Feeling a bit peaky? Then perhaps a dose of the Worldwide Healthcare Trust might help banish some of the symptoms. This investment trust, valued by the stock market at £1.3 billion, takes positions in every conceivable type of healthcare company, from pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to medical equipment suppliers. What it’s not, though, is an indirect way to take exposure to “Big Pharma” companies such as Astrazeneca and Glaxosmithkline. Almost the opposite, in fact.
The Worldwide Healthcare Trust was launched in 1995 as the Finsbury Worldwide Pharmaceutical Trust, changing its name in 2010 to take account of its widened investment remit to include companies that provide healthcare equipment, technology and other services.
It has been managed all along by Orbimed Capital, the world’s biggest dedicated healthcare