THE healthcare sector has been one of the most recession resistant areas of the economy, proving to be a defensive stalwart during times of enhanced volatility and economic uncertainty.
Historically, healthcare has delivered strong performance, particularly during economic downturns. Over the past 25 years (1995–2020), global healthcare equities have on average outperformed global equities. These excess returns have been more pronounced during periods of heightened market volatility or economic distress.
Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the global healthcare and pharmaceuticals sectors into the limelight, not only reminding investors of the importance of medical innovation but also the long-term investment opportunities the industry could bring.
On a related matter, Manulife Investment Management (M) Bhd today announced the launch of the Manulife Global Healthcare Fund which offers investors in Malaysia the opportunity to contribute to the progress in the global healthcare industry while at the same time capture potential medium- to long-term capital growth in healthcare-related companies globally.
“We believe companies with products and services that were guided by unique principles should see unprecedented demand, such as innovative companies that offer ground-breaking medical advancements,” said Manulife’s CEO Jason Chong.
“The performance of healthcare is not limited to favourable cyclical drivers associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, we have seen three secular trends that could create long-term opportunities for the sector – increasing medical needs as the world population ages and living longer, solving ongoing health issues and challenges, and striving for medical breakthroughs.”
Despite the positive news of COVID-19 vaccines which is expected to help bring the global economy to recovery in 2021, Manulife hopes that investors would consider adding diversity in their portfolio and pay closer attention to specific verticals in healthcare that can benefit from ongoing demographic and industry trends.
“Based on market conditions, we seek to build a diversified portfolio of healthcare companies while ensuring active positions that are aligned with strength of conviction, intrinsic valuation, and appropriate risk parameters,” the company’s head of retail wealth distribution Ng Chze How commented.
He also added that this can provide the potential long-term capital growth that investors seek from their investments, as well as contribute to medical innovations that benefits humanity.
Managed by Manulife Investment Management’s well-resourced investment team, the fund also has a key feature of medium- to long-term investment with a high conviction portfolio, guided by a differentiated investment approach.
Thus, the fund is suitable for investors who seek capital appreciation with a medium- to long-term investment horizon and wish to seek investment exposure in healthcare-related companies globally.
Available in A (RM-Hedged) class with minimum initial investment of RM1,000 and minimum additional investment of RM100, the fund is available now for subscription through the unit trust advisers of Manulife. – Jan 14, 2021
