Chinese equities offer diverse investment opportunities beyond AI.
– Top holdings include banks, shipbuilders, and retailers.
– Market shows attractive valuations with high dividend yields.
– National policy support is important but economic fundamentals are still evolving.
– Capital allocation is shifting towards healthcare, biotech, and renewables.
▸ Full transcript
In which the Japanese and the American companies have been leaders for a long time. So, yes, start with China, spend time there, understand what's going on. And again, it's not just AI. Pretty much anything that is happening within China is touching sectors that have happened, sectors outside of China, whether you look at healthcare, farmland biotech, defense, aerospace, and then of course autos, ancillaries, renewables, the list is very, very long. I guess the question is when it comes to the broader landscape for Chinese equities, it's helpful to have national policy support, right? And of course, the national AI ambitions as well. But do you require a strong economic fundamental situation, which perhaps hasn't come through yet with the recent slowdown? It wouldn't hurt. But if you look at our China strategies and our portfolios in China, the top holdings are not AI-related companies. It's a very broad opportunity set that we're seeing. We're seeing single-digit PEs, double-digit free cash yields, high and rising dividend yields, reasonable earnings growth, very smart capital allocation, much smarter than we've seen over the past five, 10, 15, 20 years. And to our portfolio in China, the largest exposures are in banks, in shipbuilders, in some of the retailers. Yes, of course, we do have exposure to tech hardware, and we're doing our work on a broader universe of names as well. But the opportunity set, again, in China is very broad for long-term active managers.
Analysis
Chinese equities present a broad opportunity set, with significant holdings in banks, shipbuilders, and retailers rather than just AI-related companies. Despite a recent economic slowdown, the market shows single-digit PEs, high dividend yields, and smart capital allocation, indicating potential for long-term active managers.
Investors should note that the national policy support for AI and other sectors in China is crucial, but the underlying economic fundamentals are still developing. The shift in capital allocation towards sectors like healthcare, biotech, and renewables suggests a diversification strategy that could yield substantial returns beyond traditional tech investments.