According to Jeff Bezos, founder of retail giant Amazon, business is slowing for many companies today, with layoffs occurring almost every day in all sectors of the economy, which means many investors will want to reduce risk, Yahoo writes.

“If you’re considering buying a big-screen TV, you might want to wait, hold on to your money and see what happens,” the billionaire recommended. – The same is true for a new car, refrigerator or anything else. Just take some risk out of the equation.”

Bezos highlighted 3 areas that are well protected from recession:

1. The utility sector – these are companies that provide electricity, water, natural gas and other vital services to consumers’ homes and businesses. This sector is uninteresting in itself, but it is recession-proof: no matter what happens to the economy, people will still need to heat their homes in the winter and turn on the lights at night. It is also worth noting that building the infrastructure needed for gas, water or electricity is quite expensive, and the whole industry is highly regulated by the government. This sector is also known for paying reliable dividends. The best utility stocks are those of the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (PCX:XLU).

2. Healthcare is a classic example of a defensive sector because of its lack of correlation to the ups and downs of the economy. It also offers great potential for long-term growth due to favorable demographics, especially an aging population, and lots of innovation. Healthcare ETFs can provide both a diversified and lucrative way to access great returns. In particular, one might consider the Vanguard Health Care ETF (PCX:VHT), which gives investors broad exposure to the health care sector. Investors can also look at the iShares Biotechnology ETF (NGM:IBB) and the iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF (PCX:IHI).

3- Real estate – While its presence on this list may seem counterintuitive at first glance, thanks to the fact that mortgage rates are rising, real estate has been able to show its resilience in times of rising interest rates. According to the investment management company Invesco, there were 10 different years between 1978 and 2021 when the federal funds rate went up. During those 10 years, private real estate in the U.S. outperformed stocks and bonds 7 times and public real estate 6 times. Today there are many real estate investment trusts (REITs) as well as crowdfunding platforms.