An incredible week. Less than a year from the first genomic sequences of the new coronavirus, we have three high efficacy vaccine candidates on the brink of regulatory approval.
It feels like a scientific miracle. Maybe one day we will compare it to the first moon landings.
But it is also what we dared to hope for in the depths of the crisis. On 12th March (eight long months ago!), with the scale of the pandemic becoming clear and financial markets in total meltdown, we wrote this (full link in comments):
At that point, every news headline, every bit of data, every forecast, was screaming catastrophe. “Hell is coming” in the words of Bill Ackman. Markets cratering.
It is in precisely these (thankfully rare) moments when I think principles are exposed and tested. What do you really believe in? When your bluster and vanity is blown away, when the veneer of good times is stripped off, what are you left with? What truly drives what you do? What do you hold on to?
What came through for us was a fundamental belief in human progress and in the power of humanity to solve problems. In the end, that’s why we invest. Thinking of “the brightest, most talented people” fills me with joy at what they have achieved.
- FS
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Bill Ackman made his "Hell is coming" comment in this memorable interview with CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/03/18/watch-cnbcs-full-interview-with-billionaire-investor-bill-ackman-on-coronavirus-outbreak.html
Here’s the full post I wrote on 12th March 2020: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fsheikh_markets-stockmarkets-wealthmanagement-activity-6643948511878496257-8Yap