23 April 2026
‘Almost a no brainer’: Quilter Cheviot MPS adds to US tech
Quilter Cheviot’s managed portfolio service (MPS) has been adding to US technology stocks in the wake of market and geopolitical uncertainty.
The MPS, managed by Simon Doherty and Antony Webb, primarily added to exposures in the semiconductor industry, rather than across all US technology. Holdings in Nvidia and Broadcom were increased in April within the MI Quilter Cheviot North American Equity Fund, increasing overall exposure to the technology sub-sector alongside AMD and TSMC.
With valuations more in line with the wider market than in recent periods, the team believes that the capital expenditure fears around artificial intelligence seen earlier in the year have been slightly exaggerated, with technology bouncing back strongly as markets recover following the US attack on Iran.
Furthermore, semiconductors were chosen over software due to the risk of disruption from AI being lower, while at the same time recognising that demand for AI does not show signs of slowing down this year or next, and thus the hardware suppliers stand to benefit.
The team already holds exposure to the four major hyperscalers – Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Meta – all of which have also performed well of late having suffered share price pull-backs since the start of the year in excess of the wider US market sell-off.
Antony Webb, head of MPS investment funds at Quilter Cheviot, said: “We hold a broad range of sectors globally but it’s hard to look past the growth available in the tech sector at the moment, particularly semiconductors. These are some of the fastest growing and most profitable companies in the world, and a few weeks ago many of them were being priced only marginally above the broader US market. Increasing our exposure this month was almost a no-brainer, especially given the returns we have seen in the immediate aftermath of this move.
“We didn’t feel the tech underperformance was warranted and have been allocating flow to these names on weakness. So far in the second quarter, all four hyper-scalers have greatly outperformed the US market rally as sentiment has improved and capital has raced back into these quality businesses.
“None of our additions in US tech are all in plays, but selectively spotting opportunities and using our building block structure to nimbly get exposures to areas that we like in both the short- and longer-term.
“As always, times of market strife and geopolitical volatility will present opportunities. Our thesis has not changed in the long run – we remain overweight equities for example – but certain situations will crop up that we feel we would be remiss not to take advantage of.”
