How to avoid the losers from technology disruption, says Alphinity

Sally PattenBOSS editor

Sep 26, 2017 – 10.30am

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Alphinity Investment Management's Lachlan MacGregor has two key messages for investors pondering the impact of technology on their investments: change is occurring much faster than you think, and avoiding the losers will have a much bigger impact on your portfolio than picking winners.

The first e-commerce transaction occurred in 1994, in the form of a sale of Sting's Ten Summoner's Tales CD. Amazon sold its first book online in July 1995. Fast forward to 2016 and e-commerce sales in the US reached almost US$400 billion and accounted for 8 per cent of all retail sales.

Sally Patten edits BOSS, and writes about workplace issues. She was the financial services editor and personal finance editor of the AFR, The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. She edited business news for The Times of London.