Open. Held. Closed.
Opportunities:
Recognised & acted on.
A brief overview of the 2026 performance of WEM Opportunities
WEM Opportunities, their place in a broader strategy and allocation, how they are approached — and how it works in practice: three thematic portfolios at three different stages in 2026.
The fourth objective:
Opportunity
Since 2007, we have provided discreet, long-term guidance for HNWI individuals and fIn our companion article on WEM portfolios in 2026 (→ see HERE), we set out how our portfolios are organised:
Four classes. Each with one specific job it is built to do.
Three of them — Dynamic, Balanced and Conservative — carry a client’s long-term objectives: growth, diversification and preservation. They are built to be held through market cycles and, for the most part, their correct combination constitutes a healthy approach to managing wealth. Although, at this point we need to repeat our long-term approach: client and strategy first, solutions (portfolios included) second.
The fourth class is Thematic — and it works on a different basis. Its portfolios, WEM Opportunities, provide targeted, time-sensitive, and limited exposure to a specific structural development: a change in the economy that can be described, positioned for, and, in time, judged to have run its course.
As a general guideline, then, WEM Opportunities are meant to enhance and supplement — not substitute — an existing wealth management architecture.
This article therefore lays out where WEM Opportunities sit and how they are built, opened and closed, and then takes three of them through 2026.
For readers who want the detail, Appendix at the end of this article sets out the full commentary.
Where do WEM Opportunities sit: Alongside the core.
The comprehensive wealth management approach we uphold rests on three pillars:
- Strategic growth & opportunity access
- Capital preservation & risk shielding
- Legacy & inter-generational structuring
WEM Opportunities sit firmly within the 1st: as the opportunity for exposure to a development while it is still unfolding. Attractive as they are, they are not meant to be the cornerstone of a long-term strategy. By definition, WEM Opportunities offer limited, time-sensitive exposure — and thus carry the highest risk rating.
WEM Opportunities, then, are held alongside a core allocation, and in limited proportion to it. That way, only part of the wealth carries the concentration that comes with it.
The order of the conversation when it comes to opportunities is therefore the same one we follow with every client:
Clarity first: What are the objectives and the constraints?
Core solutions second. (Including portfolios, family governance and more, as appropriate.)
Opportunities last. And in proportion.
Opportunity construction:
Time is integral to the thesis
Every WEM Opportunity is defined by the succession of the same three steps as every other WEM portfolio:
- Context: The development in a market, an economy, or a sector to which the portfolio responds. In other words: What is changing that we can build upon.
- Opportunity: Where, within this particular development, there’s a possibility for appreciation.
- Strategy: How our particular portfolio pursues this opportunity — what it holds, how holdings are selected, and how it is managed. I.e., how we make use of the opportunity.
What differs with WEM Opportunities is the crucial element: time.
A core portfolio is built to be held through market cycles. A particular WEM Opportunity responds to a specific development, and the thesis behind it decides how long the portfolio is held.
WEM Opportunities lifecycle:
Recognised, opened, held, closed
Any WEM Opportunity begins with a thesis: a structural development, the related investment potential and the companies positioned to benefit from it. Decisions to open, hold and close a WEM Opportunity originate in our Investment Committee — as do all key decisions about our portfolios.
How long a WEM Opportunity is held is set by its thesis, not by the calendar. The three in this article illustrate the range well:
- WEM Opportunities: Emerging Markets has been open since 2021 because the development it addresses is a long one.
- WEM Opportunities: Software was opened in February 2026, after valuations across the software sector had fallen, and closed in August 2026.
- WEM Opportunities: AI Energy Infrastructure was opened in June 2026 and, given the status of the related situation, is still open at the time of publication (October 2026).
Vital aspect to be aware of here is:
Attention alone does not make a theme an opportunity. As our most recent annual letter put it: “The more enthusiasm that emerges in a particular sector, the more cautious we must be.”
Two of the three Opportunities in this article concern the AI economy:
AI Energy Infrastructure addresses the power the technology requires — the less discussed part of the build-out than the chips themselves, but at the moment, the more constraining one
Software was opened after valuations in its sector had fallen.
Performance evaluation:
Reading the results
Performance needs to be viewed with context: objectives, risk and time horizon. For WEM Opportunities, the time horizon is set by each thesis, so the three periods in this article differ:
- WEM Opportunities: Emerging Markets ranges from December 31, 2025 to August 31, 2026.
- WEM Opportunities: Software is shown from its launch on February 16, 2026 to its closure on August 12, 2026.
- WEM Opportunities: AI Energy Infrastructure is presented from its launch in June 2026 to August 31, 2026.
The figures are expressed in euro, before fees and taxes. Two of the three records are shorter than a year, so at the moment they are a first reading rather than a track record.
For long-term performance, please refer to individual factsheets here.
For your questions, please reach out to us here.
Thematic portfolios:
WEM Opportunities
What are they built for:
Targeted, time-sensitive, and limited exposure to a specific structural development. They are held alongside a core allocation, for as long as the thesis behind them holds.
What you accept:
Concentration in a single theme, with the volatility and the timing risk that come with it. A thesis can be right about the development and still early on the price. That is why any WEM Opportunity is held in proportion, by the designated part of wealth intended to carry that risk.
INDIVIDUAL WEM OPPORTUNITIES:
WEM Opportunities: Emerging Markets
CONTEXT:
Most of the world’s population, and much of its growth, is located in markets that represent a small proportion of global equity indices. That difference has narrowed only gradually.
OPPORTUNITY:
Direct investment in these markets provides exposure to that potential higher growth at its source, in countries with a different economic landscape, and in companies held by fewer investors.
STRATEGY:
The strategy invests in publicly traded companies across emerging and frontier markets, selected for growth the wider market has been slower to recognise. Selection is made security by security through fundamental analysis, and holdings are distributed across countries and sectors so that no single market determines the result.
The portfolio is actively managed, with positions reviewed and adjusted as market conditions and expectations change.
Value is driven by capital appreciation, dividend income and currency movements.
WHAT SHAPED THE RESULT:
For the most part, three observable themes: The first is the compute and AI-hardware supercycle, where several emerging economies manufacture the components the industry depends on. The second is the re-rating of large, cash-generative software platforms that trade at valuations reflecting years of scepticism rather than current fundamentals. The third theme supplies balance through structural growth and quality income: a leading regional bank with double-digit loan growth, a mid-teens return on tangible equity and a high, well-covered dividend; a dominant consumer-staples franchise; and a manufacturing champion expanding into export markets.
(Please note — a detailed commentary regarding each portfolio is in Appendix.)
WEM Opportunities: Software
CONTEXT:
In early 2026, software valuations fell across the sector as markets weighed which businesses AI would displace. The repricing also reached companies that AI itself depends on.
OPPORTUNITY:
The companies that enterprise AI is built on, in cloud computing, cybersecurity and semiconductor design, could be owned at valuations that did not reflect their position.
STRATEGY:
The strategy invested in a concentrated group of high-quality, publicly traded companies that form the backbone of enterprise AI adoption: AI platforms, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, government technology and semiconductor design software. Selection followed a proprietary “AI Resilience” framework, which favours businesses whose competitive position allows them to enable AI rather than be displaced by it.
The portfolio was actively managed and highly concentrated.
Value was driven by capital appreciation, including the recovery in valuations, and by currency movements.
WHAT SHAPED THE RESULT:
Cybersecurity was the clearest contributor, with two holdings rising sharply from their February lows. We closed the portfolio on August 12: the undervaluation it was opened to capture had largely corrected, and near-term risks had risen. Our view of the companies themselves had not changed.
WEM Opportunities: AI Energy Infrastructure
CONTEXT:
The principal constraint on AI computing is shifting from processing capacity to the energy infrastructure required to support it. That infrastructure takes years to build.
OPPORTUNITY:
The companies that supply that infrastructure hold positions which are difficult to replicate, and their order books extend well beyond the current cycle.
STRATEGY:
The strategy invests in publicly traded companies positioned across the sequential layers of the buildout: fuel delivery, contracted power generation, grid construction, transmission and distribution equipment, and inside-the-fence datacenter infrastructure. These layers benefit from physical supply constraints, multi-year order books and signed hyperscaler contracts that provide visibility through 2030.
The portfolio holds ten positions at any one time. Security selection is driven by a proprietary composite framework anchored on order-book backlog as its primary leading indicator, with a region-adjusted overlay for interconnection queue exposure.
The portfolio aims to deliver long-term capital appreciation by balancing cash-generative incumbents with companies whose growth depends on the buildout itself.
WHAT SHAPED THE RESULT:
The result since launch, shown in the chart below, flatters the portfolio’s position. August alone cost it 8.27%, as investors began to question how long the largest cloud companies would sustain their spending. The thesis behind the portfolio is unchanged.
WEM Opportunities
Source: WEM, Bloomberg Professional Terminal; 31.12.2025 — 31.08.2026. Total return in EUR (gross). WEM Opportunities: Software begins 16.02.2026 and was closed on 12.08.2026; WEM Opportunities: AI Energy Infrastructure begins 01.06.2026.
The chart, shared with our companion article, shows the portfolios in this article side by side. For the three Opportunities, the periods differ, so each result is best read on its own, and against the stage its Opportunity has reached:
And WEM Opportunities: AI Energy Infrastructure is still held after a difficult August, because our thesis for it is unchanged.
WEM Opportunities: Emerging Markets is still open, because the development it addresses is a long one.
WEM Opportunities: Software was closed once the opportunity it was opened for had largely been realised.
How to evaluate a WEM Opportunity within your allocation:
We start from your objectives and constraints:
- Your time horizon and liquidity needs
- Risk tolerance and drawdown sensitivity
- Concentration risk: business, real estate, or single-asset exposure
- Currency, jurisdictional, and tax considerations
- Legacy and governance priorities
The core allocation follows from the answers. A WEM Opportunity, where one fits, is held alongside it, and in limited proportion.
The full range of WEM portfolios is available on the Portfolios page.
Your wealth deserves a strategy — not a product.
A portfolio is only one part of the wealth architecture — we help you design the whole system.
Let’s start with a confidential conversation about your goals, constraints, and structure.
→ Arrange your private conversation HERE.
→ Read the companion article: Four objectives. One standard of management.
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Appendix:
Portfolio commentary
This appendix sets out the market conditions of 2026 and, portfolio by portfolio, the positions and sectors behind the results in this article. This appendix reflects our views as at August 31, 2026, which may change, and it is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
This appendix sets out, portfolio by portfolio, the positions, sectors and market conditions behind the results in this article. It reflects our views as at August 31, 2026 (for WEM Opportunities: Software, as at its closure on August 12, 2026), which may change. References to individual companies are for illustration only, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any security. The wider market conditions of 2026 are set out in Appendix of our companion article.
WEM Opportunities: Emerging Markets
WEM Opportunities: Emerging Markets is built as a barbell. Roughly 3/5 of the portfolio sit in a low-cost, broadly diversified core across the developing world. The rest is concentrated in a satellite of three observable themes:
- The computing and AI-hardware cycle: Several emerging economies manufacture the components the industry depends on.
- The re-rating of large software platforms: These are cash-generative businesses that still trade at valuations reflecting years of scepticism rather than their current fundamentals.
- Structural growth and quality income, which gives the portfolio balance. It includes:
- A leading regional bank, with double-digit loan growth, a return on tangible equity in the mid-teens and a high, well-covered dividend
- A consumer-staples business with a dominant market position
- A manufacturer expanding into export markets
The case is cost-efficient access to emerging markets, which trade at a persistent valuation discount to their developed-market equivalents. The themes are already visible in revenue and order backlogs rather than in forecasts.
WEM Opportunities: Software
We closed WEM Opportunities: Software on August 12, 2026, after a period of strong performance. The strategy was launched in mid-February as a deliberately concentrated, contrarian position, after the sell-off in software earlier in the year. Security selection followed the “AI Resilience” framework, which favours the businesses that enterprise adoption of AI requires over those it displaces.
The portfolio returned 47% gross in euro from launch to closure, ahead of the broad software market over the same period as measured by the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF. Cybersecurity was the clearest contributor, with Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike both re-rating sharply from their February lows.
The decision to realise the gains reflects the closing of the original mispricing, rather than a change of view on the companies. The valuation dislocation the strategy was built to capture had largely repriced. Median expected returns across the broader software universe had also fallen materially in the preceding weeks. At the same time, near-term downside risks had risen, while longer-term uncertainty about AI’s disruption of software remains elevated and compounds over time. We continue to see selective inefficiencies in the sector, and prefer to express them within a larger, more diversified portfolio
WEM Opportunities: AI Energy Infrastructure
WEM Opportunities: AI Energy Infrastructure is a dedicated strategy on the electrification of artificial intelligence. It owns the companies that generate electricity and build the physical infrastructure the AI build-out depends on, rather than betting on which software or chip prevails.
From its launch to the end of August, the portfolio returned 32.80%, although that figure now flatters the position. August alone cost the portfolio 8.27%. Contractor and equipment holdings fell by between 10% and 27% once the market began to question whether the hyperscalers’ capital spending is durable. Three developments combined to compress the value investors place on long-duration backlogs, even as the fundamentals moved the other way:
- A report on undisclosed hyperscaler debt
- Softer-than-expected revenue disclosures from the large AI developers
- Long-dated yields at a 19-year high
The contractors reported record backlogs, revenue growth above 40% and expanding margins, and were sold anyway, on guidance that came in modestly below consensus. Fuel costs, higher since the supply disruption in the Middle East, are now visible in their cost bases. The generation holdings and the thermal-management position rose over the month, which is why the portfolio fell considerably less than its weakest holdings.
The underlying thesis is unchanged. It rests on three things:
- A multi-year shock to electricity demand
- A supply side that cannot respond quickly, with lead times for grid equipment beyond three years
- Record contracted backlogs, and power-purchase agreements running up to 20 years
In our view, together they give the strategy a forward visibility and duration that a portfolio of computing companies, measured in quarters, does not have.
→ If you have additional questions, please reach out to us HERE.
→ For a detailed view of the WEM flagship portfolios performance in 2026 so far, please see here.
