Fund managers diary
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David Pinniger is investment manager of the International Biotechnology Trust. His diary runs from March 6-12.
Saturday In the morning I take my partner and daughter to Euston station. They are off to stay with the family in Glasgow while I travel to Boston for Cowen’s annual healthcare investment conference. I leave the car at the local mechanic’s under the railway arches. At the airport I bump into an old friend waiting for a flight to New York and we spend an hour catching up and generally reminiscing. I receive a warm welcome at my regular hotel in Boston.
Sunday I am awake and up well before dawn and go for a run as a beautiful morning breaks over the city. I meet a colleague for breakfast and we discuss what we need to achieve in the week ahead. It is the end of the interim period for the fund so I spend the morning writing the manager’s review of the biotechnology sector and the fund’s performance. In the afternoon we hire bicycles to explore the city in the glorious sunshine. We cross the Charles River and head out to Harvard. Not quite the ancient stone quadrangles we are both familiar with.
Monday The 30th annual Cowen conference kicks off at one of the city’s big business hotels. Investor conferences are a feature of the healthcare space–pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical technology investment stories develop rapidly. Staying ahead and exploiting share price volatility is the all-consuming challenge of investing in this sector. There is a buzz after major mergers and acquisitions activity and drug developments, and concerns about the impact of healthcare reform in America seem to be abating. (article continues below)
Tuesday After the workshop and forum sessions of yesterday, today sees me taking a series of short one-on-one meetings with the management teams of companies we are invested in. The day’s big event–an FDA [Food and Drug Administration] meeting to discuss the approval of a new drug to treat a nasty lung disease known as IPF–is being shown on big plasma screens and there is a crowd. Trading in the stock of the sponsoring company–InterMune–is suspended while the experts make up their mind. The voting panel is evenly split but decides the drug’s efficacy is just good enough for this serious disease where there are no current treatments. Investors have been too sceptical and the stock is up 60% in the after-market that evening.
Wednesday Still on London time I am up early and there are plenty of emails and trading admin to deal with. I meet a colleague from our Boston office and invite him to join me in a management meeting.
Thursday I am woken by a call at 2am–it is my driver waiting at Heathrow wondering where I am. Mild panic recedes as I realise there has been a mix-up with the booking. It is the last day of the conference and attendance is much thinner today, which is a shame as the workshops in the morning are excellent. I am into the firm’s Boston office late morning to meet one of the partners. I buy a colourful toy and a dress for my daughter and then it is time to catch my flight.
Friday I always enjoy the early arrival at Heathrow. It is 5.30am and my driver is there to greet me. He laughs off yesterday’s mix-up and whisks me back home before most of the city is up and about. My mind is a whirl after all the meetings and information of the week. There is a long list of things to do and Friday is spent catching-up, organising and planning. I am off to India in a few weeks to visit pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. It will be fascinating, but there is much to do to prepare in the meantime.
