The United States technology and industrial real estate sectors continue to evolve in preparation for the rapid expansion of new technologies like e-commerce, the Internet of Things, streaming, and 5G. The rise of artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, online streaming and e-commerce services stand to fundamentally change how businesses interface and communicate with consumers. Before this takes place, however, Sean O’Hara, president of Pacer ETFs Distributors, says the “backbone of tech” must expand.
“Technology providers and data and infrastructure companies are preparing for the significant rise in demand for data processing, new cell towers and fiber optic networks that will support these new technologies and 5G,” says O’Hara. “We anticipate the demand for 5G capabilities will increase as data consumption continues to skyrocket. We believe companies that can enable this 5G transformation present an attractive opportunity for growth and investment.”
The future of 5G depends on a data and technology provider’s ability to offer the necessary infrastructure to enable this growth. Total global internet traffic is expected to reach 2.3 zettabytes of data by 2020, nearly doubled from 1.2 zettabytes in 2016, according to data from Pacer ETF analysts. This growth projection is further catalyzed by the development of autonomous vehicles, internet of things devices and high-resolution content for artificial intelligence and augmented reality. Real estate investment trusts and c-corps in these markets are updating their infrastructure to accommodate this mass inflow of data. In addition, e-commerce has grown monumentally as one-day or less shipping becomes a norm for many online shoppers.
“The rise of e-commerce, coupled with the internet of things, has sparked an infrastructure revolution that has the potential to invade every industry. This won’t happen unless e-commerce companies are able to acquire the mission critical warehouse real estate, as well as cloud data center space needed, to meet the voracious appetite of enterprises and consumers alike,” explains Kevin Kelly, CEO and managing partner of Benchmark Investments. “We anticipate the demand for physical product storage, logistics, and fulfillment only stands to increase with the proliferation of complex and intelligent data.”
Online retailers realize the need for additional industrial warehouse space. Industrial REITs integrated into e-commerce distribution, logistic networks, and self-storage facilities will play key roles in the success of data expansion. Pacer Benchmark Industrial Real Estate SCTR ETF (INDS) holds the real estate companies that are investing in this expansion. However, in order for e-commerce to expand further, data centers, storage, and infrastructure must be thoroughly built-out and integrated. The companies working to build-out this infrastructure can be found and tracked in the Pacer Benchmark Data & Infrastructure Real Estate SCTR ETF (SRVR).
“Both warehouses and data providers will likely benefit from thematic spending and these long-term trends,” says Kelly. As of October 1, 2019, Pacer ETFs' SRVR and INDS have a combined assets under management of $150 million. For more information, visit PacerETFs.com.
Source: Business Wire