Australia's war on Big Tech has spread to the US and EU. Investors are watching.
Big Tech is being hit with a barrage of new regulations and lawsuits all around the world. It's leading fund managers in Australia and abroad to rethink their exposure.
Australia is not the only country looking to curb the power of the world's most valuable technology companies, and similar moves by authorities in the US and Europe have led fund managers at home and abroad to seriously rethink their Big Tech exposure.
Among them is Lachlan Hughes, chief investment officer at Brisbane’s Swell Asset Management, who said his firm sold some of its Alphabet holdings last month after Google was found in an antitrust lawsuit with the US government to have illegally dominated the search industry.
“We believe it is the company most at risk from an adverse regulatory response,” Hughes said. “Since the first rule of investing is to protect capital, we are taking a cautious approach.”
The past year has seen Big Tech companies and the platforms they run hit with a barrage of new legislation, regulations and lawsuits from all around the world. At stake is not only how these companies apply artificial intelligence, touted for many as their next big wealth creator, but also the products that have made them the most valuable businesses in the world.
