Allianz Technology Trust Outperforms Benchmark with 24.7% NAV Return in 2025

ATT’s 2025 scorecard: another market‑beating year

Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) has posted a strong set of final results for the year to 31 December 2025. Net Asset Value (NAV) total return was +24.7%, ahead of the Dow Jones World Technology Index at +20.0% – a 4.7 percentage point beat. With the discount narrowing, the share price total return for investors was even better at +25.8%.

Stack this on top of +35.6% in 2024 and +46.4% in 2023 and you get a compound +106.7% over three financial years, 2.7 percentage points ahead of the benchmark over that period. The trust also picked up Investment Week’s 2025 Investment Company of the Year award in the Technology category.

What powered the outperformance in 2025

The team’s differentiated approach – keeping a lid on mega‑cap concentration and leaning into mid and large caps across the AI supply chain – did the heavy lifting. The managers avoided simply mirroring index weights in the biggest names and instead found returns deeper in the market.

Semiconductors were the engine

Semis accounted for around a third of the portfolio at 32.5% and delivered an average return of 45.6%. Micron Technology was the single biggest contributor to returns, with other standouts including Broadcom, Advanced Micro Devices and Lam Research. This is classic “picks and shovels” exposure to AI – memory, compute and manufacturing equipment where demand is running hot.

Broadening beyond the Magnificent Seven

The portfolio carried 47.5% in the $1 trillion-plus mega caps, around 12% below the benchmark. That underweight was a tailwind as leadership broadened out from the biggest US names. Nvidia still did the heavy lifting for the index and remains ATT’s largest position, but it was holdings like Micron, Lam Research, Celestica, Robinhood Markets and Amphenol that pushed ATT ahead. Notably, several of these names are not in the benchmark at all.

New ideas and niche plays

Robinhood was a new addition and added 1 percentage point to relative performance as the platform deepened its appeal with younger investors. Palantir also shone, sitting at the junction of defence and AI with year‑on‑year sales growth over 55% in 2025. Elsewhere in the AI plumbing, Celestica benefited from the data centre build‑out and Amphenol from specialist connectors.

Discount narrowing and the £125 million buyback

Despite the strong numbers, ATT shares traded at an average 9.8% discount to NAV during the year, ending 2025 at a 7.8% discount (8.6% at end‑2024). The board continued to use buybacks as a tool to smooth discount volatility rather than target a zero‑discount line.

In 2025 the trust repurchased 26,088,876 shares for £124,993,000. Since year‑end to 11 March 2026, a further 4,025,723 shares were bought back for £21,364,000. The board will again seek authority to buy back up to 14.99% of shares at the AGM.

My take: deploying buybacks at a wide discount is accretive for remaining shareholders. The discount is still there, but trending the right way and supported by ongoing activity if it persists above 7%.

Costs, fees and alignment

Costs remain competitive. The Ongoing Charges Figure edged down to 0.62% (2024: 0.64%), the lowest in ATT’s AIC peer group according to the board. No performance fee was earned in 2025 due to brought‑forward underperformance offsets, and the cap on any future performance fee has been cut from 1.75% to 1.25% of average NAV from 1 January 2026.

There is no gearing in place. That removes the risk of leverage working against investors in a drawdown, though it also limits the ability to amplify upside.

Portfolio shape at the year end

Top positions remain familiar names, but with notable weights in the AI supply chain:

• Nvidia – 10.5% (£209.9 million)
• Alphabet – 9.5% (£191.1 million)
• Microsoft – 8.2% (£163.7 million)
• Apple – 7.3% (£146.3 million)
• Broadcom – 7.3% (£145.9 million)

Software, at 25.8% of the portfolio, had a tougher 2025. The S&P 500 Software Index fell 1% as investors fretted that AI agents could displace certain software workflows. Names like Salesforce, ServiceNow and Adobe struggled. The team is probing whether some stocks, such as MongoDB, have been oversold, but accepts software may remain a relative laggard while semis are compounding at 30%+.

Risks, volatility and the 2026 outlook

The trust navigated 2025’s geopolitical noise, including the US tariff shock on 2 April, with minimal portfolio changes and on‑the‑ground engagement in Silicon Valley. The manager does not view today’s AI set‑up as bubble territory, but expects bouts of exuberance and fear. In short, volatility is a feature, not a bug.

Key risks the board highlights include technology sector disruption, market drawdowns, currency exposure to the US dollar, cyber risk and the emerging risk of Artificial General Intelligence. The trust will face a continuation vote at the 2026 AGM, which the board strongly supports, citing the long‑term record and differentiated strategy.

Looking into 2026, the team is cautiously optimistic: AI remains a powerful multi‑year theme, the AI ecosystem is widening beyond the hyperscalers, and IPO activity could revive if conditions line up.

Key numbers you should know

NAV total return (2025)	+24.7%
Benchmark: DJ World Technology Index	+20.0% (outperformance +4.7 p.p.)
Share price total return (2025)	+25.8%
Three‑year cumulative NAV return (2023‑2025)	+106.7%
Average discount to NAV (2025)	9.8%
Discount at year end	7.8% (8.6% at end‑2024)
Share buybacks in 2025	26,088,876 shares for £124,993,000
Post year‑end buybacks to 11 March 2026	4,025,723 shares for £21,364,000
Ongoing Charges Figure	0.62% (2024: 0.64%)
Performance fee	None earned in 2025; cap reduced to 1.25% from 1 January 2026
NAV per share	571.7p (458.6p in 2024)
Total net assets	£2,028.9 million
Earnings per share (total)	109.39p (revenue loss 1.11p, capital 110.50p)
Semiconductor weighting	32.5% of portfolio; average return 45.6%
Gearing	None

What this means for investors

• Positive: ATT is still compounding ahead of its benchmark, with a clear edge in the AI supply chain rather than a one‑way bet on the mega caps.
• Positive: Costs are low, no performance fee was charged, and the future fee cap has been trimmed. Buybacks are actively supporting NAV accretion when the discount widens.
• Watch‑outs: The discount is narrower but not gone. Software exposure may continue to lag while semis run hot. Expect volatility given geopolitics and the pace of AI investment.
• Setup into 2026: A diversified portfolio tilted to semis, data centre infrastructure and cybersecurity, run by a team embedded in Silicon Valley, with no gearing and an explicit focus on long‑term stock picking.

My view: this is a high‑beta way to play AI’s real economy footprint without over‑concentrating in the top seven names. If you can live with the swings, the strategy and the numbers from 2025 suggest ATT’s differentiated approach is still doing what it says on the tin.