The May 2024 update from Allianz Technology Trust PLC highlights the benefits of investing in the trust, including a highly experienced portfolio management team and a high conviction concentrated portfolio. The trust has also been recognized with the Investment Week Investment Company of the Year Award multiple times. The monthly fact sheet for May 2024 reveals that the trust's Net Asset Value (NAV) total return was 3.94%, compared to the Dow Jones World Technology Index return of 5.97%.
Despite positive market sentiment and earnings results from select companies, the trust's monthly relative performance trailed the benchmark due to short-term stock selection and allocation impacts. Notably, there was a dispersion in benchmark industry returns, with semiconductor and technology hardware stocks outpacing software and IT services. The trust's positioning within software and IT services stocks was the primary source of underperformance for the month.
The update also discusses the contributors and detractors to the trust's performance in May. For instance, the avoidance of Samsung Electronics Co. and the positive performance of Pinterest, Inc. were contributors, while the weak outlook for MongoDB Inc. and the below-benchmark position in Apple Inc. were detractors.
Additionally, the update provides insights into new buys and sells, with low portfolio turnover in May and the decision to exit Shopify Inc. due to disappointing results and expectations of increased spending impacting margins.
Looking ahead, the update discusses the wider-than-typical performance differential between key technology industries in May and the trust's outlook on areas like semiconductors, hardware, software, and IT services.