Director, Head of Research, Smartkarma

Pranav Rao

Director, Head of Research

Smartkarma

Smartkarma unites the fragmented investment industry, connecting institutional investors, independent research providers, and corporates within a single network.

Research Reinvented

Index Rebalance

<ul>
<li>Welcome to Curator’s Cut - a fortnightly roundup of standout themes from the 1,600+ insights shared on Smartkarma.</li>
<li>In this cut, we go looking for value in Korea beyond memory, weigh SHEIN's long-awaited IPO, and trace how TOPIX's reshuffle could lift small-cap Japanese banks.</li>
<li>Want to dig deeper? Comment or message with the themes you'd like to see highlighted next.</li>
</ul>


Welcome to Curator’s Cut - a fortnightly roundup of standout themes from the 1,600+ insights shared on Smartkarma.
In this cut, we go looking for value in Korea beyond memory, weigh SHEIN's long-awaited IPO, and trace how TOPIX's reshuffle could lift small-cap Japanese banks.
Want to dig deeper? Comment or message with the themes you'd like to see highlighted next.


Curator's Cut: Korea Beyond Memory, SHEIN's Hong Kong Bow & TOPIX's Tailwind for Banks

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

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Periscope Analytics

Periscope Analytics focuses on event-driven trades across Asia Pacific and provides comprehensive, timely and systematic coverage of index changes to major Asia Pacific indices in a structured manner.

The analysis includes forecasted inclusions and exclusions to all major Asian indices that have significant amount of tracking assets, including estimates of passive buy/sell flow on the stocks. The service also provides commentary and impact of market consultations, ground rule changes, and other events (IPOs, spin-offs, M&A) that could lead to index changes and passive flow.

Periscope Analytics works with multi-strategy hedge funds, proprietary trading firms, stat arb trading groups and long-only investors that invest and trade in the Asia Pacific region with the data being used to trade index rebalances, avoid pre-positioning and passive flow, and to time entry into and exit from stocks.

Event-Driven Trades Across Asia Pacific

Event-Driven

Korea Stock Exchange KOSPI 200 / Event-Driven

Korea Stock Exchange KOSPI 200 (KOSPI2 INDEX EQUITY)

<ul>
<li>Since short selling was banned in November 2023, short interest has plunged in Korea as shorts were covered. Markets have not done much over the last 16 months though. </li>
<li>Foreign investor holdings have dropped from 32.05% in July to 28.57%. The top 25 stocks bought by foreign investors outperformed the top 25 stocks sold by 128% in 16 months.</li>
<li>There will be trade opportunities across indices, pref/ords, index migrations and deletions, potential market upgrades and overvalued stocks being sold.</li>
</ul>


Since short selling was banned in November 2023, short interest has plunged in Korea as shorts were covered. Markets have not done much over the last 16 months though. 
Foreign investor holdings have dropped from 32.05% in July to 28.57%. The top 25 stocks bought by foreign investors outperformed the top 25 stocks sold by 128% in 16 months.
There will be trade opportunities across indices, pref/ords, index migrations and deletions, potential market upgrades and overvalued stocks being sold.


Korea: Short Selling Is Back in March; Trade Ideas

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Douglas Research Advisory

<ul>
<li><em><strong>On 7 August, Posco Holdings announced that it plans to sell 2.5 trillion won worth of Posco International Corporation (047050 KS) and Posco DX (022100 KS).</strong></em></li>
<li>According to Posco Holdings, the main purpose of this sale is to secure strategic investment funds aimed at resolving the "holding company discount" and enhancing corporate value. </li>
<li>I have a Positive View of Posco Holdings' partial sales of Posco International and Posco DX.</li>
</ul>


On 7 August, Posco Holdings announced that it plans to sell 2.5 trillion won worth of Posco International Corporation (047050 KS) and Posco DX (022100 KS).
According to Posco Holdings, the main purpose of this sale is to secure strategic investment funds aimed at resolving the "holding company discount" and enhancing corporate value. 
I have a Positive View of Posco Holdings' partial sales of Posco International and Posco DX.


Posco Holdings - To Sell 2.5 Trillion Won Worth of POSCO International and POSCO DX

<ul>
<li>Welcome to Curator’s Cut - a fortnightly roundup of standout themes from the 1,200+ insights shared on Smartkarma.</li>
<li>In this cut, we look at who pays as yields climb, follow the squeeze in refined products, and track the unwinding of strategic stakes from Tokyo to Seoul and Singapore.</li>
<li>Want to dig deeper? Comment or message with the themes you’d like to see highlighted next.</li>
</ul>


Welcome to Curator’s Cut - a fortnightly roundup of standout themes from the 1,200+ insights shared on Smartkarma.
In this cut, we look at who pays as yields climb, follow the squeeze in refined products, and track the unwinding of strategic stakes from Tokyo to Seoul and Singapore.
Want to dig deeper? Comment or message with the themes you’d like to see highlighted next.


Curator’s Cut: Debt Gets Dearer, Diesel Runs Dry & Strategic Stakes Come Undone

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

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>The Materials sector stands out as a key recovery candidate: low positioning but strong positive rotation across the GEM active universe.</li>
<li>Early inflows are being driven by China &amp; HK and South Africa, with rising fund participation and narrowing underweights.</li>
<li>Stock-Level rotation is visible in Gold Fields, Zijin Mining, and Anglo American, alongside a growing set of lightly held rising stars.</li>
</ul>


The Materials sector stands out as a key recovery candidate: low positioning but strong positive rotation across the GEM active universe.
Early inflows are being driven by China &amp; HK and South Africa, with rising fund participation and narrowing underweights.
Stock-Level rotation is visible in Gold Fields, Zijin Mining, and Anglo American, alongside a growing set of lightly held rising stars.


South Korea

POSCO manufactures various types of steel products.  The Company produces hot rolled steel, cold rolled steel, stainless steel, and other forms of steel. The products are mainly used for automobile, construction, and shipbuilding industries.

Price Gauge
52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
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Posco ADR (PKX US)

Curator's Cut: Korea Beyond Memory, SHEIN's Hong Kong Bow & TOPIX's Tailwind for Banks

Discover names outside memory in Korea, review SHEIN's IPO, and understand TOPIX's impact on small-cap Japanese banks in this fortnightly...

Pranav Rao

Korea: Short Selling Is Back in March; Trade Ideas

Short selling in Korea commences from Monday. There will be a lot of interest in shorting stocks/sectors depending on how they have performed since...

Brian Freitas

Posco Holdings - To Sell 2.5 Trillion Won Worth of POSCO International and POSCO DX

On 7 August, Posco International Corporation (047050 KS) announced that it plans to sell 2.5 trillion won worth of Posco International Corporation...

Douglas Kim

Curator’s Cut: Debt Gets Dearer, Diesel Runs Dry & Strategic Stakes Come Undone

We see which Asian sectors might be impacted by rising rates, how refiners are benefitting from wide crack spreads, and how strategic stakes are...

Pranav Rao

EM Materials: The Recovery Trade

Materials is emerging from deep under-ownership, combining low positioning with the strongest positive rotation in GEM. Inflows into China and S....

Steven Holden

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)

Curator's Cut: Korea Beyond Memory, SHEIN's Hong Kong Bow & TOPIX's Tailwind for Banks

​Discover names outside memory in Korea, review SHEIN's IPO, and understand TOPIX's impact on small-cap Japanese banks in this fortnightly...

Pranav Rao

Korea: Short Selling Is Back in March; Trade Ideas

Short selling in Korea commences from Monday. There will be a lot of interest in shorting stocks/sectors depending on how they have performed since...

Brian Freitas

Posco Holdings - To Sell 2.5 Trillion Won Worth of POSCO International and POSCO DX

On 7 August, Posco International Corporation (047050 KS) announced that it plans to sell 2.5 trillion won worth of Posco International Corporation...

Douglas Kim

Curator’s Cut: Debt Gets Dearer, Diesel Runs Dry & Strategic Stakes Come Undone

We see which Asian sectors might be impacted by rising rates, how refiners are benefitting from wide crack spreads, and how strategic stakes are...

Pranav Rao

EM Materials: The Recovery Trade

Materials is emerging from deep under-ownership, combining low positioning with the strongest positive rotation in GEM. Inflows into China and S....

Steven Holden

Discover names outside memory in Korea, review SHEIN's IPO, and understand TOPIX's impact on small-cap Japanese banks in this fortnightly...