As we look forward to the next year, there is much to engage and excite us. The healthcare industry continues to be highly innovative, demand from consumers for products and services remains elevated and the sector is attractively valued. With regards to innovation, 2023 has witnessed significant breakthroughs in areas of high unmet medical need such as obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, oncology, and cardiovascular and respiratory disorders. Despite this impressive progress, there has been relentless downward pressure on many stocks, especially among small and mid-cap healthcare stocks including some in biotechnology. It is this move lower for valuations that has now created the opportunity to invest in the best people with the latest technologies to develop the next advances in medicine.

In terms of demand, 2023 has seen a strong recovery in utilisation as more and more healthcare systems globally work through the post-Covid backlog of patients looking to access care. Importantly, that positive momentum is expected to continue for the next 2-3 years. Last, but not least, healthcare valuations are attractive, both on an absolute and relative basis, across the entire market-cap spectrum and globally, including in emerging markets.

In conclusion, the healthcare sector is heavily out of favour but is attractively valued, is delivering high levels of innovation and has consistently shown the ability to deliver stronger revenue and earnings growth, regardless of the economic, political and regulatory environment. It is these characteristics that fuel our optimism for the year ahead.