Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning, Copley Fund Research

Steven Holden

Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning

Copley Fund Research

Copley Fund Research provide research and data on asset allocation among Global and Emerging Market equity funds.  The analysis details absolute and relative positioning across countries, sectors and industries together with highly granular data on single stock and single fund allocations.  The data is updated monthly with time series going back to January 2011.

Global Research - Analysis of 165 prominent Global equity funds, combined AUM $335bn
GEM Research - Analysis of 127 prominent global EM equity funds, combined AUM $250bn

Asset Allocation - Global and GEM Equity

Cross Asset Strategy

<div>
<p>In this analysis, we provide a detailed overview of investor positioning among 96 active Asia Ex-Japan funds with combined AUM of $80bn.  Highlights:</p>
</div>
<div>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The big four of China &amp; HK, Taiwan, South Korea and India dominate holdings in Asia Ex-Japan.  The 4 countries combined account for 85.4% of total allocations, though all but India are held underweight versus the MSCI Asia Ex-Japan index.</li>
<li>China &amp; HK's weight in Asia Ex-Japan funds stands at a 4-year low of 42.96% having fallen heavily from the high of 52% back in August 2020.</li>
<li>Allocations in Indian stocks hit a new all-time high last month of 13.54%.  India has been the go-to overweight holding since the election of Narendra Modi in 2014, though managers are much more closely aligned to benchmark today.</li>
<li>
<p>Indonesian allocations are close to their lowest levels on record.  Only 82.8% of the Asia Ex-Japan managers in our analysis have exposure to Indonesia,  with Comgest, Barings and Vontobel closing exposure over the last 6-months.</p>
</li>
<li>Information Technology dominates the holdings picture, being both the largest sector holding and the largest sector overweight by some distance.  Opposing this are net underweights in Health Care (-1.61%), Materials (-1.25%) and Financials (-1.17%). </li>
<li>The key antagonist in China's tech crackdown, Consumer Discretionary weights have fallen from a high of 21.35% in October 2020 to 16.84% today.  In tandem, active managers have moved from an overweight of 2.18% to an underweight of -0.12%.  Confidence has certainly taken a knock.</li>
</ul>
<p>Also analyzed in more detail:  Thailand, Health Care, Indian Financials, South Korean Consumer Staples, China Financials, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/baidu-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:179:1" rel="noopener">Baidu (BIDU US)</a> , <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sea-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8509:1" rel="noopener">Sea Ltd (SE US)</a> , <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/midea-group-co-ltd-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16185:1" rel="noopener">Midea Group Co Ltd A (000333 CH)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/jd-com-inc-adr" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:446:1" rel="noopener">JD.com Inc (ADR) (JD US).</a></p>
<p><em>Analysis taken from our Asia Ex-Japan research, covering 96 active Asia Ex-Japan funds with combined AUM of $80bn. </em></p>
</div>


In this analysis, we provide a detailed overview of investor positioning among 96 active Asia Ex-Japan funds with combined AUM of $80bn.  Highlights:



The big four of China &amp; HK, Taiwan, South Korea and India dominate holdings in Asia Ex-Japan.  The 4 countries combined account for 85.4% of total allocations, though all but India are held underweight versus the MSCI Asia Ex-Japan index.
China &amp; HK's weight in Asia Ex-Japan funds stands at a 4-year low of 42.96% having fallen heavily from the high of 52% back in August 2020.
Allocations in Indian stocks hit a new all-time high last month of 13.54%.  India has been the go-to overweight holding since the election of Narendra Modi in 2014, though managers are much more closely aligned to benchmark today.

Indonesian allocations are close to their lowest levels on record.  Only 82.8% of the Asia Ex-Japan managers in our analysis have exposure to Indonesia,  with Comgest, Barings and Vontobel closing exposure over the last 6-months.

Information Technology dominates the holdings picture, being both the largest sector holding and the largest sector overweight by some distance.  Opposing this are net underweights in Health Care (-1.61%), Materials (-1.25%) and Financials (-1.17%). 
The key antagonist in China's tech crackdown, Consumer Discretionary weights have fallen from a high of 21.35% in October 2020 to 16.84% today.  In tandem, active managers have moved from an overweight of 2.18% to an underweight of -0.12%.  Confidence has certainly taken a knock.

Also analyzed in more detail:  Thailand, Health Care, Indian Financials, South Korean Consumer Staples, China Financials, Baidu (BIDU US) , Sea Ltd (SE US) , Midea Group Co Ltd A (000333 CH) and JD.com Inc (ADR) (JD US).
Analysis taken from our Asia Ex-Japan research, covering 96 active Asia Ex-Japan funds with combined AUM of $80bn. 


Asia Ex-Japan Positioning:  India & Tech at Record Highs

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One, Periscope Analytics

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Quantitative Analysis

<div><p>The Asia Short Interest weekly looks at moves in market wide short interest and highlights movements in stock specific short interest across Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan using the last available data published by the relevant authorities.</p></div><div><p>Hong Kong saw shorts rise on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/meituan-dianping" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26970:1" rel="noopener">Meituan (3690 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/li-ning-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6047:1" rel="noopener">Li Ning (2331 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-merchants-bank-co-ltd-3388a037-4214-4997-b45d-520518cfdb57" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10987:1" rel="noopener">China Merchants Bank H (3968 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/dongyue-group-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20429:1" rel="noopener">Dongyue Group (189 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/beijing-kuaishou-technology-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29725:1" rel="noopener">Kuaishou Technology (1024 HK)</a> while there was short covering on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/alibaba-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28434:1" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group (9988 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ping-an-insurance-grp-co-of-china-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12880:1" rel="noopener">Ping An Insurance (H) (2318 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sunny-optical-tech" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13363:1" rel="noopener">Sunny Optical (2382 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/xiaomi-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24409:1" rel="noopener">Xiaomi Corp (1810 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/jd-health-international-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29677:1" rel="noopener">JD Health (6618 HK)</a>. Shorts increased in the Communication Services and Materials sectors while decreasing in the Financials, Information Technology and Health Care sectors.</p></div><div><p>In Japan, stocks increased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/pan-pacific-international-holdings-corporation" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13475:1" rel="noopener">Pan Pacific International Holdings (7532 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sekisui-house-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:4508:1" rel="noopener">Sekisui House (1928 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/toshiba-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:637:1" rel="noopener">Toshiba Corp (6502 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/toyo-seikan-group-holdings-l" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11858:1" rel="noopener">Toyo Seikan Group Holdings L (5901 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/canon-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1:1" rel="noopener">Canon Inc (7751 JP)</a> while there was short covering on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/money-forward-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:25919:1" rel="noopener">Money Forward (3994 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/eneos-holdings-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:638:1" rel="noopener">ENEOS Holdings (5020 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sbi-holdings-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10928:1" rel="noopener">SBI Holdings (8473 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yamaha-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:17841:1" rel="noopener">Yamaha Corp (7951 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lasalle-logiport-reit" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22658:1" rel="noopener">Lasalle Logiport REIT (3466 JP)</a>. Shorts increased in most sectors led by the Consumer Discretionary, Industrials, Real Estate, Information Technology and Materials stocks.</p></div><div><p>In Korea, shorts increased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/amorepacific-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20854:1" rel="noopener">Amorepacific Corp (090430 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kakao-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15002:1" rel="noopener">Kakao Corp (035720 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hmm-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13494:1" rel="noopener">HMM Co., Ltd. (011200 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lg-electronics-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8814:1" rel="noopener">LG Electronics (066570 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/shinpoong-pharmaceutical-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7296:1" rel="noopener">Shinpoong Pharmaceutical (019170 KS)</a>   while shorts were covered on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/samsung-electronics-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:191:1" rel="noopener">Samsung Electronics (005930 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hanwha-solutions" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8656:1" rel="noopener">Hanwha Solutions (009830 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kt-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1112:1" rel="noopener">KT Corp (030200 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lg-chem-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3583:1" rel="noopener">LG Chem Ltd (051910 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ncsoft-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5169:1" rel="noopener">NCSOFT Corp (036570 KS)</a>.</p></div><div><p>In Taiwan, shorts increased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/wan-hai-lines-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14262:1" rel="noopener">Wan Hai Lines (2615 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/taiwan-semiconductor-manufacturing-company" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11230:1" rel="noopener">TSMC (2330 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/fubon-financial-holding-co" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11869:1" rel="noopener">Fubon Financial Holding Co (2881 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/mediatek-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:772:1" rel="noopener">Mediatek Inc (2454 TT)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/novatek-microelectronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10904:1" rel="noopener">Novatek Microelectronics Corp (3034 TT)</a>     while shorts covered on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/united-microelectronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6450:1" rel="noopener">United Microelectronics Corp (2303 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/catcher-technology-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:4957:1" rel="noopener">Catcher Technology (2474 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/focaltech-systems-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11240:1" rel="noopener">Focaltech Systems (3545 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/nuvoton-technology-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15913:1" rel="noopener">Nuvoton Technology (4919 TT)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/chailease-holding-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6579:1" rel="noopener">Chailease Holding (5871 TT)</a>.</p></div>

The Asia Short Interest weekly looks at moves in market wide short interest and highlights movements in stock specific short interest across Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan using the last available data published by the relevant authorities.Hong Kong saw shorts rise on Meituan (3690 HK), Li Ning (2331 HK), China Merchants Bank H (3968 HK), Dongyue Group (189 HK) and Kuaishou Technology (1024 HK) while there was short covering on Alibaba Group (9988 HK), Ping An Insurance (H) (2318 HK), Sunny Optical (2382 HK), Xiaomi Corp (1810 HK) and JD Health (6618 HK). Shorts increased in the Communication Services and Materials sectors while decreasing in the Financials, Information Technology and Health Care sectors.In Japan, stocks increased on Pan Pacific International Holdings (7532 JP), Sekisui House (1928 JP), Toshiba Corp (6502 JP), Toyo Seikan Group Holdings L (5901 JP) and Canon Inc (7751 JP) while there was short covering on Money Forward (3994 JP), ENEOS Holdings (5020 JP), SBI Holdings (8473 JP), Yamaha Corp (7951 JP) and Lasalle Logiport REIT (3466 JP). Shorts increased in most sectors led by the Consumer Discretionary, Industrials, Real Estate, Information Technology and Materials stocks.In Korea, shorts increased on Amorepacific Corp (090430 KS), Kakao Corp (035720 KS), HMM Co., Ltd. (011200 KS), LG Electronics (066570 KS) and Shinpoong Pharmaceutical (019170 KS)   while shorts were covered on Samsung Electronics (005930 KS), Hanwha Solutions (009830 KS), KT Corp (030200 KS), LG Chem Ltd (051910 KS) and NCSOFT Corp (036570 KS).In Taiwan, shorts increased on Wan Hai Lines (2615 TT), TSMC (2330 TT), Fubon Financial Holding Co (2881 TT), Mediatek Inc (2454 TT) and Novatek Microelectronics Corp (3034 TT)     while shorts covered on United Microelectronics Corp (2303 TT), Catcher Technology (2474 TT), Focaltech Systems (3545 TT), Nuvoton Technology (4919 TT) and Chailease Holding (5871 TT).

Asia Shorts: Meituan, CMB, Li Ning, Sekisui, Toyo Seikan, Toshiba, Kakao, HMM, LGE, Wan Hai, TSMC

Latest News from the World’s Leading Innovators

Granite Bay Capital

An innovation focussed investment company

Granite Bay Capital is an innovation focussed investment company with a deep focus on the companies at the leading edge of innovation across major themes such as AI, ubiquitous computing, sustainability, automation and longevity.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<p>Headline Developments Coinbase (COIN) is under scrutiny from the SEC, receiving a subpoena from the regulator relating to its yield-generating product dubbed Lend (allowing users to earn double-digit yields on deposits of USDC on its platform).  According to a series of tweets from Coinbase CEO and co-founder Brian Armstrong (outlined below), he says that the SEC has refused to meet with the company, that they have complied with all requests and that the company’s door remains open for constructive discussions.</p>

Headline Developments Coinbase (COIN) is under scrutiny from the SEC, receiving a subpoena from the regulator relating to its yield-generating product dubbed Lend (allowing users to earn double-digit yields on deposits of USDC on its platform).  According to a series of tweets from Coinbase CEO and co-founder Brian Armstrong (outlined below), he says that the SEC has refused to meet with the company, that they have complied with all requests and that the company’s door remains open for constructive discussions.

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

Equity Capital Markets

<div><p>Kakao Pay (KP), one of South Korea’s largest payment and financial services apps, aims to raise up to US$1.3bn in its South Korean IPO. Kakao held a 55% stake prior to listing, with Ant Financial holding the balance 45% stake.</p></div><div><p>As of 1H21, KP had a total of 36m users and around 20m monthly active users (MAU). It processed a total GMV of KRW66.9tn in 2020 and it had already generated KRW47.9tn GMV in 1H21 itself. As of the end of 1H21, it had dealings with more than 610,000 affiliated stores and 100 financial institutions.</p></div><div><p>Since spinning out from Kakao in 2017, the number of MAUs have grown 14x from 2Q17 to 2Q21, while the quarterly transaction amount grew 61x from KRW0.4tn in 2Q17 to KRW24.5tn in 2Q21. </p></div><div><p>Over the past few years the company has been expanding its offering beyond payment processing to include other financial products. On the back of this, its revenue has been growing faster than its GMV.</p></div><div>
<p>We have covered most aspects of the deal in our earlier notes, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/kakao-pay-ipo-guided-by-ant-financial-to-be-a-mini-ant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kakao Pay IPO - Guided by Ant Financial to be a mini Ant </a>and  <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/kakao-pay-ipo-peer-comparison-local-and-international" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kakao Pay IPO - Peer comparison - local and international</a>.</p>
<p>In this note we will talk about valuations and the latest announcement by the regulators.</p>
</div>

Kakao Pay (KP), one of South Korea’s largest payment and financial services apps, aims to raise up to US$1.3bn in its South Korean IPO. Kakao held a 55% stake prior to listing, with Ant Financial holding the balance 45% stake.As of 1H21, KP had a total of 36m users and around 20m monthly active users (MAU). It processed a total GMV of KRW66.9tn in 2020 and it had already generated KRW47.9tn GMV in 1H21 itself. As of the end of 1H21, it had dealings with more than 610,000 affiliated stores and 100 financial institutions.Since spinning out from Kakao in 2017, the number of MAUs have grown 14x from 2Q17 to 2Q21, while the quarterly transaction amount grew 61x from KRW0.4tn in 2Q17 to KRW24.5tn in 2Q21. Over the past few years the company has been expanding its offering beyond payment processing to include other financial products. On the back of this, its revenue has been growing faster than its GMV.
We have covered most aspects of the deal in our earlier notes, Kakao Pay IPO - Guided by Ant Financial to be a mini Ant and  Kakao Pay IPO - Peer comparison - local and international.
In this note we will talk about valuations and the latest announcement by the regulators.


Kakao Pay IPO - Valuation and Likely Impact of Latest Announcement

<p>Kakao Pay (KP), one of South Korea’s largest payment and financial services apps, aims to raise up to US$1.3bn in its South Korean IPO. Kakao held a 55% stake prior to listing, with Ant Financial holding the balance 45% stake.</p><p>As of 1H21, KP had a total of 36m users and around 20m monthly active users (MAU). It processed a total GMV of KRW66.9tn in 2020 and it had already generated KRW47.9tn GMV in 1H21 itself. As of the end of 1H21, it had dealings with more than 610,000 affiliated stores and 100 financial institutions.</p><p>KP began operation in Sep 2014 as a fintech division of Kakao to facilitate online payments. Ant Financial invested US$200m in the company in Feb 2017 and the division was spun out of Kakao in Apr 2017. Since spinning out, the number of MAUs have grown 14x from 2Q17 to 2Q21, while the quarterly transaction amount grew 61x from KRW0.4tn in 2Q17 to KRW24.5tn in 2Q21. </p><p>Over the past few years the company has been expanding its offering beyond payment processing to include other financial products. On the back of this, its revenue has been growing faster than its GMV.</p>

Kakao Pay (KP), one of South Korea’s largest payment and financial services apps, aims to raise up to US$1.3bn in its South Korean IPO. Kakao held a 55% stake prior to listing, with Ant Financial holding the balance 45% stake.As of 1H21, KP had a total of 36m users and around 20m monthly active users (MAU). It processed a total GMV of KRW66.9tn in 2020 and it had already generated KRW47.9tn GMV in 1H21 itself. As of the end of 1H21, it had dealings with more than 610,000 affiliated stores and 100 financial institutions.KP began operation in Sep 2014 as a fintech division of Kakao to facilitate online payments. Ant Financial invested US$200m in the company in Feb 2017 and the division was spun out of Kakao in Apr 2017. Since spinning out, the number of MAUs have grown 14x from 2Q17 to 2Q21, while the quarterly transaction amount grew 61x from KRW0.4tn in 2Q17 to KRW24.5tn in 2Q21. Over the past few years the company has been expanding its offering beyond payment processing to include other financial products. On the back of this, its revenue has been growing faster than its GMV.

Kakao Pay IPO - Guided by Ant Financial to Be a Mini Ant

South Korea

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. manufactures a wide range of consumer and industrial electronic equipment and products such as semiconductors, personal computers, peripherals, monitors, televisions, and home appliances including air conditioners and microwave ovens. The Company also produces Internet access network systems and telecommunications equipment including mobile phones.

Samsung Electronics Pref Shares (005935 KS)

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Samsung Electronics Pref Shares (005935 KS)

Asia Ex-Japan Positioning: India & Tech at Record Highs

In this analysis, we provide a detailed overview of investor positioning among 96 active Asia Ex-Japan funds with combined AUM of $80bn.

Steven Holden

Asia Shorts: Meituan, CMB, Li Ning, Sekisui, Toyo Seikan, Toshiba, Kakao, HMM, LGE, Wan Hai, TSMC

The Insight looks at movements in short interest across HK, Japan, Korea and Taiwan stocks and highlights large increases/decreases in shorts to...

Brian Freitas

Weekly Innovation Review (WIRE) #48

Headline Developments Coinbase (COIN) is under scrutiny from the SEC, receiving a subpoena from the regulator relating to its yield-generating...

Granite Bay Capital

Kakao Pay IPO - Valuation and Likely Impact of Latest Announcement

Kakao Pay, one of South Korea’s largest payment and financial services apps, aims to raise up to US$1.3bn in its South Korean IPO. Kakao held a 55%...

Sumeet Singh

Kakao Pay IPO - Guided by Ant Financial to Be a Mini Ant

Kakao Pay, one of South Korea’s largest payment and financial services apps, aims to raise up to US$1.3bn in its South Korean IPO. Kakao holds a...

Sumeet Singh

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