Fund manager says there’s investment opportunities in femtech
Investors are being urged to consider the underrepresented sector of women’s healthcare, according to fund manager Philip Ripman of Storebrand Asset Management. Ripman, who manages the $1bn Storebrand Global Solutions fund, said the area has been “under-researched and underrepresented for a very long time”. Beyond breast cancer, only 1% of pharmaceutical research funding in 2020 went to women’s health, according to a Mckinsey report. Of medical tech funding, only 2% was focused on non-cancer-related women’s health. The shift towards considering women’s healthcare, or femtech, is growing, said Ripman. There are now numerous stocks within the Storebrand’s fund that focus on women’s healthcare, including Hologic, Becton Dickinson and Gedeon Richter.
FAQs:
What is femtech?
Femtech refers to software and tech products that relate to women’s health.
What percentage of pharmaceutical research is focused on women’s health?
Only 1% of pharmaceutical research funding in 2020 went to women’s health, according to McKinsey.
What stocks within the Storebrand Global Solutions fund focus on women’s healthcare?
The fund includes stocks such as Hologic, Becton Dickinson, and Gedeon Richter.
What is the Storebrand Global Solutions fund’s investment principle?
The fund’s principle is to avoid companies that make over 5% of their revenues from fossil fuels, tobacco, alcohol, war, and other vice-related activities.
What is the Storebrand Global Solutions fund’s 10-year annualized returns ranking?
The fund ranks top for 10-year annualized returns (15%) on Morningstar’s list of global mega-cap equity funds.
Femtech presents investment opportunities according to fund manager.
Investors have overlooked an opportunity in women’s healthcare, which has been under-researched and underrepresented for a long time, according to Philip Ripman, fund manager at Storebrand Asset Management. Ripman, who manages the $1bn Storebrand Global Solutions fund, said his portfolio has focused on female healthcare, an area beyond breast cancer that only attracted 1% of pharmaceutical research funding in 2020, and accounted for just 2% of medical tech funding. Many studies had been from a male perspective, according to Ripman, whose fund invests in Hologic, Becton Dickinson and Gedeon Richter. Femtech, covering software and tech products related to women’s health, is growing, with VC investment surpassing $2bn this year.