Fidelity Global Technology I-Acc-GBP
Why is this fund on our radar?
Fidelity Global Technology invests in the transformative technology sector as well as to businesses positioned to benefit from technological progress. In contrast to many technology funds, it invests less in US companies and gives more emphasis to those in other developed markets, like Japan or European countries, and also a select few emerging markets like China. The fund also invests in small and medium-sized businesses, giving investors exposure to a wide range of opportunities.
Manager Hyun Ho Sohn looks for companies that have strong balance sheets, can keep growing over time, and whose prospects are not overestimated by the market. The bulk of the portfolio consists of companies that have the potential to innovate and/or disrupt an industry. However, Hyun Ho also invests in cyclical businesses – those that tend to perform well at certain stages of the business cycle – which he holds for shorter periods, as well as in underappreciated companies with the potential to rebound. This approach sets the fund apart from many of its peers that focus primarily on companies with high earnings growth, while allowing it to capture multiple potential sources of return that more narrowly focused strategies may miss.
The fund earned a place on our list thanks to its strong track record of outperformance versus measures of global technology companies. It has also historically been quite stable and held up well in falling markets compared to the technology sector as a whole.
Skip to Our VerdictPerformance
Performance has been strong since Hyun Ho’s appointment (31/03/2013), with the fund having significantly outperformed its peer group, the IA Technology and Technology Innovation sector (to the end of October 2025). In addition. Notable,, the fund has historically been steadier and fallen less in value during market downturnsmore stable and lost less value in falling markets than both its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI Information Technology Index, which represents the global technology sectorand the average peer in the IA Technology and Technology Innovation sector in falling markets. We think these characteristics could be especially valuable, as stocks in the technology sector can experience big swings in value.
For example, Fidelity Global Technology fell less than its benchmark and peers in 2022 when interest rates surged. This happened because higher interest rates tend to hit stocks with high valuations the hardest, reducing their market value , as their future earnings become less attractive in today’s terms. Therefore, we believe that Hyun Ho’s focus on reasonably priced, financially robust companies was rewarded and could provide resilience over the long term if interest rates remain higher than in the period that followed the 2008 global financial crisis.
Conversely, Hyun Ho’s approach means that the fund could lag its benchmark and sector peers when more speculative, high-growth names are in favour. For example, this occurred in 2020 and the first half of 2021, when investors favoured companies perceived as beneficiaries of COVID lockdowns, placing less emphasis on valuations or financial robustness. That said, Fidelity Global Technology still achieved strong overall gains in these years. The fund may also underperform when investors chase a specific trend, as was notably the case in 2023 and 2024, when market participants focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and its perceived beneficiaries.
However, we note that Fidelity Global Technology is well-diversified, providing exposure to multiple areas poised for structural growth, both within and beyond AI. The fund is also less exposed to the US than its benchmark and many of its peers, and also has a tilt toward medium- and smaller-sized companies. These characteristics could support relative performance going forward if technology sector returns broaden beyond the larger US companies. In addition, Hyun Ho’s efforts to balance offensive and defensive elementsdifferent types of companies – such as growth, cyclical, and mispriced opportunities - in the portfolio could provide resilience in a more unstable market environment, particularly given the technology sector’s sensitivity to global supply chains and to business and consumer confidence.
In the chart below, we show the trailing calendar-year returns generated by Fidelity Global Technology since 2020 compared to the IA Technology & Technology Innovation sectorthe Xtrackers MSCI USA Info Tech ETF. This allows for a degree of comparison, although, we would highlight that the index this ETF replicates is invested exclusively in US stocks and therefore provides a slightly different exposure. While the fund’s returns have generally been strong in absolute terms, we think it highlights the dominance of the largest US technology companies over the past five years. However, we would emphasise that there is no guarantee this trend will continue, particularly as expectations around these names are high, leaving little room for disappointments.
calendar-year returns
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results
Portfolio
Manager Hyun Ho Sohn employs a bottom-up approach, focusing on quality companies that have good long-term growth potential and trade at attractive valuations. The portfolio holds over 100 positions, including medium- and smaller-sized companies, which we see as a key differentiator, offering exposure to a broader opportunity set. In addition, the fund invests less in the US than its benchmark and many similar funds, providing stronger global diversification across technology companies, including those in emerging markets.
market-cap exposure
Hyun Ho’s holdings generally fall into three buckets. The first is growth companies, which are expected to deliver high growth through innovation and disruption, and typically make up the majority of the portfolio. The second bucket consists of cyclical opportunities – companies whose share price performance tend to be closely correlated to the economy - which Hyun Ho tends to hold for shorter periods (typically up to one and a half years). The third bucket comprises mispriced businesses with recovery potential, referred to as special situations.
In addition, Hyun Ho integrates ESG considerations into his investment process, with the fund aiming to achieve an environmental, social and governance (ESG) score higher than that of its benchmark. To assess the ESG characteristics of his portfolio companies, he relies on both Fidelity’s internal ESG ratings and those provided by external agencies such as MSCI.
Our Verdict
In our view, Fidelity Global Technology offers well-diversified exposure to technology and technology-related companies, an area rich in structural growth themes, like cloud computing, data infrastructure, IT consulting. Unlike many tech-focused strategies that pursue an all-out growth approach, we believe this fund offers a more nuanced approach, also exploring cyclical and recovery opportunities. This spread across different types of companies should help diversify risk and could support more consistent returns over the market cycle compared with many of the fund’s sector peers.
We also believe that the portfolio’s positioning is an attractive feature of the fund. In contrast to many similar funds, which tend to be North America-centric, Fidelity Global Technology offers broader geographical diversification, giving more weight to comparatively attractively valued markets relative to the US, such as Taiwan, China, and South Korea. This positioning could prove rewarding if market returns within the technology sector broaden beyond the US. In addition, the fund’s tilt towards mid- and small-caps provides exposure to less well-known businesses that may be leaders in a niche and/or have the potential to grow into large-caps.
Finally, Hyun Ho’s sensitivity to valuation and focus on companies with strong balance sheets and pricing power could continue to support stronger downside protection (i.e. smaller losses in falling markets) and lower volatility, i.e. swings in value, than the technology sector, as it has in the past.
Key Risks
- Single sector focus increases sector-specific risk
- Exposure to emerging markets and smaller companies can increase volatility
- Could lag the technology sector when market returns are concentrated
