Technological Advances
The YTD market rally was driven by outperformance of high-quality growth stocks which offer protection in uncertain times. As growth continues to slow, high-quality growth stocks should continue to do well. Hence, we are moving to overweight Growth vs. Value.
Innovative Tech will face macroeconomic headwinds in a new “higher for longer” interest regime. Yet, the long-term opportunity of the cohort is tremendous. Investors need to be judicious with the timing of adding new capital to these themes to bolster long-term returns.
Generative AI is a major technological breakthrough that holds tremendous economic and investment promise and will have sweeping effects on wide swaths of the economy. We are bullish on generative AI as a long-term investment theme. However, at the moment we observe hallmarks of an investment frenzy. We believe that there will be a more attractive entry point for patient investors.
Global demand for new energy vehicles (NEVs) remains in a long-term uptrend, propelled by falling battery prices, improved driving range and an upgraded charging infrastructure. That said, diminishing policy support in China and Europe will spark a drop in the growth rate of global NEV sales to about 35% this year, down from about 60% last year. Global NEV-related stocks are likely to rise on a structural basis, but we recommend that investors wait for a better entry point given that valuations remain high.
Macroeconomic and business conditions are gradually becoming more favorable for Tech as the bottoming of demand is in sight. Yet, we don’t believe that now is an attractive entry point - the good news is fully priced in, and technicals signal a pullback. However, the sector is worth monitoring as we are getting closer to a sustainable rebound. Our positioning remains unchanged.
The Web 2.0 bubble is bursting, with far-reaching consequences for US stock market behaviour, sector allocation, and global asset allocation.
Web 3.0 plays will boom in the coming decade. Play this through a diversified exposure to today’s main blockchain tokens. But the Web 2.0 oligopolies, like Amazon and Meta, are in big trouble.
Crypto broker FTX’s bankruptcy does not pose a systemic threat to markets. It did reveal something deeply unflattering about excess liquidity, however, and suggests that other private investments may come a cropper.
Go long the Kensho Space index over a cyclical horizon on the back of growing public and private investment, rising national security interests, declining sector costs, and heightened geopolitical risk.