Online data to grow to $1 trillion industry
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The online data industry, also known as ‘big data', is tipped to be a $1 trillion dollar industry by 2018, while global online shopping sales will also reach $1 trillion by the end of the year.
They are just two of the world's biggest structural trends, or thematics, that investors should be keeping their fingers on the pulse of, according to fund manager, AtlasTrend.
AtlaTrend co-founder, Kevin Hua said: "The amount of data in the world at the moment, 90 per cent of it was actually created in the last two years. That's how much data is being created every single day".
Hua said data was created by simply surfing the internet, from Google capturing data on people's ‘surfing' habits, to knowing the photos you took on Instagram, to knowing the places you intended to travel.
Many companies benefited from the creation, use and storage of data and clients and advisers could benefit too, he said.
But that was not the only industry that would grow strongly over the next five to 10 years, he said. Healthy lifestyles, splurging baby boomers and online shopping, would all grow strongly too.
"Typically what other funds [fund managers] do is they take various themes and they co-mingle it to broader based funds. But what we [AtlasTrend] do is allow investors to actually select the funds that they really truly believe in".
Hua started four managed funds respectively on each of those themes. But when it came to their best performing fund, their online shopping spree fund was a stand out.
Based on the Money Management Investment Centre (MMIC), it generated 8.82 per cent in the last six months (to 21 November 2016).
"Online ecommerce penetration is about 10 per cent of US sales. Probably less than that in Australia but it's also growing at double digits versus traditional retail which is at low single digits".
"You know a lot of companies benefit from this, from the typical ones that you would expect like Amazon.com or Alibaba, who are broad based market places and have become obviously global blue chip businesses".
For more on AtlasTrends funds, or to compare their funds to their respective indices, click here.
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