunately, the U.S. technology sector provides the kind of investing returns Americans need to reach their retirement goals. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 5% this year compared to the 0.84% gain for the Dow.
One of the best ways to build wealth with tech stocks is to focus on those with the potential to double.
Here's how to double your money by 2018 on a small-cap tech stock that taps into an unstoppable trend...
Double Your Money in This "Booming" Sector
This particular double-your-money play gives investors the best of two sectors: tech and healthcare.
Healthcare has been one of the most profitable tech-related investing fields over the last two years. This is despite fears that the Affordable Care Act cost controls would eat into profit margins.
The iShares Dow Jones US Healthcare ETF (NYSE Arca: IYH), a proxy for the whole industry, is up 68% over the last two years. That's nearly double the 35% return of the S&P 500 Index over the same time period.
A wave of mergers and acquisitions is one factor pushing healthcare stocks higher.
But Money Morning Tech Specialist Michael A. Robinson says it's not the biggest tailwind for the sector.
"The United States' aging population remains the biggest driver behind the healthcare industry's forward motion. And that's a trend that can't be affected by the ups and downs of the economy or the whims of federal regulators," he says.
In 2014, health expenditures accounted for 20.6% of total consumer spending, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. That's a record high.
And as the nation's 76.5 million baby boomers age, they will consume more and more medical resources.
This leads us to our double-your-money profit play...
How to Double Your Money on an Unstoppable Trend
Inogen Inc. (Nasdaq: INGN) is a medical technology company that develops, manufactures, and markets portable oxygen concentrators (POCs). These POCs deliver supplemental oxygen therapy to patients with chronic respiratory conditions.
Inogen's breakthrough technology has disrupted its entire sector. You see, the Goleta, Calif.-based company's POCs deliver pure oxygen to patients by removing nitrogen from ambient air.
This is in contrast to traditional oxygen therapy, in which patients depend on tanks filled with a limited supply of oxygen.
Inogen's POCs are lighter and more energy-efficient than portable oxygen tanks and most of its competitors' POCs. And the market for POCs is growing.
The market for oxygen concentrators (which includes the larger home and hospital units) is expected to increase from $242.5 million in 2012 to $1.9 billion by 2019, according to WinterGreen Research.
But with POCs only accounting for 5% of oxygen concentrator sales, Robinson believes Inogen has barely scratched the surface of a rapidly expanding market.
Robinson is bullish on INGN stock for several reasons.
In addition to tapping into the Unstoppable Trend of an aging baby boomer population with growing healthcare needs, Inogen boasts incredible growth.
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It's averaged a 58% growth rate over the last three years. Revenue grew by 605% between 2009 and 2013.
"Companies with the strongest growth rates almost always offer the highest stock returns," Robinson says.
Robinson used his "Doubling Calculator" (or the Rule of 72) to determine how long it will take INGN stock to double in value.
Inogen's earnings per share jumped 50% in Q3 2014. Taking a conservative approach to projecting earnings growth, Robinson cut that figure to 25% over the next five years.
"Dividing the compound growth rate of 25 into the number 72, we find it should take roughly 2.8 years for Inogen's stock to give us 100% gains."
Inogen announced on March 11 that it's delaying the reporting of Q4 and annual earnings over accounting issues. But it didn't change its positive forecast for 2015.
INGN stock has fallen 5.68% since then, but Robinson sees this as a buying opportunity.
"Until that report comes out, other investors are going to be pretty wary of the stock - giving us an opportunity to jump in before it soars," he said. "This is the kind of stock you can count on to provide market-beating returns over the long haul."
INGN stock was trading at about $32.00 a share Wednesday morning. It's up 2% year to date.
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