Are British stock market investors missing out on the tech revolution?

Right now, we’re in the midst of a powerful technology revolution. Driven by exciting technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and robotics, this revolution is creating some incredible investment opportunities for long-term stock market investors like myself.

Are British investors missing out on this revolution though? I fear a lot might be, looking at the stocks that those in the UK are investing in today.

Yesterday’s heroes?

One thing I look at regularly is the list of the 20 most bought stocks on Hargreaves Lansdown. This provides an interesting snapshot of activity in the UK investment community.

Now, for the week ended 8 November, the 20 most purchased shares included Aviva, Phoenix Group, Marks and Spencer, Glencore, Schroders, Persimmon, GSK, Vistry, Legal & General Group, BP, Lloyds, AstraZeneca, Rolls-Royce, and John Wood Group.

I won’t go into the specifics of each of those companies here (there are some I’m bullish on and some I’m not). But it’s fair to say that none of the stocks are major plays on the tech boom.

On that list are three insurers, two housebuilders, an oil giant, an old-school bank, and a supermarket. Let’s face it, none of those industries are at the forefront of the digital revolution.

Of course, all of these stocks could potentially play a role in a diversified portfolio. For example, some offer chunky dividend yields today. Others look cheap.

It seems that a lot of investors are not focusing on technology though. And that surprises me, given what’s happening in the world today.

US tech stocks

The good news is that a handful of US-listed tech stocks were among the 20 most bought shares. These were Tesla, MicroStrategy, Nvidia, and Palantir.

Vanguard S&P 500 tracker funds VUSA and VUAG were also on the list. And these provide quite a bit of exposure to the tech sector (and names like Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon).

So, some UK investors are getting involved in the tech revolution, which is great to see. Clearly, there are a few in the UK who are not scared to invest in higher-valuation growth stocks that are listed internationally.

A UK stock for the tech revolution

It’s worth pointing out that on the London Stock Exchange, there are plenty of stocks and funds that offer exposure to the digital revolution.

One I’m a fan of is Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (LSE: SMT). It’s an investment trust that has a focus on disruptive growth companies.

Today, this trust has holdings in Amazon, Nvidia, Tesla, Meta Platforms, SpaceX and many other disruptive companies. So, it can be a very effective way to get exposure to the tech theme.

I own a few shares in the investment trust myself within my SIPP (pension). And they’ve done well for me recently, rising nearly 30% over the last year.

Now, like a lot of tech stocks, Scottish Mortgage shares can be volatile at times. This year alone, they’ve had multiple pullbacks of 5% or more. So, they’re not going to be suitable for everyone.

I’m pretty confident that this trust is going to provide attractive returns over the long term, however. As the world becomes more tech-focused, it should do well.