The Globe and Mail MARY GOODERHAM Published January 19, 2021 Bookmark
The remote-working boom brought by the COVID-19 pandemic created a new investment theme in 2020: exchange-traded funds offering a portfolio of stocks expected to benefit from the work-from-home (WFH) trend.
While some feel valuations for these ETFs are too high given the big gains of 2020 and as vaccines bring people back to their office in the months ahead, others believe the continued shift in work habits and lifestyles, as well as coming technologies like 5G communications, will support the WFH trend long term.
Hans Albrecht, vice-president and portfolio manager at Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc., sees “two worlds colliding.” The first is technology, including cybersecurity that brings a “never-ending revenue stream” and cloud computing, which he likens to a utility with “massive growth potential.” The second is the productivity and efficiency benefits that technology brings users,