142: Novo Holdings: Controlling Shareholder of Novo Nordisk, Europe's Most Valuable Company - With CEO, Kasim Kutay

In this interview, we welcome the CEO of Novo Holdings, which manages the assets and wealth of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, one of the world’s largest enterprise foundations.

Novo Holdings is part of the Novo Group, which also incorporates Novo Nordisk and Novonesis (who combined are responsible for much of Novo Holdings’ inflows).

Novo Nordisk is a leading global healthcare company, founded in 1923 and headquartered in Denmark. Their purpose is to drive change to defeat serious chronic diseases, built upon their heritage in diabetes. 

Novonesis, also part of Novo Group, serves 130 markets with enzymatic, microbial and advanced protein solutions.

As of year-end 2023, Novo Holdings had total assets under management of €149bn (DKK 1,114 bn). In addition to managing a broad portfolio of equities, bonds & other assets, it also has a substantial allocation into life sciences. 

In this illuminating discussion, Kasim shares Novo Holding’s asset allocation, their corporate structure, the European regulatory context, their long term mission and the importance of the foundation’s life-saving work.

Kasim also covers balancing disbursements to the Novo Nordisk Foundation & re-investment in the fund, some criteria for working with external managers, their engaged ownership approach (especially in life sciences) and why they’re comfortable as a public firm.

He also discusses the challenge of increasing antibiotic resistance, how biology is assisting in the green transition and the breathtaking development of medical research (including the revolutionary role of AI in diagnostics).

​​The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, IFM Investors and the World Gold Council.

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