In other words, these will not be the frightening, job-destroying monsters of the factories, but extremely diligent and very boring personal assistants, incapable of forgetting what needs to be remembered and recorded. Some may well be personable anime-like robots, but others will be handheld developments of current medical instruments. It is IT allied with artificial intelligence (AI) that will keep us comfortable when we are old.
Of course, those apps are still to be developed and, if this is to happen, western bureaucrats will need to be more conscious of the looming demographic crisis. Young politicians think they will live forever and have all the time in the world to bring about their reforms. Elderly bureaucrats will know what lies ahead of them, so maybe serendipity (plus fear) will solve these problems for us.
Investing in the future
This investment theme is set to run for many years, and Shinzo Abe’s government has established an industrial revitalisation strategy for Japan based around robots. Enthusiasts for robots can try the robo ETF, which has 30 per cent of its assets in Japanese companies. But choosing the right robots today might be akin to picking the future manufacturer of driverless electric cars, when the first such model is yet to be tested.
There are better alternatives. AI needs a vast network of ‘electronic plumbing’ behind it if its designs are to work well. The two investment trust survivors of that bubble – Herald, founded in 1994, and Polar Capital Technology, launched in 1996 – have both done well for clients and the industry since inception, turning £1 of capital into more than £10, despite the collapse in 2000.
The investment managers of both are knowledgeable on the intricacies of electronic plumbing, and what is happening to IT. Their reports are essential and fascinating on this area of future investment, and definitely worth the time to research.
These trusts follow two different philosophies. Herald finds, examines and supports new ideas and companies, while Polar invests in larger firms, many of them quoted. There is the need for both, although at present these are the only two British investment companies specialising solely in the TMT sector.
Neither pay dividends, but it is the growth of the future that they are chasing. As such, they look much better bets than the Twitters, Facebooks and Googles beloved of many tech investors.
