BNP Paribas AM launches disruptive tech fund

The firm will target technologies and companies in the fintech space among other areas.

BNP Paribas Asset Management has launched a new portfolio aimed at investing in disruptive technologies.

The Parvest Disruptive Technology fund will invest in listed equity involved in innovative technologies that enable transformative business models and allow businesses to improve their efficiency and provide new products and services in areas such as finance.

The €181m portfolio is managed in Boston by Pam Hegarty of BNPP AM’s Global Specialist & Thematic Equity team.

The portfolio is fairly concentrated consisting of 30 to 50 holdings in companies with a minimum market capitalisation of $1bn, selected from the MSCI World Index.

The firm believes “innovative technology is enabling significant transformation across the global economy.“

It says this is expressed in current secular themes such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence data analytics, automation, robotics, augmented & virtual reality and the internet of things.

“These themes have wide-reaching implications across sectors such as industrials, healthcare, financial services, consumer and energy. Examples include the consumer sector include e-commerce, home automation and driverless cars, while financial services are benefiting from digitisation, fraud prevention, payment technology and blockchain,” the firm said in a release.

Pam Hegarty, fun manager of Parvest Disruptive Technology, says the impact of technological innovation is being felt across a broad range of areas beyond just the technology sector itself.

“It is having a widespread impact on many aspects of our daily lives, and brings with it many exciting investment opportunities. Parvest Disruptive Technology identifies and invests in those companies that are leaders in or beneficiaries of transformational technologies, while avoiding those that are threatened by the forces of change,” she said.

“We believe that companies that enable or adopt innovative technologies and business models will produce superior long term growth and returns on invested capital,” she added.