But the hospital sector, too, has played a big part, with values rising “from anywhere between 37 to 73 per cent in the past 12 months”.
In terms of investment decisions that have held back the fund’s performance, Mr Taner admits that being invested in development-stage bio-pharmaceutical company Repros did not pay off in the way he had hoped. In contrast he adds that by not holding AstraZeneca when US giant Pfizer made a play for it earlier this year was not great to watch given the share price hike.
Mr Taner, however, is very upbeat in his outlook. He says: “I am still very positive on the sector – chiefly because of the three themes. These are long-duration tailwinds and valuations are not stretched. Patent expiration cycle is behind the industry and pipelines are pretty robust.”
EXPERT VIEW
Darius McDermott, managing director, Chelsea Financial Services
Run by Derek Taner since 2006, this fund has underperformed its benchmark over one, three and five years. The fund has been underweight pharmaceuticals, which has hit performance. The positions in biotech have made a positive contribution. Conversely, the healthcare services sectors, as well as the fund’s cash position, detracted from performance. In spite of an underweight position in the pharma sector versus the benchmark, it is the fund’s largest exposure. Taner continues to focus on speciality pharma and biotech stocks based on their compelling research pipelines and M&A potential.
