Buy Hold Sell: 3 ETFs for AI exposure… and 3 if the robots disappoint

AI. It's all anyone is talking about, and whether you love it or loathe it, you're probably going to have to hear about it for a while yet (i.e. forever).

But whether you choose to invest in it? That's another story. 

Let's be real. Investors of all stripes - from retail punters to institutional shops with trillion-dollar balance sheets - have lost their minds over AI. Yes, there will be winners. But there will also be body bags. That’s how every tech revolution works.

So what is the play?

Do you ram as much AI into your portfolio as you can and back the builders of the future? Or do you position in themes tied to timeless human needs like eating, building and moving?

This episode was filmed on Wednesday, 11 February 2026.

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Edited transcript

Tom Stelzer: I am Tom Stelzer from Livewire Markets and welcome to Buy, Hold, Sell. AI continues to dominate the conversation in markets, but how can investors plug into the megatrend and what areas of the market should do fine even if AI changes everything. To run the rule over three ETFs offering direct AI exposure, and three that should be protected against the impacts of AI, I'm joined by Daniel Kelly from Viola Private Wealth and Adam Dawes from Shaw and Partners. Guys, thanks for joining me.

Adam Dawes: Great to be here. Thank you.

Daniel Kelly: Thanks. Fabulous.

Global X Artificial Intelligence ETF (ASX: GXAI)

Tom Stelzer: As we'll start with the ETFs offering AI exposure, and Daniel, I might come to you first. The first one up is the Global X Artificial Intelligence ETF, with the ticker code GXAI. Is that a buy, hold, or sell?

Daniel Kelly: I'm going to buy on a lot of things to do with artificial intelligence, to be honest with you. I think it's already changing the world and it's going to continue to surprise people about how quick the innovation comes. I'm a buy on this one. It's more of a satellite allocation in your portfolio. It may sit alongside more of a core holding like an IOO or something like that, but I'm a buy on this. I think it's the most revolutionary technology innovation that humanity has faced in the last 100 years. Investors need to get a piece of this.

Tom Stelzer: Adam, what about you? Buy, hold, or sell?

Adam Dawes: Yeah, I'm going to say buy as well. I mean, I think the thematic is certainly there. You do get a little bit concerned about how AI and the amount of money that's been poured into AI and then potentially getting the return out of that. So I think you've just got to go in with your eyes a little bit open on this one. I think overall, I think it's in the right thematic and I don't see it falling over anytime soon, but I just feel that you need to be a little bit careful and maybe pick some entry points that you can work through and look at some of the stocks individually in there and then have a bit of a look at it. But look, certainly the thematic is there and I certainly like it, so it's a buy from me.

Round Hill Humanoid Robotics ETF (HUMN)

Tom Stelzer: So Adam, I'll say with you on this one something slightly different. It's the Round Hill Humanoid Robotics ETF, ticker code HUMN. Is that a buy, hold, or sell?

Adam Dawes: Look, I've got some of these for my clients and humanoids certainly are going to be there. Now, we've got robot vacuum cleaners, so it's not unusual to have a robot in our home. However, these humanoid robots are certainly one of those that are going to be looking after us when we're aged care, cooking, cleaning, doing all of these things. And Boston Dynamics, which you can't get access to, had a robot the other day that was able to do a backflip. So it is absolutely getting to the stage where we are able to have driverless cars, but also these robots that will be looking after us. So for me, it's a buy. I think that they're looking for around about 300,000 to start within the first couple of years, but they're talking about two and a half million to more by 2030. So this thing is definitely accelerating and it's certainly one to definitely keep an eye on.

Tom Stelzer: So buy from Adam. Daniel, what about you? Buy, hold, or sell?

Daniel Kelly: Buy from me as well. I've been paying close attention to all the commentary from Tesla and the Optimus robot, which compared to Boston Dynamics, there's arguments about which one of those is ahead at the moment, very early stages for this technology, and it's difficult to do a DCF model on what businesses look like from this perspective. So it's in its nascent years, I think it's a good time to get into it. I think probably the businesses that are inside this ETF will change dramatically over the next 5 or 10 years as the winners emerge. And so, the composition of actually what you're investing into, you probably need to be keeping your eye on that, but naturally it will rebalance and up-weight the winners anyway. But I think, humanoid robots are going to change the world and this is a great way to get exposure to it.

Adam Dawes: And this isn't listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. This is an international ETF. So again, there's extra risks that you should be aware of as well.

Global X Semiconductor ETF (ASX: SEMI)

Tom Stelzer: Absolutely. I might just come back to you for the final one here. It's the Global X Semiconductor ETF, ticker code SEMI. You buy, hold, or sell there?

Daniel Kelly: I'm a sell on this one. This is a bit of a niche play. It's done extremely well. It's powering the world. There's just a lot of geopolitical risk around China and Taiwan with this one. If you have a look at the top holding, it's a company that everybody knows and probably everyone knows what I'm referring to, so just be cautious on going into this one now. I like semiconductors, we're going to need them. It's probably just a little bit too risky to go all in on this at the moment.

Tom Stelzer: Adam, what about you?

Adam Dawes: You stole all of my notes on that one.

Daniel Kelly: It's good. We agreed.

Adam Dawes: Yeah, well no, I'm going to say hold. I agree. I think China, and it's inevitable that China and Taiwan is going to be won again. So how they do that is going to be a big issue. And certainly Trump gave the play card with Venezuela, so certainly that is going to happen. Semiconductors are definitely needed, definitely going forward. It is very high risk at this stage and they've had a fantastic run. It's been three, four or five years of just constant growth in that space. But you are have this very big risk of basically all the semiconductors are basically done in Taiwan and then they're moving factories to America, but that's still a couple of years away as well. So there is that concentration risk you've got to be careful of. Look, it's a hold from me until potentially we see some troops lining up or something like that. I think it's okay to have in the portfolio, but buy beware on that one, definitely.

iShares Global Consumer Staples ETF (ASX: IXI)

Tom Stelzer: We might move to the non-AI ETFs now. Adam, I stay with you. It's the iShares Global Consumer Staples ETF, ticker code IXI. So to buy, hold, or sell?

Adam Dawes: It's an interesting one. I had a look at it. It's an index play, so it doesn't really have a, it's not really beating any indexes, it's just managing that, has about 12.5% in tobacco. So obviously for ESG investors, you've got to look underneath the lid, make sure you're understanding what's in there before you do it. And it's very much consumer based and obviously very much in the US as well. The US is the biggest consumer in the world and they love consuming things, which is great. So just be a little bit careful with the MER or the management expense ratio is a little bit up there as well.

Look, it's probably a good defence against if the world does fall apart, the consumer is probably going to be okay because they're fairly well insulated. So for me, it's a hold. I just think you've got to understand what you're investing in before you look at that. And something with something like 12% in tobacco, I don't know if people actually look underneath the lid before they invest in these things. So it's just be buyer beware on that one. And so, it'd be a hold from me.

Tom Stelzer: And I can't imagine the robots are going to be taking up smoking anytime soon. But who knows?

Adam Dawes: You never know. You never know.

Tom Stelzer: Daniel, what about you? Buy, hold, or sell?

Daniel Kelly: I've got this as a sale and it's primarily just on the growth outlook of the world domestically and internationally. GDP growth is really strong and consumer staples is not exactly where you'd want to be for that. I expect that to lag even more traditional broad indexes. It's something that you would tilt into if the macro gave you a reason to, but probably not something that I'd keep in a portfolio long-term.

Global X Physical Precious Metals Basket (ASX: ETPMPM)

Tom Stelzer: This one's a bit of a tongue twister. Daniel, stay with you. It's the Global X Physical Precious Metals Basket, ticket code ETPMPM. Is that a buy, hold, or sell?

Daniel Kelly: Precious metals, I'm bullish on precious metals. We're going to need a lot of these to build out the AI economy for the world. I think some of these precious metals have had incredible runs. Gold and silver and copper would be the top three. So just be cautious of volatility going into this. Be cautious of entry price risk. It's probably something that I would average into over time if you were going to have it as a long-term holding. So I'm bullish five years, cautious over the next six months.

Tom Stelzer: So is that a buy, hold, or sell?

Daniel Kelly: It would be a hold for me at the moment.

Tom Stelzer: Adam, what about you? Buy, hold, or sell?

Adam Dawes: Yeah, it's a good way of looking at it because certainly those precious metals and certainly like platinum was a big component of that and I don't really understand how that get mined or anything like that. I think 50% of it is in gold. So again, I just go and buy gold, G-O-L-D, right? Instead of then having extra risk with all these other metals that potentially could fall apart on. And certainly, gold is the main commodity that in that precious metal space that gets a lot of the volume and it gets gravitated to. So I'd be a sell. I don't think you need to be there with all these other metals and with a 50% weighting in gold, I think you just buy gold and that takes a lot of that risk out.

VanEck FTSE International Property (AUD Hedged) ETF (ASX: REIT)

Tom Stelzer: And finally, Adam, we have the VanEck FTSE International Property (AUD Hedged) ETF, ticker code REIT.

Adam Dawes: Yeah, the REITs.

Tom Stelzer: Is that buy, hold, or sell?

Adam Dawes: Yeah, look, I put a lot of VAP in clients' portfolios, which is the Vanguard Aussie Property side of things. The global one I use DGRE is for the ones that I use in that. The Global REITs one, Look, I think it's okay. It's actually done okay as well looking at it. Interest rates are going to fall in the US this year, so potentially that's another impetus to get in. So I'll say a buy, but I think you've got to watch what's happening in the US. Don't worry about what's happening in Australia and our interest rates. The US and if we do see interest rates starting to fall, that's going to give it some good legs. So I think it's a buy, but just be careful on those interest rates and how that affects the property market.

Tom Stelzer: Daniel, what about you? Buy, hold, or sell?

Daniel Kelly: I'm going to sell on this. We, at Viola, we prefer to get exposure to property through private markets rather than listed rates. They just have a habit of trading below the NAV for extended periods of time. So it's something that we might take a tactical opportunity if we saw something really disconnect from where the asset value should be. Australians also have a tonne of property exposure with their own personal balance sheet. So you need to look at the duplication of that risk factor if you're also buying that in your investment portfolio. So I'll go sell on that one.

Tom Stelzer: So that's all we have time for. Thanks for Daniel and Adam. Thanks for tuning in. Make sure to check out our YouTube channel for more Buy Hold Sell.