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

Equity Bottom-Up

HDFC Bank Ltd. offers a wide range of services to the global corporate sector. The Bank provides corporate banking and custodial services and is active in the treasury and capital markets. HDFC also markets project advisory services and capital market products such as Global Deposit Receipts, Euro currency loans, and Euro currency bonds.

<ul>
<li>HDFC Bank ownership has fallen from 51.4% to 40.6% of active funds since December, with $3.2bn of outflows and holdings halving to $9.3bn.</li>
<li>The selling spans every mandate: Asia ex-Japan and ACWI ex-USA ownership both fell 17.3 points, with net sellers dominating GEM and Global funds too.</li>
<li>A cooling on India amid the AI trade likely triggered it, but investors staying in India are switching to ICICI Bank and SBI.</li>
</ul>


HDFC Bank ownership has fallen from 51.4% to 40.6% of active funds since December, with $3.2bn of outflows and holdings halving to $9.3bn.
The selling spans every mandate: Asia ex-Japan and ACWI ex-USA ownership both fell 17.3 points, with net sellers dominating GEM and Global funds too.
A cooling on India amid the AI trade likely triggered it, but investors staying in India are switching to ICICI Bank and SBI.


NAURA Technology Group / Equity Bottom-Up

NAURA Technology Group Co., Ltd. is an integrated high-tech company, which manufactures electronics equipments and components, including IC equipments, hybrid integrated circuits and combines with R&D, sales, and services.

<ul>
<li>NAURA ownership has surged seven-fold since 2023: 18.3% of active funds now hold it, with $2.4bn invested and holders running a committed 1.86% average position.</li>
<li>The register is built on emerging markets: owned by 63% of China A-Share funds and 22% of GEM funds, with GEM investors leading 2026's buying.</li>
<li>Global and ACWI ex-USA funds hold nearly $15bn in NAURA's listed peers but under $100m in NAURA itself. Breaking into global portfolios is the next leg.</li>
</ul>


NAURA ownership has surged seven-fold since 2023: 18.3% of active funds now hold it, with $2.4bn invested and holders running a committed 1.86% average position.
The register is built on emerging markets: owned by 63% of China A-Share funds and 22% of GEM funds, with GEM investors leading 2026's buying.
Global and ACWI ex-USA funds hold nearly $15bn in NAURA's listed peers but under $100m in NAURA itself. Breaking into global portfolios is the next leg.


NAURA Technology: From China Champion to Global Contender

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul>
<li>Chips &amp; Memory is now the largest theme in active Global funds, at 9.70% of the average portfolio versus 8.96% for Hyperscalers.</li>
<li>AI Build-out accounts for 24.4% of the average fund, well ahead of AI Adoption at 14.7%.</li>
<li>Ownership is spreading into memory stocks, but both leading themes remain underweight the benchmark. Rising exposure does not represent a uniform buying wave</li>
</ul>


Chips &amp; Memory is now the largest theme in active Global funds, at 9.70% of the average portfolio versus 8.96% for Hyperscalers.
AI Build-out accounts for 24.4% of the average fund, well ahead of AI Adoption at 14.7%.
Ownership is spreading into memory stocks, but both leading themes remain underweight the benchmark. Rising exposure does not represent a uniform buying wave


<ul>
<li>Broader ownership, lower exposure: Three-quarters of active GEM funds hold at least one GCC stock, close to a record, but average exposure has fallen to 2.12%.</li>
<li>Saudi gains as the UAE retreats: Recent fund rotation has favoured Saudi Arabia, while UAE banks and property stocks account for many of the largest reductions.</li>
<li>Still underweight: Despite rising participation, the average fund remains 2.55% underweight the GCC, and just 9.2% of managers hold more than the benchmark.</li>
</ul>


Broader ownership, lower exposure: Three-quarters of active GEM funds hold at least one GCC stock, close to a record, but average exposure has fallen to 2.12%.
Saudi gains as the UAE retreats: Recent fund rotation has favoured Saudi Arabia, while UAE banks and property stocks account for many of the largest reductions.
Still underweight: Despite rising participation, the average fund remains 2.55% underweight the GCC, and just 9.2% of managers hold more than the benchmark.


Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>Consumer Staples allocations among GEM funds have fallen to record lows, extending a decade-long decline in the sector’s importance within active EM portfolios.</li>
<li>The retreat is broad-based across countries, fund styles and stocks, with 2026 bringing further reductions in ownership, active selling and estimated net outflows.</li>
<li>Staples remains deep in the bottom-left of our Ownership Cycle, combining historically weak positioning with negative momentum and little evidence yet of a sector-level inflection.</li>
</ul>


Consumer Staples allocations among GEM funds have fallen to record lows, extending a decade-long decline in the sector’s importance within active EM portfolios.
The retreat is broad-based across countries, fund styles and stocks, with 2026 bringing further reductions in ownership, active selling and estimated net outflows.
Staples remains deep in the bottom-left of our Ownership Cycle, combining historically weak positioning with negative momentum and little evidence yet of a sector-level inflection.
