StashAway has launched Thematic Portfolios with four themes: Technology Enablers, The Future of Consumer Tech, Environment and Cleantech, and Healthcare Innovation. The portfolios feature ETFs from some of the world’s top fund managers, including ARK Invest, iShares by BlackRock, Global X, and VanEck.
Thematic Portfolios are new, exciting long-term investment products which allow you to invest in innovations that can transform the world. They aim to maximise exposure to promising long-term trends within your risk preference. Thematic Portfolios are grouped around different trends and are composed of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as well as balancing assets (non-thematic instruments).
Since 2018, assets in thematic funds globally have grown at an annual rate of 37%. In 2020 alone, this grew by 77%. Not only are thematic investments growing in popularity, they’re also fast overtaking traditional equity sectors: thematic portfolios have accounted for nearly 40% of all equity fund net sales since 2017.*
What makes StashAway’s Thematic Portfolios different from other thematic offerings available to both retail and institutional investors is their risk management feature. Investors select the downside they’re willing to accept in a given year, and then StashAway maximises the thematic exposure within those risk parameters. “This gives investors the access to thematic investing without the risk inherent with such investing,” says StashAway Co-founder and Group CIO of StashAway, Freddy Lim. The remaining non-thematic assets in a portfolio are there to manage risk. “We call these non-thematic assets ‘balancing assets’, and their role in our Thematic Portfolios is just as important as the thematic assets.”
“We’re excited to offer new investment opportunities to our clients. The promising innovations that make up these portfolios have huge growth potential, but may take time to reach mass adoption. Therefore, it’s important for investors to have a long-term mindset when investing in Thematic Portfolios,” shares Tim Niranvichaiya, CFA, Managing Director of StashAway Thailand.
Technology Enablers includes sub themes such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, robotics, and semiconductors – it’s technology that consumers don’t typically see but that enables new technologies to transform the world.
The Future of Consumer Technology invests in technology that everyday consumers use: e-commerce, fintech, gaming, Internet, mobility, and social media.
Healthcare Innovation is about investing in the technologies that can not only improve but even change the way people stay healthy, get treatment, and recover. This portfolio gives investors exposure to biotech, genomics, medical devices and pharmaceuticals, such as smart beds and software used for genome sequencing.
Environment and Cleantech focuses on sustainable solutions and low-carbon technologies for a cleaner and greener future, such as renewables including solar and wind energy, energy storage, clean water and waste management, smart grids, and green financing.
StashAway is an international digital wealth manager that offers investment portfolios and wealth management solutions for both retail and accredited investors. As of January 2021, the company surpassed $1 billion in assets under management.
*https://www.ftadviser.com/investments/2021/07/30/thematic-investing-grows-by-77-per-cent-in-2020/
