One area of the market which I think investors should consider gaining exposure to following the market crash is the tech sector.
This is because I believe there are a good number of companies at this side of the market which have the potential to provide strong returns for investors over the next decade.
Three top tech shares which I think investors ought to consider snapping up are listed below:
Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)
Whilst this payments company's shares are not the bargain buy that they were a couple of weeks ago, I still see a lot of value in them at the current level. And although the coronavirus pandemic could slow its growth in the near term, I believe its strong presence online will offer some support during the crisis. Especially following the recent launch on eBay Australia. All in all, when trading conditions return to normal, I expect Afterpay to be in a strong position to accelerate its growth again.
Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)
Appen is a company which is benefiting greatly from the rapidly growing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning markets. This is because it provides industry-leading services to these markets through its 1 million+ skilled contractors which operate in 130+ countries and 180+ languages and dialects. Its crowd-sourced team collects and labels high volumes of image, text, speech, audio, and video data, which are then used to build and improve AI systems. Demand has been exceptionally strong and looks set to continue growing in the years to come thanks to the increasing importance of AI and machine learning for big business.
Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)
A final tech share to consider buying is Xero. I've been very impressed with its overall performance over the last few years, but particularly its subscriber growth. In the first half of FY 2020 Xero grew its subscribers by 30% over the prior corresponding period to 2.057 million. After taking over ten years to gain one million subscribers, Xero added its second in just two and a half years. Whilst the coronavirus outbreak may stifle its growth in the short term, I suspect it won't be too long before it reaches 3 million subscribers. I expect this, its strong pricing power, and the benefits of scale to lead to solid earnings growth over the coming years.
