It’s no understatement to say that the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic is having a detrimental (sometimes devastating) impact on every aspect of our lives as Governments around the world are trying to “flatten the curve” so that our healthcare systems are not overwhelmed: our health and healthcare system, our culture and way of living, our businesses, our economy, and not least our wellbeing are all affected.

It’s pleasing and fascinating, though not surprising, to see that some Sustainable funds within our Ethical & Responsible Investments Portfolios have been investing our clients’ money in companies that can help mitigate and tackle COVID-19 pandemic in three stages: in preventing the spread of the virus, testing for the virus and antibodies in recovered patients, in developing a vaccine for the long-term.

Our IFSWP Ethical portfolios are designed for clients that wish to align their investments (including pensions) with their values, ensuring that the money is invested not just for profit but also deliver a real positive impact to society around us. The result is they can have peace of mind about your investments/pensions.

We carefully select investment funds that embrace Socially Responsible Investments (SRI). At a basic-level, this generally means that the funds invest in “good” companies (either buying a share of them or by lending them money) which help them grow quicker, and shun “bad” companies so they have a tougher time getting funding. As each person’s definition of what “ethical” means differ and there is no black-and-white definition of “ethical”, it is important to understand that some trade-offs have to be made.

Each fund will have its own mandate and “Ethical Criteria” or policy to follow, which would determine the objective of the fund and what it can or can’t invest in.

One of the core funds in our Ethical Portfolios is the Sustainable Range by Liontrust Asset Management. We like the investment process, investment philosophy, screening criteria and “sustainable themes” used to channel money to responsible investments. This is evident in its recent article, entitled “How healthcare and pharma are fighting the COVID-19 war” (found here).

In it, they explain how companies they’ve invested in are contributing to the Three Stages of the COVID-19 war.

  1. Preventing the spread of the virus with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Thermo Fisher Scientific is a key long-term holding across the Liontrust Sustainable fund range and has a market-leading position in this industry, helping healthcare professionals avoid catching the virus from patients, which is key to ensure our keyworkers on the frontline do not fall ill.
  2. Testing for the virus. Roche, PerkinElmer and Thermo Fisher again are companies within the funds that already have specific diagnostic tests for the virus approved by the FDA in the US. The same trio plus Spain’s Grifols’ work in diagnostic equipment are crucial in determining whether people have, or have had, the virus, which is seen as increasingly imperative in the war against the virus.
  3. Finding a vaccine. This is the ultimate goal to ensure global eradication of the virus. In the traditional vaccines space, Liontrust has exposure to a few of the major players like GlaxoSmithKline and CSL, which are both providing their expertise and technology to companies and academics. But this is expected to be a long, thorough, process – and rightly so given that vaccines are designed to be given to healthy, uninfected patients to ensure they aren’t infected. Some estimate that it could be between 12-18 months before a successful vaccine (or multiple vaccines) are approved for the public, which would still be a world record time given that they have historically taken between 8-15 years.

In the shorter-term (pre-vaccine), hope rests in repurposing existing drugs that are on the market already but were approved for treating other viruses/illnesses.

One example is immunosupressives, such as Roche’s Actemra and Sanofi/Regeneron’s Kevzara, both antibody therapies approved for inflammatory diseases. Patients ill with COVID-19 suffer from an overactive inflammatory response in their lungs: according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), so Actemra and Kevzara can work by inhibiting the pathway involved in inflammatory responses of the immune system, rather than target the virus directly.

Elsewhere, Liontrust holds two global blood-plasma therapy manufacturers, CSL and Grifols. This means taking blood plasma from recovered patients, which contain antibodies to help kill the Coronavirus, and giving them to those who are currently seriously ill from the virus as their own immune systems have been compromised.

At IFSWP, we’re proud to invest the firm’s money, as well as personal money, together with many of our clients’ in line with our Ethical Portfolios.

If you’d like to know more about how your investments & pensions could be invested Ethical & Socially Responsible Investments, while simultaneously helping you achieve your wider financial goals, please feel free to get in touch for an initial consultation.

Disclaimer

The information and opinions provided should not be construed as advice for investment in any product or security mentioned, an offer to buy or sell units/shares of Funds mentioned, or a solicitation to purchase securities in any company or investment product. Please seek independent financial advice if you are unsure.