IN TIMES OF CHAOS CHOOSE TO INNOVATE INVESTMENT DISCOVERIES Uncovering innovation on the right side of change What does it mean for a company to be on the right side of change in 2020? Put yourself in the shoes of a respected entertainment brand that’s given the magical gift of flight to cars, caretakers, and elephants. You’re known for innovation, but to make your next act work—creating a wearable technology Michael Smith, CFA to enhance the guest experience at your theme parks—you need the gift of Senior Portfolio Manager, top-flight software talent. Fundamental Growth Equity Team But that type of talent can be as elusive as the rightful owner of a glass slipper. This story is emblematic of a digital transformation happening on a massive scale across corporate America. As companies embrace new technologies and strive to meet evolving consumer demands, they must find the talent to manage an array of new digital complexities. Increasingly and across industries, these firms are struggling to do so due to a scarcity of skilled software developers. Two forces are at play: 1. Digital transformation is of strategic importance to many global companies. Ozo Jaculewicz, CFA 2. Trillions of dollars in market cap are resting on the shoulders of the Associate Portfolio Manager search for software developer talent. and Senior Portfolio Specialist, Fundamental Growth Equity Team This is leading companies to turn to external service providers to meet their needs. And they are hunting in all corners of the globe to find this talent. While conducting bottom-up research, we on the Fundamental Growth Equity team identified a compelling theme around this growing supply- and-demand imbalance for software developers. Our research analysts met with multiple management teams from companies of all sizes that noted over and over again how hard it was to find talent. Following our process to “surround the company,” the search for a solution to the developer shortage led our analysts to companies that recruited and developed skilled labor pools outside the U.S. 1 million Number of IT jobs unfilled in the U.S. 80% of about 2,800 Tech-hiring decision-makers at U.S. firms who identified lack of IT talent as a key challenge Sources: IT trade group CompTIA and Robert Half 6