Buy Hold Sell: 2 high-conviction healthcare winners for FY25

Healthcare stocks have been some of Australia's most consistent wealth generators, with stocks like CSL (ASX: CSL) skyrocketing more than 6000% since listing on the ASX 25 years ago.
Over the past 20 years, the S&P/ASX Health Care Index has far outperformed the rest of the market, lifting 994% compared to the S&P/ASX 200's 121% over that same period. By a long shot, it has been the ASX's best-performing sector over the past 20 years.
And yet, while COVID-19 put our health back into the spotlight, healthcare stocks have been a mixed bag since then. Yes, the developed world's populations are ageing - which spells good things for healthcare companies, but many of the sector's former darlings are now on life support.
So how can investors identify the companies with a clean bill of health?
To find out, Livewire's Ally Selby was joined by two healthcare analysts in Alphinity Investment Management's Stuart Welch and Yarra Capital Management's Marcus Ryan.
They share some of the trends they are seeing in terms of valuation, cost pressures, and supply chain challenges, whether investors need specialist knowledge to be successful when investing in the sector, and the one non-negotiable healthcare companies need to make their way into these fund managers' portfolios.
Plus, they also analyse three healthcare companies, including CSL (ASX: CSL), Ansell (ASX: ANN) and Sonic Healthcare (ASX: SHL), and each name their highest conviction stock pick within the sector.
Note: This episode was recorded on Wednesday 10 July 2024. You can read an edited transcript below.
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[@hotchinahk]

Thank you for this interesting interview, I had a opportunity to buy COH and CSL below $30 dollars many years ago, I wish TH-cam was on internet at that time, have a nice weekend.

[@all4fishingaustralia514]

Excellent deep dive into healthcare sector, great show, thank you.

[@OliviaaWellness]

OSL just hit 0.012. Seems like it's gaining momentum. What's your take on adding OncoSil Medical as a potential winner for FY25? Could be a great topic for a deep dive in your next video.

[@Sojourner88]

It's rubbish for Marcus to suggest you need a medical degree to invest in the healthcare sector. Do you need a degree in metallurgy or engineering to invest in mining stocks? Do you need a degree in logistics or operational management to invest in Coles and Woolworths? Of course not. I really dislike it when fundies try to become gatekeepers to try to persuade you that only they, with their team of experts can invest (and you should pay them fees for this privilege), while the rest of us should not even bother ourselves.

[@stuarttaylor69]

they are hardly going to say anyone can do it on a part time basis are they? i can make a living on a part time basis doing it (after spending 25 years getting a stake together) but i guess the less competition the better!

[@Sojourner88]

​@@stuarttaylor69 If they were honest, they could just say, "yes you can do it without a medical degree, but you may find it more challenging to do your due diligence". That's all. I've heard many fund managers address it in that kind of of way. Anyway, anecdotally, of the stocks suggested to me by doctors and surgeons have been amongst the worst. Having a medical degree might help you understand the science behind some of the pharmaceutical companies, but it is of often of very little benefit about the approval process, business and competitive risk etc.