If you're looking for market-beating returns over the long term, then I think the healthcare sector is a great place to start.
This is because there are a number of quality options in the space which look well-placed for strong long term growth thanks to favourable sector tailwinds and their leading products.
Three ASX healthcare shares I would buy and hold are listed below:
CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)
CSL is a biotherapeutics company which I think would be a great long term investment. It is made up of two businesses – CSL Behring and Seqirus. CSL Behring is the global leader in plasma therapies and Seqirus is the second largest influenza vaccines company globally. I believe both businesses are well-positioned for growth over the next decade thanks to their leading products and burgeoning research and development pipelines. Combined, I expect CSL to deliver solid earnings growth for the foreseeable future.
Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)
Another healthcare share to consider with a long term view is Nanosonics. I'm a big for the infection control specialist due to its trophon EPR disinfection system for ultrasound probes and its upcoming product launches. While not a lot is known about these new products, management notes that they have similar market opportunities to the trophon EPR system. If they are anywhere near as successful, they could underpin strong earnings growth for a long time to come.
Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC)
Times have been hard for Ramsay Health Care and things are unlikely to get easier in the immediate term. However, the market already understands this and has priced this into its shares. In light of this, I think now could be an opportune time to make a long term investment. After all, Ramsay's long term outlook looks very positive due to increasing demand for its services globally because of ageing populations and increasing chronic disease burden. In addition to this, I suspect the company could bolster its growth with further acquisitions in the future. All in all, I expect its shares to be market beaters over the next decade or two.
