Why Biotech Looks Like A Good Bet In 2017

The founder of Perceptive Advisors and its hedge fund, Perceptive Life Sciences, has deftly negotiated the potholes in biotech. Even though the sector fell 20% last year, Joseph Edelman’s fund gained 3.8% after soaring 52% in 2015. His father ran the biochemistry department at Columbia University (Joseph started working at the lab at the age of 13), then started a biotech company that he eventually sold. Edelman majored in psychology as an undergraduate, and then worked as a biotech analyst, launching Perceptive in 1999. Today, the firm manages $2 billion, which Edelman oversees along with his chief investment officer, Adam Stone. Edelman keeps his office near Greenwich Village, far from midtown’s madding crowd. Barron’s caught up with him recently to find out what he learned from last year’s carnage, why President Donald Trump’s tweets won’t ultimately have much effect on the market, and why investors must embrace uncertainty.