Perspectives: Episode 94 – The heat is on AI - literally 'Perspectives' by Escala Partners

In this episode, Escala Partners CIO, Tracey McNaughton, talks about why our investment conviction level is the highest it has been since 2021 and how this has transformed into an overweight position in global over Australian equities. And why is OpenAI CEO Sam Altman investing in fusion?
(0:55) Tracey, we heard on your last podcast that you are a weekend road warrior on your motorcycle. Do you navigate markets in the same way you navigate roads?
(3:27) It seems like the Investment Committee at Escala has become more convicted in recent weeks. The Committee are feeling more confident now than they have since 2021. What’s driving that view?
(5:39) One of our highest conviction views is a preference for US equities over Australia. What is that view based on?
(8:00) The usual question remains on the lips of investors – is this a bubble?
(11:26) Boston Consulting Group believes that AI and regular data centre demand will grow to 7% of total electricity demand by 2030.
(13:33) It seems as though the energy transition needs artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence needs the energy transition. The so-called Next Generation Energy could help address this.
(15:35) The other side of your new versus old economy trade is to underweight Australian equities. We have the Reserve Bank meeting today. What are your thoughts on Australia?
(18:03) The other conviction view the team has is a preference for Japanese equities. We have the Bank of Japan meeting today to discuss interest rates. The expectation from the market is that the BOJ will end its experiment with negative interest rates today.