Bellevue Sustainable Healthcare (Lux)

Stock markets in August gave up all the ground they'd gained during the month after Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish speech at the central bank's annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, which left no doubt that the Fed would stick to its more restrictive monetary policy until inflation was back at 2%. He pointed out that the past experience served as a strong warning not to revert to a loose policy stance too early. His words sent bond yields around the world sharply higher and put stock markets further under pressure.

The broad MSCI World Index measured in USD ended the month 4.2% lower. In the US, the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act, which also includes some changes to drug prices, created additional headwinds for individual stocks. In particular, those drug manufacturers that have significant US exposure and own drugs with significant Medicare Part D standard benefits.

Against this backdrop, the healthcare sector gave up more ground than the overall market and closed the month 6% lower. The Bellevue Sustainable Healthcare Fund ended August with a negative return of 6.4% (USD, I shares). Looking at individual positions in the portfolio, Tecan Group (+4.8%, total return in USD) made a solid contribution to the fund performance. The Swiss lab equipment manufacturer presented exceptionally good results for the first half of the year thanks to positive business developments and momentum. Tecan's management expressed optimism and raised its guidance for 2022, citing the continued high order backlog and strong demand. Health insurer Molina Healthcare (+2.9%) also made a positive contribution to performance. The California State Department of Health Care Services awarded five-year contracts under a competitive procurement scheme for commercial managed care plans beginning in 2024. Molina Healthcare scored particularly well in the procurement process, as it was selected to deliver health services in major counties, including Los Angeles. The contracts are part of Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program that provides health coverage to low-income households using state and federal funds. Halozyme Therapeutics (-16.7%) led the list of declining stocks. The US biotech company is specialized in recombinant human hyaluronidase-based drug delivery technology that enables and optimizes subcutaneous drug delivery of biologics. Halozyme Therapeutics reported good quarterly results and raised its guidance for 2022, but profit-taking led its shares lower.

Bellevue's rule-based investment approach, which has been successfully implemented since 2007 and is also mapped by the Adamant Global Healthcare Index, serves as the basis for the fund. A universe with around 600 stocks? ?is compiled from a global pool with over 4000 listed healthcare stocks based on a preselection. As an additional step compared to the conventional methodology, ESG risks of these 600 investable stocks are identified, which could affect the economic value of a company. Here we rely on the longstanding expertise of our research partner Sustainalytics.

In order to get into the fund portfolio, the companies must meet the following criteria: Appropriate ESG risk profile (best-in-class approach), not involved in severe ESG-relevant controversies and comply with the ten principles of the UN Global Compact. In the case of controversial business areas and practices, revenue thresholds are defined for inclusion. The results of the ESG filter application demonstrate that around 40-50% of the titles meet our strict sustainability requirements. The proven factor analysis is then carried out according to four quantitative and four qualitative parameters. The objective here is to select companies that are inexpensive, have strong growth and have an exceptional competitive position so that they can maintain their leading position also in the future.

The analysis results in a portfolio structure consisting of the 40 most sustainable stocks in the healthcare industry, ten of them per region (Western Europe, North America, Japan / Oceania, emerging markets). The application of the eight factors in the past has typically led to a focus on mid cap stocks and an underweight position in pharma and the North America region relative to the MSCI World Healthcare Index. The rebalancing takes place every six months.