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

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

Technical Analyst, Vermilion Research

Joe Jasper

Technical Analyst

Technical and Quantitative Research

Vermilion Research

Vermilion’s objective is to deliver timely, actionable, and unique technical research to professional investors through the application of our various technical indicators.

Our research strategists seek to highlight securities which we believe are at major inflection points, based on our various technical and quantitative indicators, and offer asymmetric risk/return profiles. Our unique research methodology, centered on relative strength, enables our strategists to deliver superior investment recommendations.

Our process begins by organizing the universe of actively traded stocks into discrete sectors, then into industry groups. We then apply our technical and quantitative tools to identify developing price trends. Once attractive trends are identified within a selected sector or group, we screen for individual stocks which we believe offer the best risk/reward profile. We provide a historical perspective that often reveals, through our long-term charts, how price patterns often repeat themselves over time.

Technical Analysis

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) / Technical Analysis

Emerging market equities have been one of the worst areas to invest in 2021, but we see early signs of positive change. With the US dollar failing to break above resistance at $93.50 and the MSCI EM ETF (EEM-US) displaying a false breakdown at $52, we believe now is an opportune time to add exposure to emerging market equities. To be clear, we are not getting overly bullish on EM; we have favored developed int’l (EAFE) over EM since May, and we are now shifting back to a neutral stance between the two. We see reason to believe the tide is shifting in EM’s favor. Below we highlight attractive and actionable themes within EM.

Emerging market equities have been one of the worst areas to invest in 2021, but we see early signs of positive change. With the US dollar failing to break above resistance at $93.50 and the MSCI EM ETF (EEM-US) displaying a false breakdown at $52, we believe now is an opportune time to add exposure to emerging market equities. To be clear, we are not getting overly bullish on EM; we have favored developed int’l (EAFE) over EM since May, and we are now shifting back to a neutral stance between the two. We see reason to believe the tide is shifting in EM’s favor. Below we highlight attractive and actionable themes within EM.

Shifting Exposure To Emerging Markets; Buying TSMC/Taiwan Semi, ICICI Bank, Many Others

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 Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>We screen 35 GEM Banks in this report with its accompanying charts, and identify the following names as investment opportunities</li>
<li>In LatAm, we highlight <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/banco-do-brasil-sa" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24564:1" rel="noopener">Banco Do Brasil Sa (BBAS3 BZ)</a> , <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/grupo-financiero-banorte-o" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24780:1" rel="noopener">Grupo Financiero Banorte-O (GFNORTEO MF)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/credicorp-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:25963:1" rel="noopener">Credicorp Ltd (BAP US)</a> </li>
<li>In Asia, our preferred stocks are <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/postal-savings-bank-of-china" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22848:1" rel="noopener">Postal Savings Bank of China (1658 HK)</a> , <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-construction-bank-h" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:45:1" rel="noopener">China Construction Bank H (939 HK)</a> , <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hana-financial-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12843:1" rel="noopener">Hana Financial (086790 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/state-bank-of-india" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:160:1" rel="noopener">State Bank Of India (SBIN IN)</a> </li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/commercial-international-bank" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27625:1" rel="noopener">Commercial International Bank (COMI EY)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sberbank-of-russia-pjsc-cde59529-fb78-4659-85d0-127942b44ba7" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27581:1" rel="noopener">Sberbank of Russia PJSC (SBER RM)</a> stand out in CEMEA</li>
<li>Risks to our positive view on these select GEM banks include worse than expected GDP growth leading to worse than anticipated credit quality and slower than expected loan growth, along with limited investor appetite for GEM banks</li>
</ul>


We screen 35 GEM Banks in this report with its accompanying charts, and identify the following names as investment opportunities
In LatAm, we highlight Banco Do Brasil Sa (BBAS3 BZ) , Grupo Financiero Banorte-O (GFNORTEO MF) and Credicorp Ltd (BAP US) 
In Asia, our preferred stocks are Postal Savings Bank of China (1658 HK) , China Construction Bank H (939 HK) , Hana Financial (086790 KS) and State Bank Of India (SBIN IN) 

Commercial International Bank (COMI EY) and Sberbank of Russia PJSC (SBER RM) stand out in CEMEA
Risks to our positive view on these select GEM banks include worse than expected GDP growth leading to worse than anticipated credit quality and slower than expected loan growth, along with limited investor appetite for GEM banks


Global Emerging Market Equities, Propitious Research

Wium Malan, CFA

Global Emerging Market Equities

Independent, Fundamental Quantitative Research

Propitious Research

Fully independent, fundamental and quantitative equity research, focused on companies in the Telecommunication, Media, Technology, Internet and Healthcare sectors in the Global Emerging Markets. Idea generation focused on Quality stocks, trading below their intrinsic Value, with sound Corporate Governance.

Quantitative Analysis

This insight provides the output, and an overview of, our proprietary GEM screening model, which takes a three-pronged approached to finding the best medium-term long ideas within the top100 largest stocks in the MSCI GEM Index. The model is based on 1) a typical quantitative multifactor screening model, enhanced by two Artificial Intelligence Technology-based approaches using 2) a Deep Neural Network model, and 3) a Recurrent Neural Network model. This model, which has been developed and tweaked over the past 24 months (and implemented in its current state for 12 months), has a solid real-world performance track record, which I set out in the detail below. Notable new entrants to the top decile this month include <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/gazprom-pjsc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:23749:1" rel="noopener">Gazprom PJSC (GAZP RX)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/mediatek-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:772:1" rel="noopener">Mediatek Inc (2454 TT)</a>, and <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>.<table class="table table-striped">
<colgroup>
<col>
<col>
<col>
<col>
<col>
</colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; width: 48pt;">rank</td>
<td style="width: 169pt;">Name</td>
<td style="width: 119pt;">Sector</td>
<td style="width: 95pt;">Location</td>
<td style="text-align: center; width: 48pt;">prev.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">1</td>
<td>CNOOC LTD</td>
<td>Energy</td>
<td>China</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">25</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">2</td>
<td>GAZPROM</td>
<td>Energy</td>
<td>Russian Federation</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">89</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">3</td>
<td>CHINA RESOURCES LAND LTD</td>
<td>Real Estate</td>
<td>China</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">45</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">4</td>
<td>PTT NON-VOTING DR PCL</td>
<td>Energy</td>
<td>Thailand</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">39</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">5</td>
<td>MEDIATEK INC</td>
<td>Information Technology</td>
<td>Taiwan</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">81</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">6</td>
<td>PAO NOVATEK GDR</td>
<td>Energy</td>
<td>Russian Federation</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">48</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">7</td>
<td>GEELY AUTOMOBILE HOLDINGS LTD</td>
<td>Consumer Discretionary</td>
<td>China</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">8</td>
<td>SBERBANK ROSSII</td>
<td>Financials</td>
<td>Russian Federation</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">59</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">9</td>
<td>SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS LTD</td>
<td>Information Technology</td>
<td>Korea (South)</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">41</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">10</td>
<td>FIRSTRAND LTD</td>
<td>Financials</td>
<td>South Africa</td>
<td style="text-align: center;">30</td>
</tr>
<tr><td colspan="5" style="text-align: left;">Source: FactSet financial data and analytics, my estimates and calculations, Tensorflow, Keras, Google Colaboratory, pandas</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>As usual, please feel free to reach out for the full output table, any questions, clarifications needed or suggestions.

This insight provides the output, and an overview of, our proprietary GEM screening model, which takes a three-pronged approached to finding the best medium-term long ideas within the top100 largest stocks in the MSCI GEM Index. The model is based on 1) a typical quantitative multifactor screening model, enhanced by two Artificial Intelligence Technology-based approaches using 2) a Deep Neural Network model, and 3) a Recurrent Neural Network model. This model, which has been developed and tweaked over the past 24 months (and implemented in its current state for 12 months), has a solid real-world performance track record, which I set out in the detail below. Notable new entrants to the top decile this month include Gazprom PJSC (GAZP RX), Mediatek Inc (2454 TT), and Sberbank Of Russia Pjsc (SBER LI).









rank
Name
Sector
Location
prev.


1
CNOOC LTD
Energy
China
25


2
GAZPROM
Energy
Russian Federation
89


3
CHINA RESOURCES LAND LTD
Real Estate
China
45


4
PTT NON-VOTING DR PCL
Energy
Thailand
39


5
MEDIATEK INC
Information Technology
Taiwan
81


6
PAO NOVATEK GDR
Energy
Russian Federation
48


7
GEELY AUTOMOBILE HOLDINGS LTD
Consumer Discretionary
China
2


8
SBERBANK ROSSII
Financials
Russian Federation
59


9
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS LTD
Information Technology
Korea (South)
41


10
FIRSTRAND LTD
Financials
South Africa
30

Source: FactSet financial data and analytics, my estimates and calculations, Tensorflow, Keras, Google Colaboratory, pandas

As usual, please feel free to reach out for the full output table, any questions, clarifications needed or suggestions.

Russia is the largest country overweight among active Emerging Market funds.  The average holding weight of 4.11% represents an overweight of 1.04% above the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF weight (cash adjusted).In the wake of new US sanctions and troops gathering on the Ukraine border, the key stock risks to active investors are overweight positions in <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>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lukoil-pjsc-ea76a137-f664-4066-ba45-32e13c8b007e" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28476:1" rel="noopener">LUKOIL PJSC (LUKOY US)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yandex-nv-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:414:1" rel="noopener">Yandex (YNDX US)</a>, with over 80% of the funds in our analysis holding one or more of these stocks.The 2014 annexation of Crimea provides a useful insight in to the behavior of active investors during a period of political uncertainty.  EM investors were quick to react, reducing Russia exposure by 4.26% over the course of the year and over a quarter of funds moving from overweight to underweight.  Whether this situation reaches the heights of 2014 remains to be seen, but do not underestimate an active manager's willingness to cut or reduce allocations when the investment case becomes muddied by political events.

Russia is the largest country overweight among active Emerging Market funds.  The average holding weight of 4.11% represents an overweight of 1.04% above the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF weight (cash adjusted).In the wake of new US sanctions and troops gathering on the Ukraine border, the key stock risks to active investors are overweight positions in Sberbank Of Russia Pjsc (SBER LI), LUKOIL PJSC (LUKOY US) and Yandex (YNDX US), with over 80% of the funds in our analysis holding one or more of these stocks.The 2014 annexation of Crimea provides a useful insight in to the behavior of active investors during a period of political uncertainty.  EM investors were quick to react, reducing Russia exposure by 4.26% over the course of the year and over a quarter of funds moving from overweight to underweight.  Whether this situation reaches the heights of 2014 remains to be seen, but do not underestimate an active manager's willingness to cut or reduce allocations when the investment case becomes muddied by political events. 

Russia:  Overweight Risk as Ukraine Tensions Rise

Russia

Sberbank of Russia PJSC attracts deposits and offers commercial banking services. The Bank offers time deposits, corporate banking, securities brokerage, credit, foreign exchange services, and sponsors credit cards.

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Sberbank of Russia PJSC (SBER LI)

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

Shifting Exposure To Emerging Markets; Buying TSMC/Taiwan Semi, ICICI Bank, Many Others

We see early signs of positive change within EM, and we present a strong case as to why we believe now is an opportune time to add exposure.

Vermilion Research

GEM Banks 1Q21 Screens

Our GEM bank picks are derived from value and growth, plus balance sheet, metrics; we highlight Banco do Brasil, Banorte, Credicorp, PSBC, CCB,...

Victor Galliano

Screening for GEMs: May 2021

This insight provides an overview of our proprietary GEM screening model which is based on a multifactor screening model, a Deep Neural Network...

Wium Malan, CFA

Russia: Overweight Risk as Ukraine Tensions Rise

Russia is the largest overweight in EM as Ukraine tensions rise. Sberbank, Lukoil and Yandex are the largest stock overweights and the key risks...

Steven Holden

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