GAM Star Alpha Technology

The fund is a long short equity strategy focussed on the technology sector targeting secular growth themes within the broader market. The portfolio is run Mark Hawtin (ex Marshall Wace) who apply rigorous, varied research and technology experience to find ‘game changers’. The investment process is largely centred on ‘disruptive’ technology sectors, which today tend to be digitally driven (cloud, internet of things, mobility, automation of knowledge, etc), to then drill down into ways to represent these themes by looking at who are the winners and losers. On the long side, the PM aims to identify companies that can experience high rate of change and broad potential impact from the use of disruption and technologies (driving substantial growth vs. consensus expectations), with the PM blending fundamental analysis, company visits and technicals to evaluate ideas. The final portfolio combines exposures to multiple themes (max 20% of NAV in each theme), with the aim to benefit from the generational shift in technology. The portfolio is relatively concentrated (30-50 longs and 40-70 shorts) and is run with a directional bias, with the fund’s net exposure ranging between 30-60% vs. 120-160% gross.