The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) delivered its biggest year of gains since its creation in 2000. At the final bell for the 2021 financial year on Wednesday evening, the benchmark index had finished 24% higher than it was a year prior. Though, it was no match for the bountiful returns delivered by some ASX tech shares.
While we sometimes look at the best performers of a sector within the ASX 200, today we're casting the net wider. Below are the 5 best performing tech shares from the broader All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).
5 top-performing ASX tech shares in FY21
Praemium Ltd (ASX: PPS)
Praemium is a provider of portfolio administration, investment platforms, and financial planning tools to the wealth management industry. The company operates in close competition with other financial platform providers such as HUB24 Ltd (ASX: HUB), which took out the fourth spot in our 'best performing ASX 200 shares' list.
Looking at the one-year chart on this one, you will see the significant moves to the upside line up with each of the company's quarterly reports. With each quarterly report, Praemium's all-important funds under management (FUM) climbed. By its March 2021 update, FUM had reached $37.9 billion, an increase of 96% on the prior year. This was helped along by the acquisition of Powerwrap in October 2020.
Shares in this ASX tech company rose 195% in FY21. At the time of writing, the Praemium share price is fetching $1.03.
Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)
San Francisco-based tech company, Life360 offers a family-orientated mobile application. Through it, parents can have real-time location sharing, crash detection, and messaging with their kids.
The company has recently strengthened its offerings by adding Jiobit to its team for $37 million. Management believes the addition of this wearable location device provider opens up cross-selling opportunities and is supportive in meeting Life360's growth strategy.
The Life360 share price delivered shareholders a paper profit of 206% in the last financial year.
Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT)
Weebit Nano is a developer of computer memory technology. The company's market capitalisation has surged to $220 million in what has been a massive financial year for its shareholders.
Back in August 2020, the Weebit Nano excitement mounted following its success of achieving the "stabilisation" process of its oxide ReRam technology. This milestone indicated the company's production process is repeatable and consistent. Building off that, further announcements regarding progress towards official production continued to push the share price higher.
Shareholders who managed to hold onto this ASX tech share enjoyed a return of 452% in FY21.
BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN)
Another chip developer, BrainChip holdings is working on producing an artificial intelligence processor for the "Internet of Things" market. Its AKD1000 processor, enabled with BrainChip's Akida technology, is aimed at solving complex problems with low power usage.
An agreement with VORAGO to support development for a 'neuromorphic' processor that meets spaceflight requirements for NASA got investors excited in September of last year. Further catalysts took shape in NASA ordering an Akida Early Access Evaluation Kit and the announcement of volume production by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.
All that excitement translated to a share price return of 470% during the financial year.
Pointerra Ltd (ASX: 3DP)
Finally, taking out the number one spot for the best performing ASX tech share in FY21 is Pointerra. The Australian company offers unique 3D geospatial data technology to solve problems related with digital asset management workflows. This software allows very large, high resolution datasets from any part of the world for instant access.
The initial thrust in Pointerra's share price followed a strategic investment in the company by serial tech entrepreneur, Bevan Slattery. This investment involved Mr Slattery purchasing 50 million shares for $2.5 million. Given Bevan's track record with the likes of NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT), Superloop Ltd (ASX: SLC), and Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) – other investors quickly followed suit. More recently, the company's shares have weakened after announcing the acquisition of a drone-based digital asset management business Airovant LLC.
By the end of the financial year, Pointerra's share price was far higher than the 5 cents that Mr Slattery snagged it at. Astonishingly, its shares climbed 1067% in FY21, making it a 10-bagger in the space of a year.
