Dot.coms seem to have lost their sheen, at least in the view of one fund manager. Mr Nigel Edwards, of Aberdeen Asset Management, was speaking in Dublin at the introduction of Scottish Provident's new technology fund which Aberdeen will manage. "We are not interested in dot.coms or consumer-focused companies. Where someone buys his socks or last-minute tickets doesn't concern us. We are interested in technology companies with a strong management team, global focus and intellectual property within the company," he said.

The Aberdeen Asset Management fund is worth just over £2 billion sterling (€3.4 billion), having reached its peak in March at £2.25 billion before the technology industry shakeout.

The 18-year-old unit trust fund was recently ranked first out of a total of more than 1,100 UK unit trusts over the last five years. It actively invests in 70 to 90 global technology companies, with particular focus on the US market, where Mr Edwards says there is "greatest understanding" of the IT industry.

Participating companies in the fund include Sun Microsystems, Cisco Systems, Ericsson and Texas Instruments, along with smaller holdings in emerging technology companies.

The minimum investment in the fund is £5,000 and can be executed either through an independent broker or via Scottish Provident's investment bond contract. There is an initial £50 set up fee, a 5 per cent bid offer spread and an annual 1.25 per cent active management charge. The fund includes a loyalty bonus after three years of 2.5 per cent of the bid value of the investment.

Mr David Overy, head of sales and marketing at Scottish Provident, warned: "This fund is a high- risk, high-reward fund and should form part of a balanced portfolio. It is not a fund for the faint-hearted. Although we cannot predict the future from the past, the performance to date speaks for itself with the Aberdeen Technology Unit Trust achieving a gross return of over 930 per cent in pound terms over the last five years."