Berbecel explains that in addition to riding the AI theme, he and Lee-Chin were able to actively deploy capital into this space during more volatile times on the market, taking advantage of volatility in 2025 to capture upside. As the AI theme has ebbed and flowed over the course of the year, they have ridden any volatility as needed. He notes that in the past year, return has neatly correlated with risk and higher risk names have posted better returns for the fund. Small modular reactor companies, for instance, were among the top performers as hyperscalers invested heavily in this potentially game-changing technology.
The fund follows what Lee-Chin calls the three P’s of wealth creation: predict, plan, and persevere. Berbecel admits that those investors seeking another year of high returns may need to persevere more in 2026, as markets digest what was driven by AI hype and what aspects of this demand for nuclear energy will sustain themselves longer-term. Berbecel argues, however, that fundamentals are still robust for the space. Countries like France, the UK, Japan, the US, and Canada are among a group of countries which have committed to increasing, or even tripling, nuclear power generation capacity in their respective jurisdictions. Germany, a longstanding holdout against nuclear power, has recently elected a government which campaigned on supporting the return of nuclear power. In the United States, regulatory timeframes are being shortened and the drive to outcompete the world on AI has given rise to a rush in nuclear power production.
There are still risks to the theme. Berbecel notes that any pullback in the AI theme might result in temporary price fluctuations for companies active in the sector. Policy changes and regulatory risk are factors for the sector too, but Berbecel believes that “common sense” is prevailing among governments with regards to their nuclear infrastructure. He argues that there is more risk on the upside, with the potential feedback loop of AI being used to develop and assist the monitoring of nuclear power generation, to help lower costs and shorten deployment times.
For advisors explaining this theme to their clients, Berbecel highlights both the short and long-term drivers behind nuclear energy. He notes that while the theme has been integrated into an AI play, and can pick up AI tailwinds, there are larger forces at work that can help drive appreciation further.
“There are a number of themes within the nuclear theme, and at its core is the need to decarbonize the economy, the need to power our economies with sustainable and competitively priced power,” Berbecel says. “Nuclear, over a long period of time, can certainly help achieve that, never mind the issues of national security, energy independence, and also the need to power AI, which are also nice to have. I would suggest, with that core theme in mind, that this is still a longer-term investment.”
