The “stay-at-home” economy may be starting to wind down, but the work-from-home economy is just beginning. Why? Businesses are quickly seeing the many benefits of a remote workforce. Besides the incredible cost savings, the boost in quality of life and productivity helps companies maintain talent and reduce turnover.
In the upcoming webcast, The 4 Pillars of Investing In the Remote-Work Future, Now., Sylvia Jablonski, Managing Director, Institutional ETF Strategy, Direxion; and David Mazza, Managing Director, Product, Direxion, will touch upon ideas for getting precise exposure to the Work-From-Home economy.
Specifically, investors can take a look at the recently Direxion Work From Home ETF (WFH).
The Direxion Work From Home ETF offers exposure to companies across four technology pillars, allowing investors to gain exposure to those companies that stand to benefit from an increasingly flexible work environment. The four pillars include Cloud Technologies, Cybersecurity, Online Project and Document Management, and Remote Communications. Companies are selected for inclusion in the index by ARTIS, a proprietary natural language processing algorithm, which uses keywords to evaluate large volumes of publicly available information, such as annual reports, business descriptions, and financial news.
The four pillars or emerging themes are described as::
- Cloud Technologies. Due to the need for data to be securely stored, accessed, and shared remotely, companies offering cloud technology services and on-demand availability to computer systems may benefit.
- Cybersecurity. More flexible workspaces open the potential for increased cyber threats that likely increases the demand for companies offering cybersecurity systems.
- Online Project and Document Management. Remote work requires applications that enable the management of projects and collaboration across individuals and teams, boosting the need for tools that enable this to occur efficiently and securely.
- Remote Communications. With workers in sporadic locations, the need for videoconferencing, instant messaging and email applications will increase, so that coworkers can be connected even when not together physically.
Price Waterhouse Cooper’s recent COVID-19 CFO Pulse Survey notes that more than half (54%) of companies say that going forward, they’re planning to make remote work a permanent option for roles that allow. It’s even higher (61%) among financial services firms. 42% of recent respondents nationwide say they are working from home – a massive jump from only 9% who say they worked entirely from home before the pandemic.
This has been an ongoing trend that the coronavirus pandemic put into high gear. In 2017, about 43% of employed Americans had spent at least some time working remotely. In 2018, about 5.2% of US workers – or over 8 million people – worked entirely from home. 75% of Fortune 500 CEOs say they plan to accelerate the technological transformation of their company.
Financial advisors who are interested in learning more about investing in this new business environment can register for the Wednesday, June 15, webcast here.
