The United E-Commerce Fund, managed by UOB Asset Management (UOBAM), is the winner in the Global Technology Equity section at the Best Funds Awards by The Edge Singapore this year. In 2024, the fund outperformed the benchmark MSCI World Information Technology (WIT) Index by rising 49.9% during the year, compared to the MSCI WIT Index’s 37.9% gain. 

Year-to-date as of March, however, the United E-Commerce Fund has underperformed the MSCI WIT Index. The index has lost 13.3% year-to-date compared to the fund, which is down 15.8%.

This is unsurprising, as at the end of February, 92.52% of the fund was invested in the US, compared to 1.98% in China, 1.79% in Japan and 1.46% in Canada. Cash holdings remain low at 0.63%.

If the European revival seen in March persists or the Chinese government successfully reignites its economy, the fund may need to shift focus to other regions to sustain its outperformance. For example, the Nasdaq Composite Index has dropped nearly 12% since the start of the year.

Sectorally, 91.2% is invested in IT, 5.83% in consumer discretionary and 2.36% in communication services. US tech stocks, in particular, have been very volatile since the start of the year as they are viewed to be impacted by the Trump Tariffs. 

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At the end of February, the fund’s top five stocks were Apple (21.77%), Nvidia (19.1%), Microsoft (14%), Broadcom (5.3%) and Palo Alto Networks (2.2%). The fund has a total asset under management of $45.35 million.

In its annual report for the financial year ended June 30, 2024, UOBAM says: “We think equities can continue to perform well as a continued expansion will drive earnings growth and enable further share price gains.”

UOBAM adds: “The fund will continue to invest in quality companies that have the capabilities to innovate and maintain relevance within the e-commerce space. We favour companies that can scale up and benefit from evolving changes in consumer behaviour. We place a high emphasis on companies with positive earnings outlook as evident by upward earnings revision.”

Launched in April 2000, the fund aims to deliver long-term capital growth by investing primarily in common stocks and securities convertible into common stocks of companies listed on recognised stock exchanges worldwide, with a focus on those involved in or well-positioned to benefit from e-commerce

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