HSBC Asset Management (HSBC AM) has launched its first healthcare fund focused on sustainability and impact.

HSBC GIF Global Equity Sustainable Healthcare Fund is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3, Good Health and Wellbeing.

HSBC said that cost is one of the main sustainability-related challenges facing the healthcare sector. As medical costs continue to grow, a number of people find it challenging to access the type of healthcare they need.

The bank’s asset management firm said that the fund aims to address the challenge and drive social impact without sacrificing on performance.

As healthcare spending consistently outpaces GDP growth across markets, rising costs are straining healthcare systems globally resulting in access restrictions.

The bank cited World Health Organisation statistics that global spending on healthcare reached $8.3 trillion, or 10 per cent of global GDP in 2018.

They also referred to Bloomberg, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2021, stating that in the US, which accounts for nearly half (42 per cent) of global healthcare expenditure, total spending is projected to increase by more than 50 per cent in the next eight years alone.

HSBC Asset Management said that investing in companies that focus on healthcare innovation can reduce the overall cost for all stakeholders in the system.

Companies that create new treatments, devices, diagnostics, digital health and services can all contribute towards achieving this, they said.

HSBC Bermuda’s head of asset management, Faith Outerbridge, said: “I believe that eventually all investments will have some sort of ESG overlay.

“Data has shown that including ESG factors into our investment analysis adds value, and investing in firms that are sustainably conscious and are working on improving their ESG scores means that they will perform better over the long term.

Last year, HSBC Asset Management set out its strategy to shape the market for sustainable investing through leadership in policy and industry engagement, company engagement and the development of new products and solutions.

By continuing to embed environmental, social, governance across its investment approach, the firm is supporting the transition overall and in climate-critical sectors, while creating innovative investment solutions to meet client investment and sustainability goals.

Available to both institutional and retail clients, the Sustainable Healthcare Fund joins the Lower Carbon Bond and Equity Funds and the Equity Climate Change Fund as part of HSBC’s suite of sustainable investment funds.

www.assetmanagement.hsbc.bm