Bellevue AI Health

Global stocks delivered another good return in June (MSCI World Net Index +4.3%). Stock rose as geopolitical tension eased. Meanwhile lower-than-expected inflation readings in the US pushed down bond yields. 10-year US Treasury yields declined by 17 bps to 4.2%. Lower bond yields gave growth stocks in particular a boost but weakened the US dollar again (DXY dollar index -2.5%). Against this backdrop the defensive, both the non-cyclical healthcare sector (MSCI World Healthcare Net +1.4%) and Bellevue AI Health Fonds (+1.4%) performed as expected. 

Exposure to biopharma (51.9% weighting at the end of the month) contributed +0.4% to the fund’s absolute performance and +0.1% to its relative performance. Regeneron (+7.1%), Novartis (+5.9%), Eli Lilly (+5.7%), Merck (+4.0%) and Pfizer (+3.2%) made positive contributions to performance, while Daiichi Sankyo (-12.6%), Zoetis (-7.5%) and AstraZeneca (-3.8%) were detractors. Regeneron bounced back after reporting negative trial data for its key pipeline product (itepekimab for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Novartis is making good progress with its R&D pipeline and made some positive remarks about business in the second quarter. Updates on diabetes/obesity therapies at the ADA (American Diabetes Association) conference cast a spotlight on Eli Lilly's orforglipron pill. Key data on orforglipron had already been released in April and the more detailed readouts presented at the ADA conference boosted investor confidence in the drug's market potential. Merck rose after reporting better-than-expected sales for its oral PCSK9 inhibitor against hyperlipidemia (a metabolic disorder characterized by abnormally high levels of certain lipids in the blood). Pfizer extended its upward trend after announcing a licensing agreement with 3SBio that gave it a foothold in the promising area of dual targeting PD-1/VEGF inhibitors in oncology. Daiichi Sankyo corrected on profit-taking.  
Medtech stocks (29.4% weighting) contributed +0.3% to the fund’s absolute performance and -0.4% to its relative performance. Medtronic (+5.9%), Stryker (+3.6%) and Danaher (+4.2%) made the best contributions to fund performance, while Intuitive Surgical (-1.6%), Beta Bionics (-15.5%) and Kestra Medical (-26.4%) detracted from performance. Intuitive Surgical traded slightly lower after Restore Robotics announced the commercial launch of remanufactured robotic instruments (scissors) for da Vinci surgical robotic systems (FDA clearance received in March 2025). Restore Robotics does not offer any remanufactured instruments for the latest generation robotic systems (da Vinci 5). The weakness in Beta Bionics and Kestra Medical can, in our opinion, largely be traced to profit-taking of Beta Bionics (+56.0%) in the previous month and Kestra after the strong post-IPO performance.
Healthcare services providers (11.4%) contributed +0.2% to absolute performance and -0.3% to relative performance. While Elevance (+1.8%), UnitedHealth (+4.1%) and IQVIA (+12.3%) made positive contributions to performance, Omada (-3.7%, IPO in June) had a slightly negative impact. UnitedHealth staged an initial technical rebound after its big sell-off in the previous month (-26.6%), as did Elevance.    
The technology segment (6.5%), which includes tech companies from both the healthcare and information technology industries, contributed +0.7% to absolute and +0.6% to relative performance for the month. Oracle (+32.1%), Nvidia (+16.9%), Qualcomm (+10.3%), Microsoft (+8.0%), Veeva Systems (+3.0%) and Waystar (+2.2%) were performance drivers. Oracle reported Q4 results (fiscal year ended in May) that showed a significant acceleration in sales growth to 11% (from 8% in the preceding quarter). Management forecasts even better growth for fiscal year 2026: it is guiding for a 100% increase in the order backlog to more than USD 275 bn.

All performance data in USD / B shares. 

The rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is ushering in an unprecedented technology-driven transformation that ranks right next to other key milestones such as the Internet, cloud computing and the smartphone.  

GenAI is creating tremendous opportunities for businesses and investors, especially in the health sector. According to a number of studies, the health sector will be one of the industries that will benefit the most from the deployment of GenAI. This forecast is mainly based on the considerable potential for efficiency gains in healthcare systems, on the large, readily available amounts of data, and on the considerable financial resources available for healthcare needs.   

Already today medications are being developed more quickly and with better rates of success, for example, new diagnostic and treatment methods are producing better clinical outcomes, and GenAI is helping medical professionals make better and more informed decisions. We focus on healthcare companies that have made GenAI a core element of their business strategy and that are investing substantial resources in this technology to gain a lasting competitive advantage and achieve superior value growth. The technology risk here is more calculable than in other industries because healthcare is such a heavily regulated industry.