Wealth managers seeking exposure to the technology sector tend to focus on generalist funds, according to data from Asset Allocator.
The data indicates that long-established global technology funds are owned by the wealth managers we follow but the mandates launched to focus on the more thematic and specialist forms of technology have not gained much traction.
For example funds which focus on AI, cyber security or cloud computing have, by and large, not been used by the portfolio managers we cover.
Nor has a particular champion emerged among the technology funds that allocators do own with seven generalist tech funds all owned by one or two.
The most held fund is Axa’s Global Technology fund, which appears in the portfolios of two of the allocators we cover.
One wealth manager who is keen on this mandate is James Crocker of Albert E Sharp, who said his preference is for generalist funds as “it is very difficult for us to predict who will be the biggest winner between cloud computing, cyber security or AI for example and the generalist tech funds will tend to provide exposure to most of these areas".
He said: "Our model portfolios have been formally running for just over 11 years now and we’ve had tech exposure running through the suite from the outset.”
Among the allocators we monitor, the only thematic technology funds to appear in any of the portfolios are Sanlam’s Artificial Intelligence fund, which is owned by two of the allocators we monitor, and the Rize Digital Payments ETF which has picked up one follower.
