Top 10 Technology Mutual Funds

Introduction

Technology sector funds are part of domestic stock mutual fund categories. Investing in technology sector mutual fund provide a great potential for investors, they also provide great risk too. We have observed a tech bubble burst in 1999. These technology mutual funds invest in various companies engaged in technology, communication, electronic, software, etc.

Note: Other sector mutual funds are communications, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, equity energy, financials, health care, industrials, natural resources, precious metals, real estate, and utilities.

Best Technology Sector Funds

These top technology sector funds are chosen based on its long term performance. You may find other fund information such as dividend yield, top holdings, expense ratio, sales load, fund manager, fund objective, etc.

The top 10 technology sector stock mutual funds of 2012 are:

1. Saratoga Technology & Communication A (STPAX )
2. Berkshire Focus (BFOCX )
3. Fidelity Select Computers (FDCPX )
4. Fidelity Select Software & Computers (FSCSX )
5. T. Rowe Price Global Technology (PRGTX )
6. Firsthand Technology Opportunities (TEFQX )
7. Columbia Seligman Communications & Info A (SLMCX )
8. Ivy Science & Technology A (WSTAX )
9. Henderson Global Technology A (HFGAX )
10. Wells Fargo Advantage Specialized Tech A (WFSTX )

Updated on 7/20/2012

1. Saratoga Technology & Communication A (STPAX)

The investment aim of Saratoga Technology & Communication fund is to provide long-term capital growth. The fund utilizes majority of its total assets to purchase equity securities issued by technology and communications companies. It may invest in both domestic and foreign equity securities. It can invest in common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible, and warrants.

The lead fund manager is Anthony R. Ursillo. He just started managing this fund in August 2011. This technology sector mutual fund was first introduced to public in October 1997. It has total net assets of $64.26 million. The annual expense ratio is 2.67%.

Morningstar rated it with 4-stars rating. The other classes of this fund are Class B (SCMPX), Class C (STPCX) and Class Institutional (STPIX). The best 1-year total return was achieved in 1999 with 167.86%. The 5-year annualized return is 10.68%. There is a management fee of 0.40% and maximum sales charge of 5.75%. There are 60 brokerages that provide the sale of this fund, such as JP Morgan, Schwab Retail, Raymond James, E Trade Financial, etc.

The top holdings as of March 2012 are Apple Inc, Qualcomm Inc, Cisco Systems Inc, VMWare Inc and Milestone Treasury Obligations Institutional. These top holdings represent 25.41% of the total net assets.

2. Berkshire Focus (BFOCX)

The Berkshire Focus fund invests mainly in common stocks of the electronic technology industry. It may invest >25% of assets in that particular industry. It may invest in foreign securities and certain types of exchange traded funds. This equity fund is a non-diversified fund.

The total net assets of this fund are $46.10 million. It has 4-stars rating from Morningstar. Its 12-month dividend yield is 0%. There is no transaction fee or sales load for investing in this fund. Investors only need a minimum initial investment of $5,000 to invest in a brokerage account.

Since its inception, the best 1-year total return was achieved in 1999 with 142.90%. Based on load adjusted returns, this best technology fund has returned 11.50% over the past 1-year and 33.63% over the past 3-year.

The top 10 stocks as of March 2011 are Apple Inc, Priceline.com Inc, Amazon.com Inc, LinkedIn Corp, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc, Salesforce.com Inc, VMWare Inc, Tractor Supply Company, Under Armour Inc and Ultra Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance.

3. Fidelity Select Computers (FDCPX)

The Fidelity Select Computers fund objective is to achieve capital appreciation. It invests majority of assets in securities of companies principally engaged in research, design, development, manufacture, or distribution, processes, or services relate to hardware technology within the computer industry. This mutual fund invests in domestic and foreign stocks.

The current fund manager is Matthew S. Schuldt. The annual holdings turnover as of October 2010 is 193.00%. The annual expense ratio of this fund is 0.85%. There is no 12b1 fee and no front-end sales load fee for investing in this technology sector mutual fund.

The 10-year annualized return is 6.58%. Based on the load adjusted return, the fund has returned 35.97% over the past 3-year. The best 1-year total return was in 1998 with 96.37%. The YTD return was 25.29%.

The top 10 holdings of this fund represent 72.65% of the total net assets. They are International Business Machine Corp, EMC Corp, Teradata Corp, Sandisk Corporation, NCR Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Co, Netapp Inc, Western Digital Corp and Dell Inc.

4. Fidelity Select Software & Computers (FSCSX)

The Fidelity Select Software & Computers fund uses its assets to buy common stocks of companies principally engaged in research, design, production, and distribution relate to software or information-based services. It may invest in securities of foreign issuers.

Since February 2009, this fund is managed by Brian Lempel. The fund has $1.81 billion of total net assets. It has annual holdings turnover of 238% as of April 27, 2012. This is higher compared to the average in the Technology category (121.30%). The annual expense ratio of this fund is 0.81%.

Morningstar has rated this technology sector equity fund with 4-star rating. It has YTD return of 20.44%. Based on the load adjusted return, it has returned 31.92% over the past 3-year and 10.77% over the past 5-year. You can buy this fund from these brokerages such as Schwab Retail, JP Morgan, T Rowe Price, Vanguard, E Trade Financial, etc.

The top holdings of the fund are Microsoft Corp, International Business Machines Corp, Oracle Corp, Google Inc A, Visa Inc Class A, Citrix Systems Inc, Active Network Inc, Salesforce.com Inc, Polycom Inc and Mastercard Inc Class A.

5. T. Rowe Price Global Technology (PRGTX)

The investment objective of T. Rowe Price Global Technology fund is to seek long-term capital growth. This fund typically utilizes its net assets to purchase the common stocks of companies we expect to generate a majority of their revenues from the development, advancement, and use of technology.

This best performer technology fund has 5-stars rating from Morningstar for its performance since 2000. As with the other funds in this category, it also has 0.00% dividend yield. The annual expense ratio of this fund is 0.98%. David J. Eiswert is the current fund manager. The fund has total net assets of $689.83 million.

The 5-year average return is 9.89%. In 2009, it recorded the best total return with 80.28%. The 10-year annualized return is 10.57%. There is no fee for investing in this T Rowe Price fund.

As of April 2012, the largest holdings of this PRGTX fund are Apple, Baidu, Cisco Systems, Google, Juniper Networks, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics Co and Tokyo Electron. They represent 34.87% of the total net assets.

6. Firsthand Technology Opportunities (TEFQX)

Firsthand Technology Opportunities fund invests >80% of assets in high-technology companies in the industries and markets which have high growth potential within the technology sector. It may purchase stocks of small-, mid-, and large-cap companies.

This Firsthand fund was first introduced to public in 1999. Since its inception, the fund performed great and is rated with 4-stars rating by Morningstar. It is currently managed by Han M. Lee. You can buy this fund with $2,000 initial funding for your brokerage and retirement account.

The top holdings as per December 2011 are Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc, Netlogic Microsystems Inc, Power Shares QQQ, Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Baidu.com Inc, Sina Corp, Tencent Holdings Ltd, F5 Netowrks Inc and Amazon.com Inc. The top 3 sectors are technology, communication services, and consumer cyclical.