Shop around for a bargain

While others fret about share prices, investors who focus on earnings quality will be rewarded in the long run

- Scott Phillips

Scott Phillips BEST IN BREED

SECTOR TECHNOLOGY

What a difference (most of) a year makes. The Australian All Technology Index hit an all-time high (it’s only a relatively young index, to be fair) in November last year. Six short months later, it had lost a full 37% of its value, as rising inflation, fears of a slowing economy and – the mother of them all – rising interest rates sent investors scurrying away in fear.

Some of that fear is warranted – we have already seen quite a few private technology businesses go broke as venture capital dried up and they simply ran out of money. Fears are building that the same fate awaits cash-burning ASX companies in the near future.

And even those that don’t need to raise fresh capital have been hit hard, with investors (rightly) prepared to pay less for future earnings, given the higher prevailing – and future – interest rates.