10 tech fund winners that are leading the way in 2026

The best-performing Investment Association sector last week was Technology & Technology Innovation, rising by more than 4%. With a few days to go, it is on track to be the leading sector in September as well.

So far this year it has gone up by more than 30%, but it has not all been plain sailing.

The Technology & Technology Innovation sector went up by around 15% in 2025, but initially made little progress in 2026. It was essentially flat in January and February, before falling sharply in March as the conflict between the US and Iran unsettled global markets.

However, the recovery was dramatic. Following the announcement of a ceasefire in early April, technology funds rebounded strongly during April and May. Semiconductor companies were among the main beneficiaries, helped by continuing demand for the chips and infrastructure needed to support the rapid growth in artificial intelligence. By the end of June, the sector was up around 29% since the beginning of the year.

July brought another setback. Concerns were growing that valuations had become stretched and that the huge amounts being invested in AI might not generate the returns investors were expecting. Rising oil prices, amid renewed hostilities in the Middle East, also added to inflation concerns, putting further pressure on growth stocks. The sector recovered during August, but volatility returned in September.

Earlier this month, concerns about the pace of AI development came to the fore. Dario Amodei, chief executive of Anthropic, called for the development of the most advanced AI systems to be slowed, giving companies more time to address the potential risks. His concerns were echoed by other leading figures in the industry.

Investors initially reacted badly. AI-related stocks fell sharply around the world, with semiconductor companies particularly hard hit. A slowdown in the development of increasingly powerful AI models could have implications for the enormous sums being spent on semiconductors, data centres and other AI infrastructure.

However, there is an important distinction between slowing the development of the most advanced AI models and reducing investment in AI. The major technology companies are still competing intensely, demand for computing power continues to grow, and there has been little indication that they intend to significantly cut their spending.

Sentiment has since improved. Investors may also be taking some reassurance from the fact that the industry is addressing the potential risks rather than ignoring them. The warnings from within the industry could be seen as evidence of AI becoming more mature, rather than a sign that its development is coming to an end.

The result has been another sharp rebound. By 25 September, the Technology & Technology Innovation sector was up 34.1% since the beginning of the year, making it the best-performing Investment Association sector that we monitor.

The technology sector itself has changed considerably over the years.

Investors who have been following funds for a while may remember that the Investment Association sector used to be called Technology & Telecommunications. The name reflected an era when the rapid growth of the internet and mobile communications was transforming the way people lived and worked.

Back then, many of the companies attracting investors’ attention were involved in computers, software, internet services and telecommunications. The technology boom of the late 1990s eventually led to the dot‑com bubble, which burst spectacularly in 2000.

Since then, the technology investment universe has become considerably broader. Semiconductors have become increasingly important, while new investment themes have emerged around cloud computing, cybersecurity, digital payments, robotics and automation. More recently, artificial intelligence and the infrastructure required to support it have moved centre stage.

In 2021, the Investment Association eventually renamed the sector Technology & Technology Innovation. Today, funds in the sector must invest at least 80% of their assets in technology and related industries. The definition specifically includes areas such as telecommunications, robotics and online retailers. Funds can also specialise in themes such as automation and robotics, Asian technology or digitalisation.

Perhaps just as importantly, technology is no longer confined to the technology sector.

There are plenty of funds in other Investment Association sectors with significant exposure to technology companies and some of the themes driving their growth.

Barings Korea, for example, sits in the Specialist sector. However, two of its largest holdings are Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, both major beneficiaries of the growth in demand for semiconductors. Samsung became a trillion‑dollar company for the first time in early May, with SK Hynix reaching the same milestone later that month.

Another example is Polar Capital Smart Energy, also in the Specialist sector. It invests in companies involved in areas such as electrification, energy efficiency and smart grids. Many of these businesses rely heavily on semiconductors, software and other technologies.

There are also funds with a strong technology bias in some of the broader geographical sectors. Polar Capital Artificial Intelligence is in the Global sector, despite its obvious focus on AI. Other global funds, including Blue Whale Growth and Baillie Gifford Global Discovery, tend to also have significant exposure to technology‑related businesses.

This highlights one of the challenges when looking at sector performance. The Investment Association classifications are extremely useful; however, they do not always tell the full story.

That is particularly relevant with technology. It is increasingly difficult to separate it from other areas of the economy. Artificial intelligence requires semiconductors, data centres and vast amounts of electricity. Electric vehicles rely on sophisticated chips and software. Automation and robotics combine traditional engineering with increasingly advanced technology.

For investors, that means it is worth looking beyond the name of a sector or fund. At Saltydog Investor, we start with the Investment Association sectors because they provide a useful way of identifying where momentum is building. We then look more closely at the individual funds to see what is actually driving their performance.

However, there is no doubt where the strongest momentum currently lies.

To illustrate the point, we have looked at some of the technology and technology‑related funds that we regularly monitor. Most sit in the Technology & Technology Innovation sector, but not all of them.

Source: Morningstar. Data from 1 January 2026 to 25 September 2026. 

We have held the Polar Capital Global Tech fund in our demonstration portfolios since July 2025, in which time it has gone up by over 100%.

Technology has already experienced several significant setbacks this year, and there is no reason to assume that the recent volatility is over. Valuations remain demanding in parts of the sector and questions about the enormous sums being invested in AI have not gone away.

For the moment, though, the numbers remain strong. After another sharp rebound, the Technology & Technology Innovation sector has moved to a new all-time high.

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