SubscribeAfter a year during which uncertainty in the equity markets became the new normal, many stakeholders are wondering whether the disruptions are behind us. A look at key indicators might lead one to say yes. The S&P Loan Index has returned to pre-pandemic levels, the default rate is significantly below the peak of 10% seen during the great financial crisis, and roughly $840 billion of M&A value was realized in 2020 versus $802 billion in 2019—and $290 million in Q1 2021 alone. But under the surface, several COVID-19-related factors and other market shifts still have the potential to lead to second-order or longer-term impacts.
ESG Investment
Impact Finance: Innovative Solutions to Target Global Health Issues
As the economic impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to unfold, demand for healthcare remains a unifying global factor and provides an opportunity for innovative investment models to aid recovery and growth. Between 2020 and 2024, global health spending is expected to rise at a 3.9% compound annual growth rate, considerably faster than the 2.8% recorded in 2015–2019.
Those responsible for buying healthcare services (payors) commonly monitor population health metrics and the impact of changes to the healthcare landscape, such as clean water or vaccination programmes to assess need and allocate resources as part of their mandate.
Sovereign Wealth Fund Investment in the Global Healthcare Industry
Sovereign Wealth Funds are state owned entities that are used as an investment vehicle by a state, and where the original investment funds are usually derived from state generated sources. SWFs in turn make investments into a variety of real and financial assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, commodities, private equity, and other trading arrangements. They invest both in their domestic markets and also increasingly on a global basis, and are important funding and investment sources alongside traditional investors.
SWF: Aims And Objectives
It is important to understand that SWFs have additional aims and objectives, and different characteristics, when compared with other investors. These manifest themselves in the way SWFs formulate and adopt their risk policies (including appetites and tolerances), the manner of their investment, their liquidity requirements, the length of their investment timelines and how they organise other priorities.
Occasionally, these priorities can include environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) aims. In particular, an SWF may look at the societal benefits of an investment and not just the obvious economic or financial benefits.
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