Trump, Biden and Big Tech.

Shocking_Blue

Hi all,
Could I ask for people's views on the following news story?:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-54444633
I was on the verge of putting some money into Legal & General Global Technology Index Trust I Class Accumulation (https://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/funds/snapshot/snapshot.aspx?id=F0GBR06I57) but can see that they're quite heavily exposed to Apple & MS.
Not sure what people's views are on this bearing in mind the above (was also looking at .
Thanks in advance.

Thrugelmir

From your title I assumed that your concern would be with Biden's possible tax hike on the sector.  Interesting that they all lavishly support the Trump campaign!

GazzaBloom

I believe a good, well managed tech fund is a worthy addition to anyones portfolio, we're never going back to the horse and cart. I wouldn't sweat what may or may not happen with regulation or government intervention of some companies within the portfolio in the future, if you look hard enough you will find a potential downside to any asset, sector or group of companies and never invest in anything. 

Research the fund and the fund managers as best you can, put your money in for the long term and trust that the manager's will adjust the portfolio as required to meet the funds long term objectives. I really don't see what else you can do when considering investing in a mutual fund.

Balance your portfolio to give a reasonable spread across countries, sectors and asset classes and monitor it's performance quarterly and annually against it's equivalent benchmark index or similar funds.

...or listen to 10 different views on forums like this then make your mind up!

AnotherJoe

1. Ther are always scare stories and 99% of the time they come to nothing
2. Those type of stories grossly over emphasise the power that presidents have and the disconnect between campaign promises and reality. Recall Trumps "beautiful clean coal"and "coal jobs" pledges? Yet coal is in a death spiral. Far more coal jobs lost under Trump than under Obama who wanted to get rid. 
3.. Yes those funds are heavily weighted towards the largest tech companies. That's why they've grown! If you think you or a fund manager can do better than an index, buy an active tech fund instead (examples, Polar, SMT). Otherwise you ahve to take the index for what it is, why buy an index and then be worried about its make up. (I thinkI'm right that this is an index fund? Apologies if not)
4. Tech indexes can be problematic. Some companies you might think are tech aren't classified as such in the index, others would be and others can be arbitrarily added and removed. To take an example that may not  be right but to illustrate, maybe you think Amazon is tech but an index may classify as retail.  Is Twitter tech or media? Etc.  I recall a few years ago a few companies that were classified as tech suddenly were reclassified as "communications". 

webjaved

Research the fund and if you feel it is right for you, then invest in it. Start off small and drip-feed into it if you still have any worries/concerns. Remember, it's in it for the long term, not short term.

GazzaBloom

AnotherJoe said:

1. Ther are always scare stories and 99% of the time they come to nothing
2. Those type of stories grossly over emphasise the power that presidents have and the disconnect between campaign promises and reality. Recall Trumps "beautiful clean coal"and "coal jobs" pledges? Yet coal is in a death spiral. Far more coal jobs lost under Trump than under Obama who wanted to get rid. 
3.. Yes those funds are heavily weighted towards the largest tech companies. That's why they've grown! If you think you or a fund manager can do better than an index, buy an active tech fund instead (examples, Polar, SMT). Otherwise you ahve to take the index for what it is, why buy an index and then be worried about its make up. (I thinkI'm right that this is an index fund? Apologies if not)
4. Tech indexes can be problematic. Some companies you might think are tech aren't classified as such in the index, others would be and others can be arbitrarily added and removed. To take an example that may not  be right but to illustrate, maybe you think Amazon is tech but an index may classify as retail.  Is Twitter tech or media? Etc.  I recall a few years ago a few companies that were classified as tech suddenly were reclassified as "communications". 

Yes @An@AnotherJoe is right it's an index fund that tracks the FTSE World - Technology Index. The Morning Star link doesn't work but I looked it up. It looks a good tech index fund to me.

max...

Any decent tech fund will have Apple, Alphabet, MS.  It would be stupid not to given their size and importance.  Invesco has the big four like they all do but not Amazon of course (which is not a tech strictly).  You probably do want Amazon in any portfolio.  Look at Nasdaq trackers too.  INVESCO MARKETS III PLC INVESCO EQQQ NASDAQ.
As always spread it round.  I am personally waiting until after the US election (having sold most funds fearing a big crash), but given this is the first time I have tried to time the market following: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6196115/time-to-sell-alphabet-amazon-apple/p1
I'm already regretting it and losing so far.  Drip don't dump it in (if possible) and leave it in is always the best policy.

itwasntme001

Tech is where the growth is from these days.  It makes sense to allocate some to tech funds especially if you are young.  It is a hedge against your wages not keeping up with inflation.

I personally own over 10% just in SMT and PCT in my 7-figure portfolio.  Then i also have tech in various other funds like fundsmith and as single names holdings like amazon, MS, Google, Nvidia and more.

There is no such thing as too much tech apparently!

EdSwippet

Thrugelmir said:

From your title I assumed that your concern would be with Biden's possible tax hike on the sector.  Interesting that they all lavishly support the Trump campaign!

https://www.protocol.com/tech-company-pacs-2019-2020

Considering the sizes of their businesses, tech companies' political spending is relatively small: Amazon spent $1.2 million, with Google close behind at slightly over $1 million. (Those companies reported profit of $11.6 billion and $34.3 billion, respectively, for 2019.) Microsoft spent about $940,000, with Facebook just over $300,000. Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook divided their dollars precisely between the two major political parties, while Google's PAC directed 56% of its money to Republicans and 44% to Democrats.

itwasntme001

Eat.

Sleep.

Invest in tech.

Repeat.