Part of this relative underperformance is because of the fund’s underweight position in smaller companies, a segment of the market that has performed strongly this year. The fund invests about 33% in smaller firms compared with 37% for the average biotech fund.
Despite this underweight position in small firms, the size of the companies the fund holds is generally smaller than average. The median market capitalisation of its holdings is about $2 billion (£1.2 billion) compared with a median
of just over $3 billion for the biotech funds in Morningstar’s Life Science category.
This size tilt is consistent with the manager’s view of the sector. Michael Sjöstrom says medium-sized firms continue to show the best returns relative to risk. Yet that does not mean that the fund avoids industry leaders such as Amgen, Celgene or Gilead Sciences which are three of the biggest holdings in the portfolio. It also invests in some selective smaller companies.
Over the long term Pictet Biotech is one of the top performing biotech funds. From October 2000 through October 2003 it fell a cumulative 45% but over five years has risen by 127%. The average biotech fund fell by 53% and rose by 80% over the same periods.
Yet for investors it is probably more important to look at the fund’s risks. For example, the strong performance in the last five years hides the fact that the fund gained 65% and 83% respectively in 1999 and 2000 before losing about half of its value in 2002. This volatility is nevertheless in line with other biotech funds.
The fund is risky not only because biotechnology is a volatile sector but also because its portfolio is more concentrated than the average biotech fund. The top ten holdings represent 55% of its portfolio while the total number of holdings is also below average.
However, it would be wrong to judge this fund only by its two-star rating as within the category there is no pure biotech fund with more than two stars. The poor rating is largely a result of the fund’s high volatility and the tremendous decline in the sector over the last three years. From October 2000 to October 2003 the average biotech fund fell by over 50%.
[This article was amended on December 8th 2003].