UBS US Growth slashes healthcare ahead of 2020 US election

Fear of regulation main driver behind cut in exposure

Mike Sheen
clock

The UBS US Growth fund has heavily reduced its exposure to healthcare stocks ahead of the US Presidential Election, which is set to unleash a wave of regulation upon the sector regardless of the victor, according to portfolio manager Peter Bye.

Both incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic Primary challenger Elizabeth Warren have promised their own approaches to reform in the lead-up to the 2020 election, which present "a growing threat" to the long-term health of the sector, Bye said. As a result, the former sell-side healthcare-focused equities analyst has reduced the sector's weighting in the portfolio to 12.6% from 17.5% at the same time last year amid a "clear trend" of growing risk. Bye said: "I am not trying to call the election, but it is a risky scenario. There is a real risk here that these companies' earnin...

To continue reading this article...

Join Investment Week for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
  • Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
  • Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
  • Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
  • Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes

Join now

 

Already an Investment Week
member?

Login

More on US

Four Graphs explaining how the results of the US election will impact markets
US

Four Graphs explaining how the results of the US election will impact markets

Four experts write

Investment Week
clock 19 December 2024 • 4 min read
US adds 227,000 jobs in November as unemployment rate edges up
US

US adds 227,000 jobs in November as unemployment rate edges up

Unemployment rate at 4.2%

Sorin Dojan
clock 06 December 2024 • 2 min read
US economy expands by 2.8% in Q3
US

US economy expands by 2.8% in Q3

‘In line with the preliminary estimate’

Sorin Dojan
clock 27 November 2024 • 1 min read
Trustpilot