Polar Capital Global Healthcare Trust plc (PCGH) made its debut on the London Stock Exchange in June 2010.

The Trust raised £89m when it was launched, offering the opportunity to invest in the long-term growth prospects of the global healthcare sector, with a focus on pharmaceutical stocks.

PCGH was – and remains to this day - a more conservative way to invest in the sector, with a bias towards large, established companies and the freedom to invest across all subsectors globally. The Trust has also always been able to allocate a proportion of the portfolio to smaller growth companies offering a higher risk/return profile.

The subsectors the Trust looks at include healthcare services and healthcare technology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare equipment, biotechnology, life sciences tools and managed healthcare.

Since its initial seven-year lifespan PCGH has undergone two corporate actions. The first of these, in June 2017, extended the Trust’s fixed life for another seven years. The investment strategy remained largely unchanged, although the specific focus on global pharmaceuticals was removed so that the Trust could take a view on any large healthcare company. In 2018, the allocation to smaller companies was broadened to include both medium and smaller companies, to further increase diversification.

PCGH’s second corporate action took place in November 2025, evolving the structure of the Trust in several ways. The fixed life structure was removed, replaced with five-yearly 100% tender offers that give investors the option to sell their shares back to the Trust at, or close to, the value of its underlying investments. The performance fee was removed and a tiered management fee structure introduced. The allocation to small and mid-sized companies was also increased to a maximum of 30% of the portfolio.

The outcome of the Tender Offer was highly successful, with almost 80% of shareholders electing to remain invested in the Company.

The Trust is managed by Fund Managers James Douglas and Gareth Powell, supported by Deputy Fund Manager Damiano Soardo and the wider Polar Capital Global Healthcare team.

The eight-strong specialist investment team are highly experienced, with many of them coming from a background of working in other roles within the healthcare industry before moving into fund management. They bring with them a strong network of contacts within healthcare, medical associations and government bodies.