One-man hedge fund gains 56% with virus-resistant tech bets

Isolation is old hat for Eric Jackson. Since he launched his technology-focused hedge fund in 2017, he has been running it from a home office.

The pandemic requires little adjustment in how he works. But it does force investors everywhere to think about which companies will do better in a scarred global economy. In Jackson’s case, the crisis has given his key holdings a huge boost: Zoom Video Communications Inc. and German food app company Delivery Hero SE have lifted his long-short fund at EMJ Capital Ltd. to a 56% gain this year.

Jackson tries to hunt down data on technology usage that will lead him to winners. On Feb. 3, more than a month before the virus was declared a pandemic, Jackson noticed a sudden spike in downloads of the Zoom app in China. He already owned the stock because he liked its video conferencing technology and its CEO. The China numbers persuaded him to double down.