The healthcare sector provides a global, diverse set of investment opportunities, underpinned by the rising tides of demographics and scientific progress. At the same time, these characteristics, combined with rapidly evolving technologies and company fortunes make it a difficult sector for investors to access and stay on top of.
This is why it can pay to use an investment trust or ETF (exchange traded fund) for your healthcare sector exposure and leave this area of your portfolio in the hands of experts.
The Worldwide Healthcare Trust [LON:WWH] celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, having listed back in 1995 with an IPO worth £16m. At the time it was called the Finsbury Worldwide Pharmaceutical Trust, and only rebranded in 2010 to give it scope to invest across the wider healthcare sector. The trust achieved an all-time high for its NAV (net asset value) in August last year.
Investors interested in the growth of the healthcare sector should also note that Worldwide Healthcare Trust has a CAGR (compound anual growth rate) of 14% and since 1995 has returned a staggering 4,852%. That's against a benchmark return of 2.475%. Leading pharma companies in the sector have returned less than 1,200% over this time period.
Part of the success of the Worldwide Healthcare Trust can be attributed to its long-term core strategy, which has focused on companies in the biotech sector and innovative growth. These are areas where specialist knowledge really does pay dividends. This year the trust remains aggressively overweight in high growth areas like medtech and biotechnology, with pharmaceutical stocks also weighing in at 24% allocation.
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