Worldwide Healthcare Trust - ‘Innovation, innovation, innovation’ say the managers

Worldwide Healthcare Trust’s (WWH’s) co-managers, Sven Borho and Trevor Polischuk, at global healthcare specialist OrbiMed, are bullish on the outlook for the healthcare industry. They believe that high levels of innovation will be the most important driver of the sector’s performance, although continued robust levels of product approvals and an acceleration in M&A activity are also important considerations. The managers’ successful long-term strategy of favouring emerging (smaller-cap) biotech companies over large-cap pharma companies provided an earnings headwind between early 2021 and mid-2022 as growth stocks were under pressure in a rising interest rate environment. However, performance appears to have turned a corner in recent months and it should be remembered that WWH has significantly outperformed its benchmark since launch in April 1995.