BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - Feb 12, 2013) - Eventide Asset Management, LLC, a Boston-based investment advisory firm that is committed to biblically responsible investing, has launched the Eventide Healthcare & Life Sciences Fund on December 27, 2012. The Eventide Healthcare & Life Sciences Fund is a non-diversified fund that uses bottom-up fundamental research to find healthcare and life sciences companies with the potential to appreciate in value as positive data is released regarding clinical trials and FDA feedback, and market acceptance of products. The Fund has four share classes: (
Healthcare and life sciences companies include those companies that derive or are expected to derive 50% or more of their revenue from healthcare and life science products and services including, but not limited to, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, life science tools, medical devices, healthcare information technology, healthcare services, synthetic biology, agricultural and environmental management, and pharmaceutical manufacturing products and services. These companies include smaller development-stage companies.
According to lead portfolio manager Finny Kuruvilla, MD PhD, despite revolutionary advances in biology, we've only witnessed its nascency. Dr. Kuruvilla commented: "There is what I call an 'opportunity vacuum' for health and life sciences, as scientific understanding significantly outpaces approved treatments it the marketplace. This highly addressable pipeline, combined with the deepening pockets and growing appetites of large biopharma, promise exciting investment opportunities well into the future." In support of this investment thesis, Kuruvilla cited a recent report from Morgan Stanley and Thomson Reuters indicating a widening gap between the free cash flow of large biopharma companies and the entire US smid-cap biotech market capitalization. In other words, "Large biopharma has more money to spend than there are opportunities to buy, and the gap is widening, not closing," said Kuruvilla.
In addition to a compelling investment thesis, investors should be attracted to the Eventide Healthcare & Life Sciences Fund because of the expectation of diversification benefits in broad investment portfolios. According to the Morgan Stanley Strategy team, biotechnology has the most non-correlation of any industry group. This is especially true of small-cap biotechnology companies, where risks are typically more tied to company-specific events -- such as, clinical trial data releases and FDA feedback -- than to macro-economic forces.
The Eventide Healthcare & Life Sciences Fund will be managed by Eventide's lead portfolio manager, Finny Kuruvilla, MD PhD. Dr. Kuruvilla has been primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Eventide Gilead Fund since its inception on July 8, 2008. The Eventide Gilead Fund is a diversified mutual fund that primarily invests in small and mid-cap growth companies. Under his leadership, the Eventide Gilead Fund's no-load class has returned an annualized performance of 11.08% from July 8, 2008 to December 31, 2012 net of all fees, while the S&P 500 has returned 4.88% and the Russell Midcap Growth Index 6.00%. The fund has garnered numerous awards from the Wall Street Journal for its outperformance since inception in July 2008.
Along with his role as portfolio manager at Eventide, Dr. Kuruvilla also serves as Principal at Clarus Ventures, a health care venture capital firm with $1.2 billion under management. He represents Clarus on the Board of Directors of Nanostring, and is also a Board Observer for Catabasis, Lycera, Tetralogic, and Virdante. He has cared for adult and pediatric patients suffering from a wide variety of hematologic, oncologic, and autoimmune disorders at the Brigham & Women's Hospital, Children's Hospital Boston, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, and the Massachusetts General Hospital. He has also conducted research at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT in medical genetics from 2006 to 2008. Dr. Kuruvilla did his residency at the Brigham & Women's Hospital from 2003 to 2006 and his fellowship in transfusion medicine at Harvard Medical School from 2006 to 2007. He received his MD from Harvard Medical School, his PhD in chemistry and chemical biology from Harvard University, his master's degree in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and his bachelor's degree from Caltech.
The following table shows the Gilead Fund's performance since inception:
| As of 12/31/2012 | YTD return | 1 year return | 3 year annualized return | Since inception (7/08/2008) annualized return |
| Eventide Gilead Fund* | 18.15% | 18.15% | 11.95% | 11.08% |
| S&P 500 Total Return Index | 16.00% | 16.00% | 10.87% | 4.88% |
| Russell Mid-Cap Growth Total Return Index | 15.81% | 15.81% | 12.91% | 6.00% |
Eventide Gilead Fund expenses ratios: Gross Expenses 2.05%; Net Expenses 1.64%. The advisor has agreed to maintain the Fund's total annual operating expenses at 1.64% until at least October 31, 2013. Three-year and inception returns are annualized. The performance data quoted here represents past performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted above. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Please review the fund's prospectus for more information regarding the fund's fees and expenses. Performance shown is for No-load Class shares (please see a prospectus for information about other share classes). For performance information current to the most recent month-end, please call toll-free 877-771-EVEN (3836).
The S&P 500 is an index created by Standard & Poor's Corp considered to represent the performance of the stock market generally. The Russell Midcap Growth Index measures the performance of the U.S. equity mid-cap growth segment. It includes mid-cap companies with higher price-to-book ratios and forecasted growth. Neither index is an investment product available for purchase.
Mutual Funds involve risk including the possible loss of principal. Both the Eventide Gilead Fund and Eventide Healthcare & Life Sciences Fund can invest in smaller-sized companies which may experience higher failure rates than larger companies and they normally have a lower trading volume than larger companies. The Funds' ethical values screening criteria could cause it to underperform similar funds that do not have such screening criteria. The Eventide Healthcare & Life Sciences fund is non-diversified and its performance largely depends on the overall condition of the healthcare sector. The Eventide Gilead Fund and Eventide Healthcare & Life Sciences Fund can both have risk associated with the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry in which these companies may be heavily dependent on clinical trials with uncertain outcomes and decisions made by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The funds can have risk related to option investing. There are special risks associated with investments in foreign companies including exposure to currency fluctuations, less efficient trading markets, political instability and differing auditing and legal standards. The fund can have risk associated with a higher portfolio turnover which could result in higher transactional costs.
An investor should consider the Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing or sending money. This and other important information about the Eventide Gilead Fund can be found in the Fund's prospectus. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. To obtain a current prospectus please call the fund, toll free at 877-771- EVEN (3836). You can also obtain a prospectus at www.eventidefunds.com. The Eventide Gilead Fund is distributed by Northern Lights Distributors, LLC, which is not affiliated with Eventide Asset Management, LLC.
Contact Information:
Fund Contact:
Robin John
877-771-EVEN (3836), x55