Book Reviews | 1:39 PM
Review of Tech Money. A Guide to the New Game of Technology Investing.
By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, Editor
SpaceX up, SpaceX down. Equity markets in Taiwan and South Korea are now a larger part of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index than China.
Drones are flying over Australia’s coastline as a first line of defence against potential shark attacks. Dubai and the UAE are trialling air-taxi rides through the Uber app.
National power grids around the world are being pushed to their limits as more and more data centres are built. Shares in memory-chip producer SK Hynix fell -12% this week, but they are still up 290% year-to-date.
As author and tech aficionado Igor Pejic writes in Tech Money: “technology has redefined the global economy”.
With it comes a whole new paradigm for investors. To quote one of the success stories outlined in the book: “Success in tech investing is as much about timing, risk management, and perspective as it is about technical knowledge”.
Note Microsoft shares are down more than -23% since the start of the calendar year. Shares in Atlassian have fallen more than -50% since. Then there’s Intuit, down -60%.
Tech Money doesn’t aim to teach technology investors how to avoid such setbacks, but it does highlight the importance of cycles, research, timing, macro-economic inputs and, most importantly, risk management.
Oversized investment returns are what attract investors to hot-running young technology ventures brimming with promise, but there is also plenty of room for disappointment and capital losses.
One might say: it goes with the territory. One of the eye-catching stories in the book is that of a highly successful technology investor who jumped early into Bitcoin’s emergence, only to lose it all when his account was hacked.
Pejic’s guide is an honest appraisal of both risks and opportunities; more a practical introduction than a pure investment guide to what technology investing, in all its forms and options, has to offer.
Think listed mega-caps, as well as early-stage start-ups, corporate credit, ETFs and crypto assets. The whole shebang, so to speak, of the modern-day innovation economy.
Tech Money is written as a starting guide for investors who want to do more than simply jump on board the next momentum train. It aims to assist curious investors in deciphering technology-disruption cycles, and in understanding when and how to invest in them.
Its 100 mini-chapters, written in an easy-reading, conversational style, offer plenty of practical tips and valuable insights. Combined with 100 charts, tables and graphics, plus quotes from more than 50 interviews with experts in the field, the reader is left with a structured framework that can be read and re-read to refresh the memory.
Page 266 closes with advice from internet pioneer Tim O’Reilly: “A lot of good things can come from putting your money in new technology. My advice is, invest in things you want to see exist. They’ll make the world a better place.”
Tech Money. A Guide to the New Game of Technology Investing, by Igor Pejic, published by Diversion Books, 282 pages.
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