WS Bellevue Healthcare Fund

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March was yet another positive month for equities, with the MSCI World Index again making new all-time highs during the month. The MSCI World Total Return Index rose 3.2% in dollars (+3.2% in sterling).

In regards to the sector return breakdown we would make the following comments. It was a broader-based rally this time, as compared to February’s AI-led upswing. Nonetheless, NVIDIA accounted for about 80% of the Semiconductor sector’s 7.2% return.

The energy sector led the charge, as oil prices rose to levels not seen since October 2023 on continued tight supply and fears over “Middle-East” supply disruption. Banks have generally recovered on the potential watering down of proposed higher capital buffers and the receding risk of recession.

In a reminder of both the dangers of narrow market leadership and that Technology stocks can actually go down as well as up, the negative performance of the Technology Hardware sector is due entirely to Apple (71% weighting within the sector). The stock fell 5% on concerns over the outlook for the iPhone in China and anti-trust litigation risk in both the EU and the US.

Healthcare
The MSCI World Healthcare Total Return Index rose 2.4% in dollars (+2.3% in sterling), again underperforming the wider market amidst bullish equity sentiment. This is not hugely surprising given the sector’s classically defensive characteristics. A brighter economic outlook/lower risk of recession is not going to directly impact demand for healthcare services.

Healthcare Technology powered ahead on the back of Dexcom rising 21% on excitement over its first over-the-counter device being approved and a less negative than expected patent case ruling regarding competitor Abbott Labs.

Hospitals and Services continue to benefit from signs of improving demand from patients and/or healthcare companies, in particular on the Services side around the apparent re-opening of the follow-on financing window. We have seen a number of smaller companies successfully raise funds in recent weeks and have also seen service providers like contract research providers (CROs) and contract/outsource manufacturers (CDMOs) reporting improved volumes of incoming RFPs.

Whilst inquiries are not the same thing as booked revenues or firm orders, it is a positive sign nonetheless and a leading indicator of improving revenue growth. Just under half of the performance of the Diversified Therapeutics sub-sector came from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

On the other side, the Tools space continues to languish on concerns over slower capital spending by academic institutions and also smaller private companies. On the former, it would seem that whilst the budget of the US government’s National Institutes of Health (NIH), the primary provider of research grants in areas of biomedical and public health research, is set to increase again this year, logjams in Congress (ongoing continuing resolutions or ‘CR’s, rather than a definitive budget signed off by Congress and the President) mean that the organisation can only disperse money conditionally and thus at a lower level (90% of prior year funding).

The fund
In absolute terms, the fund NAV gained 3.4% when measured in sterling. The MSCI World Healthcare Index gained 2.3%. The investment portfolio has 31 holdings.

The Fund is invested in listed healthcare equities focused at the forefront of the rapid evolution of the healthcare sector. We remain of the opinion that, over the next decade, we will see a huge transformation to healthcare globally. The portfolio offers investors the opportunity to gain exposure to the companies driving this revolution.

We always appreciate the opportunity to interact with our investors directly and you can submit questions regarding The Fund at any time via: WSBellevueFunds@bellevue.ch