Polar Capital Global Healthcare Trust plc (the "Company"): The Company is an investment company with investment trust status and its shares are excluded from the Financial Conduct Authority’s (“FCA”) restrictions on the promotion of non-mainstream investment products. The Company conducts its affairs, and intends to continue to conduct its affairs, so that the exemption will apply.
The Company is an Alternative Investment Fund under the EU's Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive 2011/61/EU as it forms part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
The Investment Manager: Polar Capital LLP is the investment manager of the Company (the "Investment Manager"). The Investment Manager is authorised and regulated by the FCA and is a registered investment adviser with the United States' Securities and Exchange Commission.
Key Risks
- Investors' capital is at risk and there is no guarantee the Company will achieve its objective.
- Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance.
- The value of investments may go down as well as up.
- Investors might get back less than they originally invested.
- The value of an investment’s assets may be affected by a variety of uncertainties such as (but not limited to): (i) international political developments; (ii) market sentiment; and (iii) economic conditions.
- The shares of the Company may trade at a discount or a premium to Net Asset Value.
- The Company may use derivatives which carry the risk of reduced liquidity, substantial loss and increased volatility in adverse market conditions.
- The Company invests in assets denominated in currencies other than the Company's base currency and changes in exchange rates may have a negative impact on the value of the Company's investments.
- The Company invests in a concentrated number of companies based in one sector. This focused strategy can lead to significant losses. The Company may be less diversified than other investment companies.
- The Company may invest in emerging markets where there is a greater risk of volatility than developed economies, for example due to political and economic uncertainties and restrictions on foreign investment. Emerging markets are typically less liquid than developed economies which may result in large price movements to the Company.
Important Information
Not an offer to buy or sell: This document is not an offer to buy or sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security, and under no circumstances is it to be construed as a prospectus or an advertisement. This document does not constitute, and may not be used for the purposes of, an offer of the securities of, or any interests in, the Company by any person in any jurisdiction in which such offer or invitation is not authorised.
Information subject to change: Any opinions expressed in this document may change.
Not Investment Advice: This document does not contain information material to the investment objectives or financial needs of the recipient. This document is not advice on legal, taxation or investment matters. Prospective investors must rely on their own examination of the consequences of an investment in the Company. Investors are advised to consult their own professional advisors concerning the investment.
No reliance: No reliance should be placed upon the contents of this document by any person for any purposes whatsoever. None of the Company, the Investment Manager or any of their respective affiliates accepts any responsibility for providing any investor with access to additional information, for revising or for correcting any inaccuracy in this document.
Performance and Holdings: All data is as at the document date unless indicated otherwise. Company holdings and performance are likely to have changed since the report date. Company information is provided by the Investment Manager.
Benchmark: The Company is actively managed and uses the MSCI All Country World Index/Healthcare as a performance target. The benchmark is considered to be representative of the investment universe in which the Company invests. The performance of the Company is likely to differ from the performance of the benchmark as the holdings, weightings and asset allocation will be different. Investors should carefully consider these differences when making comparisons. Further information about the benchmark can be found at: www.mscibarra.com.
Third-party Data: Some information contained in this document has been obtained from third party sources and has not been independently verified. Neither the Company nor any other party involved in compiling, computing or creating the data makes any warranties or representations with respect to such data, and all such parties expressly disclaim all warranties of originality, accuracy, completeness, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose with respect to any data contained within this document.
Country Specific Disclaimers
United States: The information contained within this document does not constitute or form a part of any offer to sell or issue, or the solicitation of any offer to purchase, subscribe for or otherwise acquire, any securities in the United States or in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation would be unlawful. The Company has not been and will not be registered under the United States Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”) and, as such, the holders of its shares will not be entitled to the benefits of the Investment Company Act. In addition, the offer and sale of the Securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). No Securities may be offered or sold or otherwise transacted within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of U.S. Persons (as defined in Regulation S of the Securities Act). In connection with the transaction referred to in this document the shares of the Company will be offered and sold only outside the United States to, and for the account or benefit of non-U.S. Persons in “offshore- transactions” within the meaning of, and in reliance on the exemption from registration provided by Regulation S under the Securities Act. No money, securities or other consideration is being solicited and, if sent in response to the information contained in this document, will not be accepted. Any failure to comply with the above restrictions may constitute a violation of such securities laws.
Further Information about the Company: Investment in the Company is an investment in the shares of the Company and not in the underlying investments of the Company. Further information about the Company and any risks can be found in the Company’s Key Information Document, the Annual Report and Financial Statements and the Investor Disclosure Document which are available on the Company's website, found at: https://www.polarcapitalglobalhealthcaretrust.co.uk
Fund Manager Commentary As at 31 January 2025
Market and sector review
The new year started favourably for global equity markets, with data continuing to point to a resilient US economy. The view that the new US administration’s agenda should be supportive for businesses drove a risk-on investment environment. The communication services and finance sectors continued to perform strongly, thanks to robust corporate earnings, while information technology struggled after it emerged that a Chinese company managed to develop a much cheaper AI model than those from US technology giants.
Counterintuitively, healthcare was the second-best performing sector in the month, perhaps helped by the rotation away from stocks that were seen as beneficiaries of AI-driven capital investments. Within healthcare, healthcare information technology, services and equipment saw strong returns in the month, while pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and supplies lagged the broader healthcare index.
Early in January, we attended the JP Morgan Global Healthcare Conference in San Francisco which gave us the opportunity to interact with a large number of companies. From the various conversations, it was clear that healthcare remains out-of-favour for a number of reasons including resilient macroeconomic prospects, underwhelming 2024 earnings, a lack of M&A activity and political uncertainty. It was the latter topic that received the most interest during the discussions at the conference, with the key question being what the impact of the new US administration will be on the sector. Investors’ attention was firmly on the possible consequences of sweeping tariffs on China and other markets, cuts to government-sponsored research budgets, drug-pricing reform and the upcoming change in leadership at the US Department of Health and Human Services. Despite these concerns, we came away with conviction in the strength of the sector’s fundamentals: heightened healthcare utilisation post-pandemic is seen as a durable trend thanks to demographics and patient activity, the demand for solutions to tackle unmet medical needs remains high and the industry’s innovation engine continues to deliver positive outcomes.
Fund performance
The Company’s NAV increased 6.5% in January, behind its benchmark, the MSCI All Country World Daily Net Total Return Health Care Index, which was up 7.0% for the month.
Positive contributors relative to the benchmark in January were Merck Group, Sandoz Group and Danaher.
The Fund benefitted from owning neither Merck Group nor Danaher, with the former struggling due to concerns about the near-term commercial potential for the company’s vaccines franchise in China. Danaher’s disappointing performance in the month was a result of lower than anticipated guidance for FY25, with the company’s diagnostics division the primary drag. There was no thesis-changing news for Sandoz Group in January with the company appearing to benefit from increasing enthusiasm for its biosimilar portfolio, especially in the US.
Negative contributors in the month were Terumo, AbbVie and UCB.
There was no news during the period for Japanese medical device company Terumo although we do note that a number of Japanese companies have had a challenging start to 2025. AbbVie was a case of investment timing, having exited the position just before a robust set of FY24 results and encouraging FY25 guidance. There was no news for UCB in January, possibly suffering from profit-taking after a very strong 2024.
We added positions in Abbott Laboratories and Globus Medical.
Abbott Laboratories disclosed strong FY24 financial results and a positive outlook for 2025 underpinned by a broad set of growth drivers. Coupled with an attractive valuation, its risk/reward feels skewed to the positive. Globus Medical is a medical device company with a specialisation in the field of musculoskeletal implants. Operating in an area of medicine where penetration is low, its portfolio should drive attractive top-line growth, with good cost control and deal synergies driving faster profit growth. The positions were funded by exits from AbbVie, Legend Biotech and RxSight.
Outlook
Healthcare has had a strong start to the year, in both absolute and relative terms, with a solid start to earnings season offering near-term confidence in the industry’s fundamentals. US politics may well generate headlines that create short-term volatility that could present interesting, medium-term investment opportunities.
James Douglas
James studied medicinal chemistry and has worked in healthcare, in sales, research and fund management, throughout his career
Gareth Powell
Gareth worked at a pharmaceutical company and in academic laboratories before setting up the healthcare team in 2007
Historical Fact Sheets