Health-Care Investors Prosper When Markets Quiver

After six years of serenity, buying stocks turned treacherous in 2018. Growth in China, the U.K. and the rest of Europe slowed amid global trade disruptions triggered by Britain’s planned departure from the European Union along with U.S. President Donald Trump’s disdain for multilateral agreements and his embrace of tariffs. Rising interest rates made Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell Trump’s favorite whipping boy, even when he paused from tightening credit after the market plummeted on fears of a looming recession. Amazon.com Inc. more recently accelerated its tumble from a trillion-dollar market capitalization.

For investors, that’s been a lot to unpack, and some of the most influential among them stopped trying during the biggest price fluctuations since 2012. It turns out that there’s a sanctuary whenever market tribulations strike. That would be health care, the only industry with consistently stellar returns in times of exceptional volatility.