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

<ul>
<li>Russian overweight wiped out after initial phase of Russia drop.  China underweight contracts on the back of natural portfolio adjustments.</li>
<li>South Africa takes on new role as the top pure EM play in the region.  Saudi Arabia underweight increases.</li>
<li>Russian overweight causes underperformance of -0.64% for active managers compared to benchmark.  Saudi Arabia u/w is proving a costly position for active managers in the face of inflated oil prices.</li>
</ul>


Russian overweight wiped out after initial phase of Russia drop.  China underweight contracts on the back of natural portfolio adjustments.
South Africa takes on new role as the top pure EM play in the region.  Saudi Arabia underweight increases.
Russian overweight causes underperformance of -0.64% for active managers compared to benchmark.  Saudi Arabia u/w is proving a costly position for active managers in the face of inflated oil prices.


<ul>
<li>Russia suffered a significant reallocation of capital during the Crimea Annexation in 2014.  Average weights fell by -3.36%, 7.9% of funds closed positions and investors shifted from overweight to underweight</li>
<li>EM investors were well positioned in Russia heading in to 2022, not perhaps as heavily exposed as pre-Crimea, but enough to significantly effect portfolio returns for many funds.</li>
<li>Given the scale of the Ukraine conflict and the uncertainty surrounding western sanctions, this doesn’t feel like the time for catching a falling knife.</li>
</ul>


Russia suffered a significant reallocation of capital during the Crimea Annexation in 2014.  Average weights fell by -3.36%, 7.9% of funds closed positions and investors shifted from overweight to underweight
EM investors were well positioned in Russia heading in to 2022, not perhaps as heavily exposed as pre-Crimea, but enough to significantly effect portfolio returns for many funds.
Given the scale of the Ukraine conflict and the uncertainty surrounding western sanctions, this doesn’t feel like the time for catching a falling knife.


Russia: Echoes of the Past. Crimea Analysis and Positioning Update

Financials & FinTech research, Galliano’s Financials Research

Victor Galliano

Financials & FinTech research

Financials & FinTech, EM & Developed Markets

Galliano’s Financials Research

Galliano's Financials Research provides fundamental research in Emerging Markets financials, including FinTech, as well as financials in select Developed Markets.

The investment style applied is generally value oriented, although Growth At Reasonable Price (GARP) strategies can also be used where appropriate. 

Our investment research approach aim is often contrarian, looking to capitalise on overly sceptical or optimistic consensus views. In terms of valuation techniques, the focus is on PBV ratio to ROE, PE multiples and dividend yield, as well as the application of PEG ratios and, where appropriate, Sum of the Parts (SOTP) valuations.

Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>Nubank’s shares are above the issue price post-IPO, with investors buying into the digital banking opportunity in Brazil as well as Mexico and Colombia</li>
<li>The bulls argue that the growth potential is not yet reflected in valuations; it has very low costs, and its positive returns will follow from greater loan and product penetration</li>
<li>Nubanks’s valuation is very stretched; good customer penetration does not yet equal deep product penetration which drives revenue growth, and new markets – Mexico and Colombia – will pressure costs</li>
</ul>


Nubank’s shares are above the issue price post-IPO, with investors buying into the digital banking opportunity in Brazil as well as Mexico and Colombia
The bulls argue that the growth potential is not yet reflected in valuations; it has very low costs, and its positive returns will follow from greater loan and product penetration
Nubanks’s valuation is very stretched; good customer penetration does not yet equal deep product penetration which drives revenue growth, and new markets – Mexico and Colombia – will pressure costs


Nubank (NU US) – IPO Done, Now Comes the Hard Part

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/banco-inter-sa" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28162:1" rel="noopener">Banco Inter SA (BIDI11 BZ)</a> continues to grow its digital customer base, and remains the second largest digital commercial bank in Brazil by digital accounts</li>
<li>Yet 3Q21 results showed that customer acquisition costs increased further, that Inter is losing investment assets and that Inter’s capital absorption post the latest equity follow-on is set to be high</li>
<li>In addition, the largest Brazilian digital Nubank has filed for an IPO which impacts Banco Inter negatively, as Nubank’s listing will erode Inter’s scarcity value on the equity market and the IPO allows Nubank to raise fresh equity to fund its growth</li>
<li>Banco Inter is in partnership in the payments arena with its now cornerstone shareholder StoneCo; StoneCo’s main supplier of POS terminals, PAX Global Technology, saw its Florida offices raided by the FBI earlier this week, which is clearly negative for StoneCo and by extension Banco Inter</li>
<li>We remain negative on Inter, as we believe that Banco Inter is still stretched on valuations, despite the steady share price de-rating since July, and the fundamental headwinds to returns that Inter faces are real due to intensifying competition, not least with Nubank’s planned IPO</li>
<li>Risks to our negative view on Banco Inter include it achieving better than expects customer acquisition costs and higher benchmark rates in Brazil boosting its net interest income</li>
</ul>



Banco Inter SA (BIDI11 BZ) continues to grow its digital customer base, and remains the second largest digital commercial bank in Brazil by digital accounts
Yet 3Q21 results showed that customer acquisition costs increased further, that Inter is losing investment assets and that Inter’s capital absorption post the latest equity follow-on is set to be high
In addition, the largest Brazilian digital Nubank has filed for an IPO which impacts Banco Inter negatively, as Nubank’s listing will erode Inter’s scarcity value on the equity market and the IPO allows Nubank to raise fresh equity to fund its growth
Banco Inter is in partnership in the payments arena with its now cornerstone shareholder StoneCo; StoneCo’s main supplier of POS terminals, PAX Global Technology, saw its Florida offices raided by the FBI earlier this week, which is clearly negative for StoneCo and by extension Banco Inter
We remain negative on Inter, as we believe that Banco Inter is still stretched on valuations, despite the steady share price de-rating since July, and the fundamental headwinds to returns that Inter faces are real due to intensifying competition, not least with Nubank’s planned IPO
Risks to our negative view on Banco Inter include it achieving better than expects customer acquisition costs and higher benchmark rates in Brazil boosting its net interest income


Banco Inter (BIDI11 BZ):  Tough 3Q21, No Let up on the Horizon

The last decade has seen EMEA allocations in active GEM portfolios drift ever lower, with Asia becoming the dominant weight.  However, the recent rhetoric from China has seen Asian allocations fall from their peak and EMEA allocations rally from their lows.  Average weights in EMEA stocks stand at 13.72%, marginally overweight the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 0.24%, with just under half of the active managers in our analysis overweight. <ul>
<li>Over the course of the last decade, exposure to each EMEA sector has either fallen dramatically or at best stayed largely unchanged.  Those that have seen a big decline in investment are led by EMEA Industrials and Health Care, with over 40% of investors closing exposure.  </li>
<li>The largest sector exposure, EMEA Financials allocations sit towards the lower-end of their historical range.  Top holdings are <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sberbank-of-russia-pjsc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24142:1" rel="noopener">Sberbank Of Russia Pjsc (SBER LI)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/otp-bank-nyrt" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28806:1" rel="noopener">OTP Bank Nyrt (OTP HB)</a> with 59% and 31% of funds invested respectively.  <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tcs-group-holding-plc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28148:1" rel="noopener">TCS Group Holding PLC (TCS LI)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/capitec-bank-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27628:1" rel="noopener">Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd (CPI SJ)</a> saw ownership levels increase the most over the last 6-months.</li>
<li>Consumer Discretionary weights hit another all-time high this month of 1.46%, representing a 1.04% overweight versus the iShares MSCI EM ETF.  Underpinning the overweight are out-of-benchmark holdings in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/prosus-nv" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28104:1" rel="noopener">Prosus (PRX NA)</a> and Fix Price Group, though in general stocks in the sector are not widely held.  Funds with big overweights are led by Comgest's GEM Promising Companies Fund (8.98%) and Van Eck's Emerging Markets Fund (7.21%).  </li>
<li>With active ownership declining throughout 2020, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/gazprom-pjsc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:23749:1" rel="noopener">Gazprom PJSC (GAZP RX)</a> has finally been the recipient of some inflows.  Over the last 6-months, 2% of funds added Gazprom to their portfolios with a combined $217m in inflows.  Leading those were Fidelity (2.7%), Virtus Allianz (2.67%) and JP Morgan ($64m).</li>
</ul>The analysis looks in detail at all sectors in the EMEA region, together with some of the key stocks that underpin investment in the region.Analysis taken from our GEM fund research, covering 250 active GEM strategies with combined AUM of $500bn

The last decade has seen EMEA allocations in active GEM portfolios drift ever lower, with Asia becoming the dominant weight.  However, the recent rhetoric from China has seen Asian allocations fall from their peak and EMEA allocations rally from their lows.  Average weights in EMEA stocks stand at 13.72%, marginally overweight the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 0.24%, with just under half of the active managers in our analysis overweight. 
Over the course of the last decade, exposure to each EMEA sector has either fallen dramatically or at best stayed largely unchanged.  Those that have seen a big decline in investment are led by EMEA Industrials and Health Care, with over 40% of investors closing exposure.  
The largest sector exposure, EMEA Financials allocations sit towards the lower-end of their historical range.  Top holdings are Sberbank Of Russia Pjsc (SBER LI) and OTP Bank Nyrt (OTP HB) with 59% and 31% of funds invested respectively.  TCS Group Holding PLC (TCS LI) and Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd (CPI SJ) saw ownership levels increase the most over the last 6-months.
Consumer Discretionary weights hit another all-time high this month of 1.46%, representing a 1.04% overweight versus the iShares MSCI EM ETF.  Underpinning the overweight are out-of-benchmark holdings in Prosus (PRX NA) and Fix Price Group, though in general stocks in the sector are not widely held.  Funds with big overweights are led by Comgest's GEM Promising Companies Fund (8.98%) and Van Eck's Emerging Markets Fund (7.21%).  
With active ownership declining throughout 2020, Gazprom PJSC (GAZP RX) has finally been the recipient of some inflows.  Over the last 6-months, 2% of funds added Gazprom to their portfolios with a combined $217m in inflows.  Leading those were Fidelity (2.7%), Virtus Allianz (2.67%) and JP Morgan ($64m).
The analysis looks in detail at all sectors in the EMEA region, together with some of the key stocks that underpin investment in the region.Analysis taken from our GEM fund research, covering 250 active GEM strategies with combined AUM of $500bn

EMEA Sectors Deep-Dive.  Active Positioning in the EMEA Region

Russia

TCS Group Holding PLC, a digital provider of online financial and lifestyle services via its ecosystem. With no branches, the Group serves all its customers remotely via online channels and a cloud-based call centre.

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TCS Group Holding (TCS LI)

EM Positioning After Russia’s Collapse

Russian overweight wiped out after initial phase of Russia drop. China underweight contracts on the back of natural portfolio adjustments.

Steven Holden

Russia: Echoes of the Past. Crimea Analysis and Positioning Update

Russia suffered a significant reallocation of capital during the Crimea Annexation of 2014. It took 2 years for sentiment to recover. This time...

Steven Holden

Nubank (NU US) – IPO Done, Now Comes the Hard Part

More than other digital banks, Nubank suffers from a disconnect between size of customer base & loan & deposit balances; also, we estimate that...

Victor Galliano

Banco Inter (BIDI11 BZ): Tough 3Q21, No Let up on the Horizon

We stay negative on Banco Inter due to the intensifying competition among Brazilian digital and legacy banks, with the prospective Nubank IPO...

Victor Galliano

EMEA Sectors Deep-Dive. Active Positioning in the EMEA Region

The last decade has seen EMEA weights drift ever lower. We look in detail at all sectors in the EMEA region, together with some of the key stocks...

Steven Holden

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