Megatrends and semiconductors: here’s how the Pictet-Robotics fund counters the Trump effect

According to the fund manager Anjali Bastianpillai, U.S. tariffs will have less impact than expected. An opportunity to focus on themes that will drive the automation demand, such as demographics and AI. From chips to cars, the firm strategy

by Giulio Zangrandi

It’s not just artificial intelligence. Among the dominant market themes powered by technology, robotics is now taking a centrale role. The latest data from Morningstar confirms this, showing that equity funds focused on this megatrend are not only attracting strong inflows but also outperforming the market average. However, recent headlines have cast some doubts over the appeal of investing in automation and algorithms. The DeepSeek case has reignited fears of a potential bubble, while Donald Trump’s tariff war has triggered sharp sell-off across Nasdaq-listed tech names. As a result, many investors are questioning how best to approach this segment. One potential answer comes from the Robotics strategy of Pictet Asset Management. With one of the longest track records in the category and strong recognition among Italian retail investors, the product offers a structured approach to the megatrend. FocusRisparmio spoke with Anjali Bastianpillai, senior client portfolio manager at the company, to explore its key features and outlook.

What prospects do you see for the robotics market in the coming years? Why is this a sector that investors should consider?

The Pictet Robotics theme focuses on Robotics, Automation and AI.  The companies we invest in serve various industries and play a very important role in reshoring manufacturing to the west.  Advances in technology, be that artificial intelligence (AI) or ever smaller and more powerful semiconductors, are paving the way for the development and adoption of a new breed of sophisticated machines. At the same time, labor shortages, an ageing population and falling productivity are fuelling demand for automation. Supply chain bottlenecks during the Covid pandemic highlighted the dangers of relying on far away countries for manufacturing. Geopolitical tensions, tariffs and wars have added more pressure on global supply chains, as a result, governments and companies are increasingly looking to shift production by “re-shoring” and “near-shoring” manufacturing facilities. This should fuel demand for industrial robots for new factories as well as other automation equipment and software solutions.

Which geographies to focus on for the equity investor interested in robotics? Which sectors should be targeted, considering robotics as a transversal phenomenon and not just as an asset class?

We run a bottom-up and fundamentally driven investment process which is unconstrained and sector, style and geography agnostic.  We focus on companies with high purity meaning the revenues generated have to be related to our robotics, automation and AI investment theme.  We invest in several areas such as enabling technologies, automation, consumer and services applications which are driven by reshoring trends as well as electrification and digitalization. While companies may often be headquartered in the US, they often produce and sell globally and with a complex supply chain outside their home country.  The reshoring and friend-shoring trend which started almost 8 years ago with the US-China trade war has forced our portfolio companies to be more agile and not depend on one country. We remain positive on semiconductors given their critical role in the rapid virtualization of the global economy, leveraging AI trends for enterprise and industrial applications, and as the U.S., China and Europe put them at the center of the race to diversify their supply chains.

Does artificial intelligence still represent an investment theme or is it taking on the contours of a bubble? How is it intertwined with robotics and how should it be integrated into portfolios?

The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI (GenAI), have significantly accelerated the development and deployment of the AI infrastructure buildout (semi, semi-equipment, semi manufacturing and software in semiconductor design).  The next phase which has already started is the deployment in Agentic AI and ultimately in Physical AI.  Good examples of Agentic AI have emerged in the enterprise software space and in Physical AI we now see a proliferation of humanoid robots. GenAI has transformed how robots learn and interact with their environment by enabling them to observe and imitate human behaviors through natural language, imitation, and simulation. This leap in AI capabilities has shortened the research and development cycle for robotics, enhancing data analysis, predictive capabilities, and virtual simulation, which are crucial for design and testing. While the markets have been focused on a slowdown in AI capex from the large cloud service providers, we are back to capacity constraints and the demand for advanced semiconductors outpacing the supply with the latest earnings reiterating the strong AI demand at attractive valuations.

What is the structure of the fund and what is its strategy based on?

The Pictet - Robotics is a globally diversified, actively managed equity fund focused on companies involved in robotics, automation and AI.  It is a UCITS fund incorporated in Luxembourg.

What is the prevailing geographical exposure and how has it changed in recent months, also in view of the difficulties experienced by Wall Street?

Pictet Robotics was launched almost 10 years ago and navigated trade tensions for most of this time, combined with a complex supply chain, global production facilities and the agility of the companies in the robotics value chain to reshore or near shore manufacturing around the world.  While we have experienced some periods of volatility, long term we continue to see strong secular growth trends in the fund driven by reshoring trends, electrification and digitalization.  Theme growth factors for 2025 and beyond focus on software for both enterprise and industrial companies, semiconductor design and manufacturing especially in leading edge chips and semi-equipment, industrial automation and AD/ADAS semiconductor chips. In business process automation, resilient enterprise demand combined with efficient software should lift valuations from current levels. Increasing demand for electric vehicles, hybrid and high-end cars should benefit industrial robotics and auto semiconductors, with performance far outpacing vehicle sales growth due to the higher semi content per vehicle.  Industrial robotics and factory automation should also benefit from reshoring and near-shoring trends independent of the tariff landscape.