Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Healthcare is such a dynamic field with so much complexity and change that even a seasoned expert must constantly amass new knowledge. As a finance professional who previously worked as a healthcare sector analyst at a prominent Wall Street investment bank, I obtained this book with the goal of complementing my understanding and hopefully, finding some new investment ideas.
Les Funtleyder takes on a rather daunting task: explain everything there is to know about investing in healthcare within a brief 259 pages. I have mixed feelings about his success in accomplishing this goal. While this book has plenty of merit, its good points are countered by some whopping downsides.
The Strengths:
Most healthcare literature is purely about political, administrative, or moral dilemmas, but few sources are purely directed at investment as this. I like the unique, business-minded approach this book takes. The front end of is loaded with facts and statistics relevant to this country's health care crisis. Les does a fair job educating the reader on healthcare's current systemic challenges, and outlines the big game played between the ill, providers of treatment, and the private and governmental insurers. Overall he does a terrific job presenting a great deal of topics in laymen's terms, avoiding most of the technical jargon used in the field. Furthermore, this book is thoroughly researched with an excellent bibliography for further reading. A professional like myself would probably be compelled to look up a few of those sources.
The Weaknesses:
The biggest downside of this book is that it does not have the guts to name names - it does not mention specific companies! By failing to talk about specific players in the industry, a healthcare "investing" book, is somewhat self-defeating. I am not sure if this is due to legal reasons or to keep the book from getting dated too soon. Whatever the reason, this insufficiency reduces most of the book's discussion to generalized conjecture of "what-if" scenarios in the market.
With such breadth covered, this book also can't do justice to every subtopic. Understanding specifics is the key to success in a game like healthcare investing, but the book fails in this regard. In many cases, the beneficiaries of certain movements are not clear because there are so few pure plays in healthcare. For example, the book gives a generalized rundown on the future of personalized medicine. One of the major players I know of in personalized medicine is Medco Health Solutions (not mentioned specifically in the book), but pharmagenomics comprises only a small slice of their business with a questionable bottom line impact.
Finally, to whom is this writing directed? I could not tell if Les is targeting retail investors or investment professionals. It feels that his audience lies in some sort of limbo between the two categories. Not good.
Conclusion: I only rate this book two stars because although I found it useful for plugging a few holes in my warehouse of knowledge, its shortcomings override its practical benefits.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Healthcare Investing: Profiting from the New World of Pharma, Biotech, and Health Care Services (McGraw-Hill Finance & Investing)
Is your portfolio in peak health?
Ranking among the world's largest markets, the $2.5 trillion health care industry is growing at an unprecedented rate. According to Miller Tabak + Co.'s health care strategist Les Funtleyder, major structural renovations to the system are imminent. "Health care is entering an era of reform," Funtleyder writes, "and with reform comes change and the opportunity for investment gain."
Health-Care Investing provides a thorough explanation of how the industry's mammoth size and complexity can be worked to your advantage and why health care is more resistant to changes in economic cycles than other markets. Funtleyder gives you a comprehensive overview of the industry, from both macro and micro points of view, so you can make informed decisions regarding your investments. You'll find critical information concerning
The natural inelasticity of health care and how to profit from it
How to take advantage of the market's complexities and inefficiencies
Issues and policy changes you need to know
The social responsibility aspect of investing in health care
Why this market is essential for diversified portfolios
In Health-Care Investing, Funtleyder provides the tools you need to dig up the richest opportunities possible and build them into your investment strategy. You'll get a detailed look at traditional market patterns and the events that have shaped--and will continue to shape--the industry. Then you'll find specific strategies you can use to maximize your profits, whether you invest in pharma, biotech, managed services, or a combination of them. This informative and practical guide also includes a list of questions you can use as an investment "template," which will help guide your decision-making process.
With Health Care Investing, you'll be armed with the know-how to make the right decisions today in order to fully capitalize on events of the future.
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