Worldwide Healthcare (WWH) was launched in April 1995. Initially focused on the pharmaceutical industry, it expanded its remit to the entire healthcare sector in 2010. OrbiMed (and its predecessor firm) has been the trust's investment adviser since its IPO with Sven Borho, one of OrbiMed's founders, and Trevor Polischuk taking over as lead managers in 2017 after the departure of Sam Isaly. Up to September 2024, WWH's share price return was 13.6% a year compared to 11.6% for its benchmark and around 9.5% a year for global markets, making WWH one of the top-performing trusts over the last three ...
This is a premium article for our subscribers.
Please log in below to read it, or find out how to join the Money Makers Circle.
Syncona (SYNC) was launched in 2012 as BACIT (Battle Against Cancer Investment Trust). It initially invested in a range of investment funds but in 2016, it acquired a life sciences investment business set up by The Wellcome Trust and renamed itself Syncona. Wellcome Trust sold a quarter of its stake in 2019 but still owns 186m shares giving it a holding of just under 30%. Syncona is looking to build a portfolio of around 20-25 UK and European-based life sciences businesses, creating two to three new businesses each year. Three major sales have occurred to date, two in 2019 and one in 2023, bri...
This is a premium article for our subscribers.
Please log in below to read it, or find out how to join the Money Makers Circle.
Bellevue Healthcare (BBH) was launched in late 2016. Paul Major of Bellevue has managed the trust since its inception with Brett Darke joining him in 2017 and they look for companies that can reform the delivery of healthcare services, both to improve patient outcomes and provide better value for money. BBH runs a concentrated portfolio of around 30 to 40 holdings but its tilt towards small- and mid-cap stocks plus a cautious view on the benefits of GLP-1 obesity drugs have resulted in weak returns of late. After trading at a premium in its early years and seeing its share count nearly quadrup...
This is a premium article for our subscribers.
Please log in below to read it, or find out how to join the Money Makers Circle.
RTW Biotech Opportunities (RTW) was launched in late 2019 to provide "a full life cycle approach to biotech investing". It primarily invests in early-stage companies, sometimes taking a seat on the board to help the company develop before either selling to a larger company or keeping a stake should the company go public. It is managed by RTW Investments, a New York-based company founded in 2009 that has around $6bn in assets under management. Rod Wong, RTW Investments' managing partner and the trust's CIO, owns around 30m RTW shares representing a stake of around 9%. Stephanie Sirota, another ...
This is a premium article for our subscribers.
Please log in below to read it, or find out how to join the Money Makers Circle.
International Biotechnology (ticker: IBT) was launched in 1994 making it one of the oldest sector-specialised equity trusts. It was initially run by Rothschild Asset Management but after a turbulent few years, Schroders Ventures Life Sciences took over in 2000. Schroders Ventures Life Sciences eventually split from Schroders and set itself up as SV Health. IBT mostly invests in listed biotech stocks but has always had a significant percentage (currently around 10%) in unquoted companies. Although income from its portfolio is minimal, since 2016 it has adopted an enhanced dividend policy that p...
This is a premium article for our subscribers.
Please log in below to read it, or find out how to join the Money Makers Circle.
Polar Capital Global Healthcare (ticker: PCGH) was launched in 2010 with a dual income and growth mandate. After a promising start, its returns then lagged its benchmark for a number of years and this resulted in a strategy change when the trust was reconstructed in 2017 as it approached the end of its initial fixed life. The portfolio was shifted more towards growth, the number of holdings was cut, a modest level of gearing was introduced using ZDPs, the dividend was halved, and the trust's life was extended to 2025. Performance since the reconstruction has marginally been ahead of the MSCI W...
This is a premium article for our subscribers.
Please log in below to read it, or find out how to join the Money Makers Circle.
Biotech Growth (ticker: BIOG) was launched in 1997. After a promising start, its performance tailed off and this led to the appointment of OrbiMed, the manager of Worldwide Healthcare Trust, as its new investment adviser in 2005. Over the following decade, Biotech Growth steadily outperformed its new benchmark, the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, but then its shares hit another soft patch and moved sideways for a few years. In late 2019, the trust shifted its portfolio more towards smaller biotech companies and its shares doubled in just over a year, propelled higher by the COVID pandemic. However...
This is a premium article for our subscribers.
Please log in below to read it, or find out how to join the Money Makers Circle.
Worldwide Healthcare Trust is one of the oldest specialist equity trusts. It has been managed by OrbiMed Partners (and its predecessor firm) since it joined the London market in 1995 and it boasts a formidable long-term track record. As of 30 June 2021, it had returned 15.9% annualised compared to 12.2% from the MSCI World Healthcare Index. However, 2021 has been a more difficult year with biotech and Chinese holdings dragging down its performance. Nevertheless, with its shares regularly trading at a premium, it has managed to increase its share count by around 50% in the last few years, takin...
This is a premium article for our subscribers.
Please log in below to read it, or find out how to join the Money Makers Circle.
For premium subscribers we do regular interviews with fund managers and analysts about current market conditions and funds and markets (occasionally shares) that we invest in. The latest one is with Stephanie Sirota, a director of RTW Venture Fund (ticker: RTW) and Chief Business Officer of the New York based team that manages the trust. In our conversation we discuss what the trust does, what lies behind its impressive start as a listed vehicle and the future for life sciences businesses beyond the pandemic.
Stephanie Sirota Why the interest in this trust? RTW Venture Fund is a relative ne...
This is a premium article for our subscribers.
Please log in below to read it, or find out how to join the Money Makers Circle.
Stuart qualified as a chartered accountant before moving into journalism and has 20 years of experience of owning and writing about investment trusts from an independent standpoint. He is now producing regular fund profiles for the Money Makers circle. This post originally appeared on his blog but it has been added to our archive to build up our library of content.
BB Healthcare Trust has a slightly different approach to healthcare investment, focusing on companies that are looking to improve the underlying process of keeping us all fit and well. It's a theme that will strike a chord will man...
This is a premium article for our subscribers.
Please log in below to read it, or find out how to join the Money Makers Circle.
© 2026 Money Makers