Tech investment trends accelerated by COVID-19 to stay
The technological growth trends that capitalised on the COVID-19 pandemic that some viewed as temporary tailwinds remain as strong as ever for investing, according to Franklin Templeton.
Franklin Templeton portfolio manager, Francyne Mu, said trends such as e-commerce and new digital behaviours had been accelerated by the pandemic and over the long-term these sectors continued to be well-positioned for substantial growth.
The four key digital growth trends were e-commerce, cybersecurity, online education, and digital payments.
“Take cybersecurity as an example. The shift last year to employees working from home increased the need for cybersecurity software and accelerated the adoption of cloud-based applications. We believe that business is likely to stick as enterprises make permanent changes to support a more mobile workforce,” Mu said.
“To capitalise on these long-term secular growth trends, we employ in-depth, bottom-up research to uncover high-quality growth companies that have both the technological and operational prowess to build lasting competitive advantages in these areas.”
Recommended for you
There is one specific risk that is a significantly higher concern for financial services directors compared to companies overall and is impacting their risk appetite, according to the AICD.
Global fund managers are shunning bonds, with the asset class seeing the largest drop in allocations in more than 20 years.
Australian Ethical has seen its funds under management reach $10 billion, driven by organic customer growth and superannuation contributions.
Financial advisers will have access to private equity investments run by WTW for the first time as it launches a pooled fund to provide savers with access to traditionally institutional assets.