Few sectors touched our lives as much over the last year—as consumers, citizens and investors—as the health care sector did.

As the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world, the health care sector scrambled to develop vaccines, therapies and new ways of distributing care like telehealth.

The pandemic also catalyzed new forms of collaboration between governments and the health care sector, and saw significant steps forward in corporate citizenship, as well as a dramatic increase in investment toward public health goals.

In March, Brown Advisory health care analysts Sanjeev Joshi, CFA and Sung Park, CFA joined sales director Emma Jewkes to discuss the key developments in the sector and what they could mean for the road ahead. If you missed the live event please see below for a recording and a summary of the discussion.

Topics the group covered at the event include:

  • COVID-19 worldwide data and trends. Sanjeev and Sung analyze the latest data points from around the world as we head into Spring. Vaccine effectiveness rates and distribution levels are examined to try and understand when we might be able to return to normal.
  • Innovation. Among the most striking responses by the health care sector was the ability to turn innovation into results. In areas like vaccines, what had historically taken ten years, was accomplished in closer to ten months. Sung and Sanjeev discuss what increased funding following the pandemic could mean for the pace of new product developments, policy changes from a new administration and the future of health care.
  • Investment performance. The health care sector is not a monolithic block and performance varied across health care subsectors. The panel helps us understand some drivers and detractors of performance. For instance, Life Sciences and Managed Care saw tailwinds from trends such as the growth in demand for medical diagnostics, and a decline in regulatory risk following the U.S. elections. Whereas the deferral of elective surgeries due in part to COVID-19 was a headwind for the sector.
  • ESG and Sustainability. ESG has always been a part of how Brown Advisory thinks about the health care sector due to its substantial social impact. The team discuss some company examples that illustrate the sustainable business advantages they look for in the sector such as demonstrating continuous improvements in manufacturing that lead to lower recall and litigation rates, and the benefits of less invasive procedures.
  • Health care investing. The health care sector is complex. Sanjeev outlines the way he and the team gain a deep understanding of the businesses and their products through their focus on primary, bottom-up research, their collaboration with our investigative analysts and access to our strong health care network largely thanks to Brown Advisory’s close relationship and proximity to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Please tune in for these topics as well as many others. As always, we would welcome your thoughts and questions.

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