International Biotechnology Trust, the investment trust managed by SV Life Sciences, outperformed the broader equity markets over the 12 months to 31 August 2009.
IBT is the only biotech focused investment trust to carry both quoted and unquoted stocks in its portfolio. Over the 12 months ended 31 August 2009 the value of the quoted section of the portfolio fell 3.5 per cent, with a rise of 23.2 per cent recorded since 1 March 2009. The same 12 month period saw the value of the unquoted stocks fall 12.1 per cent.
David Pinniger, investment manager at SVLS, says: “Over the last 12 months the company’s NAV has performed better than the broader market. The full year NAV performance of the company compared against the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index and Russell Small Cap Biotech Index was less favourable due to dramatically positive moves in the share prices of two large index constituents towards the very end of the company’s period. The moves demonstrate the potentially dramatic impact on both relative and absolute performance from unexpected M&A and clinical data.
“The company’s quoted portfolio remains positioned more defensively than has historically been the case, but retains a majority weighting towards small and mid-cap companies where higher long-term returns are typically found. Several small-cap investments made at the March 2009 market lows have already generated returns of two to three times the amounts invested.”
Over the past five years IBT’s NAV per share has increased by 31.4 per cent compared to an increase of 29.4 per cent in the NBI and a decrease of 1.3 per cent in the Russell Small Cap Biotech Index, both Sterling-adjusted. The company’s share price has increased by 27.1 per cent.
