Today, I’m asking whether I should also be taking a position in another investment trust.

A worthy rival?

Like its better-known rival, Allianz Technology Trust (LSE: ATT) is all about finding the best growth stocks management can find in the disruptive tech space. It’s certainly picked a good location to conduct its search. Allianz’s team is based in San Francisco — close to Silicon Valley.

Performance-wise, this relatively concentrated trust (47 holdings) has done well. Despite falling by a third in value in 2022, the shares have still managed to more than double since October 2017.

For me, this underlines the importance of looking at the long-term performance of any potential investment rather than making a judgement based on just a few weeks or months. It’s what being a Fool is all about.

Having said this, the five-year performance for Scottish Mortgage shares is not as impressive. Here, we see a capital gain of a little over 70%. Moreover, SMT has fallen more than its peer in 2022 (down 41%).

So should I be prioritising the Allianz trust over my position in Scottish Mortgage, especially as the former now trades at a 12% discount to the value of its investments?

Time to hold both?

Well, holding both would give me access to two management teams and their stock-picking prowess. With a market-cap still under £1bn compared to SMT’s £11bn, it can also be argued that ATT is more nimble in its approach and, consequently, possesses greater growth potential.

But there are issues with this strategy. One danger of holding both funds is that my portfolio becomes overly concentrated in one sector. That’s fine when things are going well. But it’s less easy to stomach when other parts of the market are generating better returns. Theoretically, the Allianz fund could also prove more volatile because it holds fewer stocks.

In addition to this, some overlap of holdings is inevitable. Electric car maker Tesla, for example, is SMT’s second-biggest position and the fourth-biggest of Allianz Technology Trust. Am I happy with this much exposure? Elon Musk may have defied his critics to date but the last few months have been tricky for holders to say the least.

Another important thing to highlight is the costs involved. Baille Gifford charges investors only 0.32% for managing Scottish Mortgage. As well as being low for an active fund that deviates substantially from the underlying benchmark, it’s also less than half the ongoing charge of the Allianz trust (0.8%). What may seem like a small difference can really impact returns over the years. And here at Fool UK, we’re big fans of keeping costs as low as possible.

Staying put

As things stand, I’m happy to stick with Scottish Mortgage shares as my main exposure to technology stocks. Maintaining a balanced portfolio (and ensuring a good night’s sleep) means more to me than shooting for the moon.

Even so, it will be interesting to see if both trusts rally to the same extent when market confidence inevitably returns.

Unique investment trusts 

A great example is the Allianz Technology Trust (LSE: ATT), which I would add to my portfolio to build exposure to the global technology sector.

Over the past five years, the trust has returned more than 300%, thanks to its exposure to high growth technology stocks such as Microsoft. 

Past performance should never be used to guide future potential and I think it is unlikely the trust will repeat this impressive performance over the next five years.

Nevertheless, as a way to build exposure to corporations like Microsoft and other more niche operators such as the cloud security company Zscaler, I think the trust looks incredibly attractive. 

Unfortunately, some investment trusts can be quite expensive ways to invest in the market. Most charge an annual portfolio management fee, and some even charge a performance fee if they exceed their benchmark return.

The Allianz Technology Trust charges both. These fees exceeded 3.6% in 2020, although the trust did return 80% compared to its benchmark return of 42%. In the long run, these high fees could eat into investor returns. 

Still, I am willing to pay a fee to investment trust managers who have experience in a particular sector. That is why I would buy this trust for my portfolio today despite the high cost. 

Healthcare sector champion 

Another trust I already own and would buy more of for my portfolio is the Worldwide Healthcare Trust (LSE: WWH).

This trust charges an annual management fee of just under 1%. It is managed by a team of experienced medical professionals who provide unique insight into the global healthcare sector. I am willing to pay for this experience, especially in such a specialist industry. 

As well as paying a performance fee, another downside is that I have no input over the investments chosen. This is both a good and a bad thing. I can outsource the investment decisions to those who know better, but it also means that if they pick the wrong investments, my hard-earned money is at stake. 

Despite this risk, I own the healthcare trust in my portfolio to build exposure to the sector and buy into the experience of its management team. Some of the top holdings in the portfolio include American pharmaceutical and healthcare giants such as Boston Scientific. This unique company manufactures devices for the international medical market. 

The portfolio also contains several speculative names, such as Mirati Therapeutics which is developing cancer therapies. These high-risk, high-reward opportunities are not the sort of businesses I would be comfortable buying myself. I am happy to let the management team at this investment trust take on the work. 

Here, I’m going to highlight five top investment trusts I like for 2022. I’d be comfortable buying all of them for my own portfolio today.

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust

Starting with investment trusts for growth, one of my top picks here is Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (LSE: SMT). This is a global equity product that’s managed by Baillie Gifford. It has a phenomenal track record (its share price is up around 333% over the last five years).

There are a number of things I like about Scottish Mortgage. One is that it provides exposure to some of the world’s largest tech companies. Top holdings currently include Tesla, Tencent, and Nvidia. Another is that it provides exposure to unlisted companies, such as payments firm Stripe and tech platform ByteDance. Normally, three kinds of unlisted companies are only accessible to sophisticated investors through venture capital funds.

Now this is a higher-risk investment trust. That’s because it owns a lot of high-growth companies which aren’t yet profitable. If these kinds of companies fall out of favour in 2022, SMT could underperform. So I wouldn’t want to have too much portfolio exposure here. All things considered however, I think it’s a top investment trust for long-term growth. Fees are very low, at 0.34% per year.

Smithson Investment Trust

Another growth-focused investment trust I like is Smithson (LSE: SSON). This is a mid-cap/small-cap product that’s managed by Fundsmith. Since its launch in 2018, it has performed very well, returning 23% per year to the end of November. 

What I like about this trust is that, like its big brother Fundsmith Equity, it aims to invest in high-quality businesses that are dominant in their markets and have established excellent track records. This approach has delivered excellent returns for Fundsmith Equity over the long run and seems to be working for Smithson too.

I also like the fact it provides exposure to growth stocks that are more under the radar. Top holdings at the end of November, for example, included Rightmove, Fevertree Drinks, and Equifax.

One risk here is that the trust is quite concentrated. It only holds between 25 and 40 stocks which means that stock-specific risk could be relatively high compared to other more diversified trusts. I’m comfortable with this risk however, as I have plenty of other trusts, funds, and stocks in my portfolio. Fees here are 0.9% per year.

Allianz Technology Trust

My third pick for growth is the Allianz Technology Trust (LSE: ATT). This trust, which also has a five-star rating from Morningstar, is more niche in nature as it is focused purely on technology stocks.

One reason I like this trust is that it provides exposure to a broad mix of tech stocks. Not only does it hold the mega-cap tech giants such as Microsoft and Alphabet but it also holds smaller, up-and-coming players such as Okta and Snowflake.

I also like the fact that the trust is managed by the highly experienced AllianzGI Global Technology team, which is based in San Francisco. This location is only a stone’s throw from Silicon Valley, where many of the world’s top tech companies are based.

Of course, if technology stocks underperform in 2022, this trust is likely to underperform as well. So, I wouldn’t want to have too much portfolio exposure here. I think it could play a role in my diversified portfolio though. Fees are 0.8% per year.

Scottish American Investment Company

Turning to investment trusts for income, one of my top picks is Scottish American Investment Company (LSE: SAIN). This is a global equity product that’s also managed by Baillie Gifford. Its aim is to be a core investment for private investors seeking income. It has an excellent performance track record.

One reason I like this trust is that it has a very balanced portfolio. Unlike many other global equity trusts, it doesn’t have a huge US bias. At the end of November, around 33% of the portfolio was invested in US stocks, while 32% was invested in European stocks and 15% in Asian stocks. Top holdings at 30 November included Microsoft, Novo Nordisk, and Roche.

Now this trust doesn’t have a huge dividend yield. At present, it’s around 2.4%. However, it is a ‘Dividend Hero’, which means it has increased its dividend every year for at least 20 years.

One risk here is that the trust does hold quite a few growth stocks. This means that during market volatility, it could be more volatile than some other income-focused investment trusts. However, I see it as a good choice as part of a diversified portfolio. Ongoing charges are 0.7% per year.

Murray Income Trust 

Finally, I also like the Murray Income Trust (LSE: MUT). This is another investment trust that’s focused on income. Its goal is to provide high and growing income with some capital growth by investing predominantly in UK shares. It’s managed by Aberdeen Standard Investments.

Like Scottish American, this trust is also a dividend hero, with a great long-term dividend growth track record. In 2021, total dividends amounted to 34.50p per share, which equates to a yield of nearly 4% at the current share price. 

It’s not just the dividend track record that is impressive here however. Overall, recent returns have been very good as well. Over the five years to the end of November, MUT’s net asset value (NAV) rose 49%. By contrast, the FTSE All-Share Index returned 31% over the same period. Performance has been boosted by stocks such as Diageo, AstraZeneca, and Safestore, which are among the top holdings.

It’s worth pointing out that while this trust has an excellent long-term dividend track record, dividends are never guaranteed. It’s also worth noting that at times in the past, this trust has underperformed the market, due its focus on dividend payers. Overall however, there’s a lot to like about Murray Income Trust, in my view. Ongoing charges are 0.46% per year.

Having said that, I think there are better investment trusts to buy right now from a risk/reward perspective. Here’s a look at three growth-focused trusts I believe are lower risk than SMT at present.

Scottish Mortgage: a higher-risk trust

One thing that concerns me about Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust is that it has large positions in stocks that many investors believe are in ‘bubble’ territory at present. At 31 December, for example, 8.9% of the trust was invested in Tesla, which is up about 670% over the last year. Meanwhile, 4.5% was invested in Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer NIO. It’s up about 1,000% over the last year.

Given these large weightings in expensive stocks, I think a safer investment trust right now is Monks. This is a global equity trust that’s managed by the same investment firm as SMT – Baillie Gifford. The difference is Monks doesn’t take the same kind of large bets on stocks that SMT does. Tesla, for example, was just 1.9% of the portfolio at 31 December. This means stock-specific risk is much lower.

The performance of this trust has still been very good. Over the last five years, its NAV has risen 174%. Overall, I think it’s a great trust for global equity exposure.

Risk versus reward

Another global equity trust I believe offers an attractive risk/reward proposition at the moment is Smithson. This is a mid-cap/small-cap offering from Fundsmith.

Like the top-performing Fundsmith Equity fund, this trusts focuses on high-quality stocks with superior operating numbers. This approach to investing reduces risk significantly. Currently, the top holdings here include Rightmove, barcode reading company Cognex, and engineering software firm Ansys.

Smithson has performed well since its launch in 2018. Last year, the trust’s NAV rose 31.4%, beating its benchmark comfortably. I think it has the potential to keep outperforming while keeping risk at a lower level than Scottish Mortgage. 

This trust has outperformed Scottish Mortgage

Finally, I also like the Allianz Technology Trust (LSE: ATT). Like Scottish Mortgage, this trust has a heavy focus on US tech stocks. However, its portfolio looks very different to that of SMT.

At 31 December, for example, the top holding was Alphabet (Google). This is a tech stock I believe actually offers decent value right now. Meanwhile, Apple and Samsung were also in the top 10 holdings at the end of December. Overall, I see this trust as a less risky play on technology compared to Scottish Mortgage.

ATT’s performance has been excellent in the recent past. For the five-year period to the end of November, its share price rose 361%. That means it actually outperformed Scottish Mortgage, which returned 352% over the same period. All things considered, I think this is a fantastic investment trust for global technology exposure.

In conclusion, I still like Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust. I definitely plan to keep it in my portfolio. However, looking at the risks, I think there are better trusts to buy right now.

Examining the underlying top holdings of the trust, the reason for the gains become clear. Underpinning the portfolio are giants of the tech stock genre. Tesla, Amazon, Netflix and Spotify are all featured in the top 10 holdings ,and have substantially increased in valuation since the low water mark of April this year.

Overall, my thoughts on the trust are positive. There are low annual charges and it is currently trading at a narrow discount. The management philosophy of James Anderson and Tom Slater is ‘the best potential, durable growth opportunities for the future’, an ethos that will chime with many Fool readers. Earlier this year, Paul Summers cited the stock as a long-term holding for retirement.

I would ,however, sound one gentle note of caution. In the case of SMT, the concern is the proportion of total holdings tied up in a relatively narrow spread of tech stocks.

Digging deeper

For any investment trust or fund that I hold, I like to keep abreast of its major components as they can signpost future movements in price. As an early investor into the short-lived Woodford Equity Income fund, I became concerned in 2018 when the top 10 holdings revealed only a singular defensive dividend-paying stock, namely, Imperial Brands. Such stocks should be the bedrock of that fund style, but the remainder were high risk or unquoted companies. As a result, I sold my holding and avoided the later chaos as the Woodford fund was suspended.

Applying this logic to Scottish Mortgage, my concern is that Tesla and Amazon account for 23% of the entire trust. Ultimately, the performance of these companies will hold huge sway over share price movements. This isn’t to say that they won’t continue to grow or that I don’t like the investment as a whole, merely something to be aware of when making decisions.

The Foolish alternative

I like the look of Allianz Technology Trust (LSE: ATT). For those wishing to gain exposure to tech stocks, it contains similar holdings to Scottish Mortgage, but in smaller overall proportions. Edward Sheldon examined its tech stock credentials earlier this year.

Led by its position in tech giant Apple, it has performed strongly against its benchmark index (Dow Jones World Technology) over the longer term, and is well positioned to continue this through its exposure to companies that have benefitted from the coronavirus pandemic shift to home working and increased online activity. The management team looks to invest in potential high-growth mid-cap companies, seeking leaders in sectors that are driving change through innovation or lower costs.

The trust charges both a management and performance fee, but these are offset by strong returns in the years where the performance fee is levied.

Foolish final thoughts

It is clear to me that the tech stock sector will be a huge driver of growth over the next 10 years, and therefore any investor would benefit from some exposure within their portfolio. Either of these two trusts offer that exposure and are well placed to benefit from that growth.

Scottish Mortgage isn’t the only FTSE-listed investment trust that’s performed well in 2020, due to exposure to exciting NASDAQ-listed technology companies though. Here, I’ll highlight three other growth-focused trusts that have delivered excellent returns for investors recently. 

Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust

Scottish Mortgage – which is Baillie Gifford’s flagship investment trust – seems to get all the attention when it comes to growth-focused trusts.

However, what’s interesting is that Baillie Gifford actually has a smaller growth-focused trust that has outperformed SMT recently. It’s called the Baillie Gifford US Growth Trust (LSE: USA).

This trust, which as its name suggests, is US-focused (SMT is global), aims to invest in growth companies that the portfolio manager believes have significant potential. Top holdings currently include the likes of Shopify, Amazon, Tesla, and Wayfair.

This trust was only launched in 2018, so it doesn’t have a long-term track record. Yet since its launch, it’s performed very well. Year to date, it’s up about 60%. With that kind of performance, I think it’s worth a closer look.

Ongoing charges are 0.77% per year versus 0.36% for SMT.

Allianz Technology Trust

Another tech-focused investment trust that’s performed very well recently is the Allianz Technology Trust (LSE: ATT). It actually outperformed Scottish Mortgage last year, returning 35%, versus 25% for SMT.

This trust invests with a global focus, as SMT does. Managed by the highly-experienced AllianzGI Global Technology team, it aims to invest in stocks that have the potential to be tomorrow’s Apple, Google, or Microsoft. It’s goal is to identify major trends ahead of the crowd, and hold companies that’ll create shareholder value with the introduction of new technology. Top holdings currently include the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Crowdstrike, and MongoDB.

Like Scottish Mortgage, this trust has a 5-star rating from Morningstar. For those seeking a pure technology-focused trust, I think it has a lot of potential.

Ongoing charges are slightly higher than SMT at 0.93% per year.

Smithson Investment Trust

Finally, take a look at Smithson (LSE: SSON). This is a small- and mid-cap-focused global equity trust run by the team at Fundsmith. This trust has a large weighting to the US (46% at 30 June) as well as a large weighting to the technology sector (40% at 30 June).

This is another trust that hasn’t been around for that long. It launched in October 2018. However, since then, it’s done pretty well. Last year, for example, it returned 30%, outperforming Scottish Mortgage by about 5%.

What I like about this particular trust is its focus on smaller, more under-the-radar companies. It doesn’t go for the Amazons and Teslas of the world. Instead, it invests in companies such as medical technology company Masimo and machine vision specialist Cognex. This makes it more unique and means it can help you diversify your portfolio more effectively.

Overall, I think this is a great little growth-focused investment trust that offers something different.

Ongoing charges are 0.9% per year.

Similarly, the National Lottery also sells dreams of overnight wealth, but hitting the jackpot will only ever become a reality for a tiny few.

To make a serious attempt at building long-term wealth, I’d recommend investing in a Stocks and Shares ISA instead. Share prices are also volatile, as we’ve seen this week, but history shows that, in the long term, equities beat almost every other investment.

I’m a long-standing fan of investment trusts, and the two I’m tipping here have grown nearly 600% over the last decade, turning a £10,000 investment into £70,000. They’re worth a closer look and could help you win financial freedom.

Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon

Whenever I look at the Japanese smaller companies sector, it always seems to be generating outsize returns, and Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon (LSE: BGS) has grown a quite stunning 640% in the last decade, according to the Association of Investment Companies.

Manager Praveen Kumar aims to deliver long-term capital growth from a spread of between 40 and 80 attractively-valued smaller companies he believes offer good growth opportunities.

Unlike many smaller companies funds, it also boasts a low ongoing charging figure, just 0.77% a year and, despite its success, still trades at a tempting discount of 8.6% to net asset value. If you want to add some exciting diversification to your portfolio, this growth-focused Japanese trust looks like an exciting way to achieve it.

Allianz Technology

Allianz Technology Trust (LSE: ATT) has also had a storming decade, rising 599% in that time, again, purely from capital growth, as it doesn’t pay a dividend.

This trust invests primarily in large US companies, with tech giants Amazon, Microsoft, Tesla and Apple all featuring in its top 10 holdings, alongside some familiar names such as MasterCard. 

Naturally, Allianz Technology has benefited from having direct exposure to the world’s most high-profile sector so, before diving in, you should check where you stand on its future prospects.

Do you believe the tech boom is played out, or could it have further to run? Nobody can say for sure, as the tech giants could face regulatory threats, or simply become too unwieldy. Despite that, big tech is generating huge sums from selling global products and services that people crave, and there’s little sign of that changing yet.

Check how much exposure you have to this sector already, as well as the US stock market in general, because 85% of this fund is invested Stateside.

I’d put my money on either of these two investment trust winners or, better still, split my cash between them, rather than have a hopeful punt on Bitcoin or the Lotto.

Allianz Technology

Tech-focused investment trust Allianz Technology (LSE: ATT) has reaped the benefits, it is now up an astonishing 512% in the last 10 years, making it the best performing fund in the investment trust sector, slightly ahead of Scottish Mortgage at 509%, according to figures from the Association of Investment Companies.

It has achieved this by investing in a spread of mostly US stocks – the fund has 90% exposure to the States. It is crammed with familiar tech names, with Microsoft its biggest holding at 7.60% of the portfolio, while Facebook, Apple and Alphabet also figure in its top 10 holdings, alongside Taiwan Semiconductor and MasterCard.

The fund has consistently performed the IT Technology & Media sector and still has momentum, up 38% in the last year. Unsurprisingly, it trades at a narrow discount to net asset value of just -0.8%, slightly more expensive than its long-term average of -3.4%.

Allianz Technology is clearly a good fund, the big question is what happens to the sector next. You should never buy an investment purely on past performance, as the chances of a repeat are slim. Nobody can bank on getting another 500% growth in the next 10 years.

I still believe the tech charge has further to go, as it embeds itself ever more closely into our lives. The revolution may still be at an early stage, and this fund could be a good way to play it without the risk of buying individual stocks.

Finsbury Growth & Income

These days everybody loves Nick Train, who co-founded Lindsell Train Limited in 2000, and has become one of the UK’s most renowned fund managers. He runs several hugely successful and popular unit trusts with co-manager Michael Lindsell, and has his own investment trust, too, Finsbury Growth & Income (LSE: FGT).

This operates in the UK equity income sector, where it has done brilliantly well, returning a total of 366.43% over the last 10 years, including reinvested dividends.

Top holdings include familiar FTSE 100 names such as Diageo, Unilever, Burberry Group, Schroders and Hargreaves Lansdown, but this is no closet tracker filled with the same old stocks, as you often see in the equity income sector. Train is picking his stocks carefully, and well.

Last time I looked at his trust, it was trading at a premium to net asset value. Today, you can buy it at a small discount of -2.4%, which is actually below its long-term average premium of 0.5%, making this a potentially better entry point. Nobody likes overpaying if they can help it.

In fact, these two funds could complement each other nicely. Allianz Technology will give you a spread of racy tech stocks, mostly from the US, while Finsbury Growth & Income will give you a solid blend of UK income stocks.

Both should make good long-term portfolio holds.

Vote of confidence

Online platform Interactive Investor has just announced the most popular trusts among its investors, and it’s an impressive bunch. The top two are stellar performers Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and City of London Investment Trust.

I’m a long-standing admirer of Scottish Mortgage, a global fund that has delivered 180% growth over the past five years, against just 88% on its benchmark IT global sector. However, Rupert Hargreaves covered this beauty yesterday, saying he’d buy this FTSE 100 investment trust right now.

I’m also a fan of City of London, fabled for increasing its dividend every year for more than 50 years, but I sung its praises less than a month ago. That’s okay, though, because the next two also merit close attention.

Tech hero

The third most popular investment trust in the UK is Allianz Technology Trust (LSE: ATT), which aims to deliver long-term capital growth by investing in technology companies around the world. Incredibly, it has even outperformed Scottish Mortgage, returning a simply massive 253% over the last five years.

The trust has clearly benefited from being in the most buoyant sector of all, as its benchmark IT Tech, Media & Telecomm sector grew a storming 213% on average over the same period. Obviously, the trust is a goodie but you cannot expect it to deliver a repeat performance, as sectoral performance tends to be cyclical. 

It can’t go on

Top 10 holdings include Amazon and Facebook, while its biggest single position at 5.20% is Google owner Alphabet. The trust is almost 90% invested in the US, whose tech sector has smashed allcomers over the past five years. Hence its performance, and popularity.

Allianz Technology now trades at a discount of just 0.1 and my concern is obvious. US tech has been on such an amazing run, but nothing lasts forever. You risk jumping on the bandwagon just as it hits a wall. On the other hand, US tech has defied the doubters before. It’s your call.

Train of thought

The UK’s fourth most loved investment trust is Finsbury Growth & Income Trust (LSE: FGT), which invests primarily in UK-listed companies. It has outshone its rivals, growing almost 95% over the past five years, against just 30% across the UK equity income sector. It’s up 18% over last year, against just 2% for its benchmark.

All becomes clear when you discover this £1.65bn fund is run by ace manager Nick Train, whose joint venture with Michael Lindsell, Lindsell Train Global Equity, is the UK’s second most popular unit trust (after FundSmith Equity).

Man of conviction

Top holdings include familiar names such as Diageo, Relx and Unilever. The fact that these three stocks each make up around 10% of the fund shows this is a conviction play, rather than a safety-first closet tracker.

Finsbury Growth & Income also trades at a slight premium, in this case 0.8, which is a vote of confidence from investors. You’re unlikely to find it much cheaper given that the long-term average premium is 0.5. These two trusts may not always be the best in the world, but they’ll take some beating.

Tech tips

If you’re looking for some funds to put in that pot, I’ve got a couple of tips for you. They’re quite specialist, but they might fit nicely around a broad-based fund, such as a FTSE All-Share tracker, or maybe one of these two global investment trusts that are absolutely smashing the FTSE 100.

Both are in the technology sector, which has been on a storming run lately although there’s no guarantee that will continue, especially with markets falling around our ears as I write this. My first suggestion, Allianz Technology Trust (LSE: ATT), is loaded up with those big tech names we know and love, with US giants Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Apple prominent in its top 10 holdings.

Trumped

The £448m fund, which launched in 1995, is 88% invested in North American equities, with only a smattering of European and UK exposure. The US has been on a blistering run, but many fear it could be overvalued, with President Trump and Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell tussling over the pace of interest rate rises.

Allianz Technology Trust is up a whopping 158% over five years, and investors are taking notice, making it the second most popular investment trust in the UK, after Scottish Mortgage, according to Interactive Investor sales figures. As a result, it’s trading at a 0.7% premium to the value of its underlying assets.

Polar climate

My other technology tip, Polar Capital Technology (LSE: PCT), has also enjoyed a rampant few years, rising 155% in that time, but it trades at a 2.3% discount. Again, it’s ridden the US tech stock boom, with a 72% stake in the market there, but wider exposure to Asia and Japan than Allianz.

Its top 10 holdings are also familiar… the fab four I mentioned above, plus Facebook, Chinese tech monsters Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group,  Samsung Electronics and the Taiwan Semiconductor Company.

This £1.5bn investment trust launched in 1996 is also much in demand right now, the 10th most popular trust in the UK. 

Opportunity or threat?

Whether to buy technology is a tough call right now. First, you need to see how it would slot alongside your existing holdings. If you already have plentiful exposure to large US tech stocks, you probably don’t want to load up on more right now. Also, there’s the small matter of the market meltdown.

You will either see this as a threat, or an opportunity. Allianz Technology Trust is down 15% in the last week and Polar Capital is down 12%. We like the odd market crash at The Fool because it gives you the chance to load up on top funds like these at a discount. The risk is that the market crash continues, but that’s always the risk at times like these.