Credit Suisse Launches New Nanotech Index

Earlier this month, major foreign bank Credit Suisse announced the release of its Global Nanotechnology Index. Although it’s not the first index to cover this market sector—companies have been putting them together for a few years now—this index does take an entirely different approach that solidifies the nanotechnology sector as more than just a fad.

Most of the indexes on the market came out right as nanotech began to emerge as the “next hot thing.” Companies jumped in with lists of small, entirely nanotech-focused companies with sexy stories to sell as a way to capitalize on this trend, similar to what’s happening now with green tech and what’s happened with the dot-com boom before it.

The Credit Suisse index, however, takes a much more tempered, large scale approach to the nanotech sector. Like its fellow indexes, it, too, sees nanotech as a revolutionary sector in coming years, as many of the new materials, applications and services currently under development begin to come on line. But rather than focus on one-trick ponies with niche products, the Global Nanotechnology Index is rooted in companies with a minimum of 10 percent of their sales resulting from nanotechnology, rather than all of it.

Such a small percent may not seem like the index’s holdings have as strong a focus on the sector. In reality, though, it’s actually a far more accurate picture of nanotechnology—and where it’s headed.

Included in the top 10 holdings are household names such as Samsung Electronics and Sony Corp. These may seem an awkward fit, considering their product releases don’t scream “nanotech” the way that some smaller companies do. But that’s because they don’t have to.

Instead of developing tiny, sci-fi-esque products that have little to no current market value, these larger companies are able to utilize nanotechnology in products already being released to the general public, from home materials to cell phones to TV screens, rather than sitting and waiting for their big break. These practical applications are able to go to market much faster than their more specialized counterparts as well, generating more revenue more quickly.

The fact that such a large, credible financial institution is taking a look at this sector also speaks well for nanotech’s prospects. There’s no push to jump on the current bandwagon of choice, so for it to not only take a serious look at nanotechnology but to note it as “one of the most important and largest technological breakthroughs in the coming year” is reason for others to take notice as well.

Expect to see big things in this area going forward.