Three ‘unstoppable’ trends (and how to invest in them)

• The best shot at finding sturdy investment growth is to identify long-term, “unstoppable trends” that can ignore market noise and remake entire industries. And AI is one of those
• Investing in the digital payment ecosystem rewards you with exposure to powerful network effects created by systems that are too “sticky” and essential for consumers to abandon
• The key investment opportunity in the nicotine pivot is in the transition leaders who successfully pivot stable nicotine demand away from traditional combustion products toward next-generation reduced-harm alternatives.

It may seem counterintuitive, but the flashiest investment stories rarely lead to the greatest long-term returns. Although most of the financial world fixates on the daily noise and volatile market swings, the biggest wins come from recognizing long-term shifts – the subtle, powerful forces that fundamentally reshape how we live, work, and spend.

Capital Group – one of the world’s biggest asset managers – refers to these things as “unstoppable trends”. Basically, they’re what happens when a new technology or behavior is so much better than what came before that it relentlessly steals market share, year after year. That's where the real, durable growth lives.

I dug into the fund’s latest analysis and pulled out three major trends they see transforming everyday life right now – and I added some helpful, actionable takeaways that will help you take advantage of their view. Our goal isn't to react to the past, but to get invested in the future before everyone else catches on.

1) The rise of intelligent systems

AI is no longer a futuristic concept: it’s powering more and more of our everyday lives. The introduction of OpenAI’s ChatGPT was the spark, but the structural shift is happening in the infrastructure that supports it.

Tech giants like Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), Google (Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL)), and Meta Platforms Inc Class A (NASDAQ:META) are pouring hundreds of billions into chips, data centres, and power grid upgrades. This spending isn't hype – it's necessary capital deployment by cash-rich companies building the foundation for the next economic era. This infrastructure is what will allow AI to spread, bringing new efficiencies to everything from medicine and manufacturing to transport and programming.

And your investing takeaway

The key is to look up and down the value chain. The high-profile chipmakers and software providers often command sky-high valuations, but the true multiyear cycle is in the essential picks and shovels needed for the buildout. That means investing in things like:

• The groundwork. Companies like Sterling Infrastructure Inc (NASDAQ:STRL) and United Rentals Inc (NYSE:URI) prepare the land and supply the heavy machinery for massive data center campuses.
• The engine room. Equipment providers such as Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), Vertiv Holdings Co Class A (NYSE:VRT), Eaton Corp (NYSE:ETN), Cummins Inc (NYSE:CMI), EMCOR Group Inc (NYSE:EME), and Powell Industries Inc (NASDAQ:POWL) supply the generators, electrical controls, and advanced cooling systems needed to keep servers running safely and efficiently.
• The power grid. Firms like Quanta Services Inc (NYSE:PWR) and Johnson Controls International Registered Shares (NYSE:JCI) help expand the necessary grid capacity and manage the sophisticated internal cooling and automation systems.

By investing across the whole infrastructure ecosystem, you gain exposure to the enormous AI spread without making an all-or-nothing bet on a single tech giant.

2) The wallet that lives on your phone

The world is seeing a major migration from physical cash to digital payments – and it's likely a one-way street. Once a consumer or merchant adopts a digital method, they rarely go back.

This “stickiness” creates a powerful network effect: every new user expands the revenue potential for the network with minimal added cost. That’s why payment companies consistently generate attractive profit margins, outperforming traditional financials as spending shifts to e-commerce and as cash-dominant economies digitize.

And your investing takeaway:

This trend offers a blend of durable growth and resilience. You want exposure to the indispensable players who own the financial rails and the platforms built on top. That means:

• The foundation. Global payment networks like Visa Inc Class A (NYSE:V) and Mastercard Inc Class A (NYSE:MA) are the essential rails connecting billions of people and millions of vendors.
• The platforms. Firms like PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) and Block Inc Class A (NYSE:XYZ)'s Square/Cash App leverage these rails to help small businesses move online and facilitate everyday peer-to-peer transactions. And at the more speculative edge, companies such as Coinbase Global Inc Ordinary Shares - Class A (NASDAQ:COIN) are building the infrastructure that could one day support more mainstream use of crypto assets.
• The integration. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) Pay and Google Pay embed payments directly into the devices people already use, making them an inseparable part of folks’ daily habits.

The principle is simple – it’s a bet on the systems that are deeply embedded, secure, and indispensable to how money flows.

3) The addictions that don’t go away

Not all unstoppable trends are digital – some are habitual. Right now, a big behavioral and regulatory shift is changing how people consume nicotine worldwide. Smoking volumes have fallen, thanks to health awareness, but global demand for nicotine is still massive.

This creates an unusual dynamic for investors: a huge, stable revenue pool that is migrating, rather than disappearing. Companies that successfully lead this transition – from highly harmful combustion products to alternatives with a potentially reduced harm profile – can benefit from strong pricing power and maybe some lower long-term lawsuit risk.

And your investing takeaway

In terms of your portfolio, this is a selective value-plus-transition opportunity. The key here is to carefully pick your stocks, looking for businesses with a clear, credible path to change up their product mix, distribution scale, and customer loyalty. They break down into two categories:

• The innovators. Companies like Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE:PM) and British American Tobacco (LSE:BATS) are aggressively investing in these alternatives, such as Philip Morris’s iQOS heated-tobacco devices and next-generation vapes.
• The diversifiers. Other firms, including Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) and Swedish Match (owned by Philip Morris), are striving for market share in new, non-combustible categories like oral nicotine pouches.

Sure, the industry has its own blend of ethical considerations and regulatory risks, so you’ll want to size your investments carefully and balance them against other long-term growth themes. But if the migration away from old-school smoking continues, the companies that adapt fastest could really light up – delivering durable cash flows and returns on capital.

Theodora Lee Jospeh is an analyst at finimize.

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