Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a growing source of market panic these days, with investors increasingly questioning the long-term viability of labor-intensive business models. Recent releases from AI startups have intensified these concerns by introducing tools capable of automating tasks in legal, marketing, finance, and research functions.
Several industries, including real estate services, financials and enterprise software, have been hit hard in recent days. Thomson Reuters TRI is down more than 32% over the one-month period while Intuit INTU shares fell more than 37%, and Salesforce CRM dropped more than 28%. State Street SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF XSW is off 19.8% over the past one month (as of Feb. 11, 2026) amid fears that AI companies might build competing tools or enable organizations to develop custom software internally, as quoted on Yahoo Finance.
Among the hard-hit financial stocks, Raymond James Financial Inc (RJF) has lost 6.3% over the past week, and LPL Financial Holdings LPL retreated 12.2%, as Altruist on Tuesday introduced a tax-planning tool capable of delivering results within minutes, sending financial stocks lower (read: AI Fears Weigh on Financial Stocks: What’s Ahead for Financial ETFs?).
Shares of major real estate services firms also declined sharply on Feb. 11, 2026, after investors assessed their vulnerability to emerging AI applications. CBRE Group Inc. CBRE and Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (JLL) each dropped about 12%, while Cushman & Wakefield Ltd. CWK fell 13.8%, marking the steepest declines for some of these companies since the pandemic-driven market selloff of 2020, per Bloomberg, as quoted on Yahoo Finance.
Barclays’ Brendan Lynch noted that the real estate slump was caused by fears that AI will disrupt the job market and commercial real estate demand, as quoted on the above-mentioned Yahoo Finance source.
However, despite the widespread selloff, many analysts argue that current fears may be overstated, noting that AI still faces significant limitations when it comes to handling complex tasks and specialized workflows.
Still, analysts like Jefferies analyst Joe Dickstein emphasized that the immediate risk may be overstated. Complex real estate transactions rely heavily on industry relationships, negotiation skills, and specialized expertise — areas where AI currently plays a limited role, per Bloomberg, as mentioned on Yahoo Finance .
Despite rapid technological progress, many experts believe AI is not ready to replace sophisticated enterprise systems or specialized services. Large language models, while powerful, are unlikely to match purpose-built software solutions for functions such as data warehousing or messaging infrastructure, per Morgan Stanley’s Keith Weiss, as quoted on Yahoo Finance.
Analysts also note that businesses historically continue to rely on third-party vendors even when lower-cost development alternatives exist. For now, the evolving role of AI is likely to improve productivity, but not fully eliminate the need for established platforms.
Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that can be bought now.
Global X Robotics and Artificial Intelligence ETF BOTZ – Key Beneficiary
Since AI fear trade has taken the center stage of investors’ psyche, one thing is for sure: AI ETFs like BOTZ should be in fine fettle in the near term. BOTZ has added 5.8% over the past week.
VanEck Semiconductor ETF SMH – Another Winner
Regardless of software disruption and its usage and applicability, AI needs chips, data centers and networking, acting as a key tailwind for the semiconductor ETFs like SMH. The fund has jumped more than 9.4% over the past week.
Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund ETF Shares VNQ – A Turnaround Play?
If the AI fears fade, the sector may see a buy-the-dip strategy. The fund has gained 2.9% over the past week and is up 5.5% so far this year. The ETF has beaten the S&P 500 (up 1.3%) in the year-to-date frame.
State Street Financial Sel Sec SPDR ETF XLF – Buy-the-Dip Opportunity?
The ETF has gained 4% this year, and 2.2% over the past week as Altruist’s AI platform Hazel offers personalized tax planning by analyzing clients’ financial data and answering “what-if” scenarios like home sales or retirement. However, many big banks have presence in the ETF XLF and big banks offer services across a variety of segments including big-ticket dealmaking, which is not likely to be performed using AI at this moment.
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Salesforce Inc. (CRM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Intuit Inc. (INTU) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
LG Display Co., Ltd. (LPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ): ETF Research Reports
State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF): ETF Research Reports
VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH): ETF Research Reports
State Street SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF (XSW): ETF Research Reports
Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF (BOTZ): ETF Research Reports
CBRE Group, Inc. (CBRE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Cushman & Wakefield PLC (CWK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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