London: European investors are making some big bets on US technology.

This year, the Europe-listed iShares S&P 500 Information Technology Sector ETF, ticker IUIT, has added $579 million (Dh2.1 billion), bringing its total assets to a record $1.1 billion. What’s more, the BlackRock Inc fund, which holds tech stalwarts like Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp and Facebook Inc, has experienced just one day of outflows since the start of the year — January 29, when investors pulled $6.2 million.

“European investors are waking up to something US investors have known for a while — that US tech might be worth its high valuation,” said Wei Li, head of iShares EMEA investment strategy at BlackRock.

Technology is the top-performing sector in the S&P 500 Index this year, returning 8.5 per cent. That performance has failed to light a similar fire under BlackRock’s US-listed tech sector ETF, however. The $4.3 billion iShares US Technology ETF, symbol IYW, has shed $13.9 million this year. But the $19.7 billion Vanguard Information Technology ETF, ticker VGT, has been a beneficiary, attracting $924 million in assets year-to-date.

Derivatives markets may also be playing a part in IUIT’s popularity among Europeans. “US sector futures are very expensive for Europeans right now, which could be driving investors to get this exposure via sector ETFs instead,” Li said.