CIBC Private Wealth US

CIBC Private Wealth senior healthcare analysts provide deeper insight into the most notable themes within healthcare innovation.

COVID-19 has upended just about everything, and we’re still working through it—how we work, shop, socialize, learn, worship, receive healthcare, and care for others. It has laid bare both strengths and weakness in our institutions, processes and systems. The pandemic has altered life for every age group in almost every way. The coronavirus, after all, is not interested in career dreams, childcare situations or travel plans; it is only interested in host cells.

Key innovations that emerged during this pandemic will outlive it. Others are yet to reveal themselves but will surely be part of the legacy of COVID-19. CIBC Private Wealth is committed to bringing to you the perspective and insight of top thinkers in various fields on what the legacy of COVID-19 could be. In previous installments, we presented views on biotech and vaccines, work and careers, and artificial intelligence in healthcare during the time of COVID-19 (available on our website). In this installment, we talk with Kevin Tabb, MD, the president and CEO of Beth Israel Lahey Health, a healthcare system across Eastern Massachusetts comprised of 13 hospitals, including four academic and teaching hospitals affiliated with Harvard Medical School and Tufts University School of Medicine, and more than 4,000 physicians and 35,000 employees.

We recently talked with two managing partners of private equity firms that invest in various segments of healthcare—Reeve Waud, founder of Waud Capital Partners in Chicago, IL, and David Malm, co-managing partner of Webster Capital in Waltham, MA—to get their perspective on the big themes and what those mean for private equity investors.

Read more in the Q&A article with Tim Daly.

COVID-19 has upended just about everything, and we’re still working through it—how we work, shop, socialize, learn, worship, receive healthcare and care for others. It has laid bare both strengths and weakness in our institutions, processes and systems. The pandemic has altered life for every age group in almost every way. The coronavirus, after all, is not interested in career dreams, childcare situations or travel plans; it is only interested in host cells.

Key innovations that emerged during this pandemic will outlive it. Others are yet to reveal themselves but will surely be part of the legacy of COVID-19. CIBC is committed to providing the perspectives and insights of top thinkers in various fields on what the legacy of COVID-19 could be. In previous installments, we presented views on biotechnology and vaccines, work and careers, artificial intelligence in healthcare during the time of COVID-19, and a CEO’s view on managing healthcare during a pandemic. In this installment, we talk with Tim Daly, CEO of EdNavigator, on the state of education during COVID-19 and how this pandemic is altering learning, children and families.

We first talked with Tim Daly in late July 2020. Four months later, the situation with schools, and the pandemic overall, changed so much that we revisited the topic to bring it up to date. In late July, the U.S. had reported 4.54 million cases and 154,120 deaths from COVID-19, and schools were talking about reopening. In late November, the U.S. reported 13.6 million cases and 269,000 deaths,* and schools opened and closed, reopened, or never opened.

Patricia Bannan is a managing director and Head of Equities for CIBC Private Wealth Management. In this role, she oversees the firm’s proprietary equity strategies.

Lance Marr is a senior investment analyst providing research and analytical support for the CIBC Energy Infrastructure strategy and serves as team lead on the firm’s Clean Energy strategy.

The energy sector arguably has the most at stake with a change in the political landscape. As we weigh the scenarios, the status quo appears likely in the event of a Trump win, with a benign regulatory environment, federal support for new energy infrastructure projects and no deals with Iran or Venezuela to bring more oil production on the market. While broadly positive, countering this are expectations for limited production growth as investors demand capital discipline in this low-price environment and state and local governments resisting advancement of new infrastructure projects.

When we consider the scenario for the energy sector under a Biden victory, the main focus will be on incentivizing clean energy. The most notable proposal is a $2 trillion climate plan that includes spending on infrastructure and incentives that would serve to accelerate the transition to clean energy. In a Democratic sweep, no doubt the odds of this plan coming to fruition increase. Obvious beneficiaries are companies exposed to renewable and clean energy at the expense of traditional energy companies. With that said, we don’t expect an outright assault on traditional energy companies. Instead, increased regulation on many facets of exploration and production are more likely than something more onerous, like a fracking ban. The result would be less restrictive on production, but with higher costs associated with that production. Furthermore, we may see restrictions on new permits in federally controlled areas, which could shift production to private lands.

Other areas of action would be a scrutiny of energy infrastructure projects under a Biden administration. A Biden team would likely also work to ease sanctions with Iran, allowing more oil on the market.