TORONTO (Dow Jones)--Technology stocks haven't been immune to the volatile markets of late, but the sector is in "great shape" and shouldn't be ignored by longer-term investors, says Murray Grossner.

Grossner, manager of the C$2 million Wingate Technology Performance Fund, says tech stocks played a key role in leading the 2009 recovery, and once the current turbulence has passed, they should help lead again.

He says the fundamentals of the sector are strong, noting that many companies have been posting better-than-expected earnings and boast cash-rich balance sheets. His growth-oriented investment style asks two "critical" questions: are share earnings on the rise and are they ahead of guidance?

The all-cap fund contains about 20 stocks, mostly U.S.-based, but Canada is also represented.

While the resource sector gets much of the attention in Canada, he says the country can be proud of the broad range of technology companies it's produced. "There's lots of companies out there that grow successfully, make a lot of money for shareholders, and then are acquired by larger companies," he said, citing Cognos Inc.'s purchase by IBM Corp. (IBM) for about $5 billion in 2007.

One of his larger-cap holdings is BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM). He has lots of reasons for liking it, and considers it something of a "value play" right now given the stock's pullback. Though it's up against a tough competitor in the consumer segment, Apple Inc. (APPL), he considers them both exceptional smartphone companies and believes the world is big enough for both.

A more defensive holding is Mosaid Technologies Inc. (MSD.T), a patent-licensing company. Major consumer electronics companies such as Samsung Electronics Co. (SSNHY) have licensed its technology patents, earning royalties for Mosaid. It's unusual for a tech company to have a 5% dividend yield, but Mosaid does and it has a lot of cash, which tells Grossner the dividend is safe. "It's a good name for these times," he said. "I think the combination of recovery, growth, plus the dividend yield will give investors a good return."

Route 1 Inc. (ROI.V) is a much smaller name in the fund, but he sees big things happening there. The company's technology allows "secure remote access" for computers, and it is involved in trials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Navy. The company's business model collects monthly payments from about 17,000 subscribers, and needs 22,000 for cash flow to reach breakeven. Because the company has disappointed investors in the past under different management, he calls it a "show-me stock," but has the potential to be a "grand slam."

Another small name is Redknee Solutions Inc. (RKN.T), which provides customized billing software for communications services providers. Its technoogy is being used on 70 networks in more than 50 countries, he said. "It's developing a nice consistent record of profitability," he said.

However, he recently sold enterprise software company Open Text Corp. (OTEX), choosing to take profits after it reported a "soft" quarter.

-Andy Georgiades, Dow Jones Newswires; 416-306-2031; andy.georgiades@dowjones.com