According to fund manager Philip Ripman of Storebrand Asset Management, there is an opportunity for investors in pharmaceuticals that have been “underrepresented for a very long time”. According to Ripman, who manages the $1 billion Storebrand Global Solutions fund, that area is women’s healthcare. “In the portfolio, the aspect we really focused on is women’s healthcare. This is one area that has been both under-researched and under-represented for a very long time,” he told Pro Talks last week. According to a McKinsey report from last year, apart from breast cancer, in 2020 women’s diseases accounted for only 1% of pharmaceutical research funding. For health technology funding, only 2% focused on women’s non-cancer conditions. A lot of research has been done “from the male perspective,” Ripman said, adding that that is now changing. “I think a lot of new business models emerging in that sense are interesting,” he said. “What we want to see is more emphasis on the women’s side of healthcare within the portfolio.” The field of femtech – software and technological products related to women’s health – is certainly growing. The Pitchbook predicts that venture capital investments in femtech will exceed $2 billion for the first time in 2021, and will reach $3 billion by 2030. Stocks to Consider Within Ripman’s Sustainability Fund, there are a number of stocks that play with this theme. These include Hologic, a US medtech company that focuses on women’s health, US medtech company Becton Dickinson, and European pharmaceutical company Gedeon Richter, one of whose areas of expertise is women’s healthcare. According to FactSet, analysts rate Hologic with an average upside potential of 14%, although only 35% of those who include it have a buy recommendation on the stock. Becton Dickinson has also received around 14% of potential growth from analysts, with 65% of them giving it a buy recommendation. The Storebrand Global Solutions fund invests in four thematic areas: smart cities, circular economy, equal opportunities and renewable energy. The fund’s policy is to avoid companies that derive more than 5% of their revenue from fossil fuels, tobacco, alcohol, war, and other vice-related activities. The strategy seems to have paid off in the long run: it ranks #1 in 10-year annualized returns (15%) on Morningstar’s list of global large-cap equity funds.