Introducing Thematic Portfolios: Diversify Your Investments with a Purpose

Invest in ETFs from ARK, iShares, Global X, and more.

We’re excited to announce our latest investment offering: Thematic Portfolios.

Thematic investing is about putting capital towards major future drivers of growth. These drivers are usually equity investments that are constructed with the goal of outperforming in the long term the broad indexes that reflect the movement of the entire market. These long-term bets have the potential to outperform indices because the themes that investors usually select are expected to transform, or structurally change, existing paradigms.

We’re offering 4 different themes from which you can choose: Technology Enablers, The Future of Consumer Technology, Healthcare Innovation, and Environment and Cleantech.

The portfolios feature ETFs from the leaders in thematic investing: ARK Invest, iShares, Global X, and more.

Thematic investing is essentially a bet on sectors that have the potential to outperform indexes, and so long-term investors are increasingly viewing thematic investing as an important opportunity to build wealth.

That's why we're seeing exponential growth in thematic investing: since 2018, the amount of assets in thematic funds globally have grown at an annual rate of 37%. In 2020 alone, assets in thematic funds grew by 77%. And not only are thematic investments growing in popularity, but they’re also eclipsing traditional equity sectors: thematic portfolios have accounted for nearly 40% of all equity fund net sales since 2017.

Here are the themes you can invest in with us:

Thematics portfolio

Subthemes

Technology Enablers

• Artificial intelligence
• Blockchain
• Cloud computing
• Robotics
• Semiconductors

The Future of Consumer Tech

• E-commerce
• Fintech
• Gaming
• Internet
• Future of mobility
• Social media

Healthcare Innovation

• Biotech
• Genomics
• Medical devices
• Pharmaceuticals

Environment and Cleantech

• Clean energy
• Clean water
• Energy storage and smart grids
• Green financing
• Waste management

Technology Enablers include technologies that are “invisible”. That is, consumers don’t see these technologies, but these technologies enable new ones to transform the world as we know it. Some of these new technologies include artificial intelligence, blockchain, and semiconductors.

The Future of Consumer Technology, on the other hand, includes technologies that we, as everyday consumers, use. These technologies are changing the way we connect, move, and live; they range from social media platforms and e-commerce sites to Teslas and video games.

Healthcare Innovation consists of technologies that can not only improve but even change the way we stay healthy, get treatment, and recover. This portfolio gives investors exposure to pharmaceuticals, biotech, and innovative healthcare technologies, such as smart beds and software used for genome sequencing.

Environment and Cleantech theme gives exposure to game-changing technologies that aim to tackle the most pressing issues of today's world - climate change. The theme covers a range of sustainable and low-carbon technologies like wind and solar energy, lithium batteries for energy storage, water filtration, and recycling. All these technologies aim to promote clean energy and green growth. Read more about the environment and cleantech sectors that can grow your investment returns.

We use thematic ETFs from some of the world’s top fund managers. Thematic ETFs give investors the diversification they need to gain broad enough exposure to a theme while still protecting them from inevitable volatility due to consolidation, regulatory pressures, and other macro factors. Each theme is broad enough to include some subthemes for further diversification and exposure. So, you could have exposure to up to hundreds of companies in a given theme.

Get thematic exposure without taking on excessive risk

Although thematic investing often outperforms indexes in the long term, it generally carries more risk than balanced portfolios do. That's why our system prioritises risk management; we never exceed your chosen risk level even while giving you the maximum possible exposure to thematics.

This means that your target thematic exposure could vary with some economic environments, but that your target risk level (measured by your selected StashAway Risk Index) never would vary.

To manage the risk exposure of a Thematic Portfolio, our system may include non-theme assets, known as “balancing assets.”

Here’s how Thematic Portfolios fit into your investment plan

Thematic Portfolios offer strong equity diversification, making them a great complement to an existing financial plan that already has your retirement and other financial goals in balanced portfolios.

These are generally riskier investments that shouldn’t account for the majority of an investment plan. The SRI for Thematic Portfolios range from 20% to 45%, compared to our General Investing portfolios that range from 6.5% to 36%.

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