Tareno Health­care Funds: Monthly Report January 2026

Market overview

Activity at the JPMorgan Health­care Confe­rence focused mainly on company updates and pre-announce­ments, while there were no major M&A transac­tions. The expec­ta­tion of poten­tial highly valued acqui­si­tions in the areas of obesity and inflamma­tion, inclu­ding the confir­ma­tion of the NLRP3 inhibi­tion target, had a positive short-term impact on senti­ment and valua­tions of indivi­dual stocks. Confirmed transac­tions included Eli Lilly’s acqui­si­tion of Ventyx Biosci­ences, GSK’s purchase of RAPT Thera­peu­tics and Shiono­gi’s acqui­si­tion of Pfizer’s stake in ViiV Health­care. Astra­Ze­neca also announced an obesity-focused license agree­ment with CSPC Pharmaceu­tical Group.

In the MedTech sector, the transac­tion between Boston Scien­tific and Penumbra stood out as the biggest deal of the month. However, the initial euphoria waned when several expected biopharma megadeals – inclu­ding possible takeovers of Revolu­tion Medicines by Merck or AbbVie and of Abivax by Eli Lilly – failed to materia­lize.

The reporting season picked up speed towards the end of January. The first results were solid overall, although the quality was slightly down on the previous year. Around 90% of compa­nies exceeded EPS expec­ta­tions, signi­fi­cantly more than in the previous year, although the average extent of earnings surprises was lower. The sales trend was more mixed: around 75% of compa­nies exceeded sales expec­ta­tions, also above the previous year’s level, while the average sales surprises were lower and remained largely stable year-on-year.

The sector’s perfor­mance in January was prima­rily deter­mined by pharmaceu­ti­cals and provi­ders & services (managed care). Pharma confirmed its role as a defen­sive sector and remained largely protected from the stron­gest politi­cally induced volati­lity. The third round of IRA selec­tion for drug price negotia­tions was moderate overall for pharma; Gilead’s Biktarvy was in the spotlight, but without having any signi­fi­cant negative impact on senti­ment among large caps. January also marked the broad US market launch of the first oral GLP‑1 weight loss drug.

Managed care, which had started the year strongly, came under pressure towards the end of the month after the Medicare Advan­tage Advanced Rate Notice for 2027 was published. The proposed payment rates were largely at the current level and there­fore below the current trend and industry assump­tions. As a result, there was a broad sell-off in managed care stocks, with compa­nies with high MA exposure recor­ding double-digit price losses on average.

Overall, the under­lying demand trends in the health­care sector remained stable, while the prono­unced sensi­ti­vity to political develo­p­ments and headlines, parti­cu­larly at the start of 2026, persi­sted.

Portfolio Tareno Sustainable Health­care Fund

Last month , we did not add any new positions and did not sell any existing positions. In January, the Tareno Sustainable Health­care Fund generated a return of 0.4%, while the bench­mark index rose by 1.1%.

The biggest positive contri­bu­tions were:

• Novo Nordisk (+23 bp): The share benefited from the approval of the new Wegovy pill in the US. In addition, the announce­ment of the nation­wide availa­bi­lity of the oral GLP‑1 prepa­ra­tion and the latest weekly US prescrip­tion data provided a boost.
• Bachem (+20 bp): Support came from a broker upgrade.
• Roche (+19 bp): Two broker upgrades and the announce­ment of solid 2025 results streng­thened the stock.

The biggest negative contri­bu­tions were:

• Johnson & Johnson (-57 bp): Not invested.
• Gilead (-29 bp): Not invested.
• Abbott (-29 bp): Shares came under pressure after EPS met expec­ta­tions but sales fell short of forecasts – mainly due to the Nutri­tion segment. The sales forecast for 2026 was also lower than expected.

Portfolio Review Tareno Impact Health­care Fund

Last month, we did not build up any new positions and did not sell any existing positions. In January, the Tareno Impact Health­care Fund achieved a return of 1.4%.

The biggest positive contri­bu­tions were:

• BioNTech (+59 bp): The stock benefited from a positive update at the JPM Health­care Confe­rence. Later, BioNTech received FDA Fast Track Designa­tion for BNT113, an experi­mental mRNA cancer immuno­the­rapy for patients with HPV16+ head and neck cancer.
• Gilead (+345 bp): Analyst day was well received, plus full results from a Phase 3 study, published in NEJM, supported the combi­na­tion of Trodelvy plus Keytruda as a poten­tial new first-line standard of care for PD-L1+ metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. The strong prescrip­tion growth of Yeztugo also contri­buted to the perfor­mance.
• Novo Nordisk (+26 bp): The stock benefited from the approval of the new Wegovy pill in the US. In addition, the announce­ment of the nation­wide availa­bi­lity of the oral GLP‑1 prepa­ra­tion and the latest weekly US prescrip­tion data provided a boost.

The largest negative contri­bu­tions were:

• Humana (-72 bps): US health insurance stocks fell after the Trump admini­stra­tion signaled that Medicare reimbur­se­ment rates would remain unchanged for 2027 – well below expec­ta­tions of 5.0%
• Teladoc (-46 bp): With no company-specific news, the stock reacted to the overall weaker senti­ment in the HCIT segment
• Abbott (-39 bp): Shares came under pressure after EPS met expec­ta­tions but sales fell short of forecasts – mainly due to the Nutri­tion segment. The sales forecast for 2026 was also lower than expected.