Bet on Tech This Summer, Strategist Says
By: Greg Levine | Features Editor
Nostalgic for 2000? Arnie Berman, chief technology strategist at Cowen, says it's a mistake to pine away for the the tech sector's glory days. He told "Squawk on the Street" viewers why they should forget the bygone "nutty time" -- and how they should play tech in the near future.
CNBC's Erin Burnett noted that if the Nasdaq rose 7% annually, "it would be 2017" before it returned to the lofty all-time peak of March 10, 2000. But Berman said that investors should focus on the idea that, "though we're 50% away" from that record level, "we only spent 22 months in history where the Nasdaq was higher than it is today."
Berman said that using the proverbial dot-com boom as "the milestone" has some anecdotal "literary value" -- but, he asked rhetorically, "How many people actually made all their investments in February [of 2000] and sold them in a month?"
The strategist said investors can "begin to bet on tech" for the second half of the year -- but added, "you're better off placing those bets" in late summer. Berman believes that the most likely catalyst to tech sector growth will be service-provider spending, particularly in wireless. One development to watch for: the transition to digital TV in February 2009, which will put lots of analog broadcast spectrum up for auction.
Share Price Losers and Winners Since Since March 10, 2000
| Sun Microsystems | down 89% |
| Yahoo | down 68% |
| Intel | down 63% |
| Microsoft | down 40% |
| Cisco Systems | down 63% |
| Apple | up 259% |
| Research in Motion | up 144% |
