FAANG's - Facebook (now Meta), Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Alphabet (Google).
Market Commentary
UK labour market eases as wage growth slows. Interest rate rises slow. Federal Reserve bails out depositors in SVB et al. Inflation continues to fall.
'Tech' Investing
Recent market falls have been particularly hard on ‘tech’ stocks. Based on investors having appropriate timescales – that is intending to invest over years rather than months – we believe that such holdings provide opportunities.
Is putting money into tech funds like putting it all on black?
Putting a bit on black can work. When we put together investment portfolios for clients, we try to achieve balance between risk and return and often include more ‘exotic’ investments such as FAANG stocks. We include such specialist areas in client portfolios because small holdings in specialist funds can often contribute significantly to overall returns.
Summary
I believe that Covid has changed people’s habits, benefitting technology. Many of those who would previously have preferred to make a personal visit to friends or the shops now (sadly) use Teams, Zoom or online shopping. Communication even amongst older people via social media has become increasingly electronic. Amazon vans are wearing out the Tarmac in our road. I do not like a lot of this change but our job is to look for opportunities for clients that fit into their needs and we cannot ignore tech.
Disclaimer (sorry) - this article deals only with one investment sector and the portfolios we build for clients are designed to attain the correct balance between all asset classes and sectors for the investor.
p.s.
Regarding tech and mobile phones; my kids often pluck my mobile out of my hand with an air of exasperation. This is normally accompanied by some comment along the lines of "oh give it here, let me do it, it is painful watching you." Interesting that I feel the same way when they write using a pen or try to fix stuff around their homes when it goes wrong...