Mr. Weller: As far as what I would classify as Internet services, we do a lot of work in the data center and hosting sector. So companies covered in that sector would be network-neutral, co-location providers, like Equinix and Switch & Data. We also have managed hosting companies Rackspace and Terremark, Terremark actually being the hybrid of those two. We also do some of the wholesale data center providers, which are actually REITs, like Digital Realty Trust and DuPont Fabros. The other name I'd put into the Internet servicing bucket would be a company like VeriSign, which operates the dot-com and dot-net registry, and also has a security business as well.
TWST: How have companies in your coverage universe fared during the down economy, especially compared to other industries? Have they been more or less resilient?
Mr. Weller: Definitely more resilient. I think if you go back and look at the stock performance in 2009, if you go back to late 2008, early 2009, you would have seen that a lot of the data center-related companies experienced significant pressure because there was a lot of concern that given the macro environment, these companies would see significant pressure on their business. There were a lot of concerns that there would be a repeat of what I call the "hosting meltdown," which occurred after the Internet bust and the tech bust back in 2001-2002. But we really didn't see a repeat of that, and the space has held up very well. And as you fast-forward and look over the course of 2009, was probably one of the better-performing groups from a stock perspective.
Tickers included in this excerpt: AMZN, CRM, DFT, DLR, EQIX, RAX, SDXC, TCY.L, TMRK, VMW, VRSN
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