They largely follow the three megatrends identified as shaping humanity in the coming decades – climate change, biodiversity and human rights. The most important related issues tend to be population growth, rising wealth in the developing world, natural resource scarcity, energy security and attempts to tackle global warming. This type of thematic investing increasingly focuses on the innovation and technology that is providing solutions to these problems.

Themes often emerge out of changes in consumer behavior or external events. For example, the Covid pandemic created a joint theme in health care investing and technology facilitating working from home, while the growth in online finance has brought a subsidiary theme in cybersecurity.