Independent research on the U.S. markets, Baptista Research

Baptista Research

Independent research on the U.S. markets

Baptista Research is an independent financial research house focused on the U.S. markets. We provide equity research as well as credit research reports on the top-listed U.S. companies with most of our focus on technology, consumer goods and services, automobiles, industrials, oil and gas, pharma, and healthcare. Our research has served more than 3000 institutional investors including mutual funds, hedge funds, banks, family offices, and various buy-side firms. We operate a research subscription service where institutions, as well as retail investors, can have priority access to all our research. We also have a wide distribution of our research reports across some of the top global financial platforms. Apart from equity research and credit research, we also provide advisory services with respect to mergers & acquisitions (M&A), private equity/ venture capital fundraising, valuation reports, and investment management services for corporates.
Baptista Research is owned and managed by Ishan Majumdar, an ex-Venture Capitalist/ Investment Banker, a Chartered Accountant, and a Masters’ degree holder in Management from HEC Paris. Ishan has nearly a decade of experience in Mergers and Acquisitions, Leveraged Buyouts (LBOs), Venture Capital Investing, Corporate Strategy, and Valuation in front-office roles at the likes of BNP Paribas CIB, Credit Agricole CIB, Groupe Danone, and TIW Private Equity. He has worked on and closed multiple acquisition deals, leveraged buyouts, and start-up investment transactions.

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul><li>Alibaba Group's September Quarter 2024 results reveal a balance of positive developments and ongoing challenges.</li><li>The company has shown resilience in its core business segments, leveraging an AI-driven strategy to enhance user engagement and operational efficiency.</li><li>Steady growth has been noted in both domestic and international e-commerce segments, with Alibaba International Digital Commerce recording a substantial 29% revenue growth.</li></ul>

Alibaba Group's September Quarter 2024 results reveal a balance of positive developments and ongoing challenges.The company has shown resilience in its core business segments, leveraging an AI-driven strategy to enhance user engagement and operational efficiency.Steady growth has been noted in both domestic and international e-commerce segments, with Alibaba International Digital Commerce recording a substantial 29% revenue growth.

Alibaba Group Holdings: The Tale Of International E-commerce & Cross-border Growth! - Major Drivers

Asian Hedge Fund Manager, Long Short Equity, Macro

David Mudd

Macroeconomics

<ul>
<li>China will roll out its 2026 - 2030 five-year plan this month, which outline the economic and social roadmap until the end of the decade.  </li>
<li>Historically the five-year plans have been a roadmap for investors to look for tailwinds for economic sector performance.  We believe the high-tech industries will remain the main focus for investment.</li>
<li>Exporters of high-end equipment and machinery will continue to benefit with the consumption sector being a focus for international investors.</li>
</ul>


China will roll out its 2026 - 2030 five-year plan this month, which outline the economic and social roadmap until the end of the decade.  
Historically the five-year plans have been a roadmap for investors to look for tailwinds for economic sector performance.  We believe the high-tech industries will remain the main focus for investment.
Exporters of high-end equipment and machinery will continue to benefit with the consumption sector being a focus for international investors.


EMERGING THEMES: China's Next 5 Year Plan

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>Active EM funds average +26.0% YTD, their strongest year since 2017, though still underperforming the benchmark by -1.8%. Fewer than 40% have outpaced the iShares MSCI EM ETF.</li>
<li>Style and regional positioning drove dispersion. Value managers and South Korea exposure supported gains, while Aggressive Growth styles and India-heavy allocations weighed on returns. High Active Share strategies also trailed.</li>
<li>Active EM outperformance remains consistent long-term. Active funds have beaten the benchmark in 14 of the past 22 years, with the ETF often ranking near the peer group median.</li>
</ul>


Active EM funds average +26.0% YTD, their strongest year since 2017, though still underperforming the benchmark by -1.8%. Fewer than 40% have outpaced the iShares MSCI EM ETF.
Style and regional positioning drove dispersion. Value managers and South Korea exposure supported gains, while Aggressive Growth styles and India-heavy allocations weighed on returns. High Active Share strategies also trailed.
Active EM outperformance remains consistent long-term. Active funds have beaten the benchmark in 14 of the past 22 years, with the ETF often ranking near the peer group median.


EM Active Funds: What’s Driving Performance in 2025?

<ul>
<li>Hong Kong Alpha portfolio gained 8.45% in September and 60.89% and 62.80% YTD and since launch one year ago.  The portfolio has outperformed Hong Kong indexes by more than 40%.</li>
<li>The portfolio has a Sharpe ratio of 3.23 YTD and has generated more than 40% of its returns from stock-picking (alpha).  Its beta is low at only 1.17.</li>
<li>At the end of September, we increased exposure to AI and robotics and sold positions in the consumer and finance sectors.</li>
</ul>


Hong Kong Alpha portfolio gained 8.45% in September and 60.89% and 62.80% YTD and since launch one year ago.  The portfolio has outperformed Hong Kong indexes by more than 40%.
The portfolio has a Sharpe ratio of 3.23 YTD and has generated more than 40% of its returns from stock-picking (alpha).  Its beta is low at only 1.17.
At the end of September, we increased exposure to AI and robotics and sold positions in the consumer and finance sectors.


HONG KONG ALPHA PORTFOLIO: (September 2025)

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>Baidu announced that the company has seen a rapid uptake in its Robotaxi business on the mainland.</li>
<li>Baidu is at the forefront of the industry globally with its Fully Self Driving taxis available in more than 10 major cities in China.</li>
<li>Baidu's autonomous taxi unit, Apollo Go, has over 100 million kilometers of high-level autonomous safety driving mileage and holds over 5,000 autonomous driving patents.</li>
</ul>


Baidu announced that the company has seen a rapid uptake in its Robotaxi business on the mainland.
Baidu is at the forefront of the industry globally with its Fully Self Driving taxis available in more than 10 major cities in China.
Baidu's autonomous taxi unit, Apollo Go, has over 100 million kilometers of high-level autonomous safety driving mileage and holds over 5,000 autonomous driving patents.


CHINA: Fasten Your Seat Belts! BAIDU Accelerates in the Fast Growing Robotaxi Industry.

China

Alibaba Group Holding Limited provides online sales services. The Company provides internet infrastructure, electronic commerce, online financial, and internet content services through its subsidiaries. Alibaba Group Holding offers its products and services worldwide.

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Alibaba (9988 HK)

Alibaba Group Holdings: The Tale Of International E-commerce & Cross-border Growth! - Major Drivers

Alibaba Group's September Quarter 2024 results reveal a balance of positive developments and ongoing challenges. The company has shown resilience...

Baptista Research

EMERGING THEMES: China's Next 5 Year Plan

China will roll out its 2026 - 2030 five-year plan this month, outlining the economic and social roadmap until the end of the decade.Historically...

David Mudd

EM Active Funds: What’s Driving Performance in 2025?

Active EM funds are up 26.0% YTD—on track for their best year since 2017. Style, geography, and benchmark-independence remain key drivers of...

Steven Holden

HONG KONG ALPHA PORTFOLIO: (September 2025)

Due to the sudden escalation of US/China tensions we have decided to reduce AI and other risk exposure in the Hong Kong Alpha portfolio at the open...

David Mudd

CHINA: Fasten Your Seat Belts! BAIDU Accelerates in the Fast Growing Robotaxi Industry.

Baidu shares begin to re-rate as its new AI modil outperformed Google Gemini and Open AI's GPT-5. The new version of Ernie AI reasoning model also...

David Mudd

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