Biology meets finance

While my background is in biology, my interest in finance brought me to Kempen as a management trainee in 2013. I wanted to work in several departments and learn about how all the different stakeholders are involved in the financial industry. But in the end, life sciences within Merchant Banking is the perfect combination for me – it’s where biology and finance come together. And I work with a great team of people – many of whom are also scientists, and who come from all over the world. The healthcare sector often has a high risk-reward ratio: we see abrupt changes in share prices, frequent capital raises, big pharmaceutical companies acquiring small biotech firms – it’s very dynamic. There’s always something happening, which makes every day exciting. 

It’s been a gratifying year, as we’ve become the one-stop shop for investors when it comes to brokerage services in European life sciences. In 2019, we also completed a record number of capital raises for companies to help them reach the next stage in their future development. And the healthcare sector of the future goes hand in hand with sustainability – society needs affordable healthcare so that people can get the treatments they need. Investing in companies in this sector delivers not only investment returns but also funds research into new therapies and medicines to bring to patients. It’s a win-win.