Wendy Spires
Group Deputy Editor
25 July 2012
Daily News Analysis
Despite the subdued prospects for the US economy, many US tech stocks remain well-positioned to thrive, according to Brown Advisory, the Baltimore-headquartered investment management firm.
As Brown Advisory notes, at 6 per cent the tech and tech-enabled sectors of the S&P 500 have grown three times faster than US GDP between 2008 and 2011 and it predicts that the sectors will “continue expanding more rapidly than global GDP for the foreseeable future.”
The main reason behind the strength of tech companies is their culture of innovation and finding a route to growth despite broader economic woes, said William Paternotte, partner and senior client advisor.
He notes that despite its relatively rapid growth, the tech sector as a whole sells at valuation levels similar to the rest of the market. Added to this is the fact that the growth rate of firms is seldom priced in to the valuation of their stocks – giving rise to great buying opportunities for savvy investors, in his view.
Those in the know can find stocks that offer substantial growth potential while selling at modest multiples, he said, and in light of this Brown Advisory’s portfolios are currently biased towards the tech sector, with “overweightings almost across the board.”
