Top Funds Increasing Exposure To China

Approximately two-thirds of fund managers recently polled by HSBC are overweight in Chinese equities, higher than the 50 percent that were long Chinese equities in Q4 of 2008 (see Asian Investor article). The companies polled were 12 funds with some of the largest assets under management, including (in alphabetical order) AllianceBernstein, Allianz Global Investors, Baring Asset Management, Deutsche Asset Management, Fidelity Investment Management, Franklin Templeton Investments, HSBC Global Asset Management, INVESCO Asset Management, Investec Asset Management, JF Asset Management, Schroders Investment Management, and Societe Generale. Of the funds increasing exposure in Asia, some mention their belief that the stimulus plans of China and Singapore will help support demand and growth in each country. One fund manager also mentioned that the construction and basic materials sectors will serve as a guide for the impact of the Asian fiscal packages, since each will benefit early from planned spending in infrastructure, and should lead to trickle-down effects to consumers. Others are not so sure about the trickle-down effects to Chinese consumers, and also mentioned that while having China rebound will be necessary to help spur global growth, such a rebound may be a few quarters away, at best. Still, most agree that the stage is set given that China appears to have put in place an actual stimulus plan - something the markets in the United States are still questioning domestically.